‘Halloween Kills’ Ending Explained: Jamie Lee Curtis’ Horror Sequel Ends With a Shocking Death

Warning: This article contains major Halloween Kills spoilers. Like, super juicy ones.

It’s nearly Halloween, and you know what that means: It’s once again time for the residents of Haddonfield to try and fail to kill Michael Myers.

Halloween Kills, which is the twelfth movie in the franchise that first began in 1978, releases on Peacock Premium and is in theaters today. The slasher flick serves as a direct sequel to the 2018 film Halloween, and sees the return of many cast members from the original 1978 movie directed by John Carpenter. Jamie Lee Curtis is back as Laurie Strode, while Judy Greer plays Laurie’s daughter Karen, and Andi Matichak plays Laurie’s granddaughter Allyson.

But you’re in for a few more familiar faces, as well as a shocking ending. If you’re the kind of person who would rather read up on the Halloween Kills spoilers before watching the movie—or if you saw the film, and came away confused—check out Decider’s Halloween Kills plot summary, as well as the Halloween Kills ending explained, below.

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE HALLOWEEN KILLS PLOT? HALLOWEEN KILLS PLOT SUMMARY:

The film opens in the present day, with a young boy named Cameron Elam (aka Allyson Nelson’s boyfriend, who you may remember from the last film) discovering an injured Deputy Frank Hawkins (played by Will Patton). If you’ll recall, Hawkins was stabbed at the end of the previous film by Michael’s psychiatrist.

We flash back to 1978, when a young Hawkins (now played by Thomas Mann) first encountered Michael Myers. While trying to shoot Michael, Hawkins accidentally kills his partner in cold blood.

Back in the present day, former victims of Michael Myer’s 1978 massacre have gathered for a reunion on Halloween night at a bar in Haddonfield. The reunion is led by Tommy Doyle (played by Anthony Michael Hall), who was one of the kids that Laurie was babysitting in 1978 when Michael attacked them. Other survivors include the other kid Laurie was babysitting, Lindsay Wallace (played by Kyle Richards who is reprising her role from the 1978 film); Cameron’s father Lonnie; former Haddonfield Sheriff Brackett (Charles Cyphers, reprising his role from the original); a former assistant to Dr. Loomise named Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens, also reprising her role from the original); as well as several newcomers.

Meanwhile, Laurie Strode (Curtis), her daughter Karen (Judy Greer), and Allyson (Andi Matichak) are rushed to the hospital. They just finished trapping Michael in a basement and lighting him on fire, thinking that they finally killed him for good. However, on the way to the hospital, they see firefighters heading to the scene. Sure enough, when we cut back to the burning building, the audience sees that not only did Michael survive, but he’s still on a killing spree—starting with the firefighters who saved him.

When the reunited survivors learn that Michael is alive and stabbing, they decide to hunt him down together. Tommy declares that “evil dies tonight,” and that if they all work together, then they can defeat him. Back at the hospital, Allyson decides to join her boyfriend Cameron in the hunt for Michael Myers, even though her mom tells her not to go. Laurie is still out of it on painkillers—she survived her stab wound but will need to recover—and Karen lies to her mother by telling Laurie that Michael is dead.

The rest of the movie followers the survivors in their attempts to kill Michael Myers. Spoiler alert: They all fail. A lot of people die by Michael’s hand. At one point, an angry mob forms in the hospital where Laurie is, and they corner a man they believe is Michael Myers. Laurie and her daughter Karen try to tell everyone that the man is not Michael, but no one will listen. The man, seeing that he is surrounded by the violent mob, jumps out of the hospital window and commits suicide.

HOW DOES HALLOWEEN KILLS END? HALLOWEEN KILLS ENDING EXPLAINED:

Tommy guesses that Michael will go to his childhood home, aka the place he always returns to after a killing spree. He’s right: Michael did return to his childhood home, and he killed the nice gay couple that was living there now.

Allyson, Allyson’s boyfriend Cameron, and Cameron’s dad Lonnie all confront Michael at his house. Michael kills both Lonnie and Cameron. Just when it seems like he’s about to kill Allyson too, Karen shows up at the last second to save her daughter. Karen stabs Michael with a pitchfork. She stomps on his head and takes off his mask. We see he is a balding man, though we don’t see his face.

Using Michael’s mask to taunt him, Karen lures Michael out of the house and away from her daughter. She leads him to a street, where Tommy and the rest of the mob are waiting to ambush the killer. Michael puts his mask back on, and the mob beats him up using bats and other bludgeoning weapons, but shockingly few guns. (When will these people ever learn?) Still, Michael is shot at least four times. Karen gets in a stab with a knife, then goes back to be with Allyson. Then the crowd stops attacking Michael because they assume he has to be dead now… right?

Wrong, of course. This franchise will never end! Michael, who is not dead, gains the upper hand and attacks the mob. Somehow, though they barely fired any guns, the mob is out of bullets. Many more people die, including Tommy.

Meanwhile, Karen has gone back to Michael’s house. She appears to see something in the upstairs window, aka the room that used to belong to Michael’s sister Judith. She goes up to the room and looks out the window herself… and then she is attacked and stabbed by Michael.

WHO DIES IN HALLOWEEN KILLS?

Well, a lot of people, but the big one is Karen, aka Laurie’s daughter. While it’s possible she might survive—you never know with these movies—a close-up of Judy Greer’s unmoving, glassy eyeball suggests that Karen is dead-dead.

Michael looks out of his sister’s bedroom window, and with that, the movie ends. There is no Halloween Kills after-credits scene. You’re free to go home and lament the death of poor Karen Nelson. RIP to a real one.

But the good news is that Laurie Strode will return, and hopefully exact her revenge, in the upcoming sequel, Halloween Ends.

Watch Halloween Kills on Peacock Premium