Horror fans were excited by the idea of David Gordon Green’s “Halloween” reboot-quel last year, mainly because it brought back Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode and was said to continue the story set forth in the 1979 classic. What most people didn’t expect was that Green’s film would carry some emotional weight, as an examination of trauma that has haunted a woman and her family for 40 years.
And according to a new interview with Collider, Jamie Lee Curtis explained that the emotional aspect of the film, as well as what’s to come in the next two sequels, “Halloween Kills” and “Halloween Ends,” is what drew her to the remake, to begin with. It wasn’t all about finally getting the chance to kick Michael Myers’ ass.
“I was particularly drawn because [‘Halloween’ (2018)] was a movie about trauma,” said Curtis. “We have horror movies that are horrific and we have these horrific events take place, but we leave the movie theater and then we complain that the dishwasher doesn’t work.”
She continued, “The trauma that occurs for these characters for forty years, I felt was very important that David understood that and was really giving Laurie great honor to acknowledge that her experience of her life was very challenged.”
And it appears that David Gordon Green and Danny McBride are thinking about revisiting that idea of decades-long trauma in the future films, but not just with Curtis’ character.
“What I love that David and Danny and company did is they connected the dots for forty years, now they’re going back to really unpack the first movie, bringing back all those characters whose lives were affected by what happened in 1978,” she said.
The legendary screen queen also says that the third film in the new trilogy, “Halloween Ends,” will still continue to have a societal subtext, but not as trauma-focused as the first two.
“And then the last movie is the sort of cultural phenomenon of violence, that’s what the third movie ultimately is, a very powerful examination of violence,” Curtis revealed. “It comes at it from a slightly different way. You’ll like it…. If you believe in me at all, I promise you what David Gordon Green has come up with as a way to complete this trilogy is sensational.
READ MORE: John Carpenter Couldn’t Stand the ‘Halloween’ Sibling Storyline He Created
We’ve already heard from franchise-creator John Carpenter that this new trilogy is by no means a way for the studio to end “Halloween” once and for all, despite the titles. Instead, this appears to be the story of Laurie Strode and the folks that have been haunted by the violence perpetrated by Michael Myers for generations.
Ending any trilogy is a monumental task. However, when you have a franchise as beloved as “Halloween,” Green, McBride, Curtis, and the rest have quite a challenge ahead of them.
“Halloween Kills” is set to arrive in theaters on October 16, 2020, with “Halloween Ends” coming a year later on October 15, 2021.