After the 2018 film Halloween, fans of the franchise were excited to check out Halloween Kills and see what Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) was up to. Seeing Laurie with her daughter Karen Nelson (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) has been sweet, and thankfully, Laurie kicks just as much butt as she did the first time around.
But even though Laurie is of course the main character in this franchise, she isn't actually in that much of Halloween Kills... or at least, she isn't in any of the action scenes. The latest film definitely wastes Laurie Strode and there is so much more than could have been done with this famous character.
Horror fans heard a lot about Halloween Kills, from Kyle Richards coming back as Lindsey Wallace to the town of Haddonfield, Illinois coming together to fight Michael Myers. It seemed like it would be a fun, exciting movie, and while there are some good parts to it, the latest film makes some mistakes. When Karen dies in Halloween Kills, it's horrible, especially since fans liked seeing Laurie with her family. The movie also makes the mistake of not using Laurie Strode well, something that will hopefully be fixed in Halloween Ends since that will finish off this new trilogy.
At the end of the 2018 movie, Laurie Strode and Michael Myers have an epic battle scene, and they both hurt each other. This is a great scene as fans have been waiting for this moment for so long and the pay-off is great. Michael stabs Laurie in the abdomen, and when Halloween Kills opens, Laurie has to go to the hospital to have surgery. While it does make sense that Laurie would need treatment for her injuries, Laurie spends the entire movie in the hospital, and this wastes an iconic horror movie character. When compared to Scream 4 and Scream (2022), which feature Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) coming home to Woodsboro, California and being part of the main plot, this is definitely a big problem. Fans never doubt that Sidney is a crucial key to the action.
There are many death scenes in Halloween Kills that involve many other characters, and that's fine, since this is the point of a popular slasher franchise. But why is Laurie stuck in a hospital for the whole movie? Isn't she the final girl, the person who is supposed to go up against Michael and win? Fans don't want to see other people fighting Michael, they want to see Laurie fighting for survival.
Halloween shows Laurie's life after being a final girl, as what has happened to her is so terrible and haunting that it's really hard to forget about it and live a regular existence. But Laurie's life after surviving Michael in the original 1978 Halloween and in the movies after can't just be getting attacked by Michael and having surgery and lying in the hospital recovering from her injury. This is pretty sad and disappointing.
Laurie is such a strong character and Jamie Lee Curtis is an actor of many talents, and it feels like her talent is wasted here. By deciding to keep Laurie away from the action, Halloween Kills ignores what is so fantastic about the 1978 movie: watching Laurie Strode battle Michael Myers. Fans get a taste of what Laurie's life is like now in the 2018 film, and the latest film is a fairly depressing look at how Michael ruined her entire life. Fans want to see Laurie as strong and tough as she was several decades ago, and while of course it makes sense that she would be weathered and tired of this whole situation, it just doesn't seem logical to separate her from the other main characters.
While Halloween Kills does have Laurie and Michael, two of the most important people in this franchise, it allows two big characters to return: Lindsey Wallace and her friend Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall). While it's fun to see these characters all grown up now, and that makes for a great nostalgic trip, it doesn't seem logical to priortize these characters instead of giving Laurie a real story and more to do.
At the end of Halloween Kills, Laurie can tell that she has missed a huge opportunity to fight Michael Myers, as she lies in her hospital bed and looks out the window. Audiences who enjoyed this movie definitely can't help but wonder why Laurie wasn't more involved and why she couldn't fight Michael along with the other characters. There is hope that when Laurie Strode comes back for the next movie Halloween Ends, she will finally fight Michael Myers and be a bigger part of the story.