Well, this final installment has become quite the hot topic among horror fans alike. Some love it for its originality, while others hate it for messing with a predetermined format that suited the other installments fine. This film explores Laurie Strode (Jamie-Lee Curtis) four years later, having survived yet another attack from Michael Myers. She is attempting to move on, but not move away. After witnessing the turmoil and suicide that Michael drove the town of Haddonfield to, she decided to stick around. Allyson (Andi Matichak), Laurie's granddaughter, lives with Laurie. While working as a nurse, striving for a promotion, she is introduced to Corey (Rohan Campbell). No stranger to tragedy and the torch-wielding townsfolk, he becomes protective of Allyson. During a scuffle with local kids, Corey comes into contact with a weak, and defeated, Michael Myers. It's clear he has been recovering from a town bashing from years prior. In an entrancing moment, it becomes obvious that Michael's evil spirit, is passed on to Corey. A large chunk of the movie digs into the psyche of Corey. The blame his neighbours have for an incident where a child was accidentally killed while playing a prank on Corey. As the movie rolls on, evil takes hold of this young man. He goes on a vengeance kick, killing those who've wronged him, along with an accomplice, the original Boogeyman. Why the controversy? While not the usual structure of a Halloween movie, I found this intriguing. I would have loved to have seen more of Laurie Strode but this was a new direction that I admired the writers and director for taking. And ultimately, we still got an epic showdown that was promised, between Laurie and Michael. Clearly, living a life of normality - not shutting herself off living in isolation - didn't mean she lost her skills of self-preservation. So, that's the movie, in a nutshell. Let's dig a little deeper. But wait, there's more! The reason a few moviegoers didn't care for this movie was undoubtedly the fact that we focus on Corey's fall to the dark side, and not as much on the final girl herself. Why is that? The actor did a remarkable job. We got to explore Laurie's current living situation, mourning the death of her daughter, caring for her granddaughter, writing a memoir, and trying to rekindle a romance with a certain law enforcement professional. We even get to see Laurie witness the turning of Corey from a sweet young man who is blamed for an accident, into a limitless psychopath hellbent on revenge. Boy, that was gory! Let's look at the kills. Regardless of your opinion on where the movie took us, you cannot disagree that those kills were brutal. From burning, tongue-chopping, head-stomping, to neck-snapping. We got it all, including Michael's very own demise which was... crunchy. But why Allyson? We might question Allyson's sanity at ignoring the red flags, right? How could she not see Corey's blatant psychotic growth? His violent outbursts. His shift from nice guy to dark and deadly predator. Let's remember, Allyson has suffered unthinkable trauma. Her father butchered. And the same night, her mother, savagely killed. Both by the same demon who stole decades of her grandma's live, after trying to kill her too. That's a lot to process for someone so young. Not to mention, she was known in town. The relative of a nut job, or "freakshow" as others call it. Years later and the stigma hasn't gone. She is done with this town, even if it means leaving Laurie. She just happens to fall for the exact wrong guy. However, when it counted, it took her a moment, but she did see the light and rescue her grandma. The OG warrior. While she frustrated the heck outta me at many points in the movie, when you consider the psychological elements, it all adds up. And she got to have a redeeming moment and show true strength. The suicide fakeout Wait, what? Laurie, no. You've made it this far. Don't give up. Don't go down without even trying. This is the reason we love you. You're a fighter. You don't give up. You have Allyson, and your story needs to be told. She lines the gun up to her head and bam. Brain splatters on the wall. No! This is how she goes out? This can't be? And then Michael 2.0 (Corey) opens the door further and there she is, gun held out, guts of a pumpkin splattered on the floor, not brain. She psyched him out. Again. This was one of my fave moments. The Smackdown Well folks, this is what we waited for. The final battle between predator and prey. Halloween 1978, Laurie was the victim who survived Michael through tenacity. Halloween 2018, she becomes a prepper, ready and waiting, until he escapes a mental asylum, and she manages to trap him. Halloween Kills, he escapes said trap, almost dying at the hands of pissed off townspeople before he miraculously escapes. And now, Halloween Ends, he is weakened, having not killed for a while, which we found out in Halloween Kills, is how he becomes unkillable. Laurie finally stands a chance to take this killer out and get payback for all those innocent lives he's taken, including her own daughter. I don't know about you guys, but I was coursing with electricity when Laurie noticed the house door was open. She'd taken out Myers 2.0, now it was time for the real thing. Clever. Ruthless. Never far away from a plan. She was still ready. On some level, she knew he'd come back. Through a visceral fight scene, with blows and stabs and slices, she manages to pin him down, literally. Only, when we think she has triumphed, he grabs her throat. This is it. We are fooled into believing he is finally going to kill his prey. The flashbacks of her life. The music. And then, Allyson to the rescue, breaking his arm. That was it. His final chance. Now, Laurie was going to slice into him, spilling blood. But that's not enough, oh no. The police and detectives break the rules. They tie this monster to the car and ride him to the scrapyard, where Laurie rolls him into a grinder. And there's no way he is coming back from that. Closure, finally, after all these decades living in fear. Happy Ending? Well, it certainly seems that way. Allyson is finally getting out of Haddonfield. Laurie is taking a vacation with Frank (Will Patton). Michael has been crushed to death. Corey is also not waking up, with bullet wounds and a snapped neck, by Michael himself. But, as Laurie herself says, evil never dies, it simply changes form. What do we think? More Halloween movies on the horizon? While I loved David Gordon Green's franchise, I do hope they'll come back in a few years and bring a fresh concept to the legacy that is Halloween. A huge thanks to Blumhouse Productions, and all the other producers, including the man himself, John Carpenter. |