Just ahead of the premiere of Halloween Ends, director David Gordon Green is looking back at the negative reception of the previous installment of his Halloween movie trilogy. Teaming up with Blumhouse, Green first brought the slasher movie series back to life with the 2018 reboot. He followed this up with last year’s sequel, Halloween Kills, with plans to cap off the story he wanted to tell with the release of Halloween Ends this month.

The release of Halloween Kills was not ideal for Green and Blumhouse. Though a success at the box office, the movie was met with widespread criticism from fans and critics alike. It’s not without its fans, but it was clear that the film was not quite as well-received as the 2018 movie. That presents the interesting scenario of seeing what ultimately happens with Halloween Ends and there what will fall with the franchise fans.

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In a new interview with SFX magazine (via GamesRadar), Green commented on the Halloween Kills backlash. Despite the criticism, he notes that the sequel is “100% the movie [he] wanted to make,” adding that he’s “extremely proud of its kind of insanity.” Green also theorizes that the complaints stem mostly from the film’s open-ended conclusion which was designed more to help set up the final chapter than to offer a complete, standalone viewing experience. As Green puts it:

David Gordon Green Wanted to Do Something New With Halloween

     Universal Pictures/Blumhouse

Another reason why David Gordon Green isn’t too bothered by Halloween Kills getting criticized is that he understands that these opinions are subjective. With Halloween in particular, Green notes how there are some diehard fans of the original film who will never be happy with anything else that comes from the franchise. For his part, Green would rather take the series into a new direction as he knows it would be a fool’s errand to try and recreate the first Halloween.

We’ll see how Green’s Halloween story ends with the release of Halloween Ends, in theaters and on Peacock, on Oct. 14, 2022.