Halloween Kills: The Tragic Death Of (Spoiler) Malevolently Sets Up Emotionally Powerful Sequel In Halloween Ends

One key character in the Blumhouse Halloween timeline meets a violent, painful end at the hands of Michael Myers almost immediately before the credits roll on Halloween Kills. Here is how it sets up the final chapter in the horror trilogy.

Halloween Kills, directed by David Gordon Green and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, is available now in theaters and on Peacock.

One key character in the Blumhouse Halloween timeline meets a violent, painful end at the hands of Michael Myers almost immediately before the credits roll on Halloween Kills.

HALLOWEEN KILLS OFFICIAL SPOILER WARNING

Spoilers for the film lie ahead, so go support your local theater and then come back for the gory details on (Spoiler)’s final moments.

The new Halloween movies have largely been about legacy, both the legacy of Michael Myers’ and of the Strode family. Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role as Laurie Strode, and is joined by Judy Greer as her daughter Karen Nelson, as well as Andi Matchitak, who plays Allyson Nelson, Karen’s daughter.

Each of these actor’s deliver powerful, emotionally driven performances in Halloween Kills. Unfortunately, their courage, or stupidity, depending on how you look at it, does not lead them to a happy ending.

Laurie stays cooped up in the hospital, drugged out of her mind, behaving irrationally and partaking in a forced romantic backstory with Officer Hawkins. Allyson narrowly escapes death after watching her boyfriend Cameron (Dylan Arnold) get slaughtered. Judy Greer’s Karen suffers the most as she is stabbed to death by Michael while staring out the window of the old Myers house.

HALLOWEEN KILLS: STAR JAMIE LEE CURTIS SPEAKS OUT ABOUT THE ENDING

Jamie Lee Curtis spoke with The Illuminerdi about Laurie’s story and the ending of Halloween Kills.

Well, you have to remember Laurie, first of all thinks Michael’s dead and she’s a wounded warrior. So she is rendered impotent by this attack. She’s been knifed in the stomach, she’s had a surgery. So when we first meet her, she’s just, she’s a wreck. She’s just survived the surgery. As the movie progressed, I understood what David was doing. You see, she’s the target. Michael is the arrow. Michael is trying to come to her. Now, you know that Michael is coming for her, which is why the crowd shows up at the hospital, which is why then when Tovoli shows up at the hospital, they misunderstand who it is.
And it just, I remember the first time I saw {the ending}, it evoked this moment of, “No! No! What?” And that to me is brave filmmaking to end a movie like that. Because there was an alternate ending that was very much more traditional and it’s not in the movie, it’ll be in the DVD extras. When David told me he was cutting that and that they were just going to cut on those two faces, boom out, I was like, ugh, because …They haven’t been in the movie together, but there they are in the movie together. And what is it going to tell you is going to happen in the next one?

Those paragraphs have drastically different implications that detail Jamie Lee Curtis’ unique perspective on the sequel. She speaks about how distraught and unstable Laurie is post-surgery, which tracks. Then, she goes on to claim that Laurie is Michael’s target and ultimate goal. While many characters in this film, including Laurie, believe this fervently, the actual film tells a different story.

The exploits of franchise newcomer Robert Longstreet, who plays Cameron’s father, Lonnie Elam discover that Michael’s final destination has nothing to do with Laurie Strode. Michael is simply trying to go home, and circumstance keeps putting the Strodes and other Haddonfield residents in his lethal path. Furthermore, Haluk Bilginer’s Dr. Sartain was the force that ultimately reunited Laurie and Michael in Halloween (2018).

HALLOWEEN KILLS: MICHAEL IS HEADED HOME

Curtis moves on, speaking about the shocking finale of Halloween Kills. Foolishly believing Michael Myers is defeated, Karen Nelson heads to the same window Michael Myers would stare at Haddonfield through when he was a child. When Michael’s supernatural abilities are revealed through his perspective scenes, he comes for Karen, violently slashing her, spraying the blood of Laurie’s daughter on his iconic mask.

This is one of the most exciting moments in Halloween Kills, because it sets up Michael’s mask in Halloween Ends to be coated in Karen’s blood. While this may sound like a disturbing thing to anticipate so eagerly, the powerful symbolism is too brilliant to be overlooked. I personally adored the ending of this film, but I have to wonder what the alternate ending featured on the DVD release holds in store.

One of my favorite films in the franchise is Rob Zombies’ Halloween II (2009), a feature defined by it’s alternate endings. The unrated director’s cut of Halloween II runs 14 minutes longer, with the most significant change being a completely different ending.

HALLOWEEN KILLS: WHAT COULD THE ALTERNATE ENDING HOLD IN STORE

The theatrical version features Laurie Strode stabbing Michael Myers, seemingly killing him. She then dons his mask, only to be captured and put in an insane asylum. The true version of Halloween II features a final confrontation between Laurie, Michael and Dr. Loomis, a conflict that results in all of their deaths. The scene of Laurie in the insane asylum is now a symbolic look at Laurie’s final thoughts before slipping into the afterlife.

It’s hard to imagine that Halloween Kills would feature such a drastically ending for a number of reasons. One big difference is how smoothly the Blumhouse production seem to run. Rob Zombie’s Halloween II faced lost footage, studio intervention, faulty prop design, and a constantly shrinking production schedule. The drastic differences between the theatrical release and director’s cut can be attributed to those issues which Halloween Kills seems to have avoided.

Additionally, Jamie Lee Curtis describes the alternate ending as a deleted scene that is far more traditional than the true ending to Halloween Kills. This could mean that Michael is seemingly defeated again, like in Halloween (2018). Perhaps it means that the Michael Myers’ supernaturally fueled third-act comeback is further explored in this deleted scene.

The alternate ending to Halloween Kills will be featured in the extended cut of the film, which is available to preorder on Amazon now. It does not appear to have a confirmed release date at this time.

Halloween Kills, directed by David Gordon Green and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, is available now in theaters and on Peacock. What did you think of the ending to Halloween Kills? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or on our social media!

KEEP READING: HALLOWEEN KILLS: DIRECTOR DAVID GORDON GREEN TALKS FAN RESPONSE TO THE HORRIFIC DEATH OF (SPOILER)