[This story contains spoilers for Halloween Ends.]
Andi Matichak is the horror genre’s newest final girl.
The star of Halloween Ends, as well as the two previous films in David Gordon Green’s Halloween legacy trilogy, had the unique honor of joining the family of final girls alongside the genre’s most celebrated final girl, Jamie Lee Curtis. In the climactic scene of Ends, Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) was actively squeezing the life out of Curtis’ Laurie Strode until Matichak’s Allyson came to her grandmother’s rescue and broke The Shape’s arm. From there, the duo finished the Haddonfield boogeyman off once and for all as they bled him out and put him through a metal shredder.
For Matichak, it’s virtually impossible to describe the feeling of not only saving Laurie Strode’s life but defeating one of cinema’s most iconic villains in the process.
“To have that be a notch on my belt is pretty wild, and getting to do it alongside Jamie Lee Curtis is nothing but an honor. I pretty much got to walk side by side with her through this entire journey, but to be present and be a fly on the wall for her final bow was really, really cool,” Matichak tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Prior to filming the trilogy’s middle chapter, Halloween Kills, in 2019, Matichak received a heads-up that she would likely survive Ends, but the trilogy capper’s ending was still very much in flux, overall.
“I don’t want to sound dramatic, but the closer we got to filming, I read probably 20 different versions of the ending. They were all kind of the same with different things plugged in here and there between the three of us [Laurie, Allyson, Michael]. Every time I read something, I was like, ‘What’s going to happen?,’” Matichak says.
In a recent spoiler conversation with THR, Matichak (pronounced muh-tee-check) also discusses journaling as Allyson and the surprising detail that her character lacks.
Well, I’m glad we’re purposefully talking spoilers this time. At the Halloween Kills junket, I asked you and Judy Greer for very general reactions to the ending, and Judy just went for it.
(Laughs.)
We both gave each other the same look as our eyes both widened.
It was stressful! Both of us were like, “Oh no!”
Did you, Jamie and whoever else FaceTime Judy from the set of Ends?
Oh, countless times! We also sent texts and photos, but we didn’t want to cause her FOMO. We just missed her very much, and the three of us actually got dinner last night. It was the first time we’ve been together in one room since we wrapped Halloween Kills. So it was really special.
Courtesy of Ryan Green/Universal Pictures
So when you first received the script for Ends, were you surprised by its direction?
When we were filming Halloween Kills, I was briefed on what Halloween Ends was going to be. So it wasn’t that surprising for me.
Ends jumps four years from the end of Kills, and Allyson and Laurie are now living together. We then see Laurie gifting her a necklace with her parents’ wedding rings attached. Do you also think Allyson’s Journey t-shirt belonged to one of her parents?
We thought about it, yeah. Everything was very, very thought-out, especially with our costume designer Emily Gunshor. We spent a lot of time making sure that Karen [Judy Greer] had a presence throughout the entire film, and the rings were actually something that came into picture a little bit later. We wanted Allyson to have something that could commemorate her parents and be a physical charm that people could see and feel throughout the entire film.
You blew my mind a couple years ago when you told me that Nelson wasn’t actually Allyson’s last name. The full name didn’t clear, if I recall correctly. Does she actually have a last name now?
(Laughs.) I don’t think Allyson has a last name. Everybody still thinks it’s Nelson, but no, she’s just Allyson. She’s kinda like Bono.
Yeah, the Internet still thinks she’s a Nelson.
And you cannot correct the Internet. (Laughs.)
So we know from Halloween (2018) that Allyson was an honor student who set her sights on college, but now, she’s working as a nurse, alongside a repugnant doctor. Did you use those broken dreams to create this version of her?
Definitely. One of the things that was very nice about having a decent amount of time between filming Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends, was being able to craft her journey and her path. We were able to figure out how she goes from the girl rocking back and forth after losing everybody to where we find her at the beginning of this film. And for me, it was a lot of exploration, internally, speaking with David, and then crafting relationships with Jamie, Rohan (Campbell) and the other cast members.
But the thing that was the most helpful was starting a journal as Allyson, and because we had so much time, I would write an entry every couple days as if I was her in that moment of the year. So I have almost an entire year’s worth of log that was incredibly helpful in getting inside of her brain space. It was journaling as a stream of consciousness, and it just flowed out. So you’re able to see where her head goes and what is said and done. It was definitely very cathartic and also very eye-opening.
For example, I think she always wanted to go to med school. She probably wanted to go to Chicago or some kind of bigger pond. But for all the reasons you see in the film, she ends up staying home to be close to Laurie. So it’s definitely a big part of it. The two of them have done a lot of work to be able to have a solid relationship where they’ve moved forward and are able to support each other. But there’s still a lot that’s been left unsaid in their relationship, and there are a lot of scary words that are still hiding in the shadows. So we eventually shine a light on those.
It’s similar yet different to you. You passed up college soccer to act, but Allyson forewent college to do something she doesn’t exactly love. So there’s a little bit of overlap between the two of you.
Definitely. I’ve always felt that Allyson was very close to me, especially in [Halloween] (2018). When I think about who I was back then and the hopes and dreams that I had, I wanted to see the world a certain way, like she did. But then life hit and it changed her trajectory. With me, it was luckily for the better. A door opened so that I could change paths, and it’s worked out. But Allyson is still in that interim of figuring out her next step.
Courtesy of Ryan Green/Universal Pictures
So Allyson is instantly smitten with Corey (Rohan Campbell). She uses her best joke on him, and she makes every move one can possibly make.
(Laughs.) She does.
Does she feel like she can’t truly be with someone unless they have a personal trauma of their own?
No, I don’t think so. The reason they connected was out of her control. She dated Office Doug Mulaney on and off for many years, and he didn’t necessarily have that same type of trauma.
Thumbs down!
Ugh, yeah. Yuck. But Jesse Boyd is wonderful! (Laughs.)
Yes, his character is just very unpleasant.
He’s really an incredible actor, and he did such a great job of bringing him to life. But I learned a lot about their relationship during the journaling process and what their trajectory was as a couple. And with Corey, it was very much one of those moments where you don’t really choose who you fall for. There was something inside of her and something inside of him that spoke to one another, the second they saw each other. So she just had to follow that intuition. When I first read the script and I saw how open she decided to be with him right away, it was incredibly shocking for me. She really laid it all out there and asked him to meet her halfway. So it was incredibly shocking and brave for Allyson to do that, and I found a lot more respect for her at that moment.
Did all of the potential Corey Cunninghams read with you?
Several auditioned, but I only met Rohan [Campbell]. It was during the pandemic so it was kind of funky. David sent me his audition tape earlier in the process, and he was like, “This is who I’m feeling. I would love to get you guys in a virtual room and get a feel for what you guys have.” So I met Rohan via Zoom, and for the majority of the time, we didn’t even work on the material. We just talked, while David wanted to see how we bounced off of each other and what our natural rapport was and how we looked next to one another.
And then we read through the material at the end, and we did a version of the diner scene. The diner scene was reworked a bunch of times, so it was a version of it. And then we did the argument scene after the dance. So those were the two scenes that we did, and on the call, David and I had a code word. I can’t remember what it was, but it was like ooga booga or something. But if we said it, it meant that we both signed off and were good to go. So David told Rohan right there on the spot that he was our Corey.
Early on, Laurie is no longer living in fear. She’s somewhat carefree for a little while, and that was evident when she said a very particular line to Allyson, in front of Lindsey (Kyle Richards). It was the “rip off your shirt and show grief …” line. Did everyone on set erupt over that line?
(Laughs.) We had seen the script, so we knew it was coming, but not many of the crew did. So after the first take, everyone was like, “Oh my god, what!?” (Laughs.) It’s so good. Honestly, when I read it, I was like, “This is the most Jamie Lee Curtis line I’ve ever heard.” I just could hear her voice on it, and I was so excited. Jamie always talks openly about the fact that there’s so much crossover between Laurie and Jamie. They have lived together, in a sense, for so long that Jamie is Laurie and Laurie is Jamie. Jamie is Halloween, and Halloween is Jamie. And one of the things that I love so much about this film, especially the beginning, is the hope that Laurie has, and it feels very Jamie. But that line is just epic and so funny. She’s such a comedic genius, and she nailed it every single take in a different way entirely. So we had a lot of fun with that scene, and it was good getting the three of us together.
You only had a few one-on-one scenes with Jamie in the previous films, so we have to highlight the one where Allyson goes off on Laurie. Allyson rebukes her by saying, “My friends are dead. My parents are dead. You’re the one that’s capable of fucking harm.” Was that a trying day for the two of you?
It definitely was. We were allotted a decent amount of rehearsal time before we started filming, and on the weekends [during filming], we would all get together and work the scenes coming up. So that was a scene that we worked on, but we also didn’t want to overwork it. So there was a lot of spinning it on its head and doing it in every imaginable way. And then, on the day, going toe to toe with Jamie Lee Curtis is utterly terrifying, but luckily, she helps your performance in such a wonderful way because she’s so generous as an actor and as a scene partner. But it was definitely a daunting day to get that on the books.
So for the rest of your life, you get to say that you saved Laurie Strode’s life and helped kill Michael Myers. How cool is that?
(Laughs.) It is very hard to articulate what this entire experience has been for me and meant for me as a person and as a creator. So to have that be a notch on my belt is pretty wild, and getting to do it alongside Jamie Lee Curtis is nothing but an honor. I pretty much got to walk side by side with her through this entire journey, but to be present and be a fly on the wall for her final bow was really, really cool.
When Allyson rushes in and breaks Michael’s arm, how would you describe that day?
It was just very surreal. A lot of what we filmed that day was very, very heavy. We filmed a lot of the procession stuff at the end, so it was a big day. But the overwhelming feeling I’m getting as I’m talking to you is more from seeing the film and the anxiety I felt while watching that climactic build where Michael has Laurie in his grasp. And when Allyson came in, the relief and solidarity was really overwhelming. I was sitting alone in the theater next to David Gordon Green, watching that entire sequence unfold, and I just couldn’t help but cry. This entire experience is put into that last moment, that final fight.
And where does the procession fit into all this?
It was kind of pieced out. We did some of the interior stuff first, like inside the car, whereas the bigger procession with cars and the lovely grinding of meat was the last thing we shot. (Laughs.)
The procession must’ve been quite an undertaking in early 2021.
Yeah, it was, but it was incredibly special. Jamie and I basically just sat in a car together for an entire night, and we got to reminisce about this experience that has been a big part of my life for the last five years and her life for the last 44 years. So those are the moments I remember, but seeing the film, it was really touching to be able to see all of the cast come back. So I really felt the gravity of the procession because a lot of it was done with another unit.
Dating back to 2018, I always assumed you’d be the final girl, but I’m obviously glad that both Laurie and Allyson survived. Did you ever think you wouldn’t make it?
Not initially because I was briefed on what Ends was going to be very early. I heard the overarching bullet point, and I always knew what the last frames were. I don’t want to sound dramatic, but the closer we got to filming, I read probably 20 different versions of the ending. They were all kind of the same with different things plugged in here and there between the three of us. So it was really interesting, and every time I read something, I was like, “What’s going to happen?” But yeah, I can’t believe that I made it through because no one is safe in these films. When David signed on to do the second and third, we did have a conversation, and it seemed as if she was going to survive Kills. But I’m a little bit of a cynic. I don’t believe anything until the day I’m filming it. (Laughs.)
The last we see of Allyson is when she’s driving away from Haddonfield for good. Do you think she’s going to be able to live happily and love someone, whenever she ends up?
That’s the hope. After all the pain and trauma that she went through, she won’t be able to forget or pretend that it doesn’t exist, or just shove it to the side and act like it never happened. It’ll always be living in her, and hopefully, her vulnerability doesn’t affect all of her decisions and relationships moving forward. It’ll definitely play a part of it, but she’s got a long road ahead in terms of figuring out how to genuinely live in a way where it’s not always harmful. Maybe it can be helpful at times.
Each movie filmed in a different state, and this time, you shot Savannah, Georgia for the fictional Haddonfield, Illinois. Understanding that the locations may not look exactly the same, are we supposed to assume that Lindsey bought Brian Mays’ bar from Kills?
In a very early draft, yes, but things morphed. So we ended up taking a different route, and it turned into an entirely different bar.
Is Allyson’s hospital supposed to be the same one as Kills? I can’t imagine Haddonfield has too many hospitals.
That’s a clinic. So it’s a standalone, separate thing, but it’s under the umbrella of Haddonfield Memorial from Kills.
For the house where Corey accidentally killed Jeremy, did you build that set on a soundstage? Or did you actually find a location with such an imposing, deathly staircase?
It exists, and it is unbelievable. It’s on the water down there, and it’s so grand, so stunning and just wild. It’s so jarring because there are two front doors, almost. In that scene with Laurie and Corey, there’s a door behind Laurie and a door behind Corey. So it was the perfect location to build suspense for that entire opening sequence, and the staircase is exactly what you see. It’s completely real. Later on, they did a pickup of Rohan on the stairs, and so they recreated the staircase’s spindles. I believe that’s what they’re called. I should know because Dylan [Arnold] was murdered in between them on Kills. (Laughs.)
The studio’s production notes have a different account of what happened to Jeremy in the opening sequence. The notes state that he “plunged to his death with a knife in his chest.” Did they reshoot that moment to make it crystal clear to the viewer that Corey’s involvement in his death was purely accidental?
The tail end of how he died was left vague by design. There were a couple iterations where I believe [Corey] had the knife as a weapon, thinking Michael was in the house, and then it ends up [in Jeremy]. Or Jeremy had it, and then he ended up almost impaling himself with it as he fell. So the whole thing was ambiguous by design, but no, there was nothing reshot of that. What’s interesting about this movie is that there were a lot of different versions and a lot of coverage of things, so that they could have a lot of leeway in the edit. And so watching the film for the first time was really interesting because we had no idea what was going to be used and what wasn’t.
Courtesy of Ryan Green/Universal Pictures
From your interest in other departments to the way you carry yourself in interviews, you seem to have leadership qualities. Have you considered producing or directing?
I actually started a production company with two of my colleagues, and we are in the process of producing our first feature. Right now, we’re in the financing stage, but we’ll go into production, hopefully, by next summer. It’s a very cool project. I’ve always felt like I have a producorial brain. My brain just fires on all those cylinders when I’m on set, and so it’s definitely been in my brain for a long time. Directing is something I’d maybe consider down the road, but at this exact juncture in my life, I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. I talked to David about it, and he was like, “No one’s ever ready.” (Laughs.) But producing is something I want to bite off first.
Decades from now, when you’re reminiscing next to a crackling fireplace, what day from this trilogy will you likely recall first?
That sounds so cozy! The first memory that really comes to mind is the last shot on Halloween (2018), when Jamie, Judy and I were in the back of a truck. David had the camera, and it was just the four of us, driving down a road. It was really intimate, and it was a beautiful sendoff for the three of them. It’s still overwhelming when I think back to that.
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Halloween Ends is now available in theaters and on Peacock. This interview was edited for length and clarity.
