SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Halloween, in theaters now.
Director David Gordon Green's Halloween is a direct sequel to John Carpenter's original movie, which introduced Michael Myers as a masked murderer in the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois. Now, 40 years after his capture, Myers has escaped a bus transfer to a maximum-security prison, returning home to finish the job he started -- namely, to kill Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), with her family getting caught in his crosshairs.
Eventually, the film ends on a victorious note for our protagonists, as Laurie, her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) trap the slasher in Laurie's home, burning it to the ground. However, it's left to the viewer's imagination as to what really happens to Michael, setting up several potential ways for his story to continue.
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A Wounded Mike Myers To Hunt Down
With Myers trapped by metal bars like a caged animal, the Strode family stares him down as flames surround him -- but we never really see the villain being incinerated in this finale. What makes this incident so ominous is that later shots of the burning house are overlaid by Myers' iconic heavy breathing, hinting that he's ready to escape the trap, or that he's already done so.
We never hear him screaming in agony meaning it's more than likely the resourceful and cunning Myers, who has unbelievable superhuman strength, either bent or broke the metal bars Laurie put in place, allowing him to go free for a sequel. The lack of us seeing a charred body suggests he'll be on the loose again, especially as Blumhouse Productions already plans to produce a sequel. This scene could place him on the run, wounded with the Strodes now as the hunters. The film's final shot of the movie did focus on Allyson clutching a knife, still incensed that Myers strangled her dad to death, and clearly itching for a second round.
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Green's movie also hints at some sort of mystical aspect to Myers' existence as he goes on his killing spree again. In one scene, he's run over by Sheriff Hawkins (Will Patton) and thought to be dead, only to be resurrected as soon as he hears the name of his sister Judy, whom he killed in the '78 flick. His signature white maskseems to be giving him some sort of supernatural power, so a sequel could possibly dive into Myers as an immortal killer, relentlessly feeding on innocent blood and forever obsessed with the Strode bloodline, which he now knows has expanded.
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The shot of Myers in Laurie's burning basement and the Strodes leaving him there seems to foreshadow this because we see flames swirling around, but never touching Myers. It's as if they're avoiding him, or he's controlling the fire. The fact he doesn't get engulfed here hints he's truly out of death's reach. 1982's Halloween III: Season of the Witch and 1995's Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers did reshape his origin as being tied to an otherworldly force (known as the Thorn Curse) which drove his lust for blood, so there is potential for the franchise to revisit a similar supernatural path down the line.
Now in theaters, the latest Halloween is directed by David Gordon Green from a script written with Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley. The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, and Andi Matichak, with Nick Castle and James Jude Courtney sharing the role of masked killer Michael Myers. The film is executive produced and scored by original filmmaker John Carpenter.