Movie Breakdown: Halloween Ends
Pre-Screening Stance:
Halloween is a pretty good movie. Halloween Kills is a pretty terrible movie. If Halloween Ends can at least split the difference between the quality of those two entries, I’ll consider it a success.
Post-Screening Ramble:
First up here, the less you know about Halloween Ends, the better. This film is chocked full of bonkers plot points, and if you can roll into it not knowing anything at all, then it’ll be just that much more fun for you.
With that warning out there, let’s get into this goofy but entertaining film.
Frankly, I don’t know if I can say that Halloween Ends is a truly proper and/or quality way to wrap this trilogy, but it’s certainly better than the woeful Halloween Kills. Set sometime after that film, Michael Myers (Nick Castle, James Jude Courtney) is nowhere to be found and it’s left the town of Haddonfield in a weird, dark place. Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak), have done their best to move on though – they now live in a regular house (that isn’t setup as a Myers death trap) where they bake pies and such. The town, however, still thinks of them as weirdos, and some people believe it’s Laurie that instigated the Myers’ murder spree. This status as an outcast leads Allyson to Corey (Rohan Campbell), an awkward fella who isn’t accepted by the townsfolk either due to a babysitting mishap, and it seems like they may have something together … until the latter discovers Myers’ lair.
What happens from there is just silly and I won’t spoil it, but do know that if you were hoping for some sort of grounded conclusion, you won’t find it here. This is a movie intent on taking every wacky turn it can because … well, I don’t really know why. All I can say is that it had me frequently shaking my head and cackling, so hey, at least it’s a fun ride. As for the the horror elements, they’re nicely dialed (with plenty of jump scares and quality deaths), and the performances are good – in fact, they’re better than a movie this absurd deserves. Ultimately, Halloween Ends is not the best entry in the long running series, but I’ll give it this, it’s got just enough of that late-night-cable-TV energy to warrant a watch.
The film hits theaters and Peacock tomorrow, October 14.
One Last Thought:
Not to be one of those people that yells at the sky about how movies should only ever be seen in theaters, but Halloween Ends plays particularly well with a crowd. So, if you can, watch it in a packed house somewhere.
