As one of many scary movies made available just in time for Halloween, Peacock is streaming “Halloween Ends,” the latest in the series of movies featuring modern day boogeyman Michael Myers and his favorite victim, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). The streaming began mid-October 2022.
“Halloween Ends”: offering kills and thrills, sort of
The temporal setting of “Halloween Ends” is obvious from the diversity seen in its physical setting of Haddonfield, Illinois, a departure from the way it appeared in the 1978 original. Like so many people today, Laurie is seeking her truth and writing a memoir about her life experiences. She is living with the adult granddaughter who was left motherless after “Halloween Kills.” The movie came out last year, but its setting is supposed to be four years later.
But the focus is not on Laurie. In fact, sometimes it is difficult to tell where the focus is. There is also a troubled young man (Corey) accused of murder in the court of popular opinion after a babysitting accident. With Laurie willing to kill Michael, and to help Corey fight his bullies, Corey having his own homicidal urges to deal with, and Michael Myers doing his usual stalking and killing, the movie begins to feel as though it has too many killers.
The last couple of “Halloween” movies have posited Michael and Laurie in some sort of epic battle. Now, some of her neighbors see Laurie as a bully who made Michael do what he did.
All of this to say that it is not as if “Halloween Ends” is not scary. It is just that viewers shouldn’t be surprised if after a killing, they wonder, “Why?” In the midst of all the murder and mayhem, Corey and Laurie’s granddaughter strike up a romance. There is a lot going on.
Missing from the latest “Halloween” is the rock ‘n’ roll verve of the original. Other songs, play especially in the bar, where it seems half the town comes to party. The Blue Oyster Cult classic, “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” only plays for briefly as the end credits begin. The sound of it might make some viewers nostalgic for a time when Michael Myers was the movie’s only killer.
