The Halloween franchise is no stranger to endings, whether they be intentional or unexpected. Halloween II was designed by franchise co-creators John Carpenter and Debra Hill to kill Michael Myers once and for all, but over the course of the next 40 years, the series had undergone resurrections, retcons, and reboots, often only wrapping up a storyline when the financial response to a sequel dwindles. The current trilogy of David Gordon Green-directed films brought back not only original star Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, but also Carpenter to serve as a composer and producer, bringing with it the most cultural attention in decades, with Halloween Ends billing itself as the culmination of Green’s plan for a sendoff to Laurie Strode. Despite having all the potential to do something new and organic with an intentional conclusion to the narrative, the film instead ends up honoring the franchise unexpectedly, as it’s messy, nonsensical, and leaves us wondering how much longer until we can get a new Halloween reboot.
