Some fans got the surprise of their lives when Halloween Ends premiered last week. The film which rounded out the David Gordon Green trilogy was hit by a barrage of criticisms voiced by angry fans. Their dislike of the final movie was deafening and the fandom nearly imploded as the credits rolled.
Hoping for a re-do, a petition has been started at Change.org for filmmakers to do a re-shoot. Written by Dj Jones, the plea reads:
“Halloween Ends was NOT a film that the Fans wanted! This was an Origins Story! The Corey Story! We deserve a movie worthy of Michael Myers & the Halloween Franchise! We love this Franchise whole heartily and this version of a Halloween Movie left us sad, mad, disappointed, and Infuriated. Please give us a movie that shows us what Halloween is really about. Our Apex Predator…. the King of Slasher Movies Michael Myers! This movie gave us a weak pathetic Michael who needed his mask to survive! This isn’t OUR MICHAEL MYERS! Our Killer is Strong , relentless, & unstoppable! Please right this wrong! We beg of you !!!”
With over half of their initial goal of 1,000 signatures in place, the petition is slowly gaining momentum. Halloween Ends may have dominated the box office this weekend with $40M, but it fell about $5M below its projected ticket sales. Its predecessor garnered $49M when it was released exactly one year ago.
It appears that the bone of contention between some fans toward the filmmakers is — spoiler alert —something they wanted more of, and didn’t get. In this case, Michael Myers. In this final film, a new character, Corey Cunningham, takes center stage and Michael is reduced to a supporting character.
Said one petition supporter:
“Because you didn’t see Micheal in the show much. It was stupid to base it off a guy that lost his mind because he was bullied.”
Another accused the film of catering too much to social injustice:
“This movie was a complete failure! And true fans have invested time and money into this franchise we deserve better then (sic) this woke, weak ending!”
Although it’s probably not likely that the people behind Halloween Ends will re-make it just because of an online petition (assuming they would have to write a whole new screenplay too). The appeal seems like more of a sounding board for angry fans who feel the need to take “action.” Realistically when a movie is ill-received, execs take the criticism (and the receipts) with a grain of salt and move on to their next projects.
In this case, it is a remake of the 1973 shocker The Exorcist — Green’s next big-ticket project. The original has been deemed “The scariest movie ever made.” The director has a lot to live up to.
In a recent interview for Variety, Green explained:
“[I’m] honored to step into something that’s so valuable within cinema history,” he said. “And knowing that there is a fanbase that is curious, aware, alert, potentially concerned to see what we’re up to. What I like is, people say, ‘Is it stressful?’ No, it’s exciting because I spent so much of my life making movies, and you’re just begging an audience to tune in, or see what’s going on, or buy tickets to the movie. With these, I’ve got stories to tell, I’ve got an imagination to express, and the way I can do that within these movies is an incredible opportunity.”
As for Halloween Ends, Green says his intention behind it was to bring the franchise, and Laurie Strode, some closure.
“That’s what [‘Halloween Ends’] is attempting to do, is to take the 44 years of that storytelling — of those characters — and bring it to a satisfying conclusion.”
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