The conclusion to Michael Myers and Laurie Strode’s saga comes to Blu-ray this week.
2022 was one of the best years the horror genre has seen in a very long time. This year saw the return of many beloved franchises, new slasher darlings, and major box office success stories. However, one of the most divisive films to come out of this genre in 2022 was Halloween Ends. This conclusion to Michael Myers and Laurie Strode’s saga had the widest range of opinions a film has seen since Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It’s been a couple of months now and, with the dust finally settling on Michael’s coffin, Halloween Ends is making its way to Blu-ray this week. In preparation for the release, Universal has dropped a new behind-the-scenes look at the film highlighting Jamie Lee Curtis’ legacy as Laurie Strode.
The clip, shared exclusively by Entertainment Weekly, has an emotional Curtis taking us through her final days as Laurie Strode. Specifically how difficult it would be to say her goodbyes to the amazing group of people she worked with on Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends. You can clearly tell how much this franchise and its fans mean to her just by watching this video. Understandably, she’s holding back tears while reflecting on her iconic character. Seeing her hug her co-star Andi Matichak, director David Gordon Green, and producer Melek Akkad will make any fan of the Halloween series smile. Regardless of your thoughts on the film itself, the particular moment where Akkad is wrapping Curtis‘ final day on set is emotionally bittersweet, to say the least.
Ends might not have been the conclusion many fans wanted, but what we got was actually a pretty compelling exploration of how evil is an infection that spreads like an unkillable virus. The story takes some huge risks with how Michael was used which meant you either loved or hated the introduction of Rohan Campbell’s Corey. That being said, Corey ended up being an “evil’ corrupted reflection of what Laurie could have ended up like after the events of Halloween night 1978. That gave Curtis some interesting and different material to work off of than we are used to seeing from this franchise. However, once you get to Michael and Laurie’s final showdown, with John Carpenter’s brilliant score in the background, the film does eventually give you what every horror fan came to see.
Halloween Ends was the literal end of an era. The official end of Curtis playing Laurie and, in the film’s final moments, Green gave the character the closure she deserved. Not many actors get to put a definitive final stamp on a character they have been playing for over 40 years. Curtis started her film career with John Carpenter’s Halloween. Because of that, giving Curtis the chance to find Laurie peace and happiness was this film’s greatest gift to fans of the franchise. Curtis didn’t waste that opportunity and knocked it out of the park.
Before Halloween Ends releases on 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on Tuesday, December 27, you can view the behind-the-scenes preview of Curtis’ heartfelt goodbye on EW’s website. You can also check out Collider’s interview with Green below:
