Halloween Ends is better than Halloween Kills, but that doesn’t say much. It starts and ends strong, but suffers too much in the middle.
Halloween Ends has been billed as the end of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode. She has, quite literally, been tormented by him for years, so this was sure to be an epic showdown — right? Wrong. The movie starts off with such a jaw-dropping shock that have fans getting ready for a wild ride — that they have to wait over an hour for.
While Halloween Ends both starts and finishes strong, there is too much of a slow mess going on in the middle to make it the proper sendoff for Michael.
What Works With Halloween Ends
The opening sequence of Halloween Ends is one of the horror best film openings in years. It doesn’t waste any time setting the tone for what should be a terrifying and shocking film. Viewers will be left with their jaws on the floor, but luckily they have quite a bit of time to pick them up before it gets good again.
Let’s skip over the entire middle of the movie for now and get right to the end. The final twenty minutes or so is great, although there were some choices that could have been made that would have pushed it to perfect. There was potential for an extremely poetic and powerful goodbye to the franchise, but it never got there. Still, it was well done, well executed, and gave us some of the best moments and lines of the film.
Here’s the kicker though, the story that Halloween Ends tells is actually really good. It is interesting and, although slow, it does teach a lot about society and how we are shaped by it. This would have been the perfect story to save for another reboot of the franchise, but should not have been the one told during what was to be the final film of it.
What Doesn’t Work With Halloween Ends
The biggest issue with Halloween Ends is that there is very little of Michael Myers versus Laurie Strode. Heck, there is very little of the two of them at all. The movie clocks in at just under two hours, and they are barely on the screen for thirty minutes. Two other characters become the leads and, in an effort to remains spoiler free, we won’t go into details.
We totally understand the point of this story and what the franchise was trying to do, but it shouldn’t have been done in what is to be the finale of a franchise that has been dominated by the back and forth between Michael and Laurie. Fans wanted an epic showdown, and they got a mediocre fight — although the send off was fantastic.
While this story is entertaining and interesting, it moves too fast at some points and too slow at others. There is quite the build up for the characters to all of a sudden switch gears and go off the deep ends. It just doesn’t seem fitting in the way it was done. Again, it could have worked, it just needed some tweaking.
The Halloween films, and Michael in particular, have always been brutal. The kills are gnarly and intense and honestly, quite shocking. That is another place that Halloween Ends fails. They feel like generic slasher kills for the most part, with a couple cool ones sprinkled in for good measure. The majority of the people who die are horrible people, meaning the audience really doesn’t care when they are offed.
On top of all of that, some of these new actors are well, subpar to say the least. We won’t name names, but there is a good chance you will know who we are talking about when you watch the film.
Overall Thoughts
Halloween Ends is better than Halloween Kills, but it doesn’t even come close to the first of the Blumhouse trilogy. There are good elements mixed in, and a fantastic opening and closing, but it just never reaches its full potential. It should have focused more on Laurie and Michael, and while we did get closer and some powerful moments between the two, fans will likely be left wanting more — something we know we aren’t getting.
Starts and finishes strong, but the middle is convoluted and boring mess that leaves much to be desired. This was supposed to be the perfect send off for Laurie and Michael, and it was a mediocre one at best.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
NEXT: Barbarian Review (2022 Movie)
About Halloween Ends
Four years after her last encounter with masked killer Michael Myers, Laurie Strode is living with her granddaughter and trying to finish her memoir. Myers hasn’t been seen since, and Laurie finally decides to liberate herself from rage and fear and embrace life.
However, when a young man stands accused of murdering a boy that he was babysitting, it ignites a cascade of violence and terror that forces Laurie to confront the evil she can’t control.
Halloween Ends hits theaters and streams on Peacock October 14th.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.