About the film (courtesy of Universal Pictures):
This is Laurie Strode’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) last stand. After 45 years, the most acclaimed, revered horror franchise in film history reaches its epic, terrifying conclusion as Laurie Strode faces off for the last time against the embodiment of evil, Michael Myers, in a final confrontation unlike any captured on-screen before. Only one of them will survive. Four years after the events of Halloween Kills, Laurie is living with her granddaughter Allyson and is finishing writing her memoir. Michael Myers hasn’t been seen since. Laurie, after allowing the specter of Michael to determine and drive her reality for decades, has decided to liberate herself from fear and rage and embrace life. But when a young man is accused of killing a boy he was babysitting, it ignites a cascade of violence and terror that will force Laurie to finally confront the evil she can’t control, once and for all.

I don’t think ANYONE is daft enough to truly believe that this installment is actually the conclusion of anything. We’ve heard and seen countless franchises, including this one, stating “this is the end” or “witness the conclusion” etc., etc. The fact is that as long as there’s a market, some executive someone will attempt to breathe life into whatever he or she needs to in the name of a profit; excuse me, a love for the arts. At any rate, we’ve have come to an end of another chapter, as Halloween Ends seeks a storied send-off into horror heaven.

Director/writer/producer David Gordon Green has been involved every step of the way starting with Halloween (2018), a direct sequel to the 1978 film of the same title, through Halloween Kills (2021) and now, Halloween Ends. Success or failure, Green has no one to blame but himself if he doesn’t give loyal fans what they desire. Throughout this trilogy, attempts have been made to humanize “the monster” that is Michael Myers. In this current film, you’ll see an aged and reflective Boogeyman, at least for a while.

Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is ready for her final standoff with four decade-plus long nemesis Michael Myers in a winner-take-all deadly showdown. Anyone else is just a prop needed to provide additional filler. That said, Halloween Ends tries to give Laurie’s granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak), an interesting path of her own, including an unlikely love interest in Corey (Rohan Campbell), who is a new addition to the franchise. There are a few other returning characters such as Officer Hawkins (Will Patton) to help connect the past.

Where Halloween Kills (2021) was more of a bloodbath of epic proportion with indiscriminate killings around ever turn, Halloween Ends takes a slightly more measured approach. That’s not to say that body count is small by any means. It’s just that this plot spends a little more time building things up before slashing them down. And with that, this current film has the longest runtime of them all. Expect more substance because of it.

I enjoyed the change of pace with Halloween Ends versus previous films, and it even feels slightly refreshing. Everything isn’t all sunshine and rainbows considering that believability is still thrown right out the window and several plotlines end up just being left for dead. The reasoning for this is probably due to trying to balance entertainment and being too detailed.

All in all, Halloween Ends is a decent sendoff to a franchise that has been well past its prime for quite a few years. Whether or not this franchise will be resurrected again at some point in the future, remains to be seen. I will say, however, David Gordon Green does do his part in emphatically slamming closed the book to the last chapter of this trilogy.

Halloween Ends can be seen in theaters as early as this evening, and then everywhere on Friday, October 14th including streaming exclusively on Peacock, although this is the type of movie that may be more fun viewing with a bunch of strangers in the theater. Assuming you’ve seen the previous ones, you might as well check this one out sooner than later during the perfect holiday season.