Photos from Halloween costume contest and fall celebration at Dallas College, Richland campus.

From the first scene, “Halloween Ends” is a disjointed mess of ridiculous ideas and antics. The setting is the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois, four years after the events that occurred in “Halloween Kills” (2021).

With this sequel and official end to the franchise, the end of the gravy train ends with this tale. I even stuck around to make sure there was no stinger at the end of this misguided mess.

“Oh, Harry, he may have flunked your exam paper but how is he going to pass you now?”

Winter is nature’s metaphor for death. Impending signs of “aging” appear, such as the transition to cold weather, shifting of outdoor bustle of the summer to quieter indoor life, completion of harvest, slumber of the earth, burrowing and hibernation of animals, shed- ding of tree leaves, sallow branches, gray and dark sky, shorter days and longer nights. The time between October end and early November is a period of “in-between” - summer and winter, neither hot nor cold, halfway between the autumn equinox and winter solstice - a gateway between this world and another, the world of spirits.

Spirits are departed souls, who play the role of beneficent ancestors when appeased and malefic demons when dishonored. The traditions of Halloween, Dia de los Muertos, and Shraddha are three different rituals that honor the dead during this transitional time period.

“Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn” (1987) -- The great Sam Raimi directed this horror-comedy. Our hero, Ash (Bruce Campbell ), fights the undead in a cabin in the woods. A-

“Addams Family Values” (1993) -- This fantasy-comedy made me laugh and chuckle all the way through. When a fellow camper asks why Wednesday (Christina Ricci ) is dressed all in black, she just states, “Wait.” B-