Halloween Ends has divided audiences. Director David Gordon Green, however, appears to be perfectly satisfied with the ending of his trilogy and has defended it from detractors.
Some fans were satisfied with where the new trilogy ended in Halloween Ends. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney, Nick Castle) fight until one comes out victorious. Others felt that the presence of the new character Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell) overtook the Michael Myers story and robbed fans of a proper confrontation between Strode and Myers. The Halloween Ends director explained Corey Cunningham's inclusion, saying he wanted to provide a more "grounded and intimate" take on the franchise.
In an interview with Moviemaker, Green responded simply to the criticism some fans have lobbied at Halloween Ends. "It’s funny, when someone says, 'Build your dream house on this real estate using this title and these characters,' everybody is going to find a different little thing that’s meaningful for them and they’ll make it their own," Green responded when asked about the criticism. "That’s what I did. For every bite of backlash, you also get people that are thanking you for taking it to a new place and keeping it alive and full of love."
Green revealed that the plan was always for Corey to be involved in the final story. "Honestly, we never once considered making a Laurie and Michael movie [Laughs.] The concept that it should be a final showdown-type brawl never even crossed our minds." Interestingly, Green also wrote a Halloween III reference - one of the weirdest sequels in the horror movie franchise - into the script that didn't end up getting filmed. "There was an ending I wrote, that we never filmed, and it takes place at Silver Shamrock factory as it was spitting out witch, skeleton, and jack-o-lanterns masks… and then it started spitting out Michael Myers masks. I had a temptation to go there, but at the end of the day, I thought that’s just fan service for people who know what Silver Shamrock is. It was in every draft of the script ever published [Laughs.] but we never filmed it."
Cunningham's inclusion in Halloween Ends is an interesting one. With a bit of tweaking, the idea might not have overtaken Laurie Strode and Michael Myers' showdown. The character is like a mix of both Strode and Myers: a babysitter turned serial killer. He could have been a protégé for Michael Myers, symbolizing the legacy the character has in the popular consciousness, similar to how Laurie's granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) takes on her "final girl" image.
Ultimately, Corey becomes a bit too much of the focus of Halloween Ends. It feels as though he's more important to the films than Myers at times, which is undoubtedly a flaw for a film that is supposed to wrap up a forty-plus-year rivalry that has been legendary within the horror genre.
Halloween Ends is now in theaters and is streaming on Peacock.
Source: Moviemaker