Jamie Lee Curtis' Hope For Halloween Kills Isn't What You Expect
Over four decades ago, recent Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Jamie Lee Curtis became one of Hollywood's most beloved Final Girls, Laurie Strode, in the original installment of John Carpenter's revolutionary horror hit, "Halloween" (1978). With David Gordon Green's wildly successful 2018 follow-up to the franchise (also just called "Halloween") still relatively fresh in audiences' minds, and the upcoming "Halloween Kills" slated to hit theaters this fall, Curtis spoke with the International Press about her bigger-picture hopes for the sequel.
Following the "Halloween Kills" world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, the Hollywood Reporter writes that Curtis attributed the cultural resonance of "Halloween" (2018) to "this 'collision' between her character's trauma and strength in the face of brutality with the growing momentum of the #MeToo movement at the time." The horror genre has always been an excellent vehicle for social commentary, and with the success of films like Jordan Peele's "Get Out" and Bong Joon Ho's "Parasite," audiences are hungrier than ever to find a deeper meaning behind the genre's tropes, jump-scares, and gore, particularly when it comes to exploring trauma. Based on her recent promotion of the film, it appears Curtis' biggest hope for "Halloween Kills" is that it honors the genre's ability to expose society's true horrors.
Jamie Lee Curtis wants "Halloween Kills" to hit audiences on a higher level
As The Hollywood Reporter's Patrick Brzeski shares, Jamie Lee Curtis explained that "There's a line in Halloween Kills that goes, 'The system is broken.' Well, you know, the system is broken all over the world and people are rising up all over the world in collective rage against the machine and unjust systems." Curtis went on to discuss the "incredibly difficult" time we're in as a society, alluding to the various divisions in the U.S. and around the world, and stating that "evil is seemingly winning a bit lately." Her main hope for "Halloween Kills" is that it "is as much a mirror to the world as it is an entertainment for people who love movies."
"Halloween Kills" is the penultimate film in David Gordon Green's trilogy, the last of which, titled "Halloween Ends," Curtis teased "amplifies" certain themes of the franchise to an "existential level." While the finale is slated to open in October of 2022, the second installment will hit theaters on October 15 and pick up immediately where "Halloween" (2018) left off. According to Indiewire, Laurie's trap at the end of the previous film doesn't succeed in killing Michael Meyers off (no surprise there), so "as Laurie fights her pain and prepares to defend herself against him, she inspires all of Haddonfield to rise up against their unstoppable monster."
Laurie Strode leading a group of Michael's other former victims in a vigilante uprising against a decades-old symbol of violence, hate, and evil? Sounds like Curtis' wish for the film has already been granted.