Ding-dong!
Michael's gone -- but is he, really?
Spoilers ahead!
While Laurie gives a brief overview of what happened to her, Allyson, and the rest of
Haddonfield after the events of "Halloween Kills," there are still some things left hanging.
Sure, Laurie talks about her and Allyson now living together and having a bit of a dysfunctional
relationship, as well as Haddonfield becoming consumed by the grief and anger from Michael's
killing spree and sudden disappearance.
But the new film sort of just glosses over some pretty big lingering emotions and story
threads from the previous movie.
For instance, what were the consequences of the town causing one of the escaped mental
patients to fall out of the hospital to his death?
Also, throughout both previous films, both Laurie and Allyson were ready to have Michael's
head on a silver platter and now they just suddenly decide to stop after he disappears?
Even the absolute massacre that Michael enacts at the end of "Halloween Kills" barely gets
any mention or follow-up, leaving the devastation of it with no fulfilling resolution.
Truthfully, "Halloween Ends" doesn't transition well from "Halloween Kills" and makes a lot
of what was built up during that film's wild finale have no lasting impact.
Michael Myers is no stranger to disappearing acts, since he can literally vanish in a flash
if you don't keep your eyes on him.
However, it's a little odd that Michael is just suddenly gone from Haddonfield without
a trace after "Halloween Kills," especially since he was winning.
He was ripping people to shreds on the streets of Haddonfield and even got to kill Karen
just to twist the knife in Laurie.
So why would he leave?
It frankly doesn't make much sense since he knew Laurie was still out there and he clearly
wants to put a knife in her.
He looked like an unbeatable killing machine at the end of "Halloween Kills" so if there
was any time for him to have a final bout with Laurie, it would've been then.
Plus, it's not like he went somewhere to catch his breath for a moment.
He's literally been gone for years at this point and still didn't look like he was going
after Laurie any time soon.
Sure, he looked like he was in a weakened state when Corey finds him, but come on, this
is Michael Myers we're talking about here.
He's not the type to leave things unfinished.
While the original continuity saw Michael motivated to kill Laurie because of their
familial connection, this trilogy doesn't have that.
All this trilogy offers is speculation in "Kills" about how Michael keeps returning
to his childhood home.
Yet there's no motivation ever established for why he goes after his victims specifically,
so it needs to be asked, why does Michael care so much about Laurie?
Is it just because she's the one that got away?
Does he see her as the ultimate kill because of how strong she's been against him?
Honestly, what's Michael's deal?
There's actually a lot about Michael that's left unanswered.
How is he able to withstand all the stabbings, beatings, and damaging blows he's taken throughout
the years?
He literally gets stabbed in the heart by Laurie in the film's final battle and then
suddenly rises to nearly choke her to death.
What is it about Michael that's made him more than a normal man for so many years?
The film never provides that answer and leaves Michael as ambiguous as ever.
It's a choice that makes sense given that Michael is always meant to simply be this
malevolent evil entity with unclear motives.
But with this being Laurie and Michael's final bout, it feels like a missed opportunity to
truly understand The Shape.
Once Corey decides to give into his more violent side, there's almost nothing that seems capable
of stopping him.
He enacts some kills that are nearly as brutal as, if not more than, Michael's, and even
brings the big guy along for a tag-team murder match.
Yet it's not hard to see why Corey is near unstoppable, since the police are often nowhere
to be found.
Throughout the "Halloween" franchise, the Haddonfield police are never too incompetent,
and would at least notice that people are either disappearing or being brutally killed.
Here though, there's barely a mention that these people have disappeared, and Corey rarely
runs into any obstacles since the police don't do too much.
No one even questions if Michael is back given the string of disappearances or that it's
all happening around Halloween.
Maybe they're off dealing with a different violent occurrence in this darker depiction
of Haddonfield.
But how did no one really become aware that Corey's rampage was going on?
When Corey first comes across Michael Myers while he's hiding in the sewers, he's not
exactly in the best of conditions.
He's clearly weakened from the big fight at the end of "Halloween Kills," but he quickly
regains his strength after getting his first kill with the help of Corey.
So if Michael is ready to get back out there and start killing again, why is he basically
tied to the hip with Corey and only seems to come out after he shows up?
Seriously, Michael only leaves the sewer if Corey ends up coming and picking him up on
his motorcycle, which could've been a hilarious visual to see.
Does he have stage fright now or something?
Even on Halloween day, he just sits in his sewer hideout until Corey comes by to steal
his mask, and it's just odd to see Michael not go back to his killing routine once he's
got his strength back.
It's legitimately one of the strangest things about Michael in "Halloween Ends" and sadly
keeps him off-screen for longer than any fan would expect or want.
Once Corey and Michael meet, they start to work together and amass a decent body count.
Corey seems to help Michael regain his strength while Michael gives Corey the power to tap
into his evil side.
However, you can't help but wonder by the end who was actually in charge in this dynamic.
For the most part, it would seem like Corey has control since he seems slightly stronger
than Michael for most of the movie and is clearly leading the kills.
However, perhaps Michael was conning us all along.
Corey's plan was to see him go on a destruction spree through Haddonfield before going off
into the sunset with Allyson.
So it doesn't really seem like his dying on the floor of Laurie's house was a part of
the plan.
So maybe this was Michael's plan all along.
He did follow Corey to Laurie's house after Corey took his mask, and it does lead to the
big finale fight between him and Laurie.
Michael Myers has never seemed like much of a planner in this franchise, but maybe he's
gotten wise in his old age.
Laurie and Frank's awkward but adorable relationship in "Halloween Kills" was one of that film's
biggest highlights and ends up being a very sweet part of "Halloween Ends."
There's nothing more heartwarming than seeing their natural chemistry flourish, and you
desperately want these two to be together.
After dealing with Michael Myers for so many years, Laurie deserves some love in her life.
So do they end up together?
Well, they don't share an on-screen kiss or anything, and we don't see them boarding a
plane to Japan as they talk about during the movie.
However, it's a pretty safe bet that they do get together after the events of the film
since their final moment together on Laurie's porch is fairly emotional.
There's no definitive answer to whether or not Laurie and Frank end up together, but
the film does make you believe that it is possible.
With the traumatic history that Allyson has endured in Haddonfield with both her parents
and friends being slain by Michael Myers, it's not too shocking to hear that she's looking
to leave.
While Laurie is able to keep her there through guilt and concern, Allyson does find her opportunity
to leave when she meets Corey and he suggests doing so.
While her original plans to leave with Corey fall through, Allyson does end up leaving
Haddonfield before the credits roll.
The only question is, where is Allyson going?
Truthfully, we'll probably never know the answer, as the scene of her leaving Haddonfield
is likely just to symbolize that she's leaving the town for good.
Maybe, though, there can be a more intriguing answer.
It's unclear whether or not "Halloween Ends" will really be the end of the franchise.
And maybe this scene will lead to a follow-up film or trilogy keeping up with Allyson as
she discovers new Halloween horrors as she tries to start a new life.
In the final shot of "Halloween Ends," the camera moves throughout Laurie's house as
a homage to the final scene of the original Halloween film.
However, there is one item that sticks out in the final room, Michael's mask.
You can't help but wonder why didn't Laurie destroy the mask when she pushed Michael's
body into the grinder.
It's kind of odd that she didn't destroy it, since Michael's mask is a key identifier of
him and a major symbol of the fear he's spread across Haddonfield.
Maybe she needed it as inspiration to finish the book she's been writing throughout the
film or just simply wanted it because she wasn't completely over him even after killing
him.
Perhaps too, this could be a hint that someone else could pick up Michael's mask and start
a new reign of terror in Haddonfield.
It's not too surprising to see "Halloween Ends" definitively kill Michael Myers, it's
just strange that his mask couldn't go with him.
Michael Myers is dead by the end of "Halloween Ends" and Laurie seemingly has moved on.
So it would be pretty easy to see this as the last movie.
But the film is a little shaky with its conclusiveness, creating some avenues for the franchise to
return.
Michael's mask just sitting on the table leaves the impression that someone else could pick
it up to continue his legacy.
It's extremely unlikely that this franchise will continue under David Gordon Green and
Blumhouse Productions.
Green said that this entry is the conclusion of his story.
Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum added that the company has no more rights to make more "Halloween"
films either.
But could the franchise continue under different hands, even after Michael's death?
The only thing that's harder to kill than Michael Myers is a lucrative franchise.
We've already seen that the franchise is willing to bring in other killers besides Michael,
with Corey mainly acting as this film's killer while Michael hides in the sewers.
And though Laurie is likely gone from the franchise for good, longtime fans know that
she hasn't always led the films.
For example, Jamie Lloyd led a couple of films and "Halloween: Resurrection" saw a whole
new cast take on Michael after Laurie is killed.
"Why the hell are you dressed like me anyway?
I ain't paying you to be Michael Myers.
I'm playing Michael Myers."
"Halloween Ends" might be the end of this trilogy and the franchise as we know it, but
even while it emphasizes the "End" in the title during the credits, it doesn't feel
totally conclusive.