Halloween Ends: The Official Movie Novelization by Paul Brad Logan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The thrilling conclusion to the saga of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode.

Michael Myers has vanished. Since his escape and recent killing spree he has evaded capture and apparently disappeared. But Haddonfield is a scarred town that cannot forget.

After accidentally causing the death of a child, Corey Cunningham has become the town's new boogeyman. Laurie Strode sees through this prejudice, having suffered at the hands of town opinion herself, and introduces Corey to her granddaughter, Allyson.

But as Hallowe’en approaches, evil stirs in the shadows, and death comes to this little town once again.

'Halloween Ends' is the novelisation of the 2022 film, written by Paul Brad Logan, and based on the screenplay by Paul Brad Logan, David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Chris Bernier. The last in Gordon Green's legacy trilogy, and thirteenth entry in the franchise overall, it concludes the story that began with ‘Halloween [2018]’ and continued with ‘Halloween Kills’. A fantastic companion to the movie and a riveting horror thriller on its own merit, the novel vividly translates the events portrayed on film to the page, delving deeper into the psyches of the characters.

Whereas 'Halloween [2018]' was the ultimate battle between Laurie and Michael forty years on and 'Halloween Kills' the continuation of that night, exploring the ongoing horror for Laurie and her family and the wider impact on the town and its citizens, 'Halloween Ends' is the denouement to that massacre, set four years later, a slow-burning and character-driven narrative of psychological depth, philosophical perspective, and the possibility of supernatural influence. It’s not necessarily the typical slasher, yet this gives the story its strength, exploring the concept of evil as a contagion, an infection spread through tragedy, abuse and trauma.

Severely weakened, still suffering from the wounds inflicted four years earlier and severely malnourished, an aging Michael Myers lurks in a disused sewer on the outskirts of Haddonfield. Meanwhile, Laurie Strode, the original survivor of Michael’s 1978 massacre, having waited forty years for the day he would escape so she could finally bring an end to it, but then tragically losing her daughter in the havoc that followed, has finally managed to begin the process of healing and living a life. The narrative is largely led through Corey and Allyson's story, blending romantic elements while further developing the central theme of the legacy of trauma; how evil and its scars afflict subsequent generations.

Throughout forty-five years, the series has walked the shadows between the flesh and blood and the supernatural, as is fitting for the festival it celebrates. This trilogy has honoured the original film and its creative spirit, very cleverly towing those shadows. Michael is a man, who, despite his inhuman abilities, can ultimately die. Yet this darkness within him, that has lived there since he was six years old, leaving him only a shell, may be the purest evil, almost its own entity in the way that Michael himself can appear almost supernatural in the form of the Shape; as he dons the mask that perfectly visualises that blank, pale, emotionless face that Dr. Loomis witnessed in the child who appeared to have no conscience or reason left, with "the blackest eyes, the Devil's eyes." You cannot really explain Michael Myers - he is unlike any flesh and blood serial or spree killer, and yet he is also not supernatural in the way Freddy or Jason (in his later films at least) may be.

Central to the entire legacy trilogy is Laurie Strode, the original final girl. Now a grandmother, a survivor; we've witnessed the effect of that Halloween night of 1978 and how it shaped her entire life and that of her family. She's developed into a feminist icon, both in character on the screen (and page), and through her portrayal by Jamie Lee Curtis. Horror is often attributed the reputation of not being kind to female characters - objectifying, sexualising and victimising them. Yet, in some ways, it has been ahead of the curve - in how many other genres would a "final girl" be one of the heroes of the narrative? The trilogy has essentially been Laurie’s story of survival – how she lived with her trauma and reclaimed the narrative, not simply being one of Michael’s victims, and how ultimately she emerges on the other side.

A fitting final chapter to this strand of the legacy, 'Halloween Ends' is a gripping installment in what is arguably the original and leading of the slasher franchises. Doubtless, Michael will ultimately return in some shape or form, and I will welcome it when that day arrives. As the story itself suggests, perhaps evil truly never dies.



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