The Ending Of Halloween Kills Explained

He's been riddled with bullets, set ablaze, electrocuted, and even injected with corrosives, so you didn't really think that a flaming basement would be his coffin now, did you? We're talking about Michael Myers, of course — the unstoppable menace from the "Halloween" franchise. During the conclusion of 2018's "Halloween," the Shape was last seen trapped in the burning basement of Laurie Strode's (Jamie Lee Curtis) compound — a fiery snare the tactical heroine devised herself. As a severely wounded Laurie, daughter Karen (Judy Greer), and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) all fled to safety, they flagged down a passing truck and escaped into town. We then cut back to the basement ... and saw no sign of Michael.

It's here where "Halloween Kills" picks up. As fire engine races towards the inferno, a distraught Laurie screams "Let it burn!" as she's rushed off to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital (surely a nod to 1981's "Halloween II"). Meanwhile, back at the compound, firefighters unwittingly free Michael from his pit of flames, and there's no gratitude from the guy whatsoever. He thanks his rescuers by immediately dispatching them in brutal fashion. In this very first scene, it's immediately clear that writer-director David Gordon Green isn't playing around. This is Michael Myers dialed up to 11, and he goes on to slay dozens of Haddonfield residents with a unique fury we've never seen before — and the camera never shies away from the bloody-pulp aftermath.

So you're here to have the ending explained to you, right? Well, lucky for you, the plot of "Halloween Kills" is rather flimsy, and it's basically all an entire middle chapter for next year's big finale, "Halloween Ends." The story is simple: Michael goes on a murderous rampage as Haddonfield residents band together to hunt him down while Laurie recovers in the hospital. It all leads up to a bloody battle royale between Michael and an angry lynch mob. 

However, there is some major significance to what goes down in the final scene — and the impact of a certain death could forever change Laurie Strode, who is already a shadow of her former self as it is. Much like Laurie, there are other characters who have been around since the 1978 original who are all dealing with their own form of PTSD. Trauma is a major theme in "Halloween Kills" and big things happen to some major players, so first, let's map out who was part of that cliffhanger final scene. Spoilers ahead — you've been warned.

As Laurie is rushed to the hospital, we cut to a local Haddonfield bar filled with residents who are not yet aware of what went down at the Strode homestead. During a memorial ceremony, we're reintroduced to three characters who originate from the 1978 movie: Lindsey Wallace (reprised by Kyle Richards), Marion Chambers (reprised by Nancy Stephens), and Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall). For those unaware, Marion survived an attack when Michael first escaped Smith's Grove Sanitarium (she was the nurse driving Dr. Loomis), and Lindsey and Tommy were the two kids Laurie was babysitting on Halloween night. 

Tommy takes to the stage and tells the traumatic story of his encounter with Michael Myers. It's evident that he too is suffering from PTSD, so when the news breaks that Laurie was attacked at her compound and photos of a crashed Smith's Grove sanitarium bus flash on the television screen, this immediately triggers him to go into full-on vigilante mode. Armed with a bat provided by the bartender, he quickly stirs up a lynch mob, who've decided they will take the law into their own hands and hunt down Michael themselves.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, we're reintroduced to former town sheriff Brackett (reprised by Charles Cyphers), who now works as a hospital security officer. In the original movie, he was also the father of Laurie's best friend Annie (Nancy Kyes), the one who famously screamed, "Hey, jerk! Speed kills!" She was also one of Michael's victims, so much like Tommy and the rest of the riled-up lynch mob, Brackett wants some good, old-fashioned (and long overdue) revenge. 

While Laurie is sedated and recovering at the hospital (she's out of commission for most of the film), Karen and Allyson learn that Michael is still at large. When Allyson learns that her boyfriend Cameron (Dylan Arnold) and his father Lonnie (Robert Longstreet) are joining in on the hunt for Myers, she signs up, much against her mother's wishes. After all, Michael did kill her father in the previous film, so as you can see, everyone wants in on the action. Fun fact: Lonnie is a lesser-known character who was only briefly seen in the 1978 original. He was the kid being dared to enter the Myers house when Loomis creepily whispered "Lonnie, get your ass away from there!"

Now that we have all the major players laid out, let's talk about that whopper of an ending. During the final act, Lonnie takes a look at a town map and realizes that Michael's blood trail points directly to his childhood home, the Myers house, which is now occupied by a couple, Big John and Little John, who unfortunately have already met their end at the hands of you know who. As Cameron, Allyson and Lonnie drive up to the house, Lonnie decides to have a look-see and makes the ill-advised choice of going in alone. After a blaring gunshot is heard, Cameron and Allyson rush in, only to discover yet another bloodbath. 

After they discover the bodies of Big John, Little John, and Lonnie, Michael appears and takes out Cameron by repeatedly bludgeoning him against the banister. During the bone-crushing struggle, he then sets his gaze on Allyson, who suffers a fall down the staircase. As Michael readies to plunge his knife, Allyson fearlessly screams, "Do it!" just as he is pierced from behind by a pitchfork. Surprise, it's momma Karen to the rescue. While Michael is fazed by the sneak attack, she takes off his mask and taunts him with it. Using it as bait, she tells him to "come and get it."

As Michael pursues Karen behind the Myers house, he's lured to a quiet empty street with nothing but his mask laying in the middle of the road. It's a trap! As he goes to reclaim his "precious," the lynch mob emerges, which includes Tommy and Brackett and numerous armed local residents. It's here Michael is met with some hardcore Haddonfield justice. The lynch mob unleashes literal hell on their longtime tormentor. Michael is riddled with bullets and stabbed multiple times while Tommy gets to put his rage and trusty bat to full-throttle use. Even Karen gets in on the action. Wielding Michael's preferred weapon of choice, she seemingly delivers the final blow — or is it? As Thanos from "Avengers: Infinity War" once said, "You should have gone for the head." Perhaps Michael is thinking the very same thing.

Unfortunately, the mob lets their guard down and thinks it's over. But, hey, this is a "Halloween" movie — you know it ain't over. As Karen heads back to the Myers house to check on her daughter, Michael — not surprisingly — springs to his feet and takes out everyone with a vengeance, including Tommy and Brackett. Back at the Myers house, Karen gazes out the very same window Michael once did, unaware of the carnage taking place outside. Soon, the victorious Shape emerges from behind her and does what he does best. Karen's lifeless body drops to the floor. Could she be alive? It's doubtful, but you never know with these movies. But her lifeless eyes most likely spell death.

The ending of "Halloween Kills" is the polar opposite of the previous film's conclusion. As we learned in 2018's "Halloween," Karen had a strained relationship with her mother. She resented Laurie and pegged her as a crazy alcoholic who spent her entire life obsessing over some "boogeyman" who randomly attacked her on a Halloween night. But she ultimately learned that the boogeyman was indeed real, and her mother was only preparing her for the hell on two legs that is Michael Myers. It may have taken a horrific event to bring them together, but Laurie seemingly vanquished her nemesis and she did it side by side with her daughter, ultimately gaining her back. She succeeded at protecting her family from the evil she knew would one day return. In her eyes, she won. But as we learn in "Halloween Kills," that victory was short-lived. 

Karen's demise sets the stage for what could be the darkest, most revenge-fueled "Halloween" movie yet. Losing her only child may very well push Laurie Strode to the brink of madness. Will she torture herself for not being able to protect her daughter from the one thing she feared the most? Now, 40 years after the night that reshaped her life, the nightmare she dreaded so much — the one she tried so hard to prevent — finally came true. Laurie is pretty much down for the count and recovering during most of "Halloween Kills" and she's not around for the big showdown, so when word of Karen's death reaches her ears in the next movie, we may perhaps see the most unhinged version of the character yet.

And then there's Allyson, who seems to be living out a fate not too different from her grandmother — the Halloween curse now has infected a new generation of the Strode family. She has now lost two parents in the same night at the hands of Michael Myers. The question is, will she spiral down a dark path similar to that of Laurie? Or perhaps she'll be stricken with a terrible guilt in addition to unparalleled grief. After all, she did disobey Karen, who implored her to stay at the hospital. But instead, she became obsessed with settling a score and allowed herself to get swept up in the whole mob mentality. Had she stayed at the hospital, her mother would still, most likely, be alive.

As for Michael, how could he survive that lynching? In this new trilogy, you have people describing him as evil incarnate or saying things like "No human could've survived that fire," or "The more he kills, the more he transcends," but the source of his unnatural abilities has yet to be explained. No human would be able to withstand the pulverizing inflicted on him during the "Halloween Kills" finale. Did someone at Smith's Grove sanitarium load him up with PCP? Is he superhuman? Or maybe even something supernatural? So far, it hasn't been addressed in David Gordon Green's saga, but either way, we may find out next year when "Halloween Ends."