The Halloween franchise comes to an end (sure) with this instalment, acting as the third film in a sequel trilogy to the original beast Halloween (1978). Returning is director David Gordon Green finishing off is trilogy with perhaps the boldest horror sequel of the last 20 years and with unexpectedly brilliant results.

Halloween (2018) set the ground work for what this trilogy would be, a remake sequel which struck the perfect balance of new and old and it’s strong foundation left many, including myself, thinking they knew where this all was going.

Halloween Kills (2021) was a side step, acting as something of a bridge film in retrospect and a film I vehemently disliked when I first saw it, it’s story however has grown on me in the last year as films in which peaceful townspeople become violent angry mobs is one of my favourite sub genres of American cinema (see: The Chase, 1965).

Halloween Ends is a different beast entirely, starting with a deliciously wicked prologue and then taking its time over the next 30 minutes to show us what Haddonfield has become, a place suffering to deal with its violent past. Corey Cunningham, the town outcast is even bullied by the local school marching band, if this is what the marching band is like I dread to think what the American football players do for kicks. Allyson now lives Laurie in a new more open house as Laurie attempts to live something of a normal life though the constant reminders of her past weigh heavy on her as they do with Corey and Allyson too.

Laurie introduces Corey and Allyson and the two become infatuated with one another, it all has a very strange energy, like they are b-roll in an 80s music video but for me it really worked, their doomed romance is once of the things that reminded me of another oft hated threequel Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Its broad strokes paint an interesting picture, these two people, one seen as a victim, the other as violent are both seen as freaks in this town clogged liked leaves in the gutter choking on its own pain.

Michael Myers is not featured very much in this film, especially in the first hour but he does have some action scenes which test the horizon of what is possible with the character. He’s an old man now and he lumbers around slowly, probably also severely injured from the events of the previous film. In the credits he is often referred to as “The Shape” rather than as Michael Myers. This plays into the film’s thesis of the inescapable nature of evil and how if one steps away more than likely another will eagerly take that place, Laurie theorises on this while writing her memoirs, seemingly stuck on the last words to leave us with.

This could be reflective of the film makers thoughts on how to end this series, it has been reported that this is the last Halloween film but I highly doubt that, perhaps the last with Jamie Lee Curtis who is wonderful in this film and has been fantastic in each instalment she has appeared in (canon to these films or not). If another Halloween film is made, the potential to step away from the story of Laurie Strode could open it up to new horizons, the film also gives a satisfactory ending to the character which hasn’t been so deftly handed by a franchise film since Logan (Hello and thank you Deadpool 3).

The kills are just as gruesome or perhaps even more so than the last film, never lacking for invention or execution, the departments in charge of these executions deserve heaps of congratulations for their work. One involving a blow torch and another involving a record player were particularly gnarly and had my cinema partners shaking in their chairs.

David Gordon Green finishes his trilogy and one may ask where he goes from here, he was an unexpected choice to direct these films and there will be disagreement over whether they were a success (I absolutely think they were) one wonders if we will see him return to indie cinema or continue to stay in the Blum House where I am sure he is most welcome.

The legacy of John Carpenter’s Halloween will probably outlast us all, a perfect film, a beast of immeasurable calculation and artistry which is in my mind the best horror film ever made, and much like George Lucas’s original Star Wars film it can never be topped by a sequel.

These new films are a fantastic supplement to the original and like the other sequels they can be taken or left and if taken maybe also taken with a grain of salt. I think however that they have been more than worthy entertainment and topped off here with what may be the best and boldest Halloween film since the original.