Film Review: HALLOWEEN ENDS (2022): Jamie Lee Curtis’s Last Turn as Laurie Strode Makes for a Solid Finale

Halloween Ends Review

Halloween Ends (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by David Gordon Green, written by Paul Brad Logan, Chris Bernier, Danny McBride and David Gordon Green and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Rohan Campbell, Will Patton, Kyle Richards, Stephanie McIntyre, Nick Castle, James Jude Courtney, Michele Dawson, Candice Rose, Emily Brinks, Marteen, Joey Harris, Keraun Harris, Dillon Belisle, Destiny Mone, Michael O’Leary and Dawn Lasusky.

Haddonfield, Illinois will never be the same after the events of director David Gordon Green’s mostly satisfying conclusion to the Halloween series, Halloween Ends. This new movie is not all about Michael Myers although he is certainly in it. Surprisingly, the movie examines some characters who have all suffered in one way, shape or form. How these characters cope with the tragedy of their lives makes the movie all the more interesting to watch.

Jamie Lee Curtis is back again as Laurie Strode and the character is an integral part of the movie, but the sequel also develops the feelings between Laurie’s granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak) and a character named Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell). The movie opens in 2019 with a tragic series of events that take the movie into new territory than the last film in the series, Halloween Kills, did. This latest installment is much bleaker from a thematic standpoint than the previous film which was released last year. Sure, both films feature brutal killings but, this time out, the character of Corey has gone through a situation which is displayed at the film’s beginning and has led to a young kid’s death. This, in turn, makes Corey emotionally damaged and he forms a relationship with Allyson which is fairly depressing, yet at the same time, very unique for this type of movie.

You have to give this film credit for doing something different by revealing the tragedy that Allyson has gone through having lost her mother and juxtaposing it to what Corey is going through. Corey is a loose cannon who jumps off a building at a key point in the movie proving his carelessness and inability to feel the things that someone who has not endured horrific tragedy can feel. Allyson is expertly played by Matichak who certainly commands the screen whenever she’s in a scene. She has fearlessness in her work and makes us invested in her character.

There is a radio station DJ in the film named Willy the Kid (Keraun Harris) who runs into the damaged would-be lovers, Corey and Allyson at one point and tells them to get lost. Harris has a nice little part in this movie which definitely is portrayed as bait for a certain vicious murderer (I won’t tell you if it’s Michael Myers or another surprise killer who may appear in the movie).

Will Patton is back as Officer Hawkins who still has a bond with Laurie and Patton is, as always, in top form. Patton adds goodness and embodies the potential for Laurie to move forward with her life after all that has happened. Meanwhile, Curtis struggles in some of her scenes in terms of capturing the essence of Laurie although as the film progresses to its big climax, Curtis does not disappoint as she picks up the slack some of the earlier scenes in the movie leave behind. Laurie is writing in the film as a way to cope with her tragic past and the character is sort of cliched in many ways earlier in the picture until the battle between Laurie and her monsters (both internal and external) takes flight in the last scenes of the movie.

Was Halloween Ends a great way to end the series? No, but the film takes great risks in portraying the potential love of two characters who are over the edge (Corey and Allyson) and need to flee their respective homes in order to live a better life. They can’t quite do this because of the events that happen in the movie which I will leave you to see for yourself.

Without giving away major spoilers, there’s much to admire in Halloween Ends. When a key character is killed, the murderer adds a personal touch by cutting off his victim’s tongue. This is a clever way to personalize one of the attacks in the movie. Of course, the movie offers no really believable solutions to finally ridding the world of Michael Myers. Let’s face it–he was burned to a crisp in 2018’s Halloween. At least the movie tries, though.

John Carpenter introduced Michael Myers to the world in 1978 and his battle with Laurie has always been an interesting one. The demons Laurie faces in her life by being pursued constantly by Michael make her a character who is relatable. Laurie has been beaten down and has constantly gotten up again in an effort to keep going when another person would have simply given up on life. Campbell is also excellent at portraying the loss of hope that Laurie could have had if she wasn’t as strong as she is in the picture. It’s hard to know how to feel about Corey at certain points in the movie until towards the end, we’re absolutely sure he gets the fate he deserves.

While Halloween Ends struggles at times to find a truly great way to end the series, it does have plenty of scenes that will satisfy fans of the franchise. Jamie Lee Curtis has said she is done playing Laurie. If that’s true, she will be missed. Her battle with Michael Myers is one of the great cinematic conflicts in horror movie history. Director David Gordon Green has tied up a lot of loose ends here but I’m not quite ready to let go of Laurie’s character quite yet. However, if Curtis has retired, she has acquitted herself admirably with her work in Halloween Ends.

Rating: 7/10

Leave your thoughts on this Halloween Ends review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Flipboard.