446: Halloween Ends

[00:00:00] Let's get to the last film in the trilogy, which is Halloween Ends. It came out in 2022, done by Gordon Green once again. Basically the same cast aside from Rowan Campbell is one of the main leads in the movie, Jesse C. Boyd, Destiny Mooney,

[00:00:20] that's about it. And the synopsis is The saga of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode comes to a spine-chilling climax in the final installment of this trilogy. I saw this one, I think right after I watched Halloween Kills.

[00:00:34] I think I saw Halloween, the 2018 one, and then I didn't see these two until Ends had already come out. And going into it, I knew people were hating on it like crazy. This is the worst one. This is a

[00:00:47] horrible end to the franchise or at least of this saga. It's just like the rise of Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise. So I didn't really know what to expect and I've seen the movie twice now.

[00:01:03] I do find that it's the weakest of the three for sure, not by a lot, but it is the weakest. I don't think it's nearly as bad as people say. It did grow on me on rewatch, not by a whole lot,

[00:01:14] but it did. I really don't think that this movie is a horrible end to the franchise. Maybe I'm in the minority there. I think I probably am considering the reviews, but the thing that got me the most, which is in some ways interesting on rewatch,

[00:01:29] but it also is still the flaw, main flaw of the movie. The main kid in this movie, the main character who accidentally killed this young boy when he was babysitting one night and he forever got this stigma as a psycho and a baby killer and all

[00:01:45] these things. He's the main storyline of this movie. And while I do find the ideas interesting of him, well, I guess actually before I get into that, the overall message I got from the movie

[00:02:01] with him and with Lori is people, you can almost relate it to something like cancel culture where someone will do one thing, whether it's something they actually did or someone thinks that they

[00:02:11] thought they did whatever it might be. And then they forever have that event attached to their public life forever. And especially with social media and the internet, that's something that you see celebrity after celebrity after celebrity or anyone really, that is something that is

[00:02:30] forever on their record and it will always be associated with them. Like even talking about something like the Will Smith Oscar slap, that's going to be something that's forever going to be attached to Will Smith, even though it's such a minor stupid thing.

[00:02:44] And so I do like the idea in this of this boy who, yes, he did kill the kid. Because even though the kid was doing something reckless and stupid, the teenager still did something that caused the

[00:03:00] boy to die. So he is yes at fault in that way. But the fact that he got let off of that crime, and then was still living in this small town where everyone knows everybody and he is now

[00:03:12] this social pariah outcast because of what he did, no matter whose fault it was or what happened. It was just you killed this kid. You're at fault. You're nuts. We're not going to hire you. We're

[00:03:23] not going to be a friend. Don't try and be happy ever again, that sort of thing. And so I think that does in some ways speak to cancel culture where one event, one thing, no matter if it's your fault

[00:03:34] or not, if you're associated with it, and especially when in a small group in a small town or in the world of social media and the internet, where people can look that up, and they

[00:03:45] will immediately know that about you. And so in this he deals with constant backlash and verbal and physical abuse from anyone and everyone. Even when he's trying to go have fun on Halloween or

[00:03:58] go to a club, he sees someone that he knows, or someone who's associated with the crime, and they make him feel bad for trying to have fun. And so all that constant shaming and public

[00:04:09] shaming and the tarnishing of the reputation, no matter what he does, sort of leads him to become that character actually. Like he wants to become the next Boogeyman in a way by the end of

[00:04:21] the movie. He wants to become the next Michael Myers, but of course that doesn't happen. So that overarching story, that works for me. I didn't think about it as much on first watch, but I think that

[00:04:32] does speak true to a lot of current situations, for better or for worse. So I like that character in that sense. And then Laurie Strode also when it comes to abuse and the Me Too movement,

[00:04:48] no matter what situation it is, no matter who dies, who gets hurt, they blame Laurie. Like, all right, well, if you hadn't done this, my child, my sister, my brother would still be alive. They

[00:05:00] wouldn't be injured. They wouldn't be permanently disabled. And even though obviously she was just an innocent teenager who dealt with all of this, she's the one being put on the pedestal in the spotlight, not Michael Myers. So I think that's pretty interesting in terms of people, horribly so,

[00:05:19] blaming the victims of abuse, of assaulting. Well, if you hadn't dressed this way, if you hadn't done that, if you hadn't gotten this job, if you hadn't been in this situation where you're alone

[00:05:29] with this person or whatever it might be, none of this would have happened. It's your fault. Like, I think that's a really timely idea as much as I hate to use that word. I think that is a very

[00:05:40] powerful idea to have in this day and age, especially for a younger audience. So that part of the movie I really enjoy. It's nothing incredibly deep or complex, but way more interesting and much more commentary than you would expect for a movie like this. However,

[00:05:57] going back to what I was saying before I detoured, while I like the storyline with the boy, or I guess he's not a teenager, he's in his early 20s, sorry, but the movie is called Halloween Ends

[00:06:10] and that character is the main focus of the movie for the most part. Like Michael Myers is barely even in it, at least not really until the end. So if you're doing the last movie in a saga

[00:06:24] and it's called Halloween Ends, I don't think the main focus should be on someone we've never met until this movie. I like the final conclusion with Laurie's character where Michael does die,

[00:06:35] he gets crushed in the compactor or whatever, the grinder, and then she ends up befriending or I guess maybe romantically being involved with that police officer. I really like that storyline. So

[00:06:46] I think her final moments at the end of the movie are good. I think that's a good conclusion to the character because she finally has some peace, her reputation is restored for the most part.

[00:06:57] But with Michael Myers, the death is good and that final part where the two of them are fighting in the kitchen, that's really, really well done and she basically pins him to the table with knives,

[00:07:09] that's very effective. But the satisfaction of Michael Myers' story at the end of that is not totally there. So I think in that way the movie does fail. I still like it a decent bit, it's entertaining. That commentary as I was just saying is interesting, good performances,

[00:07:28] good kills. Michael Myers, old Michael Myers, this is where he's really starting to decline and that mask, again I love that mask, the old man Michael Myers, that is a great iconic image from

[00:07:41] this movie. I like the sewer habitat he's in where he's residing under the town and he's there but he's not really there so that's why Laurie is still scared in some ways. And then the memoir

[00:07:55] I guess that she's writing, Laurie, I really like that angle. And the final part of the movie where before the Laurie-Michael showdown where Corey, the disgraced kid, tries to impersonate Michael

[00:08:12] with a mask and he tries to kill Laurie but she ends up killing him. There's a good twist there where he knows how bad her reputation is, she's getting blamed for everything no matter what happens. Even her granddaughter thinks she's nuts. Everyone's turning on her saying you're

[00:08:27] to blame, it's your fault, like why the hell did you do it? And then he's like well I'm about to die or you're about to kill me and if I can't accomplish my goals well at least I can make

[00:08:40] your life a little bit worse. And he stabs himself right before the granddaughter comes in and so she's holding the bloody knife as her granddaughter walks in and then she's like well you killed

[00:08:49] another person, you killed a guy I like, like screw you. And so I think all those little moments where her reputation is more and more tarnished is very effective and you can see that happening in

[00:09:01] reality. Where someone does one thing or they're in a certain situation, whether they're the victim or not, and they're consistently put on more and more blame because they're either the easy target

[00:09:16] or that's just what people want to believe, whatever it might be. So all that really works for me and really as I talk about all these movies I like them even more. But the big issue that brings

[00:09:27] the movie down is not enough Michael, not enough I guess Michael-Laurie interactions in one way or the other. The showdown is good however the middle chunk of that movie is dealt with this guy who we

[00:09:41] don't know about. Yeah we care about him to I guess a certain extent at first where we know he didn't do something intentional and he's just being screwed over by the public but this should have been a

[00:09:53] movie about that central relationship I think. And it is disappointing because I don't know the real logic of David Gorengreen and the other writers where they're like all right this is the last

[00:10:06] movie in a saga we have to bring this to a good satisfying epic close. And they do in some ways but I don't understand the point of injecting that character to be in the last movie. Maybe if he had

[00:10:20] been in an earlier film that would have been a little bit better but I don't find the emotional part of that movie to be as satisfying as it needs to be, as it should. So that is very frustrating

[00:10:33] but nevertheless not as bad as people say. It's still interesting, it's compelling. So while it would be in the middle or so of the franchise ranking wise it is the worst of the

[00:10:44] three and being that we're not going to get I mean I'm sure we'll probably get some other movie. I know we're getting a TV show for Halloween but this is Jimmy Lee Curtis's last movie as so we've heard

[00:10:58] it is disappointing in that way. So I do understand those frustrations those criticisms but I still like it. So that is a heavy three and a half out of five. Oh and quickly some people hate

[00:11:12] the posters for these movies. I love the posters. I think the designs are awesome, the bold fonts, the fire. Like I think the designs, the artwork, and the overall production and design value of

[00:11:23] this trilogy is awesome both in the movies themselves and the marketing. I love all of it. Maybe that's a hot take, I don't know but I love the designs of the posters.