The new sequel to Halloween is coming to theaters on Oct. 19 with just as much horror and fright as before. Laurie Strode (Jaime Lee Curtis) finds herself once again combating against the dreadful masked killer Michael Myers, only this time she has the help of her daughter, Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matchak). Despite director David Gordon Green and co-writers Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley commencing the start of the script prior to the rise of the #MeToo movement, Curtis still firmly believes that this foreboding feature is relevant and a telling of the times.
For some brief background info, the #MeToo movement is a fight against sexual harassment and sexual assault. This movement went viral in October of 2017 when used as a hashtag on social media in an attempt to bring awareness to the sweeping prevalence of sexual assault and harassment. The movement is also making strides in highlighting the importance of believing and supporting survivors in hopes of ending sexual violence.
Curtis told EW, “Well, I do not believe that when David and Danny and Jeff were writing this, they were looking at it as a way of incorporating the #MeToo movement into this retelling or revisiting of this story, I think it is the natural occurrence of a zeitgeist, of a change, of a shift in thought and action which comes from these moments of tremendous cultural change.”
Courtesy: Entertainment Weekly
In working on this film, Curtis began working with director Green to unpack all the damage and trauma the masked killer Michael Myers had inflicted on Strode’s life, which left Curtis in tears. She wasn’t aware of just how much psychic damage she would be coming back to when re-claiming the role of Laurie Strode. “I started crying the day I arrived,” she says. “I didn’t stop crying until the day I left. I didn’t expect it. I knew [Laurie] would be fierce, I knew she’d be galvanized, I knew I’d be tired, I knew I would work hard. I did not know that it would move me so deeply, the whole experience of the movie. It took me a good month [to recover].”
Curtis continues to say, “Clearly this movie will be another voice in that same chorus of women taking back their stories saying, ‘We are not that story, we have arrived, and we will be the ones that write our own stories,’ and that only comes from the bravery of a few.” Curtis adds. “This movie will be a part of that wave. I didn’t realize it until we were making it, and I realized what Laurie was doing, and that’s very powerful.”
This movie should be empowering and satisfy every horror film related desire. It’s clear that Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie Strode is the ultimate heroine, as she takes on Myers, reclaiming everything he took from her.