WARNING SPOILERS
The “Halloween” franchise, originally directed by John Carpenter, which has been in existence since 1978, finally comes to a brutal, but long overdue ending in “Halloween Ends.”
Sadly though, as the famed slasher Michael Myers goes head to head with Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, one last time, there was little battle to be done.
The iconic killer who plagued the streets of Haddonfield was only present during a portion of the film, which took away the original reason for people wanting to attend: to see the boogeyman himself. A new character was introduced, and for a brief period, it seemed like this conclusion to the franchise might not be the end as we all thought it would be.
Corey Cunningham, played by Rohan Campbell, seems to be the next person to have an inner darkness and reaches out to Michael Myers, wanting to be a protege. This darkness of Corey’s stems from an accidental killing of a small child he was babysitting on Halloween night three years ago. Does this sound familiar? It should, as Micheal Myers began his journey of death and destruction on Halloween night when he was 6 years old. So from the beginning, this film is attempting to rip off a bit of background and theme from the original killer and setting.
Luckily, as the title of the movie states, despite Corey finding Michael and attempting to learn the killer’s techniques, the boogeyman’s legacy does end with Michael as he snaps Corey’s neck later on, choosing to not let anyone else wear his mask.
Now for the truly tragic part of the film, the final battle between Laurie and Michael. This final showdown takes place in the kitchen of the home where Laurie and her granddaughter Allison reside. Yet again, we see another rip-off from the original film, with Laurie hidden in a closet and Michael right outside. After a slight distraction from the beep of the microwave, Michael looks towards the sound and Laurie lunges into her attack. During a very short battle in the kitchen, with utensils being thrown around, Laurie eventually manages to pin Michael to the kitchen island with knives and a refrigerator. All of this takes place in less than 20 minutes, and then his mask is removed and his throat is slit, killing him; this proves, after all this time, Michael Myers was truly just a man in a mask. It is a major letdown to have him taken out so swiftly after more than 40 years. The epic battle was anything but epic.
One final problem that should be mentioned is that the original score, the intro music, was remixed. It seemed to be a techno/pop remix, which takes away from what we all know and love.
Jump scares: 10/10
Gore: 7/10
Intensity: 5/10
Final battle: 1/10
Final rating: 6/10
I’m giving this film only one thumbs up because there were so many ways this final film could have been better. Michael could have been introduced sooner into the film or the final battle could have been drawn out a bit, not just repeated in a sense
John Carpenter, how could you let it end like this? We, the fans, are relieved but at the same time disappointed.
APN 