The Next Halloween Movie Should Make Laurie Strode The Villain
Whatever your feelings about David Gordon Green's "Halloween Ends," it certainly closed off its particular circle of the "Halloween" franchise without leaving any loose ends. The triumph of Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) over Michael Myers marks a definitive conclusion to her story. The Shape has been literally shredded to pieces, and Laurie is finally free to live her life without always looking over her shoulder. It's not quite a happy ending — after all, Laurie's lost her husband and daughter — but it gives Laurie a safe future with her granddaughter, and it's an earned ending for the original Jamie Lee Curtis version of this iconic character.
However, we all know "Halloween" will go on, in one way or another, just like Michael Myers always survives. At this point, though, it'd feel awful to pick any further at Laurie's healing scabs. Lucky for us, then, that there's an entirely different Laurie Strode out there just waiting for a more sinister continuation.
Yes, we're talking about the Laurie played by Scout Taylor-Compton in Rob Zombie's controversial 2007 "Halloween" reboot. And yes, we're saying it's time to bring Taylor-Compton — and Zombie — back for round three.
Face it, if "Halloween" must continue, it needs to change shape once again, and Zombie's heavy metal, neon-laden take on "Halloween" is the polar opposite of Green's elevated slasher approach. Most importantly, the Laurie Strode in his films is a wildly different figure, whose response to unspeakable trauma mirrors the murderous path of her brother. Given that Taylor-Compton herself admitted she wasn't impressed with "Halloween Ends," it's entirely believable that she'd be game for another crack at the franchise — and given the end of Zombie's "Halloween II," a continutation could leave Michael Myers behind to instead follow Laurie's journey into villainhood.
Laurie's last actions in Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 pave the way for her new story
At this point, every possible facet of Michael Myers has been explored in exhaustive depth. A murderous Laurie Strode, meanwhile, would maintain the spirit of "Halloween" while also giving it a bloody new edge.
In the Rob Zombie universe, it's pretty logical — if tragic — for Laurie Strode to inherit the monstrous mantle of Michael Myers. Over the course of both "Halloween" movies, she's stripped of everything — her best friend, her adopted mother, her sense of security and her sense of self. "Halloween II" finds her transformed from a happy, cheerful, everyday high school student into a bitter, rageful PTSD survivor who doesn't have any good outlets to process her trauma.
When she learns the truth about her identity — that she is Angel Myers, biological baby sister of Michael — her downward spiral bottoms out. She begins to have the exact same hallucinations that Michael experiences. At the end of "Halloween II," a final battle leads to Michael's apparent death, and Laurie goes off the deep end — brandishing Michael's butcher knife before being shot down. To close out the film, the audience sees her for the last time in a mental hospital, eerily smiling as she envisions her mother Debra (Sherri Moon-Zombie) coming toward her, leading a white horse. It's the same vision that plagued Michael after their mother died, and the one that drives his killing spree.
That vision, and Laurie's eerie pleasure at it, leaves the door wide open for her to emerge as a completely different woman for a sequel.
Rob Zombie's Halloween 3 could ask big questions about what drives a serial killer
So, where should the series go if Laurie turns evil? A continuation of Zombie's "Halloween" world would bring the story back to its key question — that is, whether a serial killer is a product of nature vs. nurture. Are the Myers siblings doomed to be haunted by their visions, or did the family trauma (and bloodshed) drive them down this dark path? Perhaps something between the two?
Laurie becoming a full-out serial killer would add a fresh wrinkle to this. Unlike the abused and battered Michael, Laurie escaped from her birth family before she could form memories. She is raised by a loving adoptive family, and she has a normal, privileged and healthy childhood. Even the healthy Laurie, it's worth noting, expresses an interest in matters that her friends regard as creepy. But it's only after she becomes Michael's primary target that her psyche becomes an open wound.
The young Michael, meanwhile, is seen torturing animals even before he's pushed over the edge into killing people. Still, it takes a lot of pressure to get him to murder his older sister, Judith. Moving forward, a "Halloween 3" could let an evil Laurie loose on the world, guided by the ghostly vision of her dead mother, and dive deeper into the complexities of this setup. It would ask questions — and perhaps, leave us with uneasy answers — in a way unique to Rob Zombie's "Halloween" universe.
Rob Zombie's Halloween 3 could take Laurie on a dark road trip
There's no need for Laurie to keep haunting Haddonfield, either. Rob Zombie has become known for his road trip horror films, whether it's sending the Firefly family on murderous cross-country rampages while trying to make them seem worthy of pity, or taking the Munsters out into the world and letting them shine. So why not let Laurie roam the country with a butcher knife?
Let the audience in on her sense of despair, have Debra guide her, and have her butt heads with some fresh, unique characters. And no, we're not talking not cannon fodder characters, shallow stereotypes, or easy-to-murder fools. Make us care about the people Laurie might go after. Perhaps hint that she could bond with them, or find healing through them, only for her to violently chop them down. Let a new "Final Character" be crowned, and make them just as compelling as every incarnation of Laurie has been. And say what you will about Rob Zombie's movies, but they absolutely prove his ability to pull off this sort of twisted character arc.
Rob Zombie's Halloween 3 should keep Michael Myers dead, but his legacy must linger on
Rob Zombie's version of Myers (Daeg Faerch as a child, Tyler Mane as an adult) is by far the most sympathetic one ever brought to screen, even while also being the most brutal. He suffers through an extremely traumatic childhood, and while that certainly doesn't justify his later sociopathy, it absolutely makes it possible to understand how he becomes a monster. Throughout both movies, we see flickers of his humanity, whether through his love for his mother, or his affection for the little girl he calls "Boo," and even his grudging appreciation for Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell). Michael's own trajectory sees him initially only kill people like his abusive stepfather (William Forsythe) and a bully (Daryl Sabara) before, after years of isolation, going on to murder hospital staff.
With that in mind, while Rob Zombie's "Halloween 3" should keep Michael dead, the previous two films' sympathetic portrayal of him could make it very interesting if he also appeared as a hallucination (or ghost?) guiding Laurie's visions. We could see new layers of Michael, such as him trying to protect his sister while simultaneously driving her to kill innocent people. The complexities here are key, and Michael's legacy should still live on in notable ways, such as Laurie also wearing a William Shatner mask when her killing spree begins.
With such a film, "Halloween 3" could reverse everything fans know about the movies, and turn it into something entirely fresh and different. And now that the iconic Jamie Lee Curtis has retired for good, the next "Halloween" movie needs to take some wild chances.