The climax of Halloween Ends is pure, unabashed, blood-soaked nonsense, culminating in that full-throttle showdown that’s been 44 years in the making and promised in the sequel’s title.

Halloween Kills knows how to jolt an audience into fits of giggly yelps of fright, and watching this iconic villain do his thing with such calmly calculated ferocity is oftentimes bone-chilling.

This next chapter of the Halloween story is undeniably its own distinctive thing, Michael and Laurie’s return to greatness as thrillingly bloodcurdling as it is joyfully welcome.