3 out 5 stars
We come back to his story directly after the events unfolded at the end of the 2018 instalment for those keeping track of Mike Myers' life cycle. Karen (Judy Greer) and her daughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak), rush to save Karen’s mum, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). As they head to the hospital after a near-fatal abdominal stab wound at the hands of Laurie’s psychopathic brother, who has been trying to kill her for over 40 years.
Unbeknownst to the women, Michael has not died in the fiery trap they had left him to burn. As firefighters risk their lives to stop the blaze, the seemingly invincible murderer gains the upper hand to kill them all before escaping. When the police arrive at the fire scene, they are understandably saddened and sickened by the massacre that they discover. Unaware that Michael had returned to Haddonfield, Illinois, where he first killed his older sister in 1963 when he was six years of age.
As he makes his way through the community, Myers starts killing indiscriminately once again. Except something has changed as the townspeople of a small community are sick of living in fear of the carnage of the infamous killer. Which leads the previous survivors to rally together to face him head-on in a bloody showdown.
Beginning with the origins of Michael Myers’ infamy in 1978, when he was apprehended after escaping Smith's Grove Sanatorium to kill five people. After studying Myers’ psychopathology, psychiatrist Dr Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) determined no alternative but to execute the spree killer. Unfortunately, Loomis was stopped at the last moment. The doctor’s actions would have saved over 100 lives had he stopped Michael as he had intended.
With this chapter, director and writer David Gordon Green draws in characters and their families from the original Halloween film. This latest narrative takes an interesting turn as the focus moves away from Laurie, Karen and Allyson to other revenge-seeking victims/survivors in the small town in the Midwest. They have been affected by Myers' earlier brutal actions. At one stage, the angry mob is so determined to dispense vigilante justice that they go after the wrong person with deadly consequences. Even after realising that an innocent man had died, the vigilante mob moves on far too quickly without showing any remorse.
Furthermore, Officer Hawkins (Will Patton) is discovered still alive and rushed to hospital after his near-fatal stabbing at Myers’ obsessed psychiatrist, Dr Sartain. This doctor’s advice forced Michael to confront his sister to observe what would happen next. Once the law enforcement agent can tell the ladies that Michael was returning to his hometown to come after them.
Despite knowing that there is another sequel, Halloween Ends currently planned for a 2022 release date, the ending of this film is surprisingly shocking and unexpected. David Gordon Green and cinematographer Michael Simmonds continue to seamlessly execute the tone of John Carpenter’s original 1978 horror cult classic. While the anecdotal back-filling of Myers and his victims’ experiences successfully creates historical context.
REEL DIALOGUE: Do we have anything to fear?*
What is the appeal of horror films? Many fans surveyed have stated that the attraction of this genre is a good scare with the knowledge that by the end there will be a positive outcome and a potentially happy ending. The expected tension of this type of film and the Halloween franchise is that Michael Myers is the embodiment of pure evil and the expectation that most of the characters are going to die gruesome deaths at the hands of this man. The only thing that possibly makes this bearable is the inclusion of a heroic saviour figure to balance out the evil. The character of Laurie is seen as the one who will rescue her loved ones and those impacted by Myers, because she has made it her mission in life to destroy the evil that he represents once and for all.
For many in the world, their lives can be a reflection of a horror film. Despite the degree of pain experienced by each person in this world, one thing that can bring solace is that mankind also has an advocate and saviour to rescue us from evil through the person of Jesus Christ.
The story of the Bible tells us that sin has caused mankind to fall out of relationship with God and into the horrific hands of eternal death. However, Jesus’ death on the cross has meant that we can be restored in our relationship with God by trusting in His death on our behalf, which leads to eternal life.
Want to find out more? Check out one of the biographies of Jesus: Luke
*Reel Dialogue from Halloween review (2018)
