Halloween Ends

Now this is the kind of creative take on the Halloween saga that I envisioned when David Gordon Green and Danny McBride were first announced as the new series runners.

Leaps and bounds above the tepid Halloween (2018) and the horrendous Halloween Kills, alleged (lol) finale Halloween Ends is by far the most competently made film of the trilogy and pushes boundaries while playing with the saga’s tropes in thoughtful ways that, well, should have happened four years ago.

Beginning on Oct. 31, 2019, Green’s film gets off to a promising start with an opening sequence that smartly showcases the impact of Michael Myers’ legacy and how his absence can still breed paranoia and hatred in Haddonfield. One understandable accident changes the life of Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell, The Hardy Boys), yet it’s also clear in these initial minutes that Green is…*gasp*…using a tripod and decent lighting in this film, details that he’s largely forgot about throughout this genre experiment.

Flash-forward to present-day and a haunted Corey’s path collides with that of infamous local Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), who takes the misunderstood youth under her wing and introduces him to her nurse granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) after a corny encounter with four horrendous actors playing the meanest high school marching band kids in cinematic history turns bloody.

Subsequent stretches excel in pairing Haddonfield’s most notorious citizen with its newest outcast, and it’s a joy to watch Corey and Allyson develop what feels like a genuine bond over distinct but complementary grief. And things gets even more interesting as Corey unintentionally awakens the local boogeyman — who may or may not have been quarantining during the COVID-19 pandemic — and forms an unlikely bond with him as well.

Though the proceedings are generally action-packed and well-made, it’s tough to deny some of Halloween Ends’ frequently atrocious writing. Particularly after Corey and Michael, er, meet, Green, McBride, and co-writers Paul Brad Logan (Manglehorn) and Chris Bernier often struggle to connect the film’s longer, more successful scenes and fill in the gaps with short, expositional exchanges that make one wish the film was 15 minutes longer to let these moments breathe.

What saves these lesser parts is a stunning commitment to Eli Roth-level carnage, albeit with a purpose that makes each injury and death count. Paired with a thoughtful exploration of inherited evil, these increasingly grisly images at last fulfill Green’s and McBride’s potential as out-of-the-box Halloween helmers and send the series off (lol) with a bang.

Grade: B. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: Ryan Green/Universal Pictures)