Halloween Ends director David Gordon Green defends the trilogy-capping horror sequel after divisive reaction to the movie. Coming off the franchise-reviving Halloween and its sequel Halloween Kills, Green tried something different with the last film in his Michael Myers trilogy, shifting the focus away from Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode and onto a new character named Corey Cunningham, a bullied kid who becomes the murderous Myers’ unlikely protégé. Though the film came away with a solid box office take of $105 million, it was blasted by critics (as evidenced by its 40% Rotten Tomatoes score) and deeply divided franchise devotees, who disagreed about the wisdom of veering away from the Strode story to introduce new characters and themes so late in the game.
With his newest franchise horror film The Exorcist: Believer about to release, Green recently recounted the reaction to Halloween Ends and defended the way he handled the film. Speaking to Josh Horowitz on Happy Sad Confused, Green admitted the movie was divisive, but said he’s proud of what he accomplished nonetheless, and declared he ultimately doesn’t feel beholden to audiences or critics. Check out what the director said in the space below (around the 17 minute mark of the video clip):
Halloween 3 for example. Very divisive. People can feel the way they want to do. I was so excited to tell that story. I’m thrilled with the outcome of it. So as far as I got to check the boxes…on my bucket list of creations, I got to do it. It has its challenges in the universe, but so be it. … And if you’re comfortable as an artist with that and that’s enough, you’re okay. If you’re looking for validation at a box office or a critic or a reception from a fan base or a unique audience. But…you could look at my first film which was really critically well-received, and you couldn’t ask for a better introduction, but it was rejected from Sundance and nobody went to the box office and it made very little money, and then had another life when Criterion Collection picked it up. … So the only thing you can do as a creator that’s willing to put yourself out there and make yourself vulnerable is be true to yourself. I’m lucky to have a group of cohorts and collaborators that are going to stand by me through the good times and bad times and continue these creations. That Circle of Trust is the only thing that’s really meaningful to me, outside of my own intuition as a creative species.
Halloween Ends Had Good Ideas, But Didn’t Come Together
Green’s decision to sideline Laurie Strode for much of Halloween Ends, delaying the expected confrontation between her and her eternal nemesis Michael Myers in favor of tracking Corey Cunningham’s struggles and ultimate turn to evil, was not a bad one on its face. Unfortunately, the film never came together story-wise, as it introduced new elements not really connected to the Halloween universe and tried to force them into a narrative that still loosely involved Myers and Strode.
Had Green been able to entirely abandon the story set up by the previous two films in his trilogy, perhaps he could have crafted a compelling, new narrative around the victimized Corey Cunningham and his internal conflict. That wasn’t in the cards however, and what Green created is a compromised film that tries to be too many things at once, and fails at being anything in particular. Halloween Ends isn’t a good entry in the franchise, and isn’t a good non-franchise movie either. Green doesn’t seem concerned about the divisive reaction to his film however, as he’s a man who follows his own creative star wherever it may guide him.
Key Release Dates
The Exorcist: Believer
Release Date:2023-10-06
