With all of the dust settled after that last three films, felt like hopping back in here to post.
I know that a lot of people really did not like Kills and Ends, but as Halloween was coming to a close last year, I needed something to watch after an exhausting two hours of trick 'r treating with my 4 year old and two month old. So, I dimmed the lights, poured a whiskey and watched Halloween Ends. I’ll preface this by saying that I’m in the boat of those that were just happy to see some new Halloween films. But, I really enjoyed it. From start to finish, the dreamy vibe really did it for me and felt just right to end the night.
I’m not entirely sure how to put it into words, but Ends was a great fit for the last day of October. I did not care that Michael was only in it for two minutes, that they introduced a new killer, nothing… it didn’t bother me. I thought it was fun from start to finish. Felt like a huge dream sequence, almost how I felt watching the return of Twin Peaks.
I especially loved when Michael has his first kill and did a little quiver, kind of reminded me of when Grandpa was sipping on some blood in the original Texas Chainsaw. Anyone else catch that?
Anyways, would love to hear from other folks, good or bad how they felt after a rewatch. Interested in seeing if anyone shares the same enthusiasm as I do.
I thought it was great. Let’s be honest, all the sequels are pretty dire. Everybody was complaining about Kills and Ends as if all the others are cinematic masterpieces.
Couldn’t agree more. If people want to talk about disappointments, after what we were given in H1 and then H2, 4-6 couldn’t be more disappointing. I’m a huge fan, but I think those are some of the worst movies I’ve ever seen in comparison to the original. Not even a worthy follow-up IMO
Strangely enough I kind of enjoyed it. I felt that there was something there story wise but it wasn’t executed properly. It’s not a good movie by any means but there were elements that held my attention. I always wanted to see a copycat killer in the Halloween franchise and there was a little of that in the story. Had they of taken some of the concepts and made this a stand alone feature it would have been way better. Maybe start out w/ a kid who had been picked on, ends up becoming the Shape copycat and then the real Michael shows up at the end. That would have been cool.
For me, box one to check for any Myers film is the mask itself. The sequels after H2 featured terrible masks imo. My opinion on them colors my opinion of the films.
So the 2018 trilogy has a MASSIVE head start for me since they NAILED the mask/coveralls/actor physicality imo. Plot holes or plot issues can be forgiven by me, not the image of the Shape… I enjoyed all 3.
Nice to see a civil discussion about Ends here. Very refreshing as it got a little heated in earlier days due to some muckrakers on both sides of the fence. I loved Ends from the very first viewing in the theater, and I love it to this day. I gauge Halloween sequels mostly on atmosphere, and Ends was dripping with it. It wasn’t perfect, and it was not a great ending to the trilogy, but I didn’t care much for what they set up in 2018 and Kills anyway. I think if we got something closer to Ends in 2018 and started the trilogy from there, the whole DGG experiment would have been so much better. I struggle to rank it my 4th favorite. I’m not quite ready to dethrone Halloween 4 as 4th, but it’s close. At the very least, Ends beats out 5, 6, 8, RZ H2, 2018 and Kills for me.
Fans who saw H4 at the right time in their lives to enjoy the story/vibe of Halloween like that mask.
Fans who first enjoyed the storyline at other points see no problem with a RZ Michael, or an H5, resurrection etc. To me, they are all GOD AWFUL. H5 among the worst, but all terrible!
I saw 78 Halloween as a teen in 1980ish on broadcast TV. Nothing since H2 has been within MILES of the character. Chris Nelson knocked it out of the park. And JJC sold it for the grand slam visually.
Personally the dialogue in both kills and ends was weird for me. Might be in the minority here but Corey and Allyson’s connection didn’t seem believable and was rather paced quick at how attached they became to one another over what seemed like 2 days? The bully castings were lame in my opinion, just seemed unrealistic. I wasn’t a fan of Corey, again the build up to him being a killer could have been built up better. Karen dying seemed to have no impact on Laurie’s mental health, considering Michael had gone missing in ends. But holding onto her friends deaths for 40yrs while Michael was locked up didn’t make sense to me either. I could go on and on. There were things I did like about the movie but going into the trilogy overall I expected a more realistic take on the characters. Either way, I’m always happy with Myers on the big screen at the end of the day.
I did love the characters Alyson and officer Hawkins, I thought they were well created characters and good additions to the Halloween alumni. I don’t think Ends was as bad people put it up to be, I think Kills was the worst of the trilogy. But there were things about Kills and Ends that I liked and felt they would have made 2018 a much better movie. I preferred Laurie in Ends over the Sarah Connor esque-survivalist in 2018. Karen should have been mentioned to be deceased somewhere during the 40 year gap and just keep the focus on Laurie and Alyson.