Halloween Ends

 Year: 2022

Director:  David Gordon Green

Screenplay:  Paul Brad Logan, Chris Bernier, Danny McBride and David Gordon Green, based on characters created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill

Starring:  Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Rohan Campbell, Will Patton, Kyle Richards, James Jude Courtney

Running Time:  111 minutes

Genre:  Horror

Four years have passed since serial killer Michael Myers' (Courtney) latest bloodbath, and the residents of the small town of Haddonfield are starting to heal.  Corey Cunningham (Campbell) who accidentally caused the death of a young boy he was babysitting, has since become the town pariah.  Allyson (Matichak), whose parents were killed by Myers and has since been living with her grandmother Laurie Strode (Curtis), befriends Corey.  After being savagely beaten up and left for dead by some bullies, Corey encounters but survives a weakened Michael Myers, and takes it upon himself to continue Michael's murderous legacy.

Halloween Ends is the thirteenth film in the Halloween franchise, and the third and final instalment in the trilogy directed by David Gordon Green which began with Halloween (2018) and continued with Halloween Kills (2021).  The Green series carries on from the original Halloween (1978), discarding the previous umpteen sequels, and Halloween Ends is supposed to be the final Halloween films, although I, for one, very much doubt that it will be.  Halloween Ends is a disappointing entry in the series.  While it does have some very good things in it.  It feels as if the film was intended to be a serious examination of trauma, grief and guilt, but they needed to add Halloween horror elements to make it fit into the series.  The stalk-and-slash horror elements doesn't fit with the more serious and darker aspects.  Another thing is that Michael Myers barely appears in the film.  The main antagonist is Corey who kind of becomes a Michael Myers protege, and he even seems to have Myers' ability to appear and disappear suddenly, as well as surprising strength.  Corey even gets his glasses broken  early in the film and seems to manage without them with no problem whatsoever and nary a stumble.  The performances are good, particularly from Jamie Lee Curtis, and there are some enjoyable set pieces, but the whole film is not scary and, worst of all, is kind of dull.

Jamie Lee Curtis and James Jude Courtney in Halloween Ends

Halloween Kills

 Year of Release:  2021

Director:  David Gordon Green

Screenplay:  Scott Teems, Danny McBride and David Gordon Green, based on characters created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill

Starring:  Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Thomas Mann, Anthony Michael Hall, Kyle Richards

Running Time:  105 minutes

Genre:  Horror

Immediately following the events of Halloween (2018), Laurie Strode (Curtis), her daughter Karen (Greer), and Karen's daughter Allyson (Matichak) are taken to hospital to recuperate.  However, murderous Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney and Nick Castle) emerges from the inferno of the Strode compound and proceeds to cut a bloody swathe through the good people of Haddonfield, Illinois.  The townspeople desire to band together to stop Myers once and for all.

The original Halloween (1978) worked because it emphasised suspense and tension over blood and guts, the 2018 Halloween which is a sequel to the 1978 film but ignores all of the previous umpteen sequels, remakes and reboots, wasn't great but it was an enjoyable enough rejuvenation of the hoary old franchise.  Halloween Kills, however, is pretty much a bloodbath.  The film tries to make a comment about mob mentality and vigilante justice, but it feels pretty half hearted, swallowing the greens of social commentary to linger over the pudding of gruesome murders.  The violence is surprisingly brutal, even by the standards of the Halloween franchise.  Jamie Lee Curtis is underused as Laurie Strode, who is in hospital throughout most of the film.  Judy Greer is the highlight of the film, providing some much needed heart as Karen, and Andi Matichak as Allyson does as well as anyone could do with a pretty underwritten part.  Some of the kills are imaginative, and a hospital riot is a highlight.  The thing is that the film is so over the top in terms of gore and violence it just becomes funny.  People were laughing at the screening I attended, and you could have some fun with it if you were watching it at the right time with the right audience.  It needs to be watched late at night, after a few beers, with some likeminded friends, for some silly, campy fun.  It's not scary and really not much of a movie.  There isn't really any conclusion,  it forms the centrepiece of a trilogy, with Halloween Ends due out in 2022, and so instead of a satisfying ending, it's like the film just stops.  

   Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney / Nick Castle) in Halloween Kills

Halloween

Year of Release:  2018
Director:  David Gordon Green
Screenplay:  Jeff Fradley, Danny McBride and David Gordon Green, based on characters created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill
Starring:  Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Virginia Gardner, James Jude Gardner,
Running Time:  105 minutes
Genre:  Horror

On October 31 1978, serial killer Michael Myers (Gardner) went on a murderous rampage in the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois.  Forty years later, Myers is incarcerated in an institution and Laurie Strode (Curtis) who survived Myers' attack is a hardened survivalist, obsessed with Myers and the idea that he will return one day.  Her obsession has alienated her from her daughter (Greer), and granddaughter (Matichak).  Until Myers escapes while being transferred and returns to Haddonfield to finish what he started all those years ago.

This is technically the eleventh film in the Halloween franchise, including the 2007 remake by Rob Zombie, and it's 2009 sequel.  However, this hits the reset button being a direct sequel to Halloween (1978) and rewriting the entire chronology.  The idea that Laurie Strode is Michael Myers' sister which was introduced in Halloween II (1981) and has been canon ever since, is specifically stated here not to be the case.  Also, here, Michael Myers has been locked up for 40 years.  This is very much a traditional slasher film although it does have a 2018 makeover, Myers doesn't exclusively kill horny teenagers, here he kills pretty much anyone who he happens across.  He also expands his repertoire from exclusively slashing and stabbing to include hammers and banging people's heads against anything solid.  The film returns Myers to the enigmatic killer of the first film, and makes him less of a supernatural being, although he does have seemingly supernatural powers of strength and resilience.  Curtis is great as the traumatised Laurie as are Judy Greer and Andi Marichak as her estranged daughter and granddaughter.  The film benefits from a strong supporting cast, who make the characters more than just the typical faceless victims.  The film takes it's time to get going and does at times get bogged down in subplots that don't go anywhere.  However, while it is never exactly scary, it is tense and exciting and gory enough to appeal to fans without being violent enough to alienate more mainstream audiences.  It also has humour and some fun nods to previous films in the series (including a cameo from Nick Castle who played Michael Myers in the first film, and supplies some of Myers' sound effects here), and is certainly one of the best in the franchise.

Trick or Treat:  Michael Myers (James Jude Gardner) in Halloween