Skip to main content
Movie poster for Halloween Ends (2022)

Halloween Ends

“Only one of them will survive.”

2022
1h 51m
Play trailer
Search on Netflix

Overview

Four years after the events of Halloween in 2018, Laurie has decided to liberate herself from fear and rage and embrace life. But when a young man is accused of killing a boy he was babysitting, it ignites a cascade of violence and terror that will force Laurie to finally confront the evil she can’t control, once and for all.

Cast

12 people

Reviews

5 min read

The Shape of Fear: What Happens When the Boogeyman Grows Up?

I keep thinking about the mask. Not the one Michael Myers wears—though that blank, pale face has haunted horror for decades—but the way Halloween Ends tries to peel it back, to show us what’s underneath. Or, more accurately, what isn’t.

The film arrives with a title that promises finality, a full stop after 44 years of slashing. But endings are tricky things, especially in horror. They’re supposed to satisfy, to tie up loose ends with a neat bow of blood.

What Halloween Ends offers instead is something messier: a story about what happens when the monster stops being a monster and starts being a man. Or, at least, tries to.

The first image we get is of a drone. It’s a strange, almost clinical way to open a slasher film—this mechanical eye floating over Haddonfield, Illinois, as if the town itself is under surveillance. The drone belongs to Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), a troubled teenager who’s spent the last four years as the town’s pariah after a babysitting accident left a child dead.

Corey isn’t Michael Myers, but he might as well be. The town has already decided he’s a killer, and in a place like Haddonfield, where the past is a wound that never quite scabs over, that’s all the proof anyone needs.

A drone's-eye view of Haddonfield at night, the town bathed in the eerie glow of streetlights.

This is where Halloween Ends diverges from the franchise’s usual playbook. The film isn’t interested in the mechanics of fear—how many kills, how creative the deaths, how much tension can be wrung from a darkened hallway. Instead, it’s fixated on the idea of fear: how it lingers, how it warps, how it can turn a person into something unrecognizable.

Corey is the film’s most fascinating creation, not because he’s a great villain, but because he’s a terrible one. He’s weak, needy, desperate for connection. When he meets Laurie Strode’s granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak), their relationship is less a romance than a mutual salvage operation.

She’s still reeling from the trauma of Michael’s last rampage; he’s drowning in the weight of a town that’s already convicted him. Together, they’re two broken people trying to outrun the narratives that have been written for them.

Jamie Lee Curtis, of course, is the reason many of us are here. Laurie Strode has been her role for over 40 years, and in Halloween Ends, she’s finally allowed to step out of the shadow of her own mythology. The film gives her a quiet, almost meditative arc.

Audience Opinions

Audience 4.7/10
"A divisive and underwhelming finale to the Halloween saga, lacking the scares and depth fans expected."

Many viewers felt *Halloween Ends* strayed too far from the franchise’s horror roots, replacing tension with a slow-burn drama that failed to deliver on its title’s promise. While some appreciated its attempt at a character-driven narrative, the lack of suspense and minimal presence of Michael Myers left audiences disappointed. latestnetflix.com's take is that the film’s tonal shift and weak payoff overshadowed any redeeming qualities for most.

What viewers praise
  • Character depth Some viewers enjoyed the focus on character development, particularly Corey Cunningham’s arc, as a fresh direction for the franchise.
  • Jamie Lee Curtis Her performance as Laurie Strode was widely praised, even by those critical of the film’s overall direction.
  • Atmospheric moments A few scenes were noted for their eerie atmosphere, though they were too sparse to salvage the experience for most.
Common complaints
  • Lack of scares The film was criticized for abandoning horror in favor of a slow, dramatic story with little suspense or terror.
  • Minimal Michael Myers Fans were frustrated by the reduced screen time and impact of the iconic villain, feeling cheated by the title’s implications.
  • Weak finale The ending was seen as anticlimactic and unsatisfying, failing to provide closure for the franchise’s long-running storylines.
  • Tonal inconsistency The shift from horror to drama confused and alienated many viewers, who felt the film didn’t know what it wanted to be.
  • Pacing issues The slow, meandering plot struggled to hold attention, with many finding the runtime unnecessarily long.
Recommended for
Fans of character-driven dramas Jamie Lee Curtis enthusiasts Those curious about franchise finales Horror fans open to experimental shifts

Full Plot (Spoilers)

Spoiler warning

This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.

Buzz & Rumors

Public reports

Jamie Lee Curtis and the Final Showdown: Behind the Scenes of Halloween Ends

Halloween Ends (2022) promised to close the book on Laurie Strode’s decades-long battle with Michael Myers—and the film’s behind-the-scenes drama was nearly as intense as its on-screen horror. latestnetflix.com's view is that With Jamie Lee Curtis returning for what she framed as her final bow as the iconic final girl, the movie became a lightning rod for fan expectations, cast tensions, and even a few fiery moments from Curtis herself.

The End of an Era—or a Rant?

YTYouTube·Halloween Ends Trailer Footage Revealed! Jamie L…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdeAmpFwMSA

Curtis didn’t hold back when discussing Halloween Ends, particularly in interviews where she framed the film as a definitive conclusion to Laurie Strode’s story. In one clip, she delivered a passionate, expletive-laden declaration about the movie’s impact, warning viewers, “It’s gonna f*** you up!” . The intensity of her remarks suggested a mix of exhaustion and pride, as if she were steeling herself—and the audience—for the emotional weight of the finale.

YTYouTube·Jamie Lee Curtis goes on a rant when discussing …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvyt3ouYZJs

But Curtis’s candor wasn’t limited to the film’s themes. In another interview, she went on what was described as a “rant” about the project, though the specifics of her grievances remain unclear from the available evidence . Whether she was venting about the pressures of the franchise’s legacy or the challenges of filming during a pandemic, her outspokenness hinted at the high stakes surrounding the movie.

Cast Tensions and Pay Disparities

YTYouTube·Halloween Ends (2022) Cast Salaries 💰| Jamie Le…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBoiZYGdJgc

Money—and who got how much—became a talking point ahead of Halloween Ends’ release. A video titled Halloween Ends (2022) Cast Salaries teased details about the cast’s paychecks, with Curtis’s salary reportedly revealed . While the exact figures weren’t confirmed in the snippet, the mere suggestion of pay disparities in a franchise built on her legacy added another layer of intrigue. Curtis, a vocal advocate for fair compensation in Hollywood, may have had strong opinions about the numbers—though she didn’t publicly address them in the available clips.

YTYouTube·Jamie Lee Curtis Dismisses Danielle Harris & Sco…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMh9wI7hsLM

Off-screen dynamics also made headlines. A video titled Jamie Lee Curtis Dismisses Danielle Harris & Scout Taylor Compton at Halloween Ends After Party suggested a frosty encounter between Curtis and two former Halloween stars . Harris and Compton, who played Jamie Lloyd in earlier sequels, were reportedly snubbed by Curtis at an event, though the context of the dismissal remains murky. Neither actress has publicly elaborated on the incident, leaving fans to speculate about whether it was a personal slight or simply a case of a crowded room and missed connections.

A Franchise’s Final Chapter?

YTYouTube·Jamie Lee Curtis talks Halloween Ends and Laurie…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHfVFC_dwPM

Beyond the drama, Halloween Ends was positioned as the culmination of a story that began in 1978. Director David Gordon Green (unconfirmed in the evidence but widely reported elsewhere) and Curtis herself treated the film as a swan song for Laurie Strode. In an MTV Movies interview, Curtis reflected on Laurie’s final scene, hinting at the character’s emotional and physical toll . The film’s reception, however, was mixed—garnering a 4.7/10 rating on SensCritique from nearly 3,000 votes, a far cry from the acclaim of its predecessors .

Whether Halloween Ends truly marked the end of the franchise—or just another reboot waiting in the wings—remains to be seen. But for Curtis, the journey seemed to be over. In multiple interviews, she emphasized that this was her last time donning Laurie Strode’s mantle, leaving fans to wonder if the behind-the-scenes fireworks were as much a part of the finale as the on-screen bloodshed.

Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.

Movies

Similar Movies

Related titles ranked by rating and popularity.