This article contains spoilers
As Halloween Ends was set to premiere in cinemas and on Peacock this October, franchise star Jamie Lee Curtis stated her belief that the movie would leave some feeling "angry".
"I've been saying people are going to be angry from the beginning," she said while promoting Halloween Ends.
"They're going to be angry because we’re saying something about all of us as a society. This is about victims. This is about victim shaming. This is about what happens in a town when we have all become monsters."
Curtis believed that anger would be generated by the fact that victim shaming is a major factor within the third in David Gordon Green's trilogy.
However, with audience reaction coming in thick and fast, that anger is being directed at other areas of the movie.
What is the plot of Halloween Ends?
Set four years after the events of Halloween Kills, Laurie Strode and her granddaughter Allyson are attempting to lead a normal life in Haddonfield, even after family member Karen - Laurie's daughter and Allyson's mother - was murdered by Michael Myers. With Myers now nowhere to be seen, the townspeople have found another boogeyman in the form of young man Corey Cunningham, who was involved in another tragedy on Halloween night.
Movie Review
Halloween Ends starts off on a decent if unexpected note, as the plot is focused on Rohan Campbell's Corey rather than Laurie or Michael, the two leading players of the entire franchise.
Even as the HALLOWEEN ENDS title card appears and the iconic John Carpenter score drips off the screen, there are some fans who would probably have been slightly upset at the focus of the first 10 minutes of the movie due to the absence of Laurie and Michael.
Oh, how upset they would come to be for the next 90 minutes. As, for the majority of this movie, the plot is focused on a completely new character in Corey Cunningham.
Curtis is done a disservice until the final 15 minutes in which she finally gets the showdown of all showdowns with Michael. Prior to that, she plays the role of an overbearing yet hip grandma, something she does impressively even if it seems out of place. Meanwhile, we see the burgeoning romance of Corey and Allyson, two outsiders who are drawn to each other due to past trauma.
That relationship represents one of the biggest problems of Halloween Ends, as over the course of just a few days, Allyson becomes head over heels in love with this clearly troubled boy to the point that she is willing to turn her back on her grandmother whose intuition has been proven right time and time again.
Why does anyone ever doubt Laurie? Unfortunately, it is silly that anyone, never mind her own granddaughter, fails to listen to absolutely everything she says.
As for Corey, played by Campbell, the young actor does have interesting anger behind the eyes which suggests he could indeed be a killer. Did he mean his babysitting mishap at the start of the movie, or was it that incident that scarred him for life?
Final trailer for #HalloweenEnds pic.twitter.com/9gwhAXcNOk— MovieMeter (@MovieMeter_) September 28, 2022
His plight represents the major thematic question of Halloween Ends - are people born evil, or are they turned evil?
In the end, the question isn't really answered, as the Corey storyline is sharply ended in favour of the much-anticipated climax between Laurie and Michael.
David Gordon Green, who will next move to an Exorcist sequel trilogy, should be given some praise for being so bold with Halloween Ends.
Never have we seen Michael working with someone else, and although that may be fresh, that doesn't necessarily make it good. In the movie, Michael receives 10 minutes and 55 seconds of scream time, and although this is a similar time to the original Halloween, there is no character reveal in this entry in the franchise like the original. So, audiences naturally want to see more Michael.
In this case, he has a plethora of annoying Haddonfield residents that he can plough through, but his thirst for violence is barely quenched by the fact that it is Corey, not him, who goes on a murder spree.
Without letting too much away about the ending, there is an undoubted, definitive END. The word ENDS even lingers on the screen prior to the credits.
However, this actually leaves a bitter taste in the mouth as it is clear to everyone that this franchise will be back - it makes too much money. Green even said there will be further entries in the Halloween saga due to the fact that the rights to the movie are moving to someone new soon.
So, Halloween Ended, but not really.
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