well then

Spoilers, of course.

I want to like it, I really do. Because I don't like to be the kind of viewer who doesn't like something simply because it went a different direction than I expected. I appreciate and respect that it went in a different direction. It will definitely be remembered for that, if nothing else. But it mostly didn't work for me.

And it had its moments, but I really didn't love it.

It tried too hard to be cerebral and gothic. Which isn't what we want from a Halloween movie. Hello, Curse of Michael Myers. They ditched the tried and true slasher template, but that's what is mostly desired from these movies. It wasn't even like the other failed cerebral attempts, where we were at least learning more about Michael.

Too much focus on a new main character. All the nature v nurture crap, I get it, a parallel to whatever drove Michael mad. Corey could've been more effective if he'd been introduced in a previous entry. I thought that Michael would kill the kid at the start and frame Corey. I didn't like that we spent so much of the movie wondering if this was really happening or what was in Corey's head. Even just waiting for Michael to show up already. And the homeless guy. He said "I am Michael Myers," did he not? I kept thinking that'd be a great twist, for Michael to just be blending in as a local homeless, watching his long-term damage hidden in plain sight. But then was wondering if there'd be a supernatural element, when Corey stabbed him, if some sort of spiritual transference took place. Felt weird how they had Corey essentially learn from Michael and then use that in part to get vengeance for Allyson. And so dumb how she easily fell for the bad boy. And stupid how people kept giving Laurie crap, as if she tried to cause everything. And Michael, randomly living in a sewer for four years like fucking Pennywise. I half-expected to find out that after Michael disappeared four years ago, Corey was somehow involved in Michael's death/disappearance and kept his corpse down there, because it seemed almost like Michael couldn't leave. Honestly until Laurie started fighting Michael, I wasn't sure he was even real. That's when the movie finally picked up. And everyone acting like Laurie was wrong, when she was the only one who was pretty much always right. When she feigned suicide, I didn't know the exact point, but I knew it was a jig. I'd hoped for more from Lindsay's appearance, honestly hoped she would die, nothing against the character or actor, just would've been impactful at least. The final fight scene was good, if too long-awaited. Could've done with an earlier "maybe imaginary" glimpse or something. Especially since they had zero scenes together in Kills.

I really hope this is it for JLC as Laurie. As faulty as this entry is, at least it finally gives Laurie a happy ending, which no other iteration has ever gotten in the end, and Michael a definitive death. Of course in about five years he'll be back, in yet another continuity. He'll presumably just be aged down and become obsessed with a new final girl, remaking the original cycle. But you can feel that JLC loves the character. And for her to return yet again would just be ridiculous and silly at this point.

Honestly, franchises like this, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw, Terminator, they need to end already. Because no entry can ever really give us anything new at this point, that we haven't already seen done better within its own franchise. And a lot of merit is given to sequels having original cast members, which of course becomes less feasible over time. Many of these have attempted to give original characters closure, for better or worse. So time to let it be finished. If there's another Michael movie, I'm sure I'll go see it, and I hope I find moments to enjoy from it, but I don't feel like we ever need another one either. Let it end with 13.

May add more later as more processes or comes back to mind, because it's a lot to take in after a lot of waiting, but I guess in the end, I was underwhelmed.

Add:

I have trouble believing Michael would care enough to have/help a protege, it's not like he really gained anything from it.

The whole Laurie and Michael obsession is weird. In 18 and Kills, we see that Laurie is obsessed with Michael, him not so much with her. In 18 he only went after her because other people basically forced them to cross paths. After that, he didn't go to the hospital, he just wanted to go home. He only went after Karen and Allyson because they came after him. Yet in Ends, after hanging in the sewers for years, he leaves to go after Laurie, making it seem like yes, he is obsessed with her.

The ending was what it most got right. After he's dead, don't leave him alone, & yes, completely destroying the body, and very publicly, after showing him to the whole town, did feel right, necessary. Maybe a bit over the top, but definitely cathartic for Haddonfield and audiences alike, I think.