So I broke down and watched it last night.
It actually wasn't as bad as I was expecting. It was different, which is all I've really ever wanted the series to be instead of the same thing rehashed a dozen different times.
That being said, Kills and Ends simply tried to be too "deep" and it fell incredibly flat. "Maybe we're really the monsters!", "Evil lives on inside every person" blah blah blah. I think that works if the production values of the entire movie/series is done at a very high level. For instance, The Omen has some pretty... well, ominous... lines that should be cringey... But it works because they set the stage right and they've got Gregory Peck and a slew of other decent actors doing it.
When cardboard cutouts are screaming "Evil Dies Tonight" or "Maybe we're really the monsters"... It just is so cringeworthy. Though I hope in the outtakes for the finale of Kills that Judy Greer turned around at the last moment before her slaughter, raised her shirt and said "Say goodbye to these Michael!".
It did have some good moments though. I thought the beginning was very well done (despite being pretty brutal with a kid involved), and I thought the theme of town pariah for both Corey as well as Laurie worked... The parents catching him at the bar for Corey, the woman outside the supermarket for Laurie. Though because this series has gone on for so long it's tough to wrap your head around Laurie suddenly becoming the target of blame... but I guess thematically that could work to with the ole Batman "live long enough...".
I like the brutality of Michael (even though I'm not much for gore), I like the look of Michael. I hate that Michael has sprint mode. And I am so sick and tired of the head tilt after a kill. What once was a classic pose has now been so overdone.
I actually didn't mind the ending. Parading him through town seems hokey but it fits the theme of the shadow the town has lived under.
Overall, 'Ends' as it stands just borrows too heavily from 2-3 different films that weren't very good to begin with. Much of it is a heterosexual version of Nightmare on Elm Street 2. As Brian said, it was interesting, it was different, but it wasn't what you "end" a series with. Jamie Lee needs to put her presence in this series out to pasture. She is still a talented actress, but she can't work with these scripts without feeling like she's too good for this. I get her wanting to cement her scream queen status, but I just can't take any of her lines seriously in these films anymore because she's had so many different personas (again as Brian said -- how quickly she went from "survivalist kills michael at all costs" to "let it be".) Go be in another Knives Out. Hell, remake Terror Train. Just no more Halloween.
New Nightmare essentially ushered in the era of "meta" films. Jason X knew not to take itself seriously and IMO is an underrated gem. I just haven't had fun watching a Halloween film since Halloween 2.
