Summary
John Carpenter’sHalloweendoesn’t have an unseen alternate ending, but five other movies intheHalloweenfranchisedo – and only one of them was better than the final cut’s ending. Carpenter’sHalloweenarrived in 1978 to develop the slasher genre in the 1980s and start a franchise with many sequels, novels, and more. TheHalloweenfranchise went through so many changes throughout the years that it currently has five different timelines, the latest one being the reboot trilogy – and some of its movies would be different had they kept what’s now their alternate ending.
Carpenter’s 1978Halloweenwas rumored to have an alternate ending where Michael Myers dies, which came with other unseen footage that would have changed the movie almost entirely. Luckily,Carpenter himself debunked this, saving the legacy of his movie and characters, but there are other movies in theHalloweenfranchise that do have alternate endings. However, some of these don’t change the movie much or at all, and many do more harm than good, but there’s one that actually benefited the movie more than the ending of the theatrical cut.
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Halloween II Alternate Ending Reveals What Happened To Jimmy
Halloween II Ends With Laurie Being Transferred To Another Hospital
An alternate ending was added to the TV cut ofHalloween II, in which Laurie reunites with Jimmy.
Michael Myers’ survival at the end ofHalloweenmade many sequels possible, starting withHalloween II. Directed by Rick Rosenthal,Halloween IIpicks up directly after the ending ofHalloweenand follows Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) as she’s taken to the hospital. Of course, that doesn’t stop Michael, who goes after her while Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) continues his pursuit of him. At the end ofHalloween II, Laurie shoots Michael in both eyes and she and Loomis fill the room with flammable gas.
Loomis tells Laurie to escape and he sets the room on fire, immolating himself and Michael in an explosion. To Laurie’s surprise, Michael walks through the flames but eventually collapses, and the next morning, she’s transferred to another hospital. An alternate ending was added to the TV cut ofHalloween II, in which Laurie reunites with Jimmy (the paramedic she was attracted to and whose fate is left unknown in the theatrical cut), who survives the night, and they hold hands as Laurie says “we made it”. As heartwarming as this ending is,it’s not really important as Jimmy never returns and Laurie moves on with other partners.
Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers Has A Producer’s Cut
The Producer’s Cut Of Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers Is Different & Better
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myershas a producer’s cut with many differences in plot and a different ending.
Inthe firstHalloweentimeline, Laurie Strode is killed off-screen betweenHalloween IIandHalloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, but her daughter, Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris), becomes the saga’s new Final Girl. Unfortunately, Jamie Lloyd meets her fate inHalloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers, but her newborn son becomes the new target of Michael andthe Cult of Thorn, revealed to be the ones responsible for Michael’s evil and his many murders. Jamie’s son survives thanks to Kara Strode (Laurie’s step-sister) and grown-up Tommy Doyle, but Michael isn’t exactly defeated.
Paul Rudd played Tommy Doyle inHalloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, but in the reboot timeline, adult Tommy Doyle was played by Anthony Michael Hall inHalloween Kills.
In the theatrical ending ofHalloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Tommy injects Michael with a corrosive liquid and beats him unconscious with a lead pipe. Tommy, Kara, her son, and Jamie’s baby escape Smith’s Grove, but Loomis stays behind. Michael’s mask is shown on the lab floor as Loomis’ screams are heard in the distance, leaving their fates unknown.Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myershas a producer’s cut with many differences in plot and a different ending that is actually better than the one in the theatrical version.
In it, after freeing Kara and the children and being pursued by Michael, Tommy stops Michael with the power of the ancient runes. Loomis arrives and helps them escape, and he finds Michael lying on the floor. Loomis removes the mask to reveal Wynn instead of Michael as they switched clothes, allowing Michael to escape.Wynn passes on the Thorn symbol to Loomis before he dies, and it appears on Loomis’ wrist. Realizing he’s the cult’s new leader, Loomis screams.The producer’s cut ending gave Loomis a very grim endingas well as a deeper and almost unbreakable link to Michael.
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Zombie’s Halloween II Was Divisive
TheHalloweenfranchise already went through the remake treatment with Rob Zombie’sHalloweenandHalloween II. Despite Zombie’sHalloweengetting negative reviews, it was a box office success, granting it a sequel that was simply titledHalloween II.Zombie’s remake followed the basic premise of Rosenthal’s 1981 moviebut with many changes and additions that made it quite divisive, and its ending was also very different. In the theatrical version, after fighting Michael in a shed, where he stabs Loomis, Laurie stabs him with his knife and walks out wearing his mask.
When Laurie comes out, she picks up Michael’s knife and approaches Loomis’ body, but the police shoot her dead.
Laurie falls to her knees and takes off the mask, and it cuts to Laurie in isolation in a psychiatric ward, where she grins as she sees her mother’s ghost approaching with the white horse. Inthe director’s cut ofHalloween II,Michael unmasks himself and yells out “die!” as he kills Loomis, and when he walks out of the shed, he’s killed by the police. When Laurie comes out, she picks up Michael’s knife and approaches Loomis’ body, but the police shoot her dead. The next scene is Laurie in the psychiatric ward, but this is now the afterlife.
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Halloween 2018 Has An Unused Alternate Ending
Halloween 2018’s Alternate Ending Wouldn’t Have Been Well-Received
Halloween2018 almost had a more definitive ending that would have ended the reboot trilogy.
TheHalloweensaga came back to life in 2018 with a reboot trilogy that serves as a direct sequel to Carpenter’s 1978 movie, thus ignoring all other sequels. Directed by David Gordon Green,Halloweenreunites viewers with Laurie Strode 40 years after her first encounter with Michael Myers. Just like in Carpenter’s film, Michael escapes and returns to Haddonfield, and he is put on the path of Laurie and her family. However, Laurie had prepared for his return for years, and her house was a trap designed to kill Michael.
Atthe end ofHalloween2018, Laurie, with the help of her daughter Karen and her granddaughter Allyson, traps Michael in the basement and sets the house ablaze. Laurie, Karen, and Allyson are taken to the hospital as the house burns down with Michael inside, giving some hope that he will finally be defeated. Of course,Halloween Killsreveals how Michael escapes the burning house, butHalloween2018 almost had a more definitive ending that would have ended the reboot trilogy.
According toCollider, some of the scenes in the trailer forHalloweenthat weren’t in the final cut are part of the alternate ending, which can also be found in the original script. In it,Laurie and Michael get into a knife fight in the yardof Laurie’s home, and she’s badly injured by him. Although she’s not shown dead, it’s implied she’s dying, and Karen comes out of the house with a crossbow, shooting Michael repeatedly. Michael stumbles into the woods and sits down, and though he’s not shown dead either, he’s bleeding out.Halloweenthen cuts to black, and so this would have probably ended the reboot timeline quickly.
Halloween Kills’ Alternate Ending Would Have Made One Scene More Painful
Halloween Killshas an extended cut with extra scenes and a different ending with Laurie and Michael.
Halloween Killsis the sequel toHalloween2018, and it picks up right where the previous movie ended, showing Michael’s escape from the house.Halloween Killswas quite controversial due to its amount of kills, changes to Michael Myers’ backstory, and its bold decision to kill Karen at the end.Halloween Killsendswith Karen looking out the window of Judith’s room at the Myers’ home when Michael arrives and stabs her to death, as Laurie stares out of her hospital room, unaware of what’s happening to her daughter.
Halloween Killshas an extended cut with extra scenes and a different ending with Laurie and Michael. In it,Laurie calls Karen and Michael picks up after killing her. Upon hearing his breathing on the phone, Laurie knows Karen is dead, and tells Michael she’s coming for him. Laurie then takes the knife from her bedside and leaves the hospital. This ending would have completely changed the emotional impact of Karen’s death and would have posed a problem forHalloween Ends.
Halloween
TheHalloweenfranchise, created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, is one of the longest-running horror franchises in cinema. Debuting withHalloween(1978), it introduced audiences to Michael Myers, a masked killer terrorizing the fictional town of Haddonfield on Halloween night. Spanning over 13 films, including sequels, remakes, and reboots, the franchise centers around Michael’s relentless pursuit of his original target, Laurie Strode.Halloweenhas become a cultural staple, inspiring the slasher genre and generating comics, novels, and video games, with a new television series currently in development.
