How David Gordon Green’s Halloween Trilogy Lost the Plot

If you want a crash course in how to lose the plot — quite literally — over the course of a trilogy, look no further than David Gordon Green's run at the Halloween franchise. It kicked off with promise, had Laurie Strode going full survivalist Rambo, and then... well, things fell apart. Here’s my take on how this comeback trilogy started strong and then completely lost its way.

The Halloween Timeline: A Franchise Maze

Let’s be honest, the Halloween series has always been a complete jumble for anyone jumping in late. We've gone from Laurie being Michael Myers' secret sister (but not the one he killed as a kid), to Laurie dying, a niece called Jamie popping up, Laurie being alive again, dead again, and — let’s not forget — Michael getting knocked about by Busta Rhymes on live TV. It’s no wonder the series needed a reset.

After Rob Zombie’s infamous detour, the whole thing went quiet until David Gordon Green and Danny McBride (best known for stoner comedies, not blood-soaked horror) jumped in via Blumhouse for another reboot. Their trilogy looked like this:

• Halloween (2018)
• Halloween Kills
• Halloween Ends

They all raked in cash at the box office, but if you stuck around for all three, you probably felt the sharp drop in quality with each successive film. It started fresh, focused and promising; it ended... confused, to put it generously.

Family? What Family?

One of the bold choices Green’s team made was binning the idea that Michael and Laurie are siblings. On paper, this is a return to John Carpenter’s original intent — Michael’s just evil for evil’s sake. In practice, though, it totally undermines Laurie’s story. Her life-long obsession now looks, well, a bit unhinged, since there’s no real reason Michael would bother with her again. Laurie goes from avenging family to someone who never moved on from a one-off trauma. That signature ‘bloodline curse’ angle which gave Halloween its own flavour, especially compared to, say, Friday the 13th, is just...gone. It really dulled what made the franchise unique.

Laurie Strode: Trauma or Cherry Pies?

Jamie Lee Curtis made Laurie Strode a horror icon. So why does her character logic completely unravel by the end of this trilogy? In Halloween (2018), she’s a bundle of trauma — isolated, obsessed, house full of traps, estranged from family. But skip to Halloween Ends, after Michael's basically destroyed her world and killed her daughter, and she’s apparently baking pies for the neighbours and having wholesome chats in the supermarket. The emotional arc is completely flipped. She’s most broken when Michael is caged and at her cheeriest after everything goes to hell. Make sense of that, if you can.

Even worse, the series repeats mistakes the original sequels made — like benching Laurie for large chunks of the action. Rebooting apparently means reliving the same errors.

Corey Cunningham: The Tangent No One Wanted

If you saw Halloween Ends and wondered whether half the film belonged in a different franchise — you’re not alone. Introducing Corey Cunningham as the main antagonist is, frankly, bizarre. Audiences turned up to see the final showdown: Laurie vs. Michael. Instead, we get the saga of Corey, who manages to out-kill Michael, nick his mask, and even get the better of the big bloke in the sewers. Michael Myers reduced to a background extra? Surely not.

This idea might have worked as its own side story. But as the trilogy’s (supposed) grand finale? It was a total misfire.

Dr. Sartain: The Doctor Nobody Ordered

Another eyebrow-raiser: the introduction of Dr. Sartain, who’s quite obviously meant to be the new Dr. Loomis. The trouble is, Sartain just isn’t necessary. Loomis mattered because his obsession was part of the mythos — Sartain, on the other hand, is there just to push the plot along, concoct weird plans (like releasing Michael for ‘study’), and behave in a way that only makes sense if he’s been reading scripts from completely different films.

Allison: Final Girl...ish

Laurie’s granddaughter, Allison, looked set to inherit the final girl crown in 2018. She started out strong — noticing danger, fighting back, rejecting dodgy boyfriends. Then, the sequels happened, and her character devolved into background noise. By the third film, she’s recklessly falling for Corey — you know, the sketchy bloke everyone else is wary of. So much for passing the torch.

Is Michael Superhuman or What?

Green said Michael isn’t supernatural. Trouble is, the movies never really buy that line. Michael stomps brains flat, survives mob beatings, and seems stronger after every kill. At one point, simply meeting Michael’s gaze seems to pass an 'evil curse' to Corey. So are we sticking to realism here, or fully leaning into supernatural weirdness? The trilogy never makes up its mind.

Jokes Out of Nowhere

I’m all for a clever joke or two, but the comic bits in these films are often jarringly out of place. The infamous ‘banh mi sandwich’ chat between two coppers in Halloween (2018) is awkward enough to derail a scene. Then you've got comic relief kids, oddball neighbours, and moments staged so clumsily (like the accidental window fall early in Ends), it’s hard not to laugh when you’re supposed to be wincing. The tone is all over the shop.

‘Evil Dies Tonight!’ (Or It Becomes a Meme)

Halloween Kills was built around the town’s attempt to mob-justice Michael Myers. On paper, fine. In the film, not so much. Tommy Doyle, played by Anthony Michael Hall, gets very little real development for a supposed lead. Then you’ve got a huge crowd mistaking a random patient for Michael Myers, even though this guy couldn't look less like him. Before long, ‘Evil Dies Tonight!’ went from would-be rallying cry to internet joke.

Nostalgia Overload

Halloween Kills drags a bunch of old-school characters back into the mix — Marion Chambers, Lindsey Wallace, Leigh Brackett, Lonnie Elam, Tommy Doyle — but most of them are there just to tick boxes and get knocked off. Kyle Richards as Lindsey is the only one with anything substantial to do. The rest? Pure fan service, minimal substance.

One Consistent Thing: Brutal Kills

If there’s an area where the trilogy never wobbled, it’s the violence. Michael is a proper killing machine here — inventive, relentless, and graphic. Even people who find the stories messy still admit the slasher excitement holds up, when the movies let Michael be Michael.

No Plan, No Hope

The core problem with the trilogy? It’s painfully obvious nobody really thought through the overall arc. Things are made up on the fly, characters’ motives and personalities swing wildly, and the tone flips from film to film. That Corey plotline is just one example, but the cracks are there right from the off. Box office numbers were good — but storytelling? Not so much.

"Despite the big crowd-pleasing moments, the trilogy ended up as a glaring example of what happens when you reboot a horror icon without a solid game plan."

What Next?

No word yet what the next resurrection of Halloween will look like, but the rumour mill says there’s a TV series in the works, possibly leaning into an anthology vibe à la Season of the Witch. Reboots are par for the course with this franchise by now. Let’s just hope whoever takes the wheel next actually maps things out — and maybe hands the reins to someone with pure horror in their veins.