A year later than originally planned, the latest instalment in the Halloween franchise is now out in cinemas – with Michael Myers once again at large and on a killing spree in Haddonfield, Illinois.
Halloween Kills is a direct sequel to the previous entry in the series – 2018’s Halloween – with David Gordon Green once again in the director’s chair, and the action picks up directly after the events of that film, with Laurie Strode now in hospital and Michael having escaped from the trap laid for him at the end of the previous movie.
Laurie’s daughter and granddaughter are back as well, while the film also reintroduces us to several iconic figures from the franchise’s past – including Tommy Doyle, the boy Laurie babysat for in the original film, who this time seeks revenge on Michael and aims to bring the entire community together to finally take him down.
It’s also notable that this film is the middle entry in a planned trilogy, with a third film titled Halloween Ends set to hit our screens a year from now: read on to find how the end of Halloween Kills sets up the next instalment.
Major spoilers for Halloween Kills ahead.
Halloween Kills ending explained
Throughout the film, we see Michael Myers embark on yet another murder spree – killing several inhabitants of Haddonfield seemingly at random before it emerges that he has one destination in mind: the old Myers house where he first stabbed his sister all those years ago.
At the same time, an angry mob of the town’s residents led by Tommy Doyle has formed, with the group determined to put a stop to the carnage once and for all.
Unfortunately for the mob, their plan somewhat backfires: convinced that an unmasked man wandering the corridors of Haddonfield Memorial Hospital is Michael, they chase him to his death before it emerges that he was in fact simply another convict who had escaped at the same time as the villain. This hardly dissuades them though, and they eventually realise exactly where Myers is headed.
Laurie’s granddaughter Allyson and her now reconciled boyfriend Cameron arrive at the Myers house to find that Michael has already brutally murdered the current occupants, and Michael soon sets upon them – killing Cameron and wounding Allyson.
Before he can complete the job, however, Allyson’s mother Karen arrives on the scene and manages to stab Michael, before taking off his mask and laying a trap for him.
As Michael wanders to collect his mask, he is quickly rounded on by the angry mob who proceed to beat him and shoot at him with baseball bats and assorted weapons, with Tommy still leading the charge.
It seems that there can be no escape for Michael this time, and Karen goes to comfort the injured Allyson, seemingly convinced that the danger is over for now.
But of course, this is Michael Myers we’re talking about – and so, virtually unaffected by the beatings he gets back on his feet and kills several of the mob – including squashing Tommy’s face in a particularly brutal fashion. Finally, he wanders over to Karen and stabs her, seemingly killing her.
At the same time, we hear Laurie speaking to Deputy Frank Hawkins at the hospital, explaining to him that evil doesn’t simply die and Michael is only growing stronger.
Interestingly, earlier in the film it is suggested that there isn’t really any special connection between Laurie and Michael, as has been suggested in earlier films – she simply got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time during the events of the original film.
Either way, the stage is now set for a final showdown between Laurie and Michael in Halloween Ends, with the old enemies certain to come face to face once again.