★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
Michael Myers and Laurie Strode go toe-to-toe one last time in David Gordon Green’s lacklustre finale.
It’s been four years since Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) vanished without a trace. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is in a far better state of mind than she was in Halloween Kills (2021). No longer an out-of-town recluse, her life is now spent living with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) in Haddonfield, Illinois. Although both are still mentally wounded from their past encounters with the Boogeyman, Allyson hits it off with new love interest Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell).
While babysitting a child in Haddonfield, Corey is left suspected of murder as a prank goes badly wrong and the child ends up at the foot of the stairs. With Michael still hiding in the shadows, Corey quickly becomes the new town pariah.
Focusing on the whirlwind romance between Allyson and her creepy new boyfriend Corey. It’s through Corey’s perspective, the plot transforms into a psychodrama exploring what truly makes a person evil and how they are shaped by hateful public perception. Becoming a half-hearted attempt to add another layer of meaning before returning to the original mass murderer – Michael Myers.
David Gordon Green started out so strong with the reboot of Halloween (2018), reminding fans of what truly made Michael Myers so terrifying in John Carpenter’s version. But the subsequent instalments have fallen short of everything we have come to expect in a slasher movie.
With some credit to the screenwriters for their attempt to add outrageous narrative twists in the final chapter. But by introducing Corey as the new protagonist, they completely side-lined their biggest characters. Laurie spends most of the film writing her memoirs with some interesting monologues, and Michael is left wounded in the sewers echoing Stephen King’s Pennywise.
A redeemable quality of the film was the soundtrack. Notably, the sauciness of Johnny Goth’s indie single, Come 2 Me, during Allyson and Corey’s motorcycle scene. It added an unexpected coming-of-age feel to the horror genre.
Allyson’s contributions to the storyline consisted of poor decisions, none of which made any sense. Foolishly falling in love with the brooding maniac, she fails to see how Corey is lazily embodying Michael’s legacy. It’s only when Laurie witnesses something dark and hateful in Corey’s eyes does the romance unfold.
As Carpenter’s powerful theme tune fades in, Laurie and Michael have their final dance. Without revealing too much, it’s hard to imagine that David Gordon Green couldn’t envisage something better. But perhaps that’s the point.
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