I was 21 when I saw the first “Halloween” movie in 1978. Who would have thought that it would take 44 years to end this franchise with the very satisfying “Halloween Ends”? There is an increased psychological element in this series conclusion but enough bloody gore and action to sate viewers’ expectations.

The film begins with an introductory story set on Halloween night in 2019. A young man, Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), is going to baby-sit Jeremy Allen (Jaxon Goldberg) whose parents are going to a costume party. It is soon apparent that Jeremy is a brat of the first order. He disappears and Corey is forced to search the house which has several flights of stairs.

On the top story, Corey is locked by Jeremy into what appears to be an attic. When Corey breaks the door open, he propels Jeremy, who is standing right by the door, over the stair rail to his death below. His parents arrive just in time to see the horrific event. Corey is placed in a police car.
The picture shifts to the current day, conveniently bypassing the COVID era, where Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) has abandoned her furtive ways and decided to embrace life in a house inside Haddonfield. She is writing a memoir to deal with her past trauma with Michael Myers.

Her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) is living with her. She is unlucky in love. Her job as a nurse at the local medical clinic is unsatisfying as she has a snarky co-worker who is using her physical assets to secure a promotion with the randy doctor in charge.

Laurie meets Frank Hawkins (Will Patton) in the grocery store. Of course their relationship goes back to the original movie. They talk about where they are at now in their lives in a sweet, flirtatious scene.

Outside the grocery store, Laurie is confronted by a local citizen whose relative was harmed by Michael Myers. This woman implies that Laurie is responsible for the Michael Myers phenomenon, which unsettles Laurie.

Corey is riding his bicycle to work at an auto repair/junk yard where he is employed. His dad offers him a used motorcycle. After he was acquitted of murder in Jeremy’s death, Corey is the town outcast and lives at home with his parents.

Laurie runs into Corey as he is being tormented by four high school seniors. She and Corey slash the tires of their vehicle. Laurie takes Corey, who has a hand injury, to the medical clinic as she attempts to be the matchmaker between Corey and Allyson.

Soon Corey and Allyson are an item. Things are going well until Corey runs into the high school seniors on a bridge and is thrown over. Somehow he survives and goes into a culvert where he is attacked by Michael Myers. Michael sees Corey’s life in flashback and decides to let Corey live. They become a team in seeking revenge on the town that has scorned them.

Laurie starts to sense the evil now present in Corey. As she now tries to break up Allyson and Corey, Allyson becomes rebellious to Laurie’s interference. Meanwhile, Michael and Corey start their killing spree.

After the initial bloody beginning, the film takes a while to get to more action reminiscent of the past pictures in this franchise. I was intrigued by the time spent to develop the current characters of Laurie Strode, her granddaughter Allyson, and Corey. This kind of character development is often not present in horror films. But it is entirely warranted in this case, as we have come to know this town and these people.

The fact that Laurie is dealing with her trauma in a different way than in 2018’s “Halloween” brings up the whole issue of post-traumatic stress disorder and its effects on survivors. The movie deals thoughtfully with Laurie’s progression into a fully-functioning person.

Another psychological issue which is brought up is the question of evil in a person. Is being evil a choice or is it an inherent condition of some people? It becomes a plot point in whether or not Corey can be rescued from a life of murder. Will Allyson be able to redeem him?

Finally, there is the issue of mass trauma. The entire town of Haddonfield seems forever haunted by the murders of Michael Myers both in 1978 and in the pictures “Halloween” (2018) and “Halloween Kills” (2021). Frankly, one has to wonder why anyone would live here considering the carnage and the omnipresence of Michael Myers. I give the film kudos for providing a solution to the town’s trauma in a very creative way.

The movie does a nice job of creating incidental characters who, in true horror movie fashion, are despicable and whose deaths are not mourned. Many of the murders could be classified as revenge killings for slights committed on Corey or Allyson. But the gore and creative death scenes are first-rate as one would expect.

In these last three pictures, Jamie Lee Curtis has created a complex character who is more than the victim of the earlier films. In particular, her portrayal of Laurie in this last installment (or is it?) is the piece de resistance of her acting abilities. Her portrayal is utterly believable and moving.

I liked the special effect of the flashback that occurred when Michael held Corey. The same occurs later in the film when Michael touches Laurie. To see what has happened to Laurie from the beginning of the movie franchise is a wonderful homage to the franchise’s history.

The soundtrack also is a highlight. Of course there is the original score by John Carpenter but this is supplemented by a variety of songs. The credits roll over Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper.”

There is one scene which involves strobe lights at a party. I feel obligated to mention this as we did not receive a warning at my screening of this effect which negatively impacts some people.

This is a worthy and satisfying conclusion to the “Halloween” franchise. It will intrigue you and scare you both.

Four and a half out of five stars

This is Laurie Strode’s last stand.

After 45 years, the most acclaimed, revered horror franchise in film history reaches its epic, terrifying conclusion as Laurie Strode faces off for the last time against the embodiment of evil, Michael Myers, in a final confrontation unlike any captured on-screen before. Only one of them will survive.

Icon Jamie Lee Curtis returns for the last time as Laurie Strode, horror’s first “final girl” and the role that launched Curtis’ career. Curtis has portrayed Laurie for more than four decades now, one of the longest actor-character pairings in cinema history. When the franchise relaunched in 2018, Halloween shattered box office records, becoming the franchise’s highest-grossing chapter set a new record for the biggest opening weekend for a horror film starring a woman.

Four years after the events of last year’s Halloween Kills, Laurie is living with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) and is finishing writing her memoir. Michael Myers hasn’t been seen since. Laurie, after allowing the specter of Michael to determine anddrive her reality for decades, has decided to liberate herself from fear and rage and embrace life. But when a young man, Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell; The Hardy Boys, Virgin River), is accused of killing a boy he was babysitting, it ignites a cascade of violence andterror that will force Laurie to finally confront the evil she can’t control, once and for all.

Halloween Ends co-stars returning cast Will Patton as Officer Frank Hawkins, Kyle Richards as Lindsey Wallace and James Jude Courtney as The Shape.

Genre: Horror
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Will Patton, Rohan Campbell, Kyle Richards
Directed by: David Gordon Green
Written By: Paul Brad Logan, Chris Bernier, Danny McBride, David Gordon Green, based on characters created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill