So, the sibling subplot between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers is no longer canon for the new Halloween, but that’s not say that the Strode family situation isn’t still pretty messy. The upcoming Blumhouse production will see a tense relationship between Laurie, survivor of the original 1978 film, and her daughter Karen.
Having spent the last 40 years fretfully awaiting the inevitable return of Michael from prison, Laurie’s had little time for the people in her life, including her only child. Actress Jamie Lee Curtis explains, however, that her character still shares an emotional connection with Karen’s daughter, claiming that Laurie can “relate to Allyson more than probably anybody else in her life.”
Curtis also elaborated further on how the close bond between the grandmother and granddaughter may be shaped in part by Laurie’s shocking first encounter with Myers, saying:
You know, when trauma happens you freeze. We can look at it through history. When something really bad happens you calcify emotionally. The Laurie we’re going to meet is fifty-nine years old but also is in a weird way seventeen, so I think she actually responded much better to her granddaughter than to her own daughter. I think with her own daughter she was dysfunctional in the raising of her, because of this obsession of safety, but because her granddaughter wasn’t raised by her, she can connect to the granddaughter.
The slasher sequel’s young lead is at roughly the same age as Laurie was on that fateful October night all those years ago, and Curtis sees clear parallels between Allyson and her own character, explaining:
She’s a smarty pants and that makes Laurie very, very proud, because she’s just like Laurie was, whereas I think Karen was a little more of a rebel.
Will Allyson prove to be just as resilient and resourceful as her grandmother? We’ll find out when Halloween hits cinemas on October 19th.
