‘Halloween’ 1978 Ending, Explained
John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) gave us an iconic slasher film that defined the masked killer trope and also spawned a slew of imitators and inspirations like Friday the 13th (1980). There's still something about the first film that can't be beaten, and I think that's why, no matter how many sequels and remakes come forth, it will never capture the same charm.
While Halloween is a slow-burn of murders and a race against time for Dr. Loomis to catch Michael Myers, it's the ending that really drives the story home. The ending feels like a true fight for survival that leaves you feeling as lost as Laurie Strode.
‘Halloween’s Ending Starts With a Terrifying Reveal
Over the course of Halloween, we see Michael Myers escape Smith's Grove Sanitarium, don a mask and mechanic's uniform, and begin killing teenagers in the neighborhood. But as this happens, the film's protagonist, Laurie Strode, is babysitting some kids and spending the holiday inside.
It's when Laurie checks on her friends after a distressing phone call that she discovers everyone she was close to has been brutally murdered. From her best friend splayed out on a bed beneath Judith Myer's gravestone to a body swinging from a closet, reality hits Laurie hard, and now she has to face Michael.
Seeing Laurie barely escape is one of the scariest parts of the movie. Watching her instill fear in the kids she's caring for, knowing Michael is coming, shows just how aimless he is. This iteration of Michael just goes from person to person without any clear reason, and Laurie is the one that got away. His need to finish his task is what makes him so terrifying as a character.
But Laurie had never had a brush with death and was content with living a quiet life, so seeing the bodies of her friends was more than just a traumatic moment; it was the darker parts of the world greeting her. The fact that she managed to survive was impressive in itself, and it perfectly set up the final confrontation.
‘Halloween’s Final Confrontation Feels Unfair to Laurie
The final battle of Halloween has something that no other movie captured the same way: it felt unfair to its lead. Even by Halloween II (1981), we know that Laurie can't die and will continue to fight, making the stakes feel less impactful than they should. However, in the first movie, she's still just a kid who has never faced the rigors of life. She's not strong enough and doesn't even have a real weapon most of the time.
Nevertheless, she fights with a hanger, taking Michael's knife and getting away when she can. But no matter what, Michael sits right back up and proceeds to beat her down. It's hard to watch, and even harder when you realize that Laurie wouldn't have stood a chance in that moment. If Dr. Loomis hadn't saved her, Michael would've eventually killed our final girl.
In reality, Halloween isn't about beating the bad guy; it's about surviving a nightmare, and Laurie was never meant to make it. That's why the ending still has such high stakes in ways other movies don’t, and why Halloween and its ending are still talked about decades later.
The Final Shots of ‘Halloween’ Define the Entire Film
As Laurie faced a violent end at the hands of Michael Myers, Loomis appeared and gunned him down till he fell off the second story and landed in the backyard. Laurie asked if that was the Boogeyman, and Dr. Loomis replied that Michael was. As Laurie broke down, Loomis looked on without emotion, realizing that Michael was gone.
I love how Loomis' belief that Michael may have survived shows that there was more to the villain than we ever knew, without trying to peel back those layers. It says a lot when a man who devoted his life to facts looks at Michael and believes he is truly evil, and that idea really stays with you.
The film closes with shots of the massacre that Michael created in Haddonfield, and as the audience, you have to witness it too. It feels like a real crime scene, and it's brutal to process, but it also makes Halloween such an amazing movie. These movies were always fun, but the original had an impact because of how seriously it took itself. You have to sit with what happened to these characters and the evil Michael represented, and as the credits roll, you're left wondering, just like Laurie, if the Boogeyman really was real.
