Final Queens: Laurie Strode

“Hello Michael. I knew you’d come for me sooner or later…what took you so long?” - Laurie Strode.

What would you do if you found out your older brother was a serial killer? Well if horror master John Carpenter was telling your story you’d be Laurie Strode.

Created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill and embodied by on screen legend Jamie Lee Curtis. Laurie Strode (born Cynthia Myers) is the youngest of three children born to Donald and Edith Myers in Haddonfield, Illinois. Laurie is the baby sister of Judith Myers and serial slasher Michael Myers, the main protagonist of the Halloween film series created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. When Laurie was an infant her older brother Michael killed their oldest sister Judith with a butcher knife. After murdering his older sister Michael was deemed legally insane and sent to the Smith’s Grove Sanitarium where he was overseen and examined by Dr. Samuel Loomis for 15 years.

Four years after the murder of Judith Myers, Donald and Edith Myers died in a car accident and their youngest daughter Cynthia was later adopted by the Strode family where her legal name was changed to Laurie Strode. On Halloween of 1978 when Laurie was 17 years old Michael broke out of his confinement while being transferred from Smith’s Grove. Michael then murdered several people including friends of Laurie before he was put down by Laurie and Dr. Loomis later that night at Haddonfield’s hospital.

Due to the continuous switch up of the production crew for the duration of the series Laurie’s personal history takes several alternate directions, each different from the others. During films four, five and six Laurie is said to have died in a car accident after having a daughter and now Laurie’s daughter Jamie Lloyd is being stalked by Michael who wants to kill her as she is the only other living connection to Laurie.

By 1998 the series had been given new life amidst the slasher revival started by the Scream films. In these two films, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) and Halloween Resurrection (2002) the storyline of films four, five and six are ignored and the film picks up where the second film in the series left off. The storyline of these films finds Laurie, having now had a son lives under an assumed identity and is the headmistress at a private school in Northern California, living in paranoia that Michael will find her and her son, which he eventually does and unleashed his wrath on Laurie and all of her acquaintances.

By 2007 filmmaker/musician Rob Zombie had rebooted the franchise with two remakes that were retellings of the original. In the remakes Halloween (2007) and Halloween 2 (2009) Laurie was portrayed by Scout Taylor Compton.

In 2018 Halloween had again been rebooted by David Gordon Green in what is known as a “requel” which is a direct sequel to the original film in the series with Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role as Laurie Strode in a new storyline that ignores everything that occurred after the first film from 1978. In this trilogy within the franchise Michael stalks Laurie along with her daughter and granddaughter in a new chapter in Haddonfield’s history.

When talking about final girls in horror, Laurie Strode without a doubt is the most definitive. There is a sort of quiet charisma to Laurie that makes her stick out. She is reserved yet outgoing. Though she is initially frightened by Michael’s presence, her instincts to want to fight back and protect those around her turn her into a warrior against Michael.

What I’ve always appreciated about Laurie is her humanity. Though she remains either paranoid or vigilant towards Michael’s impending evil, she still knows how to be a down to earth and likeable person. It’s like she never forgets why she’s fighting to live and that trait alone keeps you rooting for her as a fan. Laurie is the full package, she’s a mother, a nurturer, a fighter, a survivor and the ultimate final girl.