Halloween Ends (2022) Review: Jamie Lee Curtis’ Curtain Call

Halloween Ends is supposed to be the end of the beloved horror franchise.  I wouldn’t hold my breath, as studios are hellbent on maintaining an intellectual property by any means necessary, no matter what rushed, poorly produced film it requires.  Michael Myers will return, probably in a reboot, sometime down the road.  But this does mark the end of everyone’s favorite final girl, Jamie Lee Curtis.  Is this the franchise exit that Curtis deserves?

What’s it about?

Four years have passed since Michael Myers’ second massacre in the town of Haddonfield.  The town is trying to move on but is still plagued by unspeakable acts of evil and death by its citizenry.  Michael Myers has inspired copycats, and his evil has saturated the townspeople’s hearts toward violence.

However, one death is accidental.  A young boy named Jeremy is inadvertently killed by his babysitter Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell).  Although the death is ruled accidental, Corey still pays the consequences by being publicly shamed and bullied by the townspeople.

Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) know little about being Haddonfield outcasts.  Laurie is often blamed for Michael Myer’s actions. The rumor mill alleges that an intellectually disabled Myers was teased and led on by Laurie, which caused his violent outburst.  As the granddaughter of Laurie and a Myers survivor, Allyson must also deal with the animus. 

But they are trying to move on.  Laurie is writing her memoir about Haddonfield and the Michael Myers murders.  Allyson is a nurse working towards a promotion at a local clinic.  

Laurie runs into Corey after his hand is injured in a confrontation with some bullies and takes him to Allyson’s clinic to get treated.  It was there that Corey and Allyson showed interest in each other and started dating shortly after. 

However, Laurie starts to notice a change in Corey’s demeanor.  The constant bullying is starting to change him into something ugly and insidious.  He begins to remind her of someone who haunts her past. 

My Reaction

If Halloween Ends is not the culmination of the franchise, it is the end of Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode.  The movie is mostly about her navigating life without Michael Myers in a town where she is treated as an outcast.  The plot also focuses on the sometimes-sympathetic character of Corey, who was responsible for the death of a young boy, although it was apparent it wasn’t his fault.  

What the film isn’t about is Michael Myers.  In fact, he is barely in it.  Sure, his presence is felt throughout the movie, but Michael Myers spends most of his time off-screen.  This will be a problem for most die-hard fans of the franchise expecting to see the legend unalive townspeople in the most brutal and creative ways possible.

Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of deaths in Halloween Ends, as copycats are running around doing some pretty awful things.  But it doesn’t feel the same, nor seem as scary, because none can replicate the menace of Michael Myers.  

It was bold to put Myers in the background and focus more on the idea of evil and how it resides in all of us.  However, many leaps in logic are needed to make this slasher work.  First, it doesn’t make sense for Laurie Strode or her granddaughter to be outcasts in Haddonfield. They should be legends for what they did. In fact, I’m surprised that Laurie Strode wasn’t elected mayor by now. 

Instead, they make up some silly conspiracy theory that Michael Myers went on his killing spree because she rejected his advances. Seriously? I know that we live in an age where conspiracies run rampant, but you would think they could have come up with something more interesting than that.

Character development is also all over the map.  The relationship between Allyson and Corey makes no sense. Allyson is fighting with her grandmother, who saved her life from a serial killer on multiple occasions by the way, about how safe or unsafe Corey is.  Allyson isn’t some silly teenager anymore. Now an adult, you would believe she would be more discerning at this point. It is never explained why Allyson is so blinded, besides the narrative needing the unhealthy relationship for the movie to work.  

Yet, Jamie Lee Curtis holds this film together. Halloween Ends doesn’t come close to working without her performance and our history with the character propping it up.  Some lines are downright- silly, but her commitment to the performance convinces you to go with it. She is the only one with a character whose arc makes sense.  Seeing her finally settle and be vulnerable after all these years is understandable.  It also makes sense that she recognizes evil when she sees it in others, as she has come face-to-face with it more than anyone.  

I hear you screaming, “Bryon, get to the kills already!” 

I hear you screaming, “Bryon, get to the kills already!”  Ultimately slashers must be judged on the merit of their gore. Unfortunately, it’s a bit uneven.  There are some good scenes, especially at the movie’s climax. But compared to the first two entries of this particular trilogy, Halloween Ends leaves much to be desired.  Some of the disappointment also comes from Michael Myer’s body count being particularly low in the movie.  

Also, a lot of the deaths seem safe.  Almost everyone murdered are assholes.  Sure, horror always has characters that deserve to get their just due.  But you must commit to killing likable characters. The horror stems from not wanting someone to get murdered, but it happens anyway. Ultimately, I wasn’t as frightened because I didn’t feel as if I was experiencing a loss of any character I cared about.

Overall Rating

Halloween Ends has many issues, but I liked the sum more than its parts.  Although Michael Myers isn’t responsible for much of the killing, that doesn’t mean he isn’t in the film. What they do to the character will be very polarizing for audiences.  I liked that the movie zags and didn’t just spoon-feed us the same old Michael Myers we’ve had for the past 30+ years.  Still, many fans aren’t looking for such drastic changes to their favorite horror antagonist.

Halloween Ends is a fitting end to an uneven property, and I hope this is Michael Myers’s end. But Hollywood has struggled to create successors to icons like Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, and Jason Vorhees.  Maybe Halloween Ends is a sign that we should close the door on this archetype for good.

Nah… More blood, please.  See you in a few years, Michael.