What?
11 films in, with one exception, the focus has been upon ‘The Shape’ Michael Myers (Halloween III being an underrated divergence from the slasher formula). Imagine the surprise of moviegoers sold on ‘Michael vs. Laurie: the Final Battle!’, to instead be treated to the tale of Corey, aspiring Michael Myers fanboy. After an unintentionally hilarious opening sequence setting up Corey’s backstory, we return to the present to spend some time getting to know Corey better. Corey is sullen, moody and utterly unlikable, and far too much of the film’s focus is upon him and what feelings he brings up in Laurie Strode. Jamie Lee Curtis is as good and committed as ever to this character, however the script is not always kind to her in terms of intelligence. To be fair, the script demonstrates very little as a whole. Michael does eventually show up well into the movie's runtime lurking around, seemingly bored. Corey inspires Michael to action and it's off to the rushed final battle, which while admittedly tense, is also brief and unsatisfying. The latter certainly applies to this whole 2018 ‘Laurie Strode’ trilogy and its hodgepodge of bad ideas. Most of the kills in this one are recycled, although there are one or two more creative moments. This film uses a ‘closing’ montage to indicate this is the end of the series, for which one should breathe a sigh of relief. Slightly better than ‘Kills’ far worse than the 2018 film, let us sincerely hope this is the last trip to Haddonfield.
Halloween Ends (2022)