"Come and get me mother f**ker!" - Laurie

After David Gordon Green's massively divisive, and in my opinion mostly mediocre and often cringe (other than the extremely satisfying kills within the film) Halloween Kills... I didn't hold out much hope for the final installment 'Halloween Ends'. That is until the trailer finally dropped... I almost immediately thought at least Ends looked better based on just the quality of the trailer alone. Do not get it twisted though, I still intelligently and carefully went into my viewing of 'Halloween Ends' with lowered expectations tonight. And honestly, that made my experience with the "final" chapter all the more better for it in the end.

So begs the question... will 'Halloween Ends' be just as divisive as Kills for fans in the end? Most definitely, but I am here to tell you that I am personally pleasantly surprised with the result. Despite the film's somewhat messy nature, handful of plot holes, and a few instances of cringey dialogue and spotty performances. 'Halloween Ends' managed to both genuinely surprise and mostly satisfy me in the end. The kills take a bit of a back seat compared to the last outing, but are still quite gruesome and effective when on screen. This sacrifice is met with much better direction, pacing, and focus on characters both new and old in my opinion. The film's opener is fantastic and immediately sets the tone of what's to come (loved seeing John Carpenter's The Thing featured in the opening scene). And good or bad, that classic Carpenter score never gets old in these films. Always puts me in the mood for Halloween and the Boogey Man!

Obviously not going to delve too much into the plot here, but 'Halloween Ends' is most certainly it's own beast with echoes of franchise past (specifically 2 previous films) and other classic horrors alike. The mid movie twist and ending will surprise you guaranteed (whether you like it or not...). Truly makes for some intriguing scenes, kills, and situations throughout. I just wish some of the plot holes I mentioned earlier were non-existent. That is the main flaw that holds this one back for me, despite seemingly enjoying it more than most so far. My favorite aspects of the film is the introduction of a new character named Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell) and his character arc/chemistry with Allyson Nelson, a few brilliant kills I won't spoil, and believe it or not... the ending. Also the pre-mentioned Rohan Campbell and miss Andi Matichak gave my personal favorite performances within the film. Jamie Lee Curtis and James Jude Courtney as Michael Myers were still of course absolutely great too though (especially during the final act).

In the end, I'm just glad this installment somehow worked for me. Going in not expecting too much, and all the bold and ambitiously creative choices made here really elevated tf out of this one for me. Honestly might be my favorite of the last three films to be honest?... bold of me I know (much like many of the decisions in the film) and surely a lot of you won't agree with me, but that's also 100% OK with me . Just remember it's all subjective, we are all here for the same reason, and "Evil doesn't die it just changes shape..."

So here's to 44 legendary years of Jamie Lee Curtis's run as Laurie Strode inside one of the most iconic, influential, divisive, and entertaining slasher horror franchises in cinematic history! Thank you. 🎃🔪

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