After David Gordon Green not only achieved breakthrough success at the box office with “Halloween”, a direct sequel to John Carpenter’s horror masterpiece “Halloween – The Night of Horrors” ($ 255 million at the box office on a budget of $ 10 million US dollars ) , but also a respectfully atmospheric sequel in its own right, the follow-up “Halloween Kills” should be much less enthusiastic overall. Not only did Corona prevent the new mega hit (it was still very successful), the film itself was a rather half-baked patchwork, apart from its drastically increased brutality.
With “Halloween Ends” David Gordon Green then ventured to offend the fans of the slasher series. The result? Not only were the two predecessors significantly more successful at the box office, the reviews and audience response in this case were almost exclusively scathing. Still, “Halloween Ends” is such a brave, disarmingly absurd trilogy conclusion that you shouldn’t underestimate its cleverness.
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That’s what “Halloween Ends” is about
Four years after the events of Halloween Kills, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) are still living together in Haddonfield following the death of mother Karen (Judy Greer). Michael Myers was not seen again during this time, but his memory lives on in the town and residents.
When Allyson meets Corey (Rohan Campbell), the life of the small Strode family is turned upside down. Finally, Corey is accused of killing a child he was supposed to babysit years ago. What was just an accident becomes a ruthless murder in the minds of the people of Haddonfield that Corey incriminates. This in turn triggers old memories and as several murders overtake the small town, the fear of Michael Myers is more present than ever…
That’s why “Halloween Ends” is really good
While the variation of motifs from those sequels of the “Halloween” series, which were eventually removed from the canon, in “Halloween Kills” led to a rather flat social critique, with “Halloween Ends” David Gordon Green takes of all things the “Halloween” shares the role model least related to the entire franchise: “Halloween III.” As is well known, Michael Myers does not appear at all in Tommy Lee Wallace’s consistently underrated goth play.
In “Halloween Ends”, the butcher with the kitchen knife is more of a fringe phenomenon, instead the focus is on Corey, showing David Gordon Green how quickly violence can return to mainstream society – and that fear can be transmitted from generation to generation. passed. The myth of evil in “Halloween Ends” no longer comes from the black man alone, but is fanned out, mirrored and therefore even more ubiquitous than it already is.
“Halloween Ends” manages to bring a breath of fresh air to a series that now consists of 13 (!) Parts. Ultimately because David Gordon Green knowingly accepted to offend. This is also evident from the fact that he has thought ahead to Michael Myers, because here he is no longer just the monster, whose only character trait is an almost sleepwalking lust for murder, but shows an age-related vulnerability most reminiscent of Rob Zombie’s “Halloween” works. It also almost becomes an afterthought that this is also where Michael and Laurie meet.
And what about the brutality? Well, “Halloween Ends” – like “Halloween Kills” before it – has been given an FSK-18 rating. And that is absolutely right. While the finale of Green’s trilogy isn’t quite as sadistic as Kills, Ends certainly doesn’t shy away from some pretty gory (and sometimes grotesque) violence. Just think of the radio DJ’s tongue, which is only allowed to do its rounds on a record.