Nearly fifty years after the first movie came out, the Halloween series remains a major force in the horror genre. After ten sequels and reboots, many felt the franchise had run its course by the time Halloween II was released in 2009. However, director David Gordon Green breathed new life into the series in 2018 with a sequel that disregarded all previous installments after John Carpenter’s 1978 original.
The latest Halloween movie, Halloween Ends, didn’t live up to expectations. While previous films suggested a satisfying conclusion to the long-running series, this one shifted focus to a new character instead of delivering the final battle between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). Despite currently ranking at number 8 on Netflix, the film hasn’t gained a better reception over time, and remains a letdown for fans of the 48-year-old franchise.
Halloween Ends Sidelined and Weakened the Franchise’s Main Villain
With a low 40% score from Rotten Tomatoes critics and a 57% audience rating, Halloween Ends is widely considered a disappointing film. Many fans feel it doesn’t really feel like a Halloween movie at all, and is instead a slow, character-focused horror story with only brief appearances by Michael Myers.
Instead of continuing directly after the violent events of the previous film, Halloween Ends starts a year later, introducing Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell). While babysitting, a playful prank goes horribly wrong, resulting in the child’s accidental death. This tragedy turns Corey into an outcast, facing judgment and isolation from the community.
The story fast-forwards three years to find Laurie writing her memoir and living with her granddaughter, Alison. Much of the film follows both Laurie and Corey as they attempt to move forward. However, after Corey is bullied, he starts to struggle and eventually discovers Michael Myers hiding in the sewers. They form an unlikely bond, and together, they unleash a new wave of terror on the town.
The movie attempts an ambitious idea: that evil isn’t something people are born with, but something they inherit due to unfortunate events. This is basically a take on the classic ‘nature versus nurture’ debate, and it could have worked well in a different film. However, it doesn’t quite fit with the established backstory of the character Myers, who was originally presented as purely evil – someone who simply enjoyed causing pain to others without any apparent reason.
With the 2018 reboot aiming to start fresh and disregard previous storylines, it was hoped that confusing plot points – like complicated family histories and the origins of the curse – would be left behind. The reboot presented Michael Myers as a purely terrifying, mentally unstable killer, driven by primal instinct to kill indiscriminately. He was, simply put, a dangerous psychopath terrorizing a small town in Illinois.
I was really relieved that Halloween Ends didn’t try to give us another complicated backstory for Michael Myers! Instead, it took a different route with Corey, and it felt like he somehow picked up Myers’ urge to kill. The movie hints that Myers actually felt sorry for Corey and his past, and almost…infected him with evil. While Myers hid out in the sewers, Corey started doing the killings, fueled by this new, dark influence and his own anger towards the town. It was a strange twist, but it kept things interesting!
Simply put, Halloween Ends focuses on Corey Cunningham, a tragic event in his past, and his subsequent quest for revenge against those who bullied him. The film uses the legend of Michael Myers as a symbol of Corey’s growing instability. This storyline drastically departs from the original Halloween films and introduces social issues that contradict the franchise’s traditional view of evil.
Halloween Ends Was a Disappointing Conclusion to the 48-Year-Old Franchise
Four years after its release, opinions on Halloween Ends haven’t changed much. Interestingly, since the film became available on Netflix, online discussions – particularly on Reddit – have actually increased, and most viewers aren’t impressed. Many are comparing its confusing storyline and diminished role of Michael Myers to that of the strangest film in the Halloween series, and not in a good way.
While not a bad movie, Halloween Ends feels out of step with where the series has been heading. It explores an intriguing idea – the passing on of evil to a new character, Corey – and features strong performances, especially as it finally gives Laurie Strode a chance to reclaim her life. However, as the supposed final installment, it ultimately falls short of expectations.
I was so hyped for this movie! The trailer and what they told us made it seem like we’d finally get a truly satisfying ending, with Laurie finally defeating Michael Myers for good. And we do get there, but it takes a while. The last 13 minutes are just non-stop action, with a brutal fight between Laurie and Myers in her kitchen – she finally gets him, stabbing and slashing him until he’s down. Then, the movie ends with this incredible scene: the whole town of Haddonfield comes out to watch as Myers’ body is thrown into a shredder. It was a powerful, unforgettable way to finish the story.
Many fans found the ending unsatisfying because it didn’t feel earned. Michael Myers was underused throughout the movie, and the story spent so much time developing Corey as a new villain that the final confrontation felt rushed and tacked on. It needed more buildup to feel like a proper conclusion to the series.
The story introduced a subplot about a ‘Corey curse,’ but it ultimately didn’t matter to the main plot. It wasn’t clear how this curse caused Michael Myers’ evil, only that he could somehow impose his will on others. This addition didn’t enhance the overall series and felt like an unrelated side story awkwardly tacked onto the film, making it feel disjointed and like two different movies.
If Halloween Ends had been followed by another movie that explored the curse and its connection to Michael Myers more clearly, it could have been a good addition to the series. However, since the film definitively kills Myers, a continuation seems impossible in this timeline. Considering it was meant to be the final film, it was a weak and frustrating conclusion to what had otherwise been a strong run of movies.
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2026-04-20 04:37