‘Halloween Ends’ Review: Jamie Lee Curtis & The Horror Franchise Go Out On A High Note
Jamie Lee Curtis gets the sendoff she deserves in this bloody good movie.
Four years ago, Michael Myers took back his throne as the horror world’s top villain with the massive success of 2018’s Halloween. That movie did so well at the box office that it spawned two sequels — 2021’s Halloween Kills and this year’s Halloween Ends, which is supposed to be the final film in the 44-year franchise. And if it is, in the fact, the last Halloween movie we’ll ever get (it probably won’t be — let’s be real), then we won’t complain. Halloween Ends concluded the franchise on a high note and gave Jamie Lee Curtis‘ iconic final girl Laurie Strode the ending she deserves.
Halloween Ends starts with a very well-crafted cold open. On Halloween 2019, babysitter Corey (Rohan Campbell) watches a young boy while the boy’s parents attend a party down the street. Corey and the boy have fun watching scary movies together, but the night takes a terrifying turn when the boy dies from a terrible fall and Corey’s blamed for it.
Three years later, in present-day Haddonfield, Laurie is writing a book, living with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), and actually enjoying life. Michael obviously killed her daughter (Judy Greer) four years ago (in Halloween Kills), but he hasn’t been seen since.
Laurie is trying to move on with her life, but the town blames her for the past bloodshed Michael caused. The town also bullies Corey, even after he was acquitted of manslaughter, so she befriends him. After all, they’ve both seen their fair share of trauma. But after some time passes, Laurie sees something in Corey’s eyes that she once saw in Michael’s. And she especially starts to worry after Corey starts dating Allyson. Things soon boil over and as per usual, things quickly turn violent in Haddonfield on Halloween night.
The movie delivers quite a curveball that we didn’t see coming (Corey becomes a follower of Michael’s), and while we kind of loved it, it was quite a risk to take on something so heavy just before the curtain closed. But if you ask us, it paid off in the end. The kills are memorable, Kyle Richards returns (again) as Lindsey Wallace, there’s respect for the franchise at large (even some nods to Halloween III: Season Of The Witch), and Laurie’s final fight with Michael will leave you cheering one second and gasping the next. It may not be the strongest entry in the long-standing franchise, but Halloween Ends is now one of our favorite Halloween movies.
Halloween Ends is now in theaters everywhere and streaming on Peacock.