To quote the seemingly immortal Laurie Strode, “Evil doesn’t die. It changes shape.” Michael Myers is once again brandishing his butcher knife for 2022’s Halloween Ends, which (as the name suggests on the tin) is supposed to end the 44-year blood feud between Myers and Strode.
Following on from David Gordon Green’s Halloween movies, the corn syrup is once again flowing. Michael has been MIA since that fateful night in 2018, but as Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) try to leave the ghosts of the past buried, death returns to Haddonfield. The question remains, is Michael Myers back?
Prior to the horror movie’s release, Curtis reiterated this really is the end of the road for Laurie’s story, and while that might be true, no one is buying that the larger franchise will remain in the grave for long. While we wait for “The Shape” to inevitably carve a new legacy, here are ten Halloween Ends Easter eggs you might’ve missed.
A chilling cameo
There have been plenty of actors to don the mask of Michael Myers over the years, but as the original, Nick Castle is to Halloween what Robert Englund is to A Nightmare on Elm Street. Although we had to wait a full 40 minutes until Castle reprised his role as Michael in Halloween Ends, you might’ve spotted him in another role.
During the scene where Corey and Allyson dance at Lindsey’s bar, Corey is flashed by an unnamed partygoer that shows off a bunch of organs under his coat and says, “See anything you like?” Castle looks a lot less imposing here, but trust us; it’s him. Ironic that even with Michael’s mask off at the end, we still don’t get a proper look at Castle as him.
Honouring John Carpenter
Even though we know John Carpenter only directed 1978’s Halloween, he’s stuck around to compose the music for Green’s trilogy. It isn’t just some familiar tinkling of the ivories that tie to Carpenter, as Halloween Ends also includes one of his other movies.
Scream isn’t the only slasher that has meta takes on itself, with Halloween Ends honouring the legacy of John Carpenter when Corey is babysitting little Jeremy Allen (Jaxon Goldberg). The pair are watching 1982’s The Thing, which was famously directed by Carpenter.
Things get even more meta if you remember that when Laurie was babysitting Tommy and Lindsey in 1978, The Thing From Another World was playing on TV. Both this and Carpenter’s The Thing are based on John W. Campbell’s ‘Who Goes There?’ novella from 1938.
The signs are all there
The big plot twist of Halloween Ends is that Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell) becomes the town’s “new” boogeyman – seemingly infected by the evil of Myers when they meet in the sewers.
From this point on, Corey effectively evolves into Michael and even takes on some of his traits. There are parallels galore between Corey and Michael, like when he lurks in the bushes outside Laurie’s house and then vanishes without a trace.
Corey spends the night at the Allen house, which mirrors Michael returning to his condemned family home when he escapes in the original Halloween. If this wasn’t enough, this wannabe Shape does the iconic Michael Myers sit up when he falls off the radio station roof.
Who’s the real villain?
Rob Zombie’s divisive Halloween remakes laid the groundwork for a more sympathetic Michael Myers, while Green’s trilogy largely glossed over Michael’s seemingly tragic childhood. It’s clear Michael is the big bad of this world, but according to the people of Haddonfield, Laurie is to blame.
When Strode goes to the supermarket, she’s lambasted by the sister of Sondra (who was seemingly killed in Halloween Kills) for teasing and provoking Michael as a man with brain damage. Allyson later claims that Laurie has sought Michael out, implying that there’s some sort of Stockholm syndrome between the pair.
As well as carrying the grief of losing most of those close to her, Laurie also has to shoulder the blame for Michael’s killing sprees in 2018 and 2022, as well as the apparent “curse” of Haddonfield. More than Halloween 5 being called The Curse of Michael Myers, Haddonfield itself has been corrupted by his evil.
Highs and Lows
2002’s Halloween: Resurrection is held by many as the worst movies the Halloween franchise has to offer. Although others champion Zombie’s Halloween II or (now) Halloween Ends, the divisive movie that killed off Laurie Strode and included Tyra Banks is pretty abysmal.
Since 2018’s Halloween retconned anything after the original, Resurrection doesn’t exist in this timeline. Still, that doesn’t mean we can’t give it the nod. Before Corey goes to take out Willy the Kid at the radio station, the loudmouthed DJ talks about songs for the “resurrection.”
If this wasn’t enough of a tie to the maligned 2000s movie, we see Laurie reflecting Michael’s face into a butcher knife to make him look upon himself in their bloody showdown. The imagery of faces reflected in knife blades was used on the posters for Halloween 5, 6, and Resurrection. Is Halloween: Resurrection now canon? Thankfully, not quite.
Turning the tables
One of the original Halloween’s most iconic moments is Laurie hiding in the wardrobe when Michael bursts in and attacks her. It looks like we’ll get a replay of this during their final confrontation at her home, but after 44 years of preparing, Laurie gets the upper hand.
When Michael is spooked by an exploding pie in the microwave (yep, that really happened), Laurie jumps from the pantry and attacks him with a fire extinguisher. Despite Michael having regained some of his “powers,” Laurie is far more matched this time around – even managing to crucify him on the kitchen counter.
A forgotten favourite
With rotting or flaming pumpkins, the title cards of the Halloween movies have always been an interesting watch. When it comes to Halloween Ends, they round off the trilogy in style by paying homage to 1982’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Carpenter and Halloween co-creator Debra Hill had always imagined the franchise as an anthology, and they finally got their wish when the third movie left Haddonfield and Michael behind.
Despite Season of the Witch being a gamble that didn’t pay off because we went back to Myers in Halloween 4, it’s become a cult classic. The Halloween Ends titles are a clever wink to the forgotten favourite, with the movie’s name being written in the same way.
Green confirmed the Easter egg to ComicBook.com and said: “Even the font of [Halloween Ends] is blue instead of orange when we’re doing our title sequences, which is a little nod to Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which was its own curveball to the franchise.” Considering Halloween Ends is something of a curveball. Only time will tell if it becomes a modern Season of the Witch.
Bob’s back
One of the weirdest Easter eggs of 2021’s Halloween Kills was the inclusion of Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk. Back then, the casting department couldn’t find a look-a-like for the actor who played Bob Simms in the 1978’s Halloween. So instead, they used a stand-in shot of Odenkirk for a news report on Michael’s victims.
As we pan over Laurie’s obsessive board of newspaper clippings in Halloween Ends, there’s a mention of the Night Blade Landmark being destroyed. As an aside, “Night Blade” was the movie’s working title. You’ll also notice that Odenkirk’s yearbook photo has once again snuck into the new trilogy.
Don’t fear the reaper
Once the dust has settled, and the blood has been cleaned up, we pan through the empty rooms of Laurie’s house. They’re all bathed in warm sunlight, which is in stark contrast to the ending of 1978’s movie, where we ominously travelled through the dark rooms Michael had killed in. Despite Laurie holding on to Michael’s mask, it confirms he’s really gone.
The end credits are accompanied by Blue Oyster Club’s ever-popular rendition of “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” which works on two levels. As well as Laurie and BFF Annie listening to the track when driving around Haddonfield in ’78, the track hammers home that Laurie has beaten the Shape and death itself.
What comes next?
We already know the “ends” bit of Halloween Ends is likely only referring to Michael and Laurie’s saga, and whether we spin off into another Season of the Witch anthology, reboot the whole thing again *sigh*, or continue Allyson’s story, Green has a little fun with us all.
When Lindsey does Allyson’s tarot reading, Laurie’s granddaughter picks the death card. Wrongly assuming it’s a bad omen, Lindsey assures Allyson that it just means a “major phase is ending, and a new one is about to begin.” As well as foreshadowing Allyson’s final fate of moving away from Haddonfield to start afresh, it could be alluding to her own franchise future.
Corey was shot and then stabbed himself, but still managed to come back to life before Michael snapped his neck. If the Halloween movies have taught us anything – and as Laurie’s memoir reminds us – it’s that evil never dies. Could we see Corey return as Allyson’s personal Michael Myers?
If you love a good scare, check out our guides to Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, as well as Pinhead. Or if you’re looking for something a bit more ‘other worldly’, we have a list of the best ghost movies.