‘Halloween’: Laurie Strode’s Legacy As a True Horror Hero

Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg
Movies Horror
Movies Horror
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With the new 40th anniversary Halloween film garnering positive buzz, and star Jamie Lee Curtis declaring this new installment a look at her character Laurie Strode’s PTSD-generating experience in the wake of that horrific Halloween night in 1978, there is no better time to look back at the journey of one of the slasher genre’s most powerful and beloved “Final Girls” and see how far she’s come since the days of nighttime movie marathons and knitting needles.

We may tend to see at Halloween as Michael’s story, the new film just gives us an excuse to finally accept the truth: This has always been a tale of Laurie Strode.

In her first appearance, Laurie not only proves herself to be one of the most dedicated babysitters in the business but a determined young woman that can hold her own against a psychotic killer with no apparent motivation and no personality with which to reason.

Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode in the original 'Halloween' (1978).

Laurie isn’t perfect; she drops the knife every single time she gets it when she could be chopping her stalker to pieces, but after losing all her closest friends, we can forgive her cloudy judgment. This experience as one of the definitive “final girls” in the genre is the core trauma that will Shape (heh) Laurie’s destiny – well, destinies – in every subsequent appearance. She’s intelligent and resourceful, a true hero; and yes, she didn’t quite say “Was it the Boogeyman?” to Donald Pleasence’s Dr. Loomis, but that’s what she meant.

And here we are, forty years later, as Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as an older version of Laurie Strode. Now, she may be facing her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.

Myers has been locked up in an institution but escapes when his bus transfer goes horribly wrong — as they’re apt to do in horror movie scenarios. Laurie now faces a terrifying showdown when the masked madman returns to Haddonfield, Illinois — but this time, she’s ready for him.

Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode in the 'Halloween' (2018).

No longer the terrorized babysitter, Laurie will take a proactive approach as she goes to hunt and kill the elusive Shape. “Laurie Strode was 17-years old when she was brutally attacked by Michael Myers,” Jamie Lee Curtis told fans at Comic-Con. “A random act of violence that stayed with her whole life… she has carried the trauma and PTSD of someone who was attacked randomly. What [this film] honors is that she is no longer a victim… This is a woman who has been waiting 40 years to face the person she knows is coming back… She is going to take back her narrative.”

This definitive version of Laurie Strode proves that she’s more than just an archetypal “Final Girl” – she’s a “Final Woman,” and a force to be reckoned with.

You can celebrate the triumphant return of Laurie Strode when Halloween opens in UK cinemas 19th October.

Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg
Arnold is a world-renowned zombie expert & Marvel authority. He teaches courses in pop culture subjects & owns ATB Publishing (www.atbpublishing.com), publisher of genre non-fiction. He authored Journey of the Living Dead, & his podcast Doctor of the Dead is on iTunes & www.doctorofthedead.com.