Halloween Ends
Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Rohan Campbell and James Jude Courtney
Rated MA15+
4/5
Halloween Ends is a satisfying conclusion to David Gordon Green’s new Halloween sequel trilogy.
A tragic accident turns Corey (Rohan Campbell) into a pariah, and the town of Haddonfield descends into chaos once again under the spectre of masked serial killer Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney).
Halloween Ends explores how hate and fear can corrupt us, with themes of radicalisation and an engrossing arc of growth through darkness. Campbell plays a reserved but kind young man who is ostracised after accidentally killing a child he was babysitting. Harassment from the community causes Corey’s resentment to erupt, and he grows more confident and assertive as he lashes out and Michael’s killer instinct rubs off on him. Corey forms a touching relationship with Allyson (Andi Matchik), but their bond puts you on edge as Corey’s violence escalates.
Michael and franchise mainstay Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), who survived Michael’s killing sprees in 1978 and 2018, both have relatively limited roles in the narrative, with Michael serving almost as a mentor to Corey. Curtis still has her steely edge from Halloween 2018 and Halloween Kills, but conveys a more upbeat, relaxed persona as Laurie attempts to leave her trauma behind.
Halloween Ends has some heavy-handed dialogue on the persistence of evil, but the plot has a steady build of brutality and bitterness, culminating in a harrowing climax as Laurie confronts Michael and his disciple once and for all.
For a grim, grounded horror movie, Halloween Ends occasionally uses stereotypes – fifties greaser bullies, a seventies-style black DJ, a ditzy nurse having an affair with her boss – for its supporting characters, and Allyson and other characters blaming Laurie for Michael’s atrocities feels like hollow conflict.
Halloween Ends is a compelling character-driven horror film, and is screening in most Victorian cinemas.
– Seth Lukas Hynes
