Halloween Ends Review | A Middling Conclusion to a Franchise That Started off Impressively

Halloween Ends, the third and final installment in the Halloween franchise, is much superior to the chaotic predecessor released in 2021. And it even tries to analyze the characteristics that create a boogeyman to give the slasher genre a psychological perspective. While all those things give the movie a cinematic high, the excitement one would wish to see in a finale is missing, and the film becomes that passable thriller with discrete patches that will please you.

So post the events in Halloween Kills, people are trying to return to everyday life. Yet another Halloween season is here, and a young boy named Corey has taken up the job of a babysitter. But unfortunately, that seemingly easy money job changes the life of Corey when the child gets killed in an unfortunate accident, and he gets labeled as a killer in the neighborhood. The aftermath of all that and how it gets linked with Michael Myers is what we see in Halloween Ends.

The past of Michael Myers is something that is less explored in the franchise, and the decision to use Corey as a tool to depict Myers’ possible history was an impressive creative decision. One particular slasher kill that happens at the midway point of this movie combines the two characters creatively to deliver a scene that looks terrifying. The second half of this movie shifts the gears in terms of the level of brutality. Considering how it transitioned into that zone, I felt the climax should have been much more absorbing.

The decision of David Gordon Green and the writers to make it less about Michael and more about what creates a Michael looks fascinating on paper. It even allows the story to enter the psyche of the characters who have evolved over time. There is a point where Corey and Allyson’s wavelength matches, and the movie slips into a mad psychological love story kind of space. But if you ask me whether the film was able to use those developments to create something genuinely unique, the answer will be no. The edits of the movie in creating certain montages and slasher set pieces were perfect. The cinematography maintains the traumatizing ambiance through the lighting and color palette, and there is a brighter visual tone to the romantic equation between the characters.

Rohan Campbell as Corey Cunningham gets the meatiest character in the lot, and the guy has performed the part brilliantly. There is a scene where the father of the kid who died describes the change in Corey to Laurie Strode, and Campbell was able to make that transition look extremely subtle and convincing. Andi Matichak, as Allyson, delivered a memorable performance. For most of the movie, Jamie Lee Cortis’ Laurie Strode is a mere observer. But in the film’s final act, David Gordon Green gives Laurie all the space to go head-to-head with her arch-nemesis.

If you are a fan of the slasher genre, I would say this third installment won’t really displease you. Halloween Ends has its moments for sure, but that gets stashed in a particular area of the narrative. With the idea of what creates a Boogeyman and what all happens to people who go through the trauma due to a killer like Mayers getting prominence in the script, Halloween Ends is an interesting theme that needed a little more refinement.