Halloween Ends | |
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Directed by | David Gordon Green |
Written by |
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Based on | |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Michael Simmonds |
Edited by | Tim Alverson |
Music by |
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Production companies |
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Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 111 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $33 million[1][2][3] |
Box office | $85.1 million[4][5] |
Halloween Ends is a 2022 American slasher film that is the sequel to Halloween Kills (2021), the thirteenth installment in the Halloween franchise, and the final film in the trilogy of sequels that started with the 2018 film, which directly follows the 1978 film. Directed by David Gordon Green and co-written by Green, Danny McBride, Paul Brad Logan and Chris Bernier, the film stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Rohan Campbell, Will Patton, Kyle Richards, and James Jude Courtney. The film revolves around Corey Cunningham, a young man who falls in love with Laurie Strode's granddaughter while a series of events, including crossing paths with Michael Myers, upend his life and render him a murderous outcast.
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. Green intended to give each film in the trilogy its own unique theme, Halloween Ends being a love story; John Carpenter described the film as a "departure" from its predecessors. After being delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, principal photography took place in Georgia between January and March 2022, with re-shoots taking place in mid-2022.
Halloween Ends premiered at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles on October 11, 2022, and was theatrically released in North America on October 14, 2022, by Universal Pictures. The film started streaming simultaneously on paid tiers of Peacock for 60 days. It received mixed reviews from critics,[6] who criticized its focus on new characters[7] and generally deemed it a weak conclusion to the series.[8]
On Halloween night in 2019, 21-year-old Corey Cunningham is babysitting a young boy named Jeremy, 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,[a] while Michael has vanished. Laurie Strode is writing a memoir, having bought a new house and living with Allyson, her granddaughter, who is now a nurse. Meanwhile, Corey is working at his stepfather's salvage yard. On his way home one day, he is taunted by high school bullies and injures himself 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. After having an argument with Allyson, Corey leaves the party and runs into the bullies, who throw him off a bridge. He is dragged into the sewers and confronted by Michael, who eventually lets him go. On the way out, Corey is confronted by a homeless man. In a struggle, Corey stabs the man to death and flees.
Corey and Allyson go on a dinner date, but Allyson's ex-boyfriend, police officer Doug Mulaney, shows up and harasses them both. Corey later lures the cop into the sewer. Michael emerges and kills Doug to Corey's delight. Allyson is passed over for a promotion at work, in favor of a fellow nurse who is having an affair with the doctor. Corey then kills the doctor at his home while the nurse is killed by Michael. An unknowing Allyson plans to leave Haddonfield with an insistent Corey because of the past trauma, while Laurie becomes increasingly suspicious of Corey. After finding him sleeping in the spot where Jeremy died, Laurie offers to help him on the condition that he distances himself from Allyson. 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 bullies after luring them to the salvage yard and accidentally killing his stepfather. He then goes on to kill his mother, as well as a DJ at a local radio station, who had taunted him earlier.
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 and kills Corey. A fight ensues, and Laurie manages to pin Michael to the table. After a struggle, Allyson arrives to help subdue and finally kill him. Laurie and Allyson take his body to the salvage yard by police escort, attracting the residents of Haddonfield, who follow them in a procession, and dispose 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.
Also appearing in the film are Jesse C. Boyd as Officer Mulaney, Allyson's ex-boyfriend; Joanne Baron as Joan Cunningham, Corey's overbearing mother; Rick Moose as Ronald, Corey's stepfather who owns the salvage yard; Michael Barbieri as Terry, leader of the gang of bullies who target Corey; Destiny Mone as Stacy, Joey Harris as Margo, and Marteen as Billy, members of Terry's gang; Michael O'Leary as Dr. Mathis,[11] Allyson's boss at the local hospital; Michele Dawson as Deb, Allyson's coworker who is having an affair with Dr. Mathis; Keraun Harris as Willy the Kid, a local radio DJ; Jaxon Goldberg as Jeremy Allen, a young boy who dies while Corey is babysitting him; Candice Rose and Jack William Marshall as Mrs. and Mr. Allen, Jeremy's parents; Omar Dorsey as Sheriff Barker, Haddonfield's current sheriff.[12] Additionally, Diva Tyler briefly reprises her role as Sondra Dickerson, while Jibrail Nantambu also reprises his role as Julian Morrisey, a young boy who escaped from Michael's 2018 killing spree.
In June 2018, Danny McBride confirmed that he and David Gordon Green had originally intended to pitch two films that would be shot back-to-back, and then decided against it, waiting to see the reaction to the first film.[13] In September 2018, producer Jason Blum said that "we will do a sequel if the movie performs".[14] A month later, after the new film Halloween's opening weekend, McBride confirmed that early development on a sequel had begun.[15] As soon as Halloween was released in theaters, McBride and Green started devising the story for two sequels alongside other writers such as Chris Bernier and Paul Brad Logan, who assisted them in writing simultaneously both sequels.[16] In July 2019, Bloody Disgusting reported that a third film was also in development, with Green returning as director. The site also claimed that the studio was considering releasing both films in October 2020.[17] Green, McBride and Jeff Fradley had planned out a two-film story arc, but opted for a trilogy after realizing they had more material than originally thought.[18]
In July 2019, Universal Pictures revealed the titles and release dates of the two sequels, with Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends set to be released in 2020 and 2021, respectively.[19] Green was officially announced to direct both films and co-write the scripts with McBride, Scott Teems was confirmed as a co-writer for Halloween Kills, while Paul Brad Logan and Chris Bernier were announced as co-writers of Halloween Ends.[20] Blum, Malek Akkad, and Bill Block were slated to produce the film while John Carpenter, Curtis, Green, and McBride were attached as executive producers once again.[21] The writing team, consisting of Green, McBride, Bernier, and Logan, started workshopping ideas before production of Halloween Kills commenced, completing a first draft in 2019. The final script was completed in 2021 pending Carpenter's approval.[22] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Universal delayed the release dates of both Kills and Ends by a year.[23][24]
Green set out to make each sequel different. For the second film, he wanted an action film and for the finale he wanted a love story.[25] In October 2021, Green revealed that Halloween Ends will take place four years after the events of Halloween Kills and would incorporate elements of the pandemic into the story.[26][27] In an interview, Logan distinguished internet rumors that the film was supposed to take place on the same night of the previous installments.[28] Curtis claimed the film will be "shocking" and will "make people very angry".[29] Akkad stated Ends will be more "contained" than Kills, while Green called it an intimate coming-of-age story, much like Carpenter's Christine (1983).[30][31] Other cited influences on the film were Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker and My Bodyguard.[32] According to Green, several different endings were considered for the film; Green ultimately chose a more "optimistic, hopeful" conclusion after Kills's "bleak" ending, compensating for the traumatic events that Laurie Strode lived through in the film and its predecessors.[16]
In July 2019, along with the announcements of two sequels to 2018's Halloween, it was announced that Jamie Lee Curtis would reprise her role as Laurie Strode in both Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends.[20] Judy Greer and Andi Matichak were confirmed to reprise their roles as Karen and Allyson that same month.[33] In December 2021, it was revealed that Kyle Richards would be reprising her role for the film. Initially, the character was not expected to return for the film, but following the positive reception to Richards's performance, the script was rewritten to give her an expanded role.[34] The following month, Michael O'Leary joined the cast.[11] Upon being cast, Rohan Campbell was initially unaware of his character's significance to the story. Green worked to keep the actor out of the press leading up to the film's release.[35] According to Campbell, both Green and Curtis warned him about potential backlash regarding the introduction of his character.[36] A casting call took place in late January and February 2022 in numerous Southeast Georgia towns.[37][38] In an interview with Collider, Green hinted that co-writer Danny McBride had requested a cameo appearance in the film, potentially as a character who fights Myers.[39] In June 2022, Nick Castle announced that he would make a cameo appearance unrelated to the role of Michael Myers.[40][41] Following the release of the teaser trailer in July 2022, Omar Dorsey, Will Patton, and James Jude Courtney were revealed to reprise their roles from the previous films.[42] Green cited Courtney's "extraordinary work" in the previous films as the reason for his decision to have him portray Michael Myers for the entirety of the film.[10]
It was originally planned to film Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends back-to-back, but did not occur due to the "intense schedule".[43] In March 2020, Blum confirmed filming would take place during the summer.[44] Filming was quietly delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production was expected to take place in 2021 in Wilmington, North Carolina.[45] In August 2021, Courtney confirmed that filming will begin on January 10, 2022.[46] However, filming officially began on January 19, 2022, in Savannah, Georgia under the working title Cave Dweller.[47][48] Michael Simmonds once again served as director of photography.[49] Curtis began filming her scenes on January 25 and wrapped on February 22.[50][51][52] Additional scenes were shot in Sylvania, Georgia.[53] Filming concluded on March 9, 2022.[54][55] In June 2022, two weeks of re-shoots were reported to take place in Savannah.[56] However, these re-shoots only lasted four days and were completed that same month.[57][58]
In June 2022, Blum confirmed that the film had test screened internally the month prior and that it would be the last Halloween film from Blumhouse.[59] The following month, Carpenter described the film as a "departure" from the previous entries in Green's trilogy.[60] In August, Castle had finished ADR for Michael Myers.[61] By the end of the month, Green told in an interview that the film was still being tweaked despite the film being picture locked.[62] According to cinematographer Michael Simmonds, a practical version of the opening titles sequence, showing jack-o'-lanterns emerging from within each other, was initially created by production designer Richard Wright, but later replaced by a digital version.[63] After several test screenings, the original final confrontation between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers as well as the ending sequence were discarded, and re-shoots for new scenes took place in August 2022, two months before the film's premiere. It was decided that the film's conclusion should be more "modest" and "intimate" as opposed to the "super noisy and aggressive" ending of Kills, with Green wishing to return the series to its "simple dramatic roots".[16]
The score for Halloween Ends was composed by John Carpenter, his son Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies,[64] who had previously collaborated on the first two films in the series. The official soundtrack was released digitally on October 14, 2022, by Sacred Bones Records,[65] with a limited vinyl release set for January 20, 2023.[66] In anticipation of the film's premiere, two tracks were released in September 2022, "The Junk Yard" and "The Procession".[67][68] Recorded entirely at Carpenter and Davies's home studios,[69] the score incorporates themes from the original 1978 film and features original music from electronic music group Boy Harsher.[65]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Where is Jeremy?" | 2:58 |
2. | "Halloween Ends (Main Title)" | 1:45 |
3. | "Laurie's Theme Ends" | 3:37 |
4. | "The Cave" | 0:21 |
5. | "Cool Kid" | 1:03 |
6. | "Drags to the Cave" | 0:40 |
7. | "Evil Eyes" | 2:02 |
8. | "Transformation" | 1:52 |
9. | "Because of You" | 1:29 |
10. | "Requiem for Jeremy" | 1:00 |
11. | "Kill the Cop" | 2:11 |
12. | "Corey and Michael" | 1:44 |
13. | "Corey's Requiem" | 2:01 |
14. | "The Junk Yard" | 4:11 |
15. | "Where Are You?" | 1:18 |
16. | "Bye Bye Corey" | 0:53 |
17. | "The Fight" | 3:48 |
18. | "Before Her Eyes" | 1:42 |
19. | "The Procession" | 3:03 |
20. | "Cherry Blossoms" | 1:59 |
21. | "Halloween Ends" | 3:03 |
Total length: | 42:00 |
Halloween Ends premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theater, Los Angeles, as part of Beyond Fest on October 11, 2022. The premiere coincided with Curtis's induction ceremony at the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the theater the following day.[70] The film was released theatrically in the United States by Universal Pictures on October 14, 2022,[24][71] playing in 3,901 theaters.[4] In addition, the film started streaming simultaneously on paid tiers of Peacock for 60 days.[72] It was initially set to release on October 15, 2021, before being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[73][24]
As of October 26, 2022[update], Halloween Ends has grossed $55.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $28.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $84.3 million.[4]
In the United States and Canada, Halloween Ends was projected to gross $50–60 million from 3,901 theaters in its opening weekend.[74] The film made $20.2 million on its first day, including $5.4 million from Thursday night previews, up 11% from Kills's $4.85 million the year prior.[75] It went on to debut with $40.1 million, topping the box office but finishing below projections, blamed in part on the film's simultaneous release to streaming platform Peacock; Universal reported it was the most watched film or series ever on the platform over a two-day period.[76] The studio also reported that the film was most popular among audiences aged 18 to 34, with only 26% being 35 and older.[77] The film dropped by 80% in its second weekend, finishing fourth with $8 million.[78] The 89% drop from the film's first Friday to second was a "near-record" decrease and was credited to its day-and-date streaming release[79] and poor reception by critics and audiences.[2]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 41% of 232 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The website's consensus reads, "Halloween Ends—for now, anyway—with a frequently befuddling installment that's stabbed, slashed, and beaten by a series of frustrating missed opportunities."[80] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 47 out of 100, based on 44 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[6] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale, the lowest of the franchise, while those at PostTrak gave the film a 64% overall positive score.[76]
Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 1.5 out of 4 stars, writing that the "so-called finale of the Michael Myers saga is just stabbing, metaphors, stabbing, soap opera, stabbing, marching band bullies, stabbing and more stabbing".[81] Writing for Variety, Owen Gleiberman said the film is "neither scary nor fun" and called it "the most joylessly metaphorical and convoluted entry" of the franchise to date.[82] Ben Travis of Empire gave a negative review, calling the film "lost up in its own abyss" and "an unsatisfying closing chapter" and criticizing Green's direction as "[struggling] to synthesise the serious stuff with the demands of a popcorn shocker".[83] In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney called it "a sloppy movie whose principal new inspiration feels bogus", although "horror fans might enjoy homages to other films from the Carpenter canon".[84] Giving 1.5 out of 4 stars, Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com found the film to be "poorly executed", rushed, and "barely a 'Halloween' movie" due to the story's focus on newly introduced characters, and considered Rohan Campbell's performance especially lacking.[85]
In a positive review, K. Austin Collins of Rolling Stone deemed Halloween Ends the best out of Green's Halloween trilogy, noting its "interestingly complex tangle of emotions and fears" and comparing it to Green's previous "capably observed" independent films.[86] The New York Times reviewed the film as being "a movie that's less frantic and more intimate than its predecessor, one that unfolds with a mourning finality".[87] Time Out also reviewed the film more positively than they did Kills, giving it a 3-star review and calling it a "pleasant surprise".[88] While also considering it an improvement over its predecessor, Todd Gilchrist of The A.V. Club criticized the lack of focus on the series' main antagonist and ultimately labeled it "not particularly good" and an "unsatisfying close".[89] Kyle Smith of The Wall Street Journal found Curtis's performance "a pleasure to watch" and called the film "largely gripping".[90] Toronto Star's Peter Howell gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, describing it as "clever" and "likely to go down well with fans of the franchise" but noted that true finality is likely impossible for this series.[91]
On future possible entries of the franchise, John Carpenter joked about how future installments could be produced if the film would be a success, although he acknowledged that Green was adamant in Ends being their story's ending.[92] In an interview with The New York Times, Jamie Lee Curtis commented that the four films, commencing with the 1978 Halloween and concluding with Halloween Ends, were self-contained, although there was still the possibility of a new narrative being adapted into future films.[93] Curtis had previously confirmed in an essay for People that Halloween Ends marked her last appearance in the franchise.[94] Jason Blum reiterated that, while it would not be the final film in the franchise, it will be the last Halloween movie under Blumhouse Productions, with the intellectual property rights reverting to producer Malek Akkad following the release of Ends.[95]
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