The Big Picture
- Fans and critics loved the 2018 Halloween reboot because it was a return to form with well-formed characters and a scary Michael Myers.
- The ending of Halloween 2018 is about trauma and women taking their power back.
- The alternate ending hinted at the deaths of Laurie and Michael, but it was changed to showcase Laurie's strength and preparation, making it a better ending.
Fans and critics alike loved the 2018 Halloween reboot. It was a return to form, with well-formed characters, and a Boogeyman who was scary again—thanks to the performance of James Jude Courtney as Michael Myers and that creepy-looking mask. There were plenty of kills, but David Gordon Green didn't forget to make us care about the victims inside this well-constructed world. Even better, Green got Jamie Lee Curtis to come back as Laurie Strode. But, perhaps the best part of Halloween is its ending. It wasn't the original ending though—the last several minutes were something else entirely.
What Is the Premise of the 2018 'Halloween' Film?
In 2009, the Halloween franchise died a sad death. After the failure of Rob Zombie's Halloween II, both critically and commercially, there was nowhere else to go it seemed. The original timeline had broken down into a crazy plot about cults and a weakened boogeyman being beaten up by freakin' Busta Rhymes in Halloween: Resurrection. There was no coming back from that, but Zombie's films were meant to reset all of that. However, his ideas quickly fell apart, as Michael Myers became an unmasked bearded hobo with mommy issues. Then, Myers was dead for almost a decade until director David Gordon Green brought him back with the simplest of premises: Pretend all of that craziness never happened and only that first John Carpenter film truly mattered. So, the out-of-control franchise now became a reined-in one about the after-effects of trauma. How has Laurie been dealing with the pain of that Halloween night for 40 years, and how will she act when the nightmare returns?
What Is 'Halloween's Theatrical Ending?
Though the way Michael Myers found his way to Laurie Strode's house for their first encounter in 40 years in the 2018 Halloween reboot was convoluted, what followed was edge-of-your-seat suspense. Laurie had been waiting for Michael to return for all of these years, driving away her daughter Karen (Judy Greer). Now, on the brink of doing the same to her teenage granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), she seems almost insane due to her knowledge/collection of guns and how she practices for the Shape's return. Laurie has even gone so far as to put bars around and inside her home, including a sealed-off basement where she can hide if need be.
When Michael attacks, the three generations of women attack. They trap Michael in the basement, which is then set ablaze. As it turns out, the house was transformed not as a place to hide, but as a trap. Halloween (2018) is about not only trauma but also women taking their power back and destroying their male aggressor. It was an accidentally perfect theme in a post-Me Too world. It could've ended just like that, with no more sequels, and it would have been a fitting finale. However, that wasn't the original ending.
'Halloween's Alternate Ending Hinted at the Deaths of Its Hero and Villain
If you saw the original trailer for Halloween five years ago and then watched the film in the theater, you would have noticed that several of the shots in the trailer are nowhere to be found in the final cut of Halloween. Those moments you see in the trailer but not in the movie itself are from that original unused ending. In the film's original ending, Laurie's home isn't a booby trap. The last act doesn't take place in her home of cages and fire, but outside in the yard.
While David Gordon Green has never released this ending, it can be pieced together through the original script. Laurie and Michael get into a knife fight in the yard, which we can see in glimpses in the trailer. The ultimate final girl takes several blows from the Shape's weapon and begins to bleed out. Though we never see her actually die, the implication is that she is dying. Her nightmare is finally over. It's up to Karen to save the day, and she comes out of the house wielding a crossbow. She shoots Michael repeatedly, who then stumbles into the woods and sits down. He stares off into the darkness, bleeding out as well. We don't see him die for sure either, but as the film fades to black, it looks as if both Michael and Laurie will die. As this was meant to be a standalone film, this is an easy conclusion to draw.
Why Was the Ending of 2018's 'Halloween' Changed?
Halloween's alternate ending doesn't feel all that exciting though, does it? It's rather tame and dull. That's part of the reason why it was changed, but there was a more important reason for a reshoot. The alternate ending didn't show how extensively Laurie had been preparing; rather, it depicted her more as a woman caught off-guard. Instead, it was decided that she should have learned from the past, and showcase how that preparation saved her. You can't have her be that strong only to kill her. The film also became more about the strength of a family of women. By working together, they can defeat their aggressor. In the behind-the-scenes book Halloween: The Official Making of Halloween, Halloween Kills & Halloween Ends by Abbie Bernstein, Jamie Lee Curtis said: "Everything we added made the movie work. That's what happens when you are collaborators, you can listen, [and] you don't have to be rigid. That's what I learned from David Gordon Green."
Perhaps, alternate ending or not, 2018 is where the Halloween franchise should have come to an end. It could have gone out on a high as the highest-grossing slasher movie of all time. The sequels, Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends, felt like filler with no true path other than to see Michael Myers die. However, even though it could have ended in the original finale, the ending we got is still the best. It's a joy to see Laurie not on the defense, but rather offense. She is not a product of her circumstances but a strong woman of power.
Halloween
- Created by
- John Carpenter
- First Film
- Halloween (1978)
- Latest Film
- Halloween Ends
- Character(s)
- Michael Myers
