What did we actually want from Halloween Ends? Now I could wax lyrical for hours about the legacy of the Halloween cannon and lord knows I have and lord knows I will. But what did I want from Ends when I finally sat down to supposedly conclude the Laurie Strode saga? Well, after 2018 I thought I would want a solid and satisfying conclusion to this new trilogy, however after Kills the possibility of that sort of ending was left behind. Now, after Kills all I wanted from Ends really was a movie that was even more absurd and even worse and something that I could enjoy as a piece of absurdity that a major studio once again let David Gordon Green continue his fan-fictionesque approach to this series. Then of course there’s the part of me that like any fan does wish to see the saga with Laurie conclude, not that we haven’t already had two very satisfying conclusions with Halloween II and Halloween H2O, but that’s beside the point at this stage. Then, again, there is the part of me that wanted Green and the gang to make something entirely separate and something wholly fresh with the series. Well, I kind of got all three things I wanted in equal measures. What sort of concoction does that make? Well, naturally a terribly uneven one.
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There is a part of me that doesn’t quite know how to discuss this film without discussing spoiler elements, and I’m not talking about the final showdown as that was the whole marketing and is the entire title of the movie. No, I’m talking about what I’m sure will be the most polarising aspect of the film, in that well… For the majority this is not the standard Michael Meyers slasher film that many audience goers may think they are getting. I’m not going to say what you get instead but at the core of it this film is supposed to be the grand conclusion to the Laurie Strode saga and yet ends up for the majority of its running time being a wholly different kind of film. Now without saying what this turn is, may I say now that I don’t mind it at all. Why would I? This series has been going for over the course of 44 years and has churned out over ten films of seriously varying qualities, so having quibbles with a detour from the original formula is not what you'll find from me, as it is in actuality exactly what was needed. Two big issues; it’s not what was needed now at this stage. It was needed in place of 2018’s film perhaps, or even in place of Kills. Whether I have enjoyed this trilogy or not, this was the time for a concluding entry, not a bizarro world story that finally gives us in some respects the anthology aspects that Carpenter wished the series would take with Season of the Witch (which that film did) and onward. This film tries to have it both ways, but most importantly doesn’t deliver this new detour with any quality. ‘Gave up’ is not what I want to say, but I don’t know how else to put into words the detachment I had from this film around the 20 minute mark. Following an interesting and genuinely shocking opening, the film then has a solid opening credits - I’m in. But then we meet Laurie once more who is know thankfully taking the horrid editorialising that was the dialogue of the previous film and putting it into a memoir, which technically does make more sense. Somewhat easier to stomach then real characters saying it aloud, but no less cringey and un-affecting. This is all paired with a montage of moments from films this current trilogy doesn’t ignore, as-well as moments from its own previous two films. Then we start meeting our new characters and retuning to our other remaining folks. And then you detach. The dialogue is lame and trite, and at worse laughable. The new characterisations of our leads is at times bizarre and at others wholly unearned, and overall we are back to at times a level of unintentional humour that matches the camp farcical glee I have now watching Kills.
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The
issue is that at a certain point this segues into boredom. Curtis as Strode is
always wonderful and always fun to watch, but again her actions and decision
and changes of thoughts are so wildly baffling that it’s hard to not laugh.
Same with the wonderful Andi Matichak, who is delightful and great but is
forced into a romance with the new character of Corey Cunningham played by
Rohan Campbell, and to their credit the two actors are believable in their
scenes. But make-ups and break-ups and lust and love are so badly plotted out
and shift so soon from scene to scene that again one can’t help but lower their
head or look in awe of the fan-fictioney feel of this finale. The character of
Corey without directly commenting on his purpose in the film is one that is
effectively the lead of the whole film, it is effectively a character study of this
disturbed individual with our legacy characters coming in and out of his story.
Does this work? No. But the problem is not that this is an original entry in
the Halloween series, more so that it’s just not delivered very well. The film
is such a hodge podge of ideas and some are derived well, and as always Green
is very good at delivering brutality and thrilling action horror in these
films, as always these are violent slashers, rather than pieces of tension film-making
(those days are long gone). But overall whether these original concepts were
good or not, the film eventually has to give up with that enterprise and
conclude with the ultimate Strode versus Michael showdown that they’ve been
promising. But it’s not as good or as thrilling as 2018, it’s not as uproarious
as H20 and it’s not as masterful as 1978, nor as explosive as Halloween II.
There is a sense that Ends is an attempt to please everybody, but no, it did
not please me.
It’s the sort of film where on a re-watch who knows I may feel more akin to what it’s revealed to be going for, but right now it’s got to be a 4/10. I know there are many Halloween fans who I agree with on most fronts who are appreciative of the zag that this film takes, but beyond the admiration to the zag, I don’t know where I can find joy with this film. The story is original, yes, but it’s still badly made with badly drawn characters and by the end of course gives up on its new storyline for a re-hash of a final showdown between Laurie and Michael that ends up one of the worst and most anti-climatic we’ve received in this series. Ends has its moments but they are few are far between and what it re-hashes it does so to little effect and what it does new is not well conceived or delivered to be enjoyable either.
SPOILER P.S. But not really, the film is called Halloween Ends. But anyway. There is a satisfaction to seeing a final definitive undoubtable conclusion to Michael. However there isn’t a single time I don’t rewatch the first film and see those glorious final shots and not wish deep in my core that we never got a single other film again in this series and this from a guy who likes a lot of them. But still there will always be a part of me when I hear that breathing that admits to himself that above all else, I wish they never touched this property again. For is there actually any real satisfaction in Michael being killed? Or is the horror and is the eternal enduring quality all down to the mystery. The crux of course is that I think most anybody would agree and yet I’ll see you again in - I'll say ten years, max.
- - Thomas Carruthers
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