Halloween Ends Director Addresses Audience Backlash to Michael Myers Finale
The director reflects on the divisive response the end of his trilogy earned.
Last year's Halloween Ends capped the trilogy of films from director David Gordon Green, with star Jamie Lee Curtis having claimed it would definitively be the last time she played Laurie Strode. Not only did the film deliver on that final conflict between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode, but it also introduced the character of Corey Cunningham, a bullied teen in Haddonfield, Illinois who felt possessed by a similar ruthlessness to Michael to kill his bullies. Regardless of audience or critical reactions, Green is proud of being creatively ambitious with the story and admits that his career is full of divisive stories that see highs and lows in public reception.
"Halloween [Ends], for example. Very divisive. People can feel the way they want to do. I was so excited to tell that story. I'm thrilled with the outcome of it. So as far as I got to check the boxes ... On my bucket list of creations, I got to do it. They let me do it. It has its challenges in the universe, but so be it," Green confessed to the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "And if you're comfortable as an artist with that and that's enough, you're okay. If you're looking for validation at a box office or a critic or the reception from a fan base or a unique audience. You could look at my first film which was really critically well-received, and you couldn't ask for a better introduction, but it was rejected from Sundance and nobody went to the box office and it made very little money, and then had another life when Criterion Collection picked it up. My whole career, I'm up and down and depressed and exhilarated and I'm happy and I'm sad and I'm always confused."
Halloween Ends currently sits at 40% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, which puts it on par with its predecessor Halloween Kills, which is at 39%, but is a major decline from his 2018 Halloween, which has 79% positive reviews.
When it comes to fluctuating reactions to his movies, his 2008 Pineapple Express has 67% positive reviews, which was followed by Your Highness, earning only 27% positive. His 2016 Our Brand Is Crisis only earned 36% positive reviews, which was followed by Stronger, a film that sits at 90% positive.
"So the only thing you can do as a creator that's willing to put yourself out there and make yourself vulnerable, is be true to yourself because, hey, I'm lucky to have a group of cohorts and collaborators that are going to stand by me through the good times and bad times and continue these creations," the filmmaker admitted. "That circle of trust is the only thing that's really meaningful to me, outside of my own intuition as a creative species."
Green's latest film, The Exorcist: Believer, is in theaters now.
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