On a $20 million budget, Halloween Kills grossed over $130 million worldwide, significantly less than Halloween in 2018. Critically, the movie wasn’t as well received, earning a 39% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though audiences were more favorable. Despite this, the studio decided to move ahead with a third installment, which would be the last in the series. While the studio expected filming to start in the summer of 2021, production didn’t begin until January 2022. Jamie Lee Curtis filmed her scenes between January 25 and February 22, and principal photography wrapped in March. In addition to Curtis, Andi Matichak, Kyle Richards, James Jude Courtney, and Will Patton returning, Rohan Campbell joined early on. Before the film’s release, Curtis said in interviews that the movie would be “shocking” and “make people very angry.” After premiering at Beyond Fest, Halloween Ends slashed theater screens in October 2022.
%
Rating
Synopsis
It’s been four years since Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) last stalked and slashed the streets of Haddonfield. Since then, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) has bought a new house and lives with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak). One day, Laurie meets Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), a young man who accidentally got a child killed years ago. Seeing the goodness in him, Laurie introduces Corey to Allyson, and the two start forming a relationship. Unfortunately, the rest of the town views Corey as the town pariah and bullies constantly attack him. One night, Corey is dragged into a drain pipe by a mysterious figure, who turns out to be a burned Michael Myers. Under Michael’s influence, Corey kills anyone who wronged him, and Allyson wants to leave town with him despite Laurie’s objections. It all culminates in an ultimate showdown between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode.
Review
It’s a shame that the 2018 sequel/reboot was so good, and then both follow-ups were huge disappointments. As much as I didn’t care for Kills, that film was at least a Halloween movie, albeit a bad one. With Ends, it feels like the filmmakers took a preexisting script and threw in some Halloween elements. Halloween III: Season of the Witch wasn’t a Michael Myers movie, but at least it wasn’t advertised as one. With this movie, the marketing sells you on the last act without even hinting at what else happens. Like Kills, this movie tries to say something about the nature of evil, but it barely explores those themes. Admittedly, the idea of following a central character accused of something terrible and seeing his struggles has potential. The issue is that this idea isn’t fleshed out enough to make us care.
While the story is weak, the acting is solid from all players involved, especially Jamie Lee Curtis and Andi Matichak. Also, Rohan Campbell does a pretty good job playing a sympathetic yet flawed character, but his performance feels wasted. Kyle Richards returns, but she hardly has anything to do, and Will Patton is utterly forgettable. James Jude Courtney shines in his few scenes as Michael Myers, and the ending fight with Curtis is well done. Unlike the ridiculously over-the-top kills from the last movie, the kills here are more subdued and restrained. Also worth mentioning is that Nick “The Shape” Castle and Diana “Darcy the Mail Girl” Prince have small cameos. As a standalone slasher, this movie is dull and preachy, and as a “conclusion” to a long-running series, it’s disappointing. Overall, Halloween Ends is a case of missed opportunities and failure to deliver.
Buy tickets to Halloween Ends from Fandango: https://fandan.co/3VKXdfk.
Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
