Let's Talk About The 'Halloween' Ending (And If A Sequel Is Even Possible)

Halloween is now playing everywhere, and there's a good chance many of you went out and saw it at a Thursday night screening. So let's talk about the ending, shall we? This goes without saying, but if you haven't seen David Gordon Green's Halloween yet, and want to remain spoiler-free, you should get the heck out of here, because here come some big spoilers. Our Halloween ending discussion continues below.

First, let's recap how Halloween 2018 concludes. After 40 years, Michael Myers and Laurie Strode finally face off again – but this time, Laurie is ready. She's boobytrapped her house in ways that trap Michael. And, working her daughter Karen and granddaughter Allyson, Laurie is able to get the drop on The Shape. The three Strode women manage to trap Michael in a basement bunker, at which point the house goes up in flames. The three generations of Strode women escape, as Michael presumably burns.

Or does he?

In true slasher movie tradition – where the killer can always, always come back – Green later cuts back to the bunker as the house burns, and we see...nothing. The camera is set up in such a way that we can't tell if Michael is still in the basement burning, or if he's somehow found a way to escape. He could be there, on fire just below the frame. Or he could have made his exit. In some ways, this is a callback to the original Halloween's ending. There, Michael is shot several times and falls off a balcony onto a front lawn. We see his body on the lawn at first, but a few moments later, when director John Carpenter cuts back to the same shot, Michael is gone – vanished into thin air.

Is that what's happening in Halloween 2018? Is The Shape still out there, waiting to strike again?

Michael Myers never really dies. Anyone who's watched more than one Halloween movie can tell you that. Hell, even when the character got his head chopped off in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, writers and producers found a way to bring him back. But what's going on in the 2018 Halloween? In an interview with Polygon, director David Gordon Green offers an answer. Sort of:

"[The ambiguity], to me, is the fun. When you see the original film, you hear him breathing and you know that he lives on. Here, when we see the burning house, we actually hear Allyson breathing from the truck where she's flagged off of a truck driver and she's breathing heavily, turns, and then we go into the answer to that house and it's burning, but we're hearing her breath over it, which depending on what theater you hear it, it's super subtle."

Green also adds: "Part of it is that playfulness. Maybe it's done. Maybe this is the last story. Maybe it's not."

Producer Jason Blum has already gone on record as saying he's open to more Halloween films. Co-writer Danny McBride added that he has ideas for a sequel. And a recent rumor claims a sequel is already in development, without Green or McBride involved. On top of all that, Halloween is headed towards a box office triumph this weekend, likely to have a bigger opening weekend than any previous Halloween film before. With all this in mind, we can likely assume that even if Michael didn't escape that basement, and is just out of frame burning up, he'll probably be back. After all, he always comes back.

So – should there be a Halloween sequel after this? For me, this is a very tough question. I love the Halloween franchise. Even the bad movies have a special place in my heart. But I also love the sense of closure the 2018 Halloween brings. Beneath all the slasher movie mayhem is a story about Laurie Strode taking control of her own narrative. After four decades of being thought of as nothing more than a victim, Laurie finally fights back – and wins. To bring Michael back would feel like a bit of a betrayal. It would be saying, essentially, "Never mind, Laurie didn't win after all."

And yet, the prospect of more Halloween movies is always appealing. The 2018 Halloween has rejuvenated the franchise. This movie makes it feel more exciting, and more alive, than it has in years. Keeping up that momentum could be wonderful.

When and if the inevitable Halloween sequel happens, I hope they leave Laurie out of it – and they probably will. For one thing, I don't know if Jamie Lee Curtis wants to do this again. But really, I just want Laurie to live out the rest of her life thinking she triumphed over her attacker. Let her ride off into the sunset secure in the knowledge that she's no longer Michael Myers' victim.

Let Michael traumatize a whole new generation of characters from here on out.