The film begins with a kind of pumpkin matryoshka, and of course that’s more than appropriate. After all, this is the thirteenth part of the series. So while the opening credits are running, to the crazy film music by “Halloween” inventor John Carpenter, which is as nerve-racking as only the “Psycho” soundtrack is, an animated pumpkin face always bites the next one and swallows its predecessor. Will it ever stop
Yes, that’s what director David Gordon Green apparently decided, who has directed an episode for the third time and actually called it “Halloween Ends”. The signs point to transience, and that’s what the film is about. Because, oh shock, the shortage of skilled workers is now also reaching the serial killer business. The legendary masked man Michael Myers, who has never been permanently struck down by any weapon, has retreated to the sewers beneath the fictional town of Haddonfield, too weak to wield a knife alone. But he finds a killer trainee via detours.
Serial murders, yes – but please not at the expense of love
Young auto mechanic Corey (Rohan Campbell) is an outlaw in the unforgiving societal structures of small town life after causing a horrific accident when he was young that must not be revealed for the chilling effect. So Corey is very receptive to defecting to the dark side of power and stirring up the arrogant and stubborn small town folk. What is stupid for his teacher Michael Myers, however, is that the young stabber, as is customary for a generation, pays a lot of attention to his work-life balance. Serial murders yes, but please not 24/7 and at the expense of love – a private life has to be there too.
Corey would like to have a girlfriend. The object of his erotic obsession is nurse Allyson (Andi Matichak), who also happens to be the granddaughter of the original “Halloween” heroine Laurie Strode – played, of course, and as always, by the always self-deprecating and wonderful Jamie Lee Curtis.
Well, despite the expanded staff, nothing is really new. But David Gordon Green has already shown with his two previous “Halloween” slashers and comedies like “Ananas Express” that he can still get a lot out of well-worn genres. So there are quite a few real moments of shock. And of course he also knows that the horror in the thirteenth edition has to be met with a nuance of humor and therefore built-in parody and masters the balancing act with ease. So sovereign that the laughter gets stuck in your throat at least once.
Over the years, Michael Myers, who started out as a simple knife killer, has gradually transformed into a metaphysical being. No way of killing him has been able to shut him down permanently. He’s been shot, stabbed, burned, drowned, thrown down, run over by cars, beaten to a pulp and crushed on trees, sometimes multiple times.
And yet he’s there with every new sequel – which is probably getting on the nerves of Green and his screenwriters themselves. Which is why this time they have designed a finale that does justice to the title “Halloween Ends”: It could really, truly, be the last line under the pumpkin saga without any jokes or back doors, designed in such a way that it no longer has to do with a script volt revised, now and forever. Or?
Halloween Ends, USA 2022 – Director: David Gordon Green. Camera: Michael Simmonds. Music: John Carpenter. Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Nick Castle, Rohan Campbell. Universal, 111 minutes. Theatrical release: October 13, 2022.