“Halloween Ends” Movie Review
The final installment to the “Halloween” reboot trilogy has arrived just in time for the holiday season. This film is allegedly the last franchise movie in which Jamie Lee Curtis will star as Laurie Strode, so horror fans all over had their trick-or-treat bags filled with anticipation.
So how was this 45-year story finally going to end? After 13 films, books, and video games were all made, there was a lot on the line. Plus, the 2018 reboot, “Halloween,” was phenomenal considering all the awful movies they put out for the previous two decades.
“Halloween Ends” is as disappointing as it gets. Nearly everything that made the highlights of the series good is absent from the finale.
There is controversy surrounding last year’s “Halloween Kills,” with it jumping the shark by making the series’ antagonist, Michael Meyers practically unstoppable. At least with that movie, nearly every second was entertaining.
The kills were ridiculous, violent, and even more so unrealistic. Meyers was a war machine, taking on entire neighborhoods without barely taking a scratch. He was the result of pure terror and evil, wreaking havoc on any foe he faced. Sure, a lot of the dialogue was poor, but at least the film’s action led it to be excusable.
In “Halloween Ends,” they decide to strip back Meyers's god-like powers and make him weak. He now resides in the sewers, where he will occasionally take a victim or two. Unfortunately, this is not the film’s biggest problem.
The problem is that Meyers is entirely pushed to the side for a new character, Corey Cunningham, who accidentally kills a child he is babysitting and has the whole town turn on him. The introduction, when he does so, is arguably the only jaw-dropping part of the entire film.
As much as Rohan Campbell, who plays Cunningham, does a great job, there was way too much focus on him, and the relationship between Strode’s granddaughter. Meyers eventually shows up, but somehow puts up less of a fight than Cunningham.
A lot of the kills this time around are watered down, things that audiences have all seen before. But some stand out more than others, leaving brief moments of enjoyability.
“Halloween Ends” takes place significant time after the first two reboot movies. The film arguably could have worked better if it had followed immediately after its predecessor. Even though this newest entry comes out only a year after “Halloween Kill” it feels like there is an extreme disconnect between the two, and the trilogy as a whole.
It has gotten to the point where even the victims are unlikeable. Before, one might feel a little bad for the people getting slaughtered, but here, there is no attachment to these characters whatsoever. It is understandable considering much of the cast has either been killed off or has left the project entirely, but with good writing, these fresh faces could have at least been tolerable.
The way that the film ends is one of the highlights as well, but that is not saying much. The townies of Haddonfield, Illinois finally can defeat Michael Meyers, but even that seemed rushed.
Even with a few shining moments here, “Halloween Ends” feels like a waste. The ending of the 2018 reboot seems more fitting than whatever this piece of garbage was.
Rating: 1.5/5
Caelan Chevrier is a third-year majoring in marketing. To contact him, email
cjc6789@psu.edu
