A Look Back At The Best Endings In The Halloween Franchise
The finale to David Gordon Green’s Halloween trilogy is now upon us. Halloween Ends is set to release this week on October 14th. Green’s trilogy is a direct sequel to John Carpenter’s original 1978 Halloween, ignoring the many sequels that followed in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
The first two films, 2018s Halloween and 2021s Halloween Kills, were all set on the same night and were both successful at the theatre box office. 2018s Halloween was almost shockingly victorious, grossing a franchise-high over $255 million. A milestone not only for the series but also for the slasher-horror genre in general. Its sequel, Halloween Kills, with a simultaneous release on the streaming platform Peacock, didn’t have quite the impact at just $131 million. It turned out to be one of the more divisive films in the franchise by critics and fans. While admittingly playing it safe, the first of the trilogy in 2018 was relatively well received by most critics and audiences, putting Michael Myers back at the forefront of the horror pop culture zeitgeist.
The Halloween franchise has seen some unprecedented highs and lows. It’s a series of films that resembles a “choose your adventure” book featuring multiple timelines. Although the multitude of timelines may be confusing for the non-hardcore Halloween fan, perhaps it has played a role in keeping the franchise alive. Halloween Ends, despite its title, is unlikely to be the last time fans will view Michael Myers on the big screen.
“Let me explain the movie business to you,” said Horror Icon and Director John Carpenter in an interview with Comicbook.com in early 2022. “If you take a dollar sign and attach it to anything, there will be somebody who wants to do a sequel,” “It will live. If the dollar sign is not big enough, no matter what, it will not live.”
However, this version and storyline as a direct sequel to the 1978 classic aren’t likely to be continued. Also, while it’s possible Jamie Lee Curtis, at 63, and John Carpenter, at 74, return for a sequel or reboot of some kind, it’s more probable that this will be the last time they are involved in any Halloween film.
The question now for David Gordon Green and the team is, how do you end the story of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode? What can you do that will satisfy hardcore fans and general audiences? Myers is a character that is human but with supernatural elements. Overexplaining his motivations or making him too powerful could only prove to be a detriment. Green and company almost stepped over that line with the ending of Halloween Kills, which saw the famed serial killer take a beating from a large group of Haddonfield residents.
“We certainly don’t want an explanation to Michael’s motivation,” said Director David Gordon Green to Total Film Magazine. “I think it would betray the character of The Shape that we’ve honored. But we have to be able to engineer fresh dramatic situations out of his activities.”
Looking back at some of the sequels with endings that are a cut above some lesser entries may be beneficial to steer in the right direction.
What is your favorite Halloween movie ending?
For all intents and purposes, the original Halloween could very well have lived on without sequels. A simple Twilight Zone-esque story about the boogeyman in the form of a babysitter-killing murderer was done masterfully and is a story all on its own.
The ending to John Carpenter’s Halloween is one of the most iconic in horror history. Dr. Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasence) shoots Michael Myers six times before he falls from the second story, seemingly dead. When Loomis looks over the balcony, he sees Myers is no longer there, leaving an ambiguous ending that gives further meaning to the boogeyman references throughout the film.
This type of vague ending worked in 1978 before a sequel was thought to be made. With 11-plus sequels involving the masked killer in 2022, an ending without a clear conclusion that leaves it open-ended if Myers is dead or not may confuse and frustrate modern audiences. The original Halloween’s ending can’t and shouldn’t be duplicated.
But, Green did leave a somewhat open resolution in his 2018 Halloween film with Myers left in a flaming inferno in Laurie Strode’s basement. The famous killer’s breathing could be heard in the end credits. Although initially, Green planned on shooting two films back to back, there was a concern about how the first film would be received. Luckily for them, they hit a financial and critical home run that has led to a trilogy.
The second edition of the Halloween franchise was taken out of continuity for the latest trilogy in the series. The primary reason was to remove the brother-sister storyline between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. Despite the often-maligned added motivation for Myers, the film itself didn’t need the family twist.
The Laurie Strode character doesn’t discover her relation to her killer pursuer in the film’s runtime. The fact that Strode got away from Myers’ attack in the first film could have been motivation enough to go after her at the hospital to finish the job.
The ending of Halloween II has Myers set on fire from a gas explosion at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital. For all intents and purposes, this was the end of the Myers storyline. The following Halloween film headed in an anthology direction with 1982's Season of the Witch. Halloween 2018 already left Myers in a burning inferno, so it’s unlikely that the finale of Halloween Ends will do anything similar.
Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
A fan favorite, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers has the most exceptional ending of the franchise, giving the Halloween story full closure. Halloween 4 is what is now called a “requel” as partially a reboot of the series and a sequel to Halloween 2. The film features Myers escaping from a hospital transfer after overhearing that he has a niece in Haddonfield who is still alive.
The film’s ending has Myers being blasted by the state police and a Haddonfield lynch mob under a reign of gunfire. Before the gunshots begin, Myers’ niece, Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris), touches his hand in a moment of sympathy. What Halloween 4 does brilliantly is that the ending isn’t about Myers but focused on Jamie.
After Myers is seemingly killed, Jamie heads back home to her foster family with Dr. Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasence), Sheriff Meeker (Beau Starr), and her foster sister Rachel Caruthers (Ellie Cornell). The climax follows Jamie from the point of view perspective as she grabs a pair of scissors and attacks her foster mother, evidently stabbing her to death.
Loomis heads towards the stairs after hearing screams to see what happened, only to see Jamie at the top of the staircase holding a pair of bloody scissors, emotionless and breathing. Loomis shouts a blood-curdling “No!” attempting to reach for his gun to shoot Jamie. The image of a bloody Jamie and a screaming and distraught Loomis gave Halloween 4 a near-perfect climax, with the series ending the same way it began.
Unfortunately, the sequel to Halloween 4 doesn’t utilize its conclusion. Instead, it takes the franchise in the direction of having Jamie become a mute and upping the ante on Loomis’ insanity in Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.
The likelihood of Halloween Ends having a similar ending is slim. Although Laurie Strode’s granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) has suffered arguably greater tragedies in 2018 than her grandmother in 1978, the story of Green’s trilogy hasn’t put her at the focal point of the story. An ending following the footsteps of Halloween 4 with Allyson turning into the next Michael Myers would be shocking but would have less of an impact than Jamie Lloyd’s turn due to her being a child.
Halloween: H20- 20 Years Later (1998)
1998's Halloween H20 is one of the most divisive films in the Halloween franchise. For many, this was the first Halloween film they saw in theatres, and it has a nostalgic hold on horror fans. The movie saw the return of Jamie Lee Curtis and came out during the slasher-horror renaissance started by Wes Craven’s Scream.
The film has a laundry list of issues, including a poor portrayal of Michael Myers with an inconsistent array of masks, little to no tension, and far too many jump scares. However, the finale, featuring a showdown between Laurie and Michael, makes the film memorable.
Laurie’s choice to confront her tormentor instead of escaping with her son is a pivotal moment in the series, further establishing the character as one of the elite ‘final girls’ in all of horror. The climax has Laurie cutting off Myers’ head with an axe, giving the franchise what fans thought was a definitive ending. Much like Halloween 4, 10 years earlier, H20’s sequel (Halloween: Resurrection) four years later ruins the end by establishing that it wasn’t Myers who was killed but instead a paramedic.
Undoubtedly, there will be some confrontation between Myers and Strode in Halloween Ends. But will they copy H20 by having the serial killer’s head chopped off?
“You cannot conclude this story without them coming in contact again,” said Jamie Lee Curtis to Total Film. “This final moment between the Final Girl and Michael Myers has to come, and there will be blood.”
There may not be a perfect way to end the story of Laurie Strode. The most likely scenario is a final battle between the two where both don’t make it out alive.
“I wanted it to not just be a great, badass, They Live fight scene,” Director David Gordon Green said in an interview with Total Film Magazine. “I wanted it to be two characters that have spent over four decades looking each other in the eye, and saying, ‘One of us ain’t going to make it.’”
David Gordon Green’s Halloween trilogy brought Michael Myers back to pop culture and again established him as one of the kings of slasher films. Having an ending satisfying both general audiences and hardcore fans is daunting. Keeping things simple may be the best option. But as we have seen looking back at even the best endings of the franchise, there may not be a way to truly kill the boogeyman.
Originally published at https://www.frontproofmedia.com on October 11, 2022.