Warning: This Article Contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Halloween Ends.Halloween Ends has been a controversial release since it hit theaters and on Peacock. The movie was billed as the final conclusion to the Halloween Saga of movies that began in 1978 with the original Halloween and continued with 2018's Halloween and 2021's Halloween Kills. The movie made a bold creative swing that has divided fans, one that even the film's director knew was coming.
Halloween Ends introduces a new character, Corey Cunningham, a young man who is hated by the town for accidentally causing the death of a boy he was babysitting on Halloween night. Corey is the main central character of the film, and the movie becomes an examination of how Michael Myers's presence in Haddonfield has poisoned the town and has now created a new monster in Corey. It explores how this cycle of terror and trauma will continue to create new monsters.
It is a bold creative direction for the franchise, however, the decision to headline a new previously unmentioned character while all the promotional material has focused on Laurie Strode and Michael Myers (who have very reduced roles in the film) has turned many fans off of Halloween Ends. Some love it for being new, others hate it and wish there was more Michael Myers.
While Halloween Ends did open to number one at the box office on its opening weekend, it opened below the previous two entries, as word of mouth impacted its day-to-day earnings. Then in its second weekend, it had a dismal 80% plummet, falling to number four at the box office. The decision to focus on Corey Cunningham actually could have worked and thematically was the right direction to take the series, however doing it in this particular movie was the wrong call that only hurt what it was trying to do.
Halloween Ends Builds Off Themes From the Previous Films
The main creative voices behind these latest three Halloween movies have been director and writer David Gordon Green alongside co-writer Danny McBride. The two have used the original 1978 film to build their own trilogy (making it a tetralogy and not a quadrilogy as the Alien DVD box set would have one believe), creating a long-form story that chronicles the generational effect of trauma on the individual and how it bleeds into a wider community.
These Halloween movies explore how Michael Myers's simple act of killing his sister in 1963 has created a large shadow that looms large over everyone. The 2018 Halloween explored how Michael's actions impacted her, and it passed down through her family. Halloween Kills explored the overall impact of Michael Myers on the community, having cut through its psyche. Halloween Ends' story choice is the natural next step of these themes, how the community has now created a new Michael Myers, showing the cyclical nature of this story and how evil is created.
Corey gives audiences an insight into how Michael Myers could have become the evil figure he is, without going into detail on the character's backstory and taking away from the mystery like past Halloween sequels have. While the idea of another Michael Myers figure may seem sacrilegious to audiences, it is not a new idea to the franchise but is the first time it has been fully explored.
This is a Plot Halloween Has Hinted at Before
Director John Carpenter intended for the Halloween franchise to be an anthology series of horror movies, and it was because of this that he killed off Michael Myers in Halloween II. The next film, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, was a separate story entirely. However, the negative reaction to the lack of Michael Myers turned audiences off and the franchise brought the killer back.
Since bringing back Michael Myers, filmmakers have explored the idea of the franchise moving beyond the iconic killer and someone taking on his mantle. This was first teased at the end of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers which, after Michael was defeated, saw his niece Jamie holding a bloody pair of scissors, implying she would become the new evil of the series. This storyline was never picked up, and instead, the franchise expanded upon Michael Myers's mythology. Then in Rob Zombie's own Halloween II in 2009, the director kills off Michael Myers with the end, setting up that his sister and original film final girl Laurie Strode would now become the new killer, continuing her brother's legacy. Halloween II underperformed at the box office and Zombie did not return for a third movie.
The concept of Michael Myers inspiring more evil in another person is one that the franchise has teased before, and it was a refreshing change of pace for Halloween Ends to finally explore that concept and arguably is one of the most fascinating elements about the film. The issue lies in that the story is being explored in what is billed as the final film.
Exploring This in the Last Halloween Was a Bad Call
One imagines that this storyline, of the evil of Haddonfield creating a new Michael Myers, would have gone over slightly better in just any other Halloween sequel. While it still would have been divisive, as copycat killer entries in slasher films often are (look at Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning), it probably could have been appreciated as a bold swing to keep the series fresh. However, Halloween Ends was not just any Halloween sequel; it was, as the title implies, billed as the end of the series. It was the end of Michael Myers's story that began back in 1978.
It did not help that the film's marketing entirely focused on the final meeting between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode. The trailers go out of their way to craft a narrative that implies a massive showdown between the two characters, with Corey barely being present at all. Audiences going into the theater were certainly not wrong to be shocked at the new main character and shift away from the two previous stars of the franchise.
While a whole movie about Laurie and Michael Myers fighting was never going to work as a full narrative, the previous movie ended with Laurie saying she was coming for Michael, implying a role reversal with her being the hunter and Michael Myers as the prey, but this is dropped before Halloween Ends even starts. Putting this new concept in the final film is a decision that is almost designed to alienate an audience, no matter how good the idea or intention is.
Halloween Ends' Storylines Could Have Been Set Up Earlier
2018's Halloween ends on an ambiguous note. It offers a sense of finality, with the Strode women defeating Michael Myers and Laurie getting her cathartic victory and letting Michael Myers burn in a fire. The ending works as the final showdown but also leaves the door open enough to make sequels if the movie proved to be successful, which it was.
Universal Pictures quickly announced they would make two more Halloween films. While both films were not directed back to back, they were written close together. If the idea was to explore the origin of evil, how a normal person can become a monster like Michael Myers, it may have benefited to at least lay the groundwork for Halloween Ends in the previous film Halloween Kills. Introducing a plotline like Corey in the ending chapter is very similar to bringing in Palpatine for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker when the two previous movies never hinted at his presence. Had Corey been a supporting character in Halloween Kills, or even in a few small scenes, his inclusion in the third film may not have been so jarring.
As it stands, Halloween Ends is a divisive film in the franchise. Yet the Halloween series has endured and survived so many different incarnations and controversial additions to the overall lore. Rob Zombie's Halloween II received terrible reviews from fans and critics upon release, yet now it is regarded by many as one of the better entries in the series. Same for the controversial Halloween III: Season of the Witch. The franchise will certainly return in some shape or form with Michael Myers center stage. Time will tell what the lasting impact of Halloween Ends will be.