As the final chapter of David Gordon Green’s “Halloween” trilogy and the supposed closing act to a 44-year-old horror legacy, Halloween Ends tragically falters on nearly every level. Rather than delivering a fitting, high-stakes conclusion to the iconic battle between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers, the film stumbles through a narrative so disjointed and misguided that it ultimately tarnishes the series’ legacy.
A Betrayal of Expectations
The most glaring issue with Halloween Ends is its baffling shift in focus. Rather than centering on the long-awaited final confrontation between Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers, the film sidelines the notorious masked killer for much of its runtime, choosing instead to spotlight a new character, Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell). While Campbell’s performance is commendable, Corey’s storyline feels forced and irrelevant to the overarching narrative that fans had invested in over four decades. His sudden transformation into a Michael Myers-like figure undermines the mythos of the franchise, reducing the character of Michael to something replicable rather than the unique embodiment of evil he was meant to represent.
A Poorly Structured Plot
The film’s pacing is uneven, beginning with a slow-burn drama about grief and trauma that never quite gains momentum. The early sections of Halloween Ends attempt to examine Haddonfield’s societal decay and the lingering effects of fear, but these moments are drowned out by an erratic script that seems unsure of what it’s trying to say. Once Corey’s storyline takes center stage, the plot devolves into a jarring mix of romance, psychological thriller, and slasher elements, none of which mesh cohesively.
By the time the film reaches its climax, it feels both too late and too rushed. Michael Myers, an unstoppable force for over a dozen films, is reduced to a feeble version of his former self, barely featuring in his own franchise’s finale. His final showdown with Laurie is anticlimactic and disappointingly brief, leaving little satisfaction for those hoping to see a meaningful conclusion to their decades-long feud.
Thematic Confusion and Shallow Characterization
Where the previous two films in Green’s trilogy (Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills) explored themes of trauma and communal paranoia with varying degrees of success, Halloween Ends abandons those themes in favor of new, underdeveloped ideas about the nature of evil. The film hints at a metaphorical “passing of the torch” from Michael to Corey, suggesting that evil can be infectious, but this concept is not adequately explored and feels tacked on in the final moments.
Laurie Strode, who should have been the emotional and narrative anchor of the film, is once again sidelined for long stretches. While Jamie Lee Curtis delivers a solid performance with the material she’s given, her character is reduced to a mere spectator for most of the film. Laurie’s granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), once positioned as a promising successor to Laurie’s legacy, is similarly underdeveloped, with her motivations and decisions throughout the film feeling erratic and poorly justified.
A Visually and Tonally Inconsistent Film
Visually, Halloween Ends is similarly underwhelming. It lacks the tense, atmospheric cinematography that made earlier entries in the series so effective. The film’s lighting and camera work feel flat and uninspired, missing opportunities to evoke the dread and suspense characteristic of classic slasher films. The few kills that do occur are neither inventive nor memorable, failing to leave the visceral impact that fans expect from a Halloween movie.
Tonally, the film is all over the place. It tries to blend introspective drama with the gory thrills of a slasher, but neither element is executed with confidence or coherence. The moments of horror feel disconnected from the rest of the film, while the character-driven drama falls flat due to weak writing and lack of emotional depth.
A Legacy Unfulfilled
Ultimately, Halloween Ends fails in its most important task: providing a satisfying conclusion to one of horror’s most iconic sagas. The decision to introduce a new character so late in the game, only to have him overshadow the central figures of Laurie and Michael, is baffling and robs the film of the catharsis fans deserved.
Rather than ending the series on a high note, Halloween Ends feels like a misstep so egregious that it casts a shadow over the entire trilogy, if not the franchise itself. It’s a sad and frustrating way to close a chapter that, for many, defined the slasher genre. For a movie meant to mark the final showdown between two horror titans, it instead serves as a reminder that sometimes, it’s best to let things end before they go too far.
Halloween Ends tries hard to replicate the spirit of Halloween III: Season of the Witch by veering off into an unrelated plotline, but unlike its predecessor, it mixes this diversion awkwardly with the established main storyline of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode, leading to a disjointed and confusing final chapter in the franchise.
In Halloween III, the franchise made a bold choice to step away from the Michael Myers narrative entirely, attempting to turn Halloween into an anthology series, where each film would tell a new, standalone horror story centered around the holiday. That film’s plot, which involved an evil corporation creating killer Halloween masks, had nothing to do with Michael Myers or the original slasher premise. Though initially criticized, Halloween III gained a cult following because it fully committed to its own unique story and tone.
Halloween Ends seems to borrow from this idea by attempting a new narrative direction through the character of Corey Cunningham, a young man who becomes increasingly obsessed with Michael Myers and gradually transforms into a killer himself. This focus on a new, unrelated character recalls the boldness of Halloween III, but where that film separated itself completely from the Myers mythos, Halloween Ends awkwardly tries to blend this new narrative with the legacy of Michael Myers, resulting in a muddled hybrid that satisfies neither direction.
The problem lies in the half-hearted way Halloween Ends introduces Corey while still keeping Michael Myers in the background. Instead of fully embracing the idea of passing the torch to a new antagonist, or committing to a wholly different horror story like Halloween III did, the film tries to straddle two worlds—Corey’s psychological descent into evil and the unresolved conflict between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. This leads to tonal inconsistencies and narrative confusion. The audience is led to believe Corey will take center stage, but Michael Myers remains lurking in the background, diluting the impact of both characters. It’s as if the film wants to be an anthology entry while still serving as the conclusion to the saga.
The lack of cohesion between these two elements undermines the themes the movie attempts to explore. Corey’s storyline of a troubled young man spiraling into violence could have worked as a standalone film or a separate anthology entry, much like the masks in Halloween III represented a different kind of fear. But because Halloween Ends insists on keeping Michael Myers involved—albeit in a weakened, diminished form—it drags down both storylines, leading to an unsatisfying conclusion for longtime fans of the franchise who expected the film to be the final confrontation between Laurie and Michael.
Halloween Ends tries to do what Halloween III attempted by diverting from the established formula and introducing new horror ideas. However, where Halloween III succeeded by fully breaking away and doing its own thing, Halloween Ends falters by mixing an unrelated plot with the iconic Michael Myers storyline, leaving both halves feeling incomplete and unsatisfying. It tries to introduce fresh horror but never commits fully to the new direction, leaving the final product feeling like a missed opportunity in an otherwise iconic series.
In the end, Halloween Ends doesn’t feel like a celebration of a long-running franchise, but rather like a hollow, missed opportunity—a film that, in trying to be something new, forgets what made the series great in the first place.
To make Corey Cunningham’s character arc work across all three Halloween films, he would need to be integrated meaningfully from the start, with his transformation into a darker character gradually unfolding across the trilogy. Below is a detailed storyline that introduces Corey in the first two films, building his arc in a way that makes his central role in Halloween Ends more impactful and believable.
Halloween (2018): The Introduction of Corey Cunningham
In the first film, Corey Cunningham is introduced as a bright but somewhat troubled young man in Haddonfield. He’s a local high school senior who works part-time for the city’s sanitation department, a job that brings him into contact with the darker, grittier side of the town. Corey is portrayed as kind-hearted and hard-working, though he has a distant relationship with his parents, who put a lot of pressure on him to succeed academically. His only escape is his love of motorcycles and mechanics, which he shares with his childhood friend, Allyson (Andi Matichak).
Corey and Allyson have a sibling-like bond that’s been forged over years. They both grew up in the shadow of Haddonfield’s history, but Corey, unlike Allyson, is deeply affected by the town’s collective trauma. He feels a strange connection to the darker undercurrent of fear surrounding Michael Myers. We catch subtle glimpses of Corey’s inner turmoil—he’s often bullied by local troublemakers, but he represses his anger and fear, not wanting to cause trouble. However, as Michael Myers returns to terrorize Haddonfield on Halloween night, Corey becomes one of the many townspeople swept up in the chaos.
During the climactic showdown between Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael, Corey witnesses the violence up close, narrowly escaping a deadly encounter with Michael while on a late-night shift. This experience profoundly shakes him but also begins to awaken something darker within—a sense of powerlessness and fascination with the embodiment of evil in Michael Myers. This sets up Corey’s slow psychological unraveling.
Halloween Kills (2021): Corey’s Descent into Darkness
In Halloween Kills, Corey’s role expands, and we begin to see the emotional and psychological toll that the events of the first film took on him. He’s now a young adult, still living in Haddonfield and working as a mechanic, though he seems more withdrawn and troubled. He has developed an obsession with Michael Myers, researching everything he can about the killer, even visiting the wreckage of the houses and locations Michael terrorized.
Allyson is still a close friend, though their relationship is strained as Corey’s behavior becomes more erratic. He tries to confide in Allyson, explaining that he feels like the town’s fear of Michael has changed him, but she dismisses his concerns as paranoia, focusing instead on her own grief after the death of her mother in Halloween (2018). Corey feels increasingly isolated, rejected by Allyson and misunderstood by his community.
Throughout Halloween Kills, the town of Haddonfield descends into mob mentality, hunting down Michael Myers in a misguided attempt to reclaim their sense of safety. Corey becomes swept up in this hysteria, attending town meetings and watching as people’s fears spiral out of control. During one of these scenes, Corey is caught in the midst of the mob’s violence, further traumatizing him and pushing him closer to the edge. He is torn between his desire for revenge on Michael Myers and a growing, disturbing admiration for Michael’s ability to evoke such fear and chaos.
By the end of Halloween Kills, we see the first hints of Corey’s darker side. In a climactic moment, Corey finds himself in a violent confrontation with one of his old bullies who has joined the mob. Corey snaps, brutally attacking the bully in a moment of uncontrollable rage. This act of violence serves as a turning point for Corey—his first taste of the power that violence can bring. The camera lingers on Corey’s expression afterward, revealing a mix of guilt, fear, and a newfound hunger for control. This moment hints at his eventual descent into darkness, laying the groundwork for his arc in Halloween Ends.
Halloween Ends (2022) Corey’s Transformation into the New Face of Evil
By the time Halloween Ends begins, Corey Cunningham is no longer the same person he was at the start of the trilogy. He’s a young man deeply scarred by his experiences, haunted by his violent outburst in Halloween Kills, and increasingly disconnected from the people around him. Corey has become something of a pariah in Haddonfield, with rumors swirling about his involvement in the vigilante violence that took place during the previous film. He still works as a mechanic, but he is now much more isolated, shunning old friends like Allyson and becoming a loner.
Corey’s obsession with Michael Myers has grown into something darker—a belief that Michael’s evil is not just supernatural but transferable. He begins to rationalize that the fear and chaos Michael unleashed on Haddonfield can be harnessed, controlled, and even continued. Corey becomes convinced that Michael’s legacy must live on, and that he is the one to inherit it.
Corey’s descent into madness takes center stage in Halloween Ends. He discovers Michael Myers, weak and hiding in the sewers, after the brutal attack from the town at the end of Halloween Kills. Rather than killing Michael or turning him in, Corey forms a twisted, unspoken bond with him. Corey begins to see Michael as a symbol of power—an almost mythic figure whose darkness he can adopt.
As Corey begins to emulate Michael, his actions grow more violent and erratic. He kills small animals at first, escalating to targeting people who he feels wronged him or represent the town’s hypocrisy. His transformation is slow but inevitable, as he dons a mask of his own and begins killing in Michael’s style, carefully mimicking his movements and methods. Corey’s transformation into a new iteration of Michael Myers becomes complete, but instead of being a mere copycat, he sees himself as Michael’s successor—someone who can continue his reign of terror but with his own motivations.
The final act of Halloween Ends sees Corey in direct conflict with Laurie Strode. Having pieced together the signs of Corey’s corruption, Laurie realizes that Michael’s evil has infected the young man she once saw as a friend to her granddaughter. The film’s climax becomes a battle not only to stop Corey but to finally confront the cycle of fear and violence that Michael Myers represents. In the end, Laurie must face both Michael and Corey in a dual showdown that tests her resolve and determination to end the nightmare once and for all.
A More Fitting and Believable Arc
By introducing Corey in Halloween (2018) and slowly developing his character across Halloween Kills, Halloween Ends would have delivered a much more coherent and emotionally satisfying narrative. Corey’s descent into darkness would feel earned, as viewers would have seen his psychological unraveling across three films rather than having it rushed in one. His role as Michael’s “successor” would have carried more weight, representing the idea that evil can be passed on and perpetuated, rather than reducing Michael Myers to a simple force of violence.
In this version of the trilogy, Corey Cunningham is not just a late addition but a tragic figure whose transformation is woven into the fabric of Haddonfield’s trauma and fear, making Halloween Ends a more thematically rich and compelling conclusion to the franchise.
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