Halloween Ends - Blu-ray review

Movie
I must say that David Gordon Green’s re imagining of what happens in the Halloween universe after the 1970s original has been a great delight, and a frustrating experience for me. It’s the first time in years since Jamie Lee Curtis reprised her role as Laurie Strode, and they made Michael Myers actually SCARY again, instead of just being a dumb joke by the time Halloween Resurrection rolled around in the late 90s. BUUUUUUT, at the same time Green sort of stretched out the new movies into a fully trilogy ala The Hobbit, instead of ending it succinctly with the first movie in the trilogy being the perfect bookend. Last years Halloween Kills tried to go full meta allegory on us, and while it had some crazy kills and fun goof arounds, just didn’t live up to the 2018 predecessor. I personally thought the entire movie was sort of blah, but it was at least mildly entertaining. However, finishing the trilogy off with a bang, Halloween Ends actually does a good job of adding in a layered element to Michael Myers reign of terror by introducing a new villain while simultaneously wrapping up his feud with Laurie.

4 years after the events of Halloween Kills, Laurie is trying to made a new life for herself after her daughter and son-in-law are murdered by Michael, before the enigmatic killer limping off into the night.However, the poor town is not done with tragedy yet, as poor Corey (Rohan Campbell) accidentally kills a young child by knocking him off a flight of stairs. The grief ridden town sees a chance to continue their hatred of boogeymen, shifting their rage from the rampage of Michael Myers to poor Corey. Even after 3 years poor Corey is still ostracized by the town.

Things start to look up for Corey when Laurie’s grand daughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) takes an interest in the lad and the two become close. However, Corey path is beset by a dark hand, as he runs into a weakened Michael Myers living under the sewer. Seeing the same evil and darkness in his eyes, Michael lets Corey go, only for the youth to start craving the same rush and power at killing that Michael once had. Before long the peaceful little town is going to get another set of tragedies as the two men start something that was thought dead some 4 years ago.

Halloween Ends got a LOOOOT of controversy at the box office. Franchise films that stray away from the main antagonist tend to be considered week and mediocre (look at Halloween 3, or Friday the 13th Part 5), but I have to think that Ends handles things pretty well. Michael Myers doesn’t even make a real appearance until the 55 minute (ish) mark, and for some that was a major point of contention. Most of the story revolves around Corey’s very blatantly telegraphed fall into the clutches of the Myers curse, but it’s done rather well. Corey is both a sympathetic and disturbing character, making you almost root that he escapes his dark passenger (as Dexter would have said) and the natural progression from terrorized kid to full on psychotic murderer is delicious to watch.

However, Michael does make his appearance for the last half of the film and it’s a doozey. I really loved how they intimate the supernatural element to Michael’s strength. That scene under the sewers where he stabs the douche following Corey is mesmerizing. You can literally see the weak and decrepit masked killer gain strength and raw power with every stab of the knife, and while it’s seemingly obvious to some of us, Green makes it very subtle in how he allows the audience interpret whether it’s just an emotional thing, or whether Michael is ACTUALLY gaining supernatural strength with each kill. Also, the final battle with Laurie is well worth watching. Watching Laurie have her final blow is almost as exciting as it was back in 2018 when she dropped that burning house on the man. Whether or not he STAYS dead is of course up to Universal, but the movie has a very solid ending in my personal opinion, even though the verdict is sort of half and half by the audience.




Rating:

Rated R for bloody horror violence and gore, language throughout and some sexual references.




Video:

About the only thing that separates the Blu-ray from the 4K UHD set is the video encode in 1080p (naturally). While the Blu-ray is good, it just isn’t AAAAAS good as the 2160p disc. Colors are warm and inviting, with a slightly contrast boosted outdoor light set, and darkness showing a much grimmer and grayer look with hints of amber peaking through. Blacks are deep and inky at night, although I do notice some color banding (as is the norm for Blu-ray releases in dark light). Overall a great looking Blu-ray disc.







Audio:

The Dolby Atmos track (found on both the 4K UHD and the Blu-ray) is a stunner as well. Deeply atmospheric and filled with TONS of bass, the next gen track really lights up the surrounds system with eerie aplomb. It’s thunderingly powerful in the LFE department though, with some really hefty wallops in both the score and discrete sounds (such as Corey slamming a glass door repeatedly). I didn’t notice a TON of activity in the overheads, but there is still enough discrete and ambient noises (such as the scuffle near the end, or in the sewers with things scritching or dripping overhead). Vocals are clean and clear as expected, making this one impressive sounding mix.








Extras:

• Deleted and Extended Scenes
-- Michael Shakes Things Up
-- Joan's Bunny Slam
-- Corey Reflects Upon Himself
--- Ronald's Stuck at Work
-- Margo Gets the Boot
-- Joan's Recipe for Disaster
• Ending HALLOWEEN - HALLOWEEN could never truly end without a decisive showdown between Laurie and Michael. Explore the creative team's approach to crafting the film's final sequence.
• Final Girl - The iconic Jamie Lee Curtis discusses the legacy of Laurie Strode and what playing the character has meant to her.
• No Place Like Haddonfield - Filmmakers and cast reveal some of the secret ingredients that make HALLOWEEN productions so special and their personal feelings on being a part of such a classic franchise.
• Gag Reel
• A Different Threat - As Haddonfield evolves to a new era, we examine how the evil within has also evolved.
• The Visions of Terror - See how various production departments came together to achieve the film's unique visual style.
• Twisted Deaths - An up-close look at some of the gruesome death scenes.
• Feature Commentary with co-writer/director David Gordon Green, actors Andi Matichak and Rohan Campbell, co-producer/first assistant director Atilla Salih Yücer, and production assistant Hugo Garza










Halloween Ends is that sort of movie that will either annoy you, or pleasantly surprise you. Myself personally, I was in the latter camp as I enjoyed the change of focus AWAY from Michael for a while. The film features a great cast, solid kills, and an ending that was more than satisfying, even though it was far from as perfect as the 2018’s ending before it was confirmed that they were going to stretch out the movie into a trilogy. The Blu-ray disc is a great disc, although the 4K UHD disc outclasses it in the video department. Definitely a fun watch


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Rohan Campbell, Will Patton
Directed by: David Gordon Green
Written by: Brad Paul Logan
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), Spanish DD Plus 7.1, French DD 5.1, English DD 2.0
Subtitles: English, Spanish, Frence
Studio: Universal
Rated: R
Runtime: 107 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: December 27th, 2022

Asere said:

Glad you enjoyed it. I had mixed feelings but didn't think it was horrible either. Thanks for the review.

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I was surprised. thought i would hate it, but ended up enjoying it.