'Halloween Ends' Examines Nature Vs. Nurture In The Most Brutal Way Possible [Review]
One thing we know about trilogies in horror, is that “all bets are off.” And Halloween Ends is no exception, with a departure from the previous two films, and an opening scene that was certainly not what I was expecting. We kick off the beginning of the end with Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell) stepping in at the last minute to babysit for a bratty, little boy in a large house, with a dizzying staircase that twists upward for at least three floors.
We don’t know a lot about Corey, but do quickly pick up that the 21-year-old seems fairly responsible, choosing chocolate milk over a beer while he’s babysitting. He also must have been pretty good in school, as Mrs. Allen (Candice Rose) asks him about college, and he says he’s looking at engineering programs. Unfortunately, Jeremy (Jaxon Goldenberg) isn’t as fond of his chaperone as his parents are, telling him, “I don’t really feel like pretending to be friends with an ugly-ass boy babysitter.”
It only gets worse for Corey as the night goes on, leading to an unforgettable opening sequence. You can see the parallels between this Halloween and Laurie Strode’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) babysitting gig in the original film. However, it also makes you wonder, why are we spending so much time on this new guy?
Director David Gordon Green uses this new character to demonstrate the way trauma can change people over time, and how everyone reacts to it differently. Laurie closed herself off from everyone, thinking only of ways to protect herself from the Boogeyman. Allyson (Andi Matichak) shrinks because of her trauma, working for a louse of a boss who gives her rightful promotion to the colleague he’s sleeping with. She keeps her anger buried deep inside, but, as is often the case with unprocessed trauma, it boils over and spills out into fits, like punching the toaster, or dating the town “bad boy" everyone thinks is a psycho.
Halloween Ends also felt like a study of nature versus nurture. Through a series of unfortunate events, we see studious, reliable Corey harden until his eyes turn cold. He becomes obsessed with revenge and violence, while also dating Allyson, who has honestly been through enough. Corey is shunned by most of the residents of Haddonfield, not unlike Laurie had been, while others choose the more aggressive path, attacking him for a laugh with friends. If the parallels between Laurie and Corey weren't evident enough already, when bullies descend on the town pariah and Laurie steps in to help, they shout at them, "...a psycho meets a freak show. This is a match made in heaven."
There’s also, surprisingly, a romantic component to Halloween Ends, with Strode women from different generations putting their hearts on the line. Part of me found this really adorable, while the other, goth-er part wondered why we were spending time with romance when there’s a decades-long feud to finish. Allyson’s relationship works seemingly just to pit her against her grandmother, Laurie, and to show that through the years of terror, Laurie has learned how to spot evil in another person.
There are missteps here and there, and it felt like some of the more cutesy moments could have been edited out, but overall the end felt satisfying to me. It takes a little bit to get there, but once the kills do start coming in Halloween Ends, they’re as brutal as anything we’ve seen in the previous films, and come to expect in a Halloween movie. There is also a bit of fan service here, which, I personally am fine with. It’s a big conclusion, JLC has been playing this role for decades. You can’t help but want to tie everything up with a nice bow.
Halloween Ends stays true to itself with the underlying theme of badass women, and enduring friendships keeping you sane. It was nice seeing Lindsey (Kyle Richards) return for Halloween Kills, but even better seeing the kinship that has formed between her, Laurie, and Allyson. We also see the return of Sondra (Diva Tyler), who I thought had died in Halloween Kills.
However, this is a Halloween movie, so even triumphs come in the form of brutality and violence. Watching this in a theater felt like going to a retirement party for Laurie Strode. (I would say for the Halloween series, but I feel like we all know that retirement won’t last very long.)
David Gordon Green’s Halloween Ends debuts in theaters and on Peacock on October 14.
