In 1978, John Carpenter released into the world one of the most petrifying fictional horror film characters to ever surface. Since then, Michael Myers and the Halloween franchise have come to see 13 films and various other adaptations of the character through novels and video games. David Gordon Green’s “Halloween Ends” is the latest addition to the extensive line of adaptations to the franchise. In its 44year existence, it may be the worst representation of the film and John Carpenter’s vision from 1978.

The film follows a false protagonist in the series, Corey Cunningham, played by Rohan Campbell. Cunningham’s story begins as he babysits an energetic and obnoxious child on Halloween night. In horror film fashion, the kid suspensefully hides from Cunningham and locks him in a room. Cunningham panics and kicks the door open, thereby knocking the child over a railing to his demise. Concluding this scene, Cunningham is acknowledged as the babysitter who murdered a child and was given the cold shoulder by everyone in the fictional town of Haddonfield, Ill. 

While the addition of this new character was refreshing and seemed to be heading somewhere, it ultimately led to nothing but the limitation of screen time for Michael Myers. As the film unfolded, it became more evident that Cunningham’s timeline had no purpose.

After 44 years of service in the entertainment industry and countless near heart attack moments,  Myers’s career on the big screen is ending most timidly. The film lacked several classic Myers cliches such as his gruesome murders and suspenseful pursuit of his victims. The scariest part of my entire theater experience was when I was told at the concessions that they do not accept cash or Apple Pay.

On a positive note, from a film perspective, the build-up of the Cunningham character was excellent if you were not to consider that it is a movie exclusively based on the horrid acts of  Myers. The raw emotion brought to the screen by Campbell while portraying his character for Cunningham was phenomenal. His ability to transition an introverted college student into a daunting monster without a hiccup was impressive. It was one of the few aspects of this film that was pleasing to follow. 

After watching the movie and experiencing the deaths of  Myers and Cunningham, one notable question popped into my mind: what the hell was the point? Before this film, Cunningham had no relation to any Halloween adaptations. Being included in this film to die, leaving no emotional purpose, was the biggest let down for the viewer. 

Cunningham’s interactions with Myers throughout the film created an unbelievable storyline that did not add up when looking back at the other films. After getting bullied by the most unrealistic bullies you will ever see in any movie, Corey was able to battle Myers underground in Myers’ hideout without help. 

I understand the concept of Michael Myers being on his last leg as he is slowly deteriorating. Still, to allow Myers to get dominated in such a manner, it was as if the writers were flipping off the viewers and forcing us to understand the decision here.

Understanding that the crew had been announced to be struggling with the filming process with delays and a high number of reshoots, this film never felt as if the crew intended it to be this way. The film’s approach makes me wonder as a viewer how indecisive this crew was. Looking back at the original trailer for this film, we can see numerous scenes included in the trailer that never surface on screen, many of which incorporate Myers. The film had the potential to be a great Halloween movie, but they decided not to allow it to be that. The expectation of experiencing one last Myers slow-paced chase scene or high-suspense jump scare never came to be, which was the film’s most disappointing element.