David Gordon Green embarked on a noteworthy journey when he announced his Halloween reboot trilogy. Halloween 2018 was met with major success, with critics and audiences praising Jamie Lee Curtis for her portrayal as the traumatized survivor Laurie Strode, Andi Matichak’s likability as the franchise’s newest Final Girl, Allyson, and its nostalgic and innovative script. Its sequel, Halloween Kills, received a mixed reception, with critiques ranging from it being enjoyable to gratuitously violent. Halloween Ends takes a different direction from almost every Halloween sequel by introducing a new villain to take Michael’s place, Corey Cunningham. But aside from a deranged man that decides to don the mask of Haddonfield’s infamous serial killer, who is Corey Cunningham?
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Lacking Relationships
Universal Pictures
Corey Cunningham is established as unsociable from the beginning of Halloween Ends. The twenty-one-year-old’s only known hobbies are mowing the Allen’s lawn and taking a shot at babysitting their son, Jeremy. Unfortunately for Corey, this ends in tragedy when Jeremy proves more than Corey can handle and pulls a prank leading to his untimely demise. Corey becomes a social pariah as a result, with everyone viewing him as a bloodthirsty killer who evaded the justice system despite his crime. Fast-forward three years to 2022; isolation has turned Corey into an insecure, introverted individual that spends all his time working at Haddonfield’s junkyard, until he meets Allyson.
Both become immediately smitten with each other and start dating, but Corey’s infatuation soon turns into a dangerous obsession. Corey becomes dependent on Allyson and a majority of his kills are motivated by his distorted view of protection; Corey kills Allyson’s intrusive ex-boyfriend, Doug Mulaney, her boss, the unethical Dr. Mathis, and tries to kill her grandmother, Laurie, all because of the negative influence they have in Allyson’s life. This all-consuming desire to protect Allyson and have her only for himself is a reflection of Corey’s lacking relationships; Corey holds no understanding of boundaries in a healthy romantic relationship, or any relationship for that matter.
Neglected Needs
Corey’s needs are never met all across the board. After Jeremy’s death and the psychological abuse he’s subjected to by Haddonfield’s citizens, Corey internalizes all his pain, remorse, and needs. Corey doesn’t receive psychiatric help for the trauma he’s experienced through the tragedy; he doesn’t vent to anyone from a friend, family member, or lover; and he’s subjected to his mother’s own obsessive love and need for control; he lacks any outlets for emotional expression. Corey’s mother refuses to allow him any semblance of privacy or a normal life needed by a grown adult–her influence further fuels his repressed anger that eventually results in him killing her during his Halloween night killing spree.
Unforgiving Haddonfield
The events of Halloween Kills directly influence Haddonfield’s treatment of Corey Cunningham. The once peaceful Haddonfield turns into a paranoid, judgmental town constantly trying to blame someone for Michael’s previous killing spree, specifically Laurie Strode. The movie opens with a juxtaposition of dead bodies found on Halloween night 2019, inspired one way or another by Michael Myers. When Corey accidentally causes Jeremy’s death only a year after Michael’s previous killing spree, Haddonfield’s citizens project their repressed aggression by singling Corey a psychopath equal to Michael. Corey is never given a chance to prove himself to be anything other than the killer he eventually becomes.
Accidental Murder
While Jeremy’s death is an accident, the idea of murder is ingrained in Corey’s life thereafter. Corey’s plagued by Haddonfield’s citizens gossiping about him; he’s ostracized virtually anywhere he goes, and he deals with his harboring murderous impulses. His breaking point occurs when he kills the vagrant stalking Haddonfield’s sewers. The mentally ill man attacks Corey, claiming to be Michael Myers, which leads Corey to kill him in self-defense. His second murder and an accident of sorts; Corey no longer fights his anger and murderous urges–he succumbs to them.
The Seed of Evil
Halloween Ends introduces the idea that “evil doesn’t die, it changes shape.” While Corey Cunningham is a byproduct of Haddonfield’s trauma, he is also another indirect victim of Michael Myers. Michael perpetuates Haddonfield’s shift from a peaceful, suburban town into a paranoid and unforgiving community, leading to violence, hate, and in Laurie’s case, victim-blaming. Michael plants the seed of evil into Haddonfield, and in turn, Corey slowly becomes infected by it as well. There’s also the open interpretation of Corey’s transformation; was it Michael’s influence over Corey that ignited Corey’s madness, or was the seed of evil present all along waiting for a catalytic event to unleash it?
During a brief monologue from Roger Allen to Laurie and Lindsey, Roger expresses that while he believes Corey didn’t intentionally kill his son, evil has found its way into Corey nevertheless. Michael Myers himself connects with Corey in a never-before-done manner, he doesn’t kill Corey, but instead welcomes him into his world of bloodshed. Ultimately, Michael Myers and Corey Cunningham mirror each other through their shared evil, an evil that can take any shape.
