Halloween Ends is a 2022 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green and written by Green, Danny McBride, Paul Brad Logan, and Chris Bernier. It is the sequel to Halloween Kills (2021), the thirteenth installment in the Halloween franchise, and the final film in the trilogy of sequels that commenced with the 2018 film, which directly follows the 1978 film and disregards all other entries. The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Rohan Campbell, Will Patton, Kyle Richards, and James Jude Courtney, and marks Curtis and Nick Castle's final appearances in the series. In the film, Laurie Strode and her granddaughter Allyson Nelson, confront the continued threat of Michael Myers and the ramifications his attacks have wrought on the citizens of Haddonfield, Illinois.
Before the release of Halloween in 2018, McBride confirmed that he and Green had intended to pitch two films that would be shot back-to-back, but decided against it, waiting to see the reaction to the first film. Following the success of the first film, in July 2019, the film's title was announced along with Halloween Kills. After being delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, filming took place in Georgia between January and March 2022.
Halloween Ends premiered at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles on October 11, 2022 and was theatrically released in the United States on October 14, 2022 by Universal Pictures. Like Kills, the film is also streaming simultaneously on paid tiers of Peacock for 60 days. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances, music score, kills, and tone, but criticized the rushed climax and called it a weak end to the trilogy.
Plot[]
On Halloween night in 2019, Corey Cunningham is babysitting a young boy named Jeremy Allen, who pulls a prank on Corey by locking him inside the attic. Just as Jeremy's parents come home, Corey kicks the door open and accidentally knocks Jeremy over a staircase railing to his death. Corey is accused of intentionally killing Jeremy but is cleared of manslaughter.
Three years later, the town of Haddonfield, Illinois is still reeling from the aftermath of Michael Myers's latest killing spree in 2018, while Michael has vanished. Laurie Strode is writing a memoir, having bought a new house and living with Allyson Nelson, her granddaughter, who has now become estranged from Laurie. Meanwhile, Corey is now working at his stepfather's salvage yard. On his way home one day, he is taunted by high school bullies and is injured in the process. An observing Laurie brings him to the doctor's office where Allyson works. Allyson and Corey develop a relationship and later attend a Halloween party, where Corey is confronted by Jeremy's mother. Corey then leaves the party and runs into the high schoolers, who throw Corey off a bridge. Dragged into the sewers by an unknown figure, he wakes up and is confronted by Michael, who has been living there for the past four years. After holding him by the throat, Michael lets Corey go after sensing the same darkness in Corey that Michael saw in himself. On the way out, Corey is confronted by a homeless man with a knife. In a struggle, Corey stabs the man to death and flees.
Corey and Allyson go on a dinner date, but Allyson's ex, police officer Doug Mulaney, shows up and harasses them both. This leads Corey to later lure the cop into the sewer, where he is killed by Michael. Allyson finds out she was passed over for a promotion in favor of a fellow nurse who is having an affair with the doctor. Corey and Michael team up and kill the doctor and the nurse at the doctor’s home. Allyson and Corey plan to leave Haddonfield because of the past trauma, while Laurie becomes increasingly suspicious of Corey after he begins mimicking Michael's behavior. She forbids him to leave with Allyson, but Corey retorts by blaming her for the events that have occurred in Haddonfield and says if he cannot have Allyson, no one will.
On October 31, Corey returns to the sewers and successfully fights Michael for his mask. Meanwhile, Laurie and Allyson argue as she plans to leave and Allyson, too, blames Laurie for Michael's actions. That night, Corey embarks on a rampage, murdering the high schoolers at the salvage yard. In the confusion, Corey's stepfather is also accidentally killed. He then goes on to kill his mother, as well as the DJ and receptionist at the radio station. Back at the Strode house, Laurie faux-attempts suicide to lure Corey to her, whom she shoots down the stairs. Corey then stabs himself in the neck to frame Laurie for his death in front of the arriving Allyson. Michael suddenly arrives to retrieve his mask and kills Corey, and after a struggle, Laurie is able to pin Michael to the table. She removes his mask and slits his throat, but he breaks one arm free and strangles her before Allyson arrives and breaks his arm. Laurie slices his wrist, finally killing him and avenging Karen's death.
With Michael finally dead, Laurie takes his body to the salvage yard, attracting the residents of Haddonfield, who follow her in a procession, and disposes of it in an industrial shredder. In the ensuing days, Allyson and Laurie reconcile, and Allyson leaves Haddonfield while Laurie finishes her memoir and rediscovers her romance with Deputy Hawkins.