Michael Myers

Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton Takes a Look at 2018’s Final Girl, Twenty Years Removed

For genre fans, the name Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton has become synonymous with modern horror journalism. From his humble beginnings working with The Horror Channel in the early 2000s and his co-creation of the revered Dread Central in 2006 (where he served as Editor-in-Chief for well over a decade) to his recent establishment of the popular Brainwaves Horror and Paranormal podcast in 2016, Barton’s erudite knowledge and unflinching editorial candor have made him a highly respected luminary within the horror sphere.

With that, I’m thrilled to welcome back Barton to HalloweenMovies.com as a guest writer, as here he takes a breezy look back at the tale of two Lauries, from director Steve Miner’s 1998 film Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later to director David Gordon Green’s upcoming Halloween, which opens in theaters this October 19th from Universal Pictures.

Sean Decker, Editor-in-Chief, HalloweenMovies.com

_____________

Diff’rent Strodes: A Tale of Two Lauries

Trauma. There’s no right or wrong way to deal with it. Everyone handles their demons in far different ways, but sometimes said demons are so diabolical… so maniacal… that even if you survive their onslaught, there’s no way you could ever be the same. As noted in my earlier piece, the Halloween franchise is home to very different plot threads, and that’s part of what makes it so enduring and exciting. It’s also home to two vastly different portrayals of the same character by the same actress – the indomitable Jamie Lee Curtis.

At the end of John Carpenter’s Halloween, Curtis’ character of Laurie Strode was left shaken, bloodied, broken, and barely breathing. The events of Halloween II were a direct extension of the horrors of that night. Strode was still very much hanging by a thread. Was it the boogeyman? As a matter of fact, it was.

This all led to Halloween: H20. In Steve Miner’s 1998 film, twenty years had passed since the massacre in Haddonfield, and Laurie still held on to the possibility that the events of that horrific night were not yet at their end. The result? She chose to fake her own death and assume the fictitious identity of one Keri Tate, a dean at a private school in Northern California, residing there with her 17-year-old son, John, the only other person to know her true name.

In H20, things haven’t been easy for Strode, and given the sound of her relationship with John’s father, who she describes as “An abusive, chain smoking, methadone addict,” her life has remained in the proverbial shitter. It’s no wonder she chose to hide. To start fresh. Her son didn’t deserve to be a product of the pain she’s been put through and struggles she’s had to face. Starting over and regaining some semblance of normality is high on her agenda. Make no mistake… Laurie in H20 is not weak; in fact she’s damned strong. She may have her demons, exemplified by alcohol abuse and a cabinet full of prescription pills, but she endures.

Unfortunately, her greatest fear is speeding toward Hillcrest Academy, and this time The Shape is looking to finish what he started. Their confrontation forces Laurie to channel her strength and anger into doing what needs to be done. However, the relentless killing machine that is Michael Myers ends up slipping away again, and this “seemingly” costs Strode her sanity and ultimately her life.

But now, forty years since Michael’s initial rampage, a different Laurie is back; and this one is doing anything but hiding. Instead, her psychological scars are on display, and not unlike like Myers, she’s been lying in wait for just the right moment to exact her own revenge. She’s empowered, angry, strong, and calculating. Gone is the sweet girl-next-door babysitter, and in her place is a warrior. One who will never let anyone or anything take from her again. She has a daughter and granddaughter whom she will fight tooth and nail for, and a single-gear drive that keeps her laser focused. She knows now that both she and Dr. Loomis were right: Michael Myers IS the boogeyman, and this time she will be ready.

There’s a lot of psychology at work in the best entries of the Halloween franchise. That’s what makes it so very special and why it has endured the test of time. How would you react if everything you knew and loved was taken from you? Especially your innocence. Ultimately it’s the loss of Laurie’s that is the most compelling victim of Myers, and David Gordon Green dives into the exploration of that loss, and the reclaiming of power – a conversation itself  pulled from the headlines – in Halloween.

Laurie roars.

Curtis is the kind of actor who has an incredibly dynamic range, and that’s part of what makes her character of Laurie Strode as legendary and iconic as The Shape himself. This undeniably epic collision that’s on our horizon… it is a gift for Halloween fans and the genre as a whole. We’re headed toward the exciting climax of a rivalry that has been brewing for decades. One whose epitaph is bound to be etched into stone and splashed with blood.

This is as big as it gets. Are you ready?

Trick or treat.
_____________

Co-written by director David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley, Halloween serves as the eleventh entry in the franchise and is intended as a direct sequel to Carpenter’s seminal 1978 film of the same name. Produced by Trancas International Films’ Malek Akkad, Blumhouse’s Jason Blum and Bill Block, with McBride, Green and star Jamie Lee Curtis serving as executive producers, along with Ryan Freimann and John Carpenter, the latter who also serves as the film’s composer.

Halloween opens wide in theaters on October 19^th 2018 via Universal Pictures.