Every Main Character In Halloween Ends, Ranked Worst To Best
According to Laurie Strode, there are two kinds of evil: external forces and internal infections. "Halloween Ends" explores these evils by constructing a deep character study about the transference of pain and violence from one tortured soul to another. Taking place four years after the previous two movies in the series, the film also offers plenty of slashing, and finally closes the door on the Michael Myers saga, at least as we know it. Only time will tell when it'll inevitably be rebooted again.
Over the last four decades, we've grown incredibly close to Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis), Allyson (Andi Matichak), Officer Hawkins (Will Patton), and even Michael Myers himself. After all, a slasher film is nothing if we don't have characters to root for. With the release of the latest and final (for now) film in the "Halloween" series, it's time to take a closer look at the concluding chapter's main characters and to rank them based on their likability, as well as their importance to the plot. The core cast is small, but each member is mighty in spirit.
6. Terry
Terry (Michael Barbieri) likes to bully people. It's his way of coping with his father, who clearly hates him, so he repeats the abusive cycle. He has a particular axe to grind when it comes to Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), a social pariah once accused of intentionally killing a young boy he was babysitting. Terry and his equally-despicable posse make Corey's life a living hell.
Terry torments Corey every chance he gets. The night before Halloween, Terry stops Corey on a highway overpass and beats him to a pulp. In what he claims is an accident, Terry tosses a battered and bleeding Corey over the ledge. Corey lands with a hearty smack, knocked unconscious and left for dead. Moments later, an unseen Michael Myers drags his body through a sewer pipe and down to his underground lair, where he's been hiding for four years.
Really, Terry is the reason why Corey finally snaps and starts a bloody massacre of his very own. If it weren't for Terry's reprehensible behavior, as well the way the town demonizes him, Corey would never have taken that leap into the abyss. "Halloween Ends" suggests that we all have darkness inside, and that many of us don't even realize that we've been infected. "It's contagious, right?" Corey asks Terry seconds before he's thrown. Corey might be a monster, but there's no question that Terry is one, too
5. Ronald and Joan
Joan (Joanne Baron) cares deeply for Corey. She's a fierce momma grizzly when it comes to her son, and she's fed up with how the town has treated him over the years. However, while she means well, sometimes her overprotective and domineering personality causes tension within the family. When Laurie pays her a visit, she's not afraid to speak her mind about Allyson. "Your granddaughter should be so lucky as to be with a boy like Corey," she remarks. "He's handsome. He's sensitive."
Corey's father, Ronald (Rick Moose), possesses a similar love, but takes a different approach to parenting. He gives Corey room to breathe and be his own person, even giving him a used motorcycle so that he can make it to work on time. He's your typical blue-collar worker, reliably providing for his family via his work at the junkyard. He's not as doting as Joan; together, they seem to balance one another out. He's empathetic towards Corey, and wants what's best for him, too.
In the end, however, their love for Corey is Ronald and Joan's great undoing. Joan throws Corey out of her house when he expresses his desire to run off with Allyson, and he repays her later by stabbing her with a butcher's knife. Later that night, Ronald is accidentally shot by Terry, who's actually aiming for Corey. Ronald, at least, deserved far better than the hand he was dealt. Neither of Corey's parents are particularly vital to the plot of "Halloween Ends," but they do provide a deeper context for Corey's character.
4. Officer Hawkins
Officer Hawkins (Will Patton) has been put through the wringer. After being stabbed in the throat by Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer) in "Halloween" (2018), he spends the entirety of "Halloween Kills" laying in a hospital bed next to Laurie Strode. He's also been carrying guilt for 40 years, after he stopped Dr. Loomis from shooting Michael Myers in the head in 1978. He's been haunted by that choice ever since.
In "Halloween Ends," Hawkins has minimal screen time, spending his handful of scenes with Laurie. They flirt in line at the grocery store, talking about vegetables and cherry blossoms. Later, he arrives on the scene after Laurie finally puts her boogeyman to bed. He helps Sheriff Barker (Omar Dorsey) strap Michael to the rooftop of a car and takes him to the junkyard, where Michael is shredded beyond recognition.
Once day breaks, Hawkins shows up on Laurie's doorsteps holding a basket full of vegetables. "What was it that you were saying about those cherry blossoms?" she asks. Autumn still hangs thick in the air, yet fresh buds of romance appear to bloom between the two. Despite his sparse presence in the film, Hawkins is on this list because he represents an important thematic point: After all these years, love is still possible
3. Allyson
Allyson (Andi Matichak) pretends that everything is okay. She works long hours as a nurse at Haddonfield Memorial, and moves into a house with her grandmother. But, behind the facade, she's barely holding things together. She wakes up alone and feels as though her life has been weighed down by the guilt she carries for wanting to leave.
In an impassioned monologue, Allyson describes her pain to Corey, and elaborates on the parallels between how the town treats both of them. Of course, their circumstances are very different. Allyson is seen as a true survivor, while Corey has been labeled a monster. Here, the film looks at the perceptions of others and the idea that we don't really know what other people have been through. We say we do, but we really have no clue.
While Allyson takes a backseat during much of the action, her relationships with the other characters stand out. Her bond with Corey reads like a simple romance on the surface, but it goes much deeper than that. Allyson is desperate for any connection that'll make her feel something, and Corey makes her feel alive. On the other end of the spectrum, we find Laurie. "Michael Myers is who you are," Allyson shouts at Laurie once she's decided to leave town. The resentment flows out of her in this heated moment. She's done living an existence without real meaning — and, honestly, who could blame her?
2. Corey Cunningham
On Halloween night in 2019, Corey babysat a spoiled brat named Jeremy (Jaxon Goldenberg). When Corey demanded the boy go to bed, Jeremy played a practical joke that didn't go off as planned. Jeremy locked Corey in an upstairs room, leading him to kick the door and scream to be freed. While Corey succeeded in breaking down the door, a freak accident resulted in Jeremy being thrown over the banister to his death.
Three years later, Corey is still ostracized by the residents of Haddonfield. He can never possibly live down his "crime," but tries to lead a semi-normal life regardless. He works at a local junkyard, and has been applying to numerous engineering programs. He dreams of going to college and breaking free from small town life. However, Haddonfield and its bullies push him closer and closer to his breaking point. He's been demonized for so long that it's more or less inevitable that he'll snap.
After being shoved off a highway overpass, Corey is dragged into Michael Myers' underground lair, where he absorbs a bit of the evil lurking in Michael's soul. It's an odd twist on the usual slasher formula, and it carries a greater significance than first meets the eye. "Halloween Ends" posits that evil is contagious, and that you may not even realize you've succumbed to darkness until it's too late. Corey's descent into madness is a classic character study about society's willingness to mistreat those on the fringes, and how monsters are born out of that abuse and neglect. Ultimately, Corey is as much a victim as he is a terrifying monster.
1. Laurie Strode
Laurie Strode has been trapped by her paranoia for too long. All told, 44 years have been stripped away from her, but she's now reclaiming her life by writing a memoir. In telling her story, Laurie hopes that she can help others heal and learn to love. She's certainly learned how to open her own heart again — in more ways than one.
Laurie might have moved on with her life, but a part of her still thinks constantly about Michael Myers. As a result, when Corey slowly loses his grip on reality, Laurie senses that something is off. As she tells Lindsay (Kyle Richards), Laurie swears that she saw Michael's eyes looking back at her through Corey. Her renewed paranoia fractures her relationship with Allyson, who decides to leave town and start a new life with Corey.
But, despite a minor setback, Laurie is no longer the broken woman she once was. In the film's epic finale, she finally gets her revenge on Michael, crucifying him on her kitchen island and slitting his throat. "It's not enough," says Allyson. With help from the police, Michael's body is then strapped to the roof of a car and taken out to the junkyard. There, Laurie pushes his body into a shredder and watches as he's mutilated into tiny, fleshy pieces. It's a moment of triumph that serves as a worthy conclusion to her journey. Even better, Laurie does find love again, as shown when Hawkins arrives on her doorstep with a basket of veggies. After all she's been through, it's what Laurie Strode deserves.