Laurie Strode

Laurie Ann Strode, born Cynthia Ann Myers, is a fictional character in the Halloween horror film series, portrayed by actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Scout Taylor-Compton. She appears in five of the films and is referred to in most of the others. The character was Jamie Lee Curtis' first role in a feature film.

Appearances

Films

Laurie Strode first appears in the original Halloween movie. The seventeen-year-old Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) has plans to babysit Tommy Doyle (Brian Andrews) on Halloween night, 1978. However, throughout the day, she keeps seeing a mysterious masked man watching her wherever she goes; unbeknownst to her, this is Michael Myers (Nick Castle), an escaped mental patient who murdered his sister fifteen years ago and has begun stalking her. As Laurie babysits Tommy, Myers stalks and kills her best friends, Annie (Nancy Loomis) and Lynda (P.J. Soles), in the house across the street. Growing concerned when they fail to call her, Laurie goes to investigate and sees their corpses laid out for her to find, before being attacked by Myers. Laurie defends herself by stabbing him with a knitting needle, a metal hanger, and his own knife, but nothing kills him. As he rises once again and begins to strangle her, Laurie is saved by Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence), who shoots Myers off the balcony. Halloween II picks up directly after the first movie, with Laurie Strode being taken to hospital for the injuries she received from Michael Myers. Upon learning who it was who attacked her, the confused Laurie asks "Why me?" After being sedated, Laurie experiences a dream in which she visits an older boy in hospital. Waking up, she begins to roam the hallways of the hospital until coming face to face with Michael Myers (Dick Warlock), who has been killing his way through the hospital staff in search of her. Meanwhile, Dr. Loomis is told that Michael is actually Laurie's biological brother; she was put up for adoption after the death of their parents, with the records sealed to protect the family. Concluding that Laurie is still in danger, Loomis rushes to the hospital and causes an explosion which engulfs himself and Myers, while Laurie escapes the blast. The traumatised Laurie is last seen being transferred to another hospital.

In Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Laurie is said to have died prior to the films events, with the role of protagonist taken up by her young daughter, Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris). A photograph of Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie appears in a scene where Jamie remembers her mother. The character of Jamie would go on to reappear in two more Halloween sequels.

Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Laurie Strode in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, the seventh film in the series. This movie ignores the previous three sequels, and as such, the existence of the Jamie Lloyd character, who is not mentioned. Laurie is revealed to have faked her death in a car accident as a way of escaping her murderous brother, whose body was not found after Halloween II. She is now living under the name Keri Tate, and works as the headmistress of a Californian private school, where her teenage son John Tate (Josh Hartnett) is a student. The alcoholic Keri is still struggling with the memory of twenty years ago, and worries that Michael Myers may return. Although John dismisses her as paranoid, her fears become reality when Myers (Chris Durand) resurfaces on Halloween and murders John's friends. After getting her son to safety, Keri decides to stop running and face her brother. She manages to stop Michael, but unconvinced that he is truly dead, goes on to steal his body and decapitate him. In Halloween: Resurrection, it is revealed that the man Laurie killed was a paramedic with whom Myers had swapped clothes. The guilt-ridden Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) is now an inmate at the Grace Anderson Sanitarium, where the nurses believe her to be catatonic. Instead, she is preparing for Michael's (Brad Loree) return, and when he does, she lures him on to the institution's rooftop. Although he falls into her trap, Laurie's fears of again killing the wrong person get the better of her, and Michael stabs her and drops her from the roof to her death.

Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) appears in Rob Zombie's Halloween remake. This movie establishes from the beginning that Laurie is Michael's baby sister, and the young Michael (Daeg Faerch) is shown to be affectionate towards her. When Michael is sent away for killing his older sister Judith (Hanna R. Hall), he and Laurie's mother is unable to cope and commits suicide. The infant Laurie is discovered by Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif), who omits her from the records for her own protection, and she is eventually adopted by the Strode family. The adult Michael (Tyler Mane) escapes and come home in search of his sister, killing her adoptive parents and her friend Lynda (Kristina Klebe) before kidnapping her. Michael attempts to communicate with Laurie through a picture of them both as children, but she does not understand and attacks him. Laurie hides as Michael hunts her down in their old childhood home; when he finds her, she shoots him in the face with Dr. Loomis' (Malcolm McDowell) gun.

Literature

Laurie Strode's first literary appearance was in October 1979, in Curtis Richards' novelization of Halloween, which largely follows the events of the film. She also appeared in the 1981 adaptation of Halloween II written by Jack Martin; it was published alongside the first film sequel, with the novel following the film events, with an additional victim, a reporter, added to the novel.

Laurie appears in the twist ending of the comic book Halloween III: The Devil's Eyes. While examining the diaries of Dr. Loomis in the hopes of finding out more about Michael Myers, an adult Tommy Doyle and Lindsey Wallace are attacked by a person dressed as Michael. They unmask the figure to reveal Laurie Strode, who has taken over her brother's mantle. This story follows on from Halloween H20, but is set in a non-canon timeline contradicted by the release of Halloween: Resurrection.

The anthology one-shot comic Halloween: 30 Years of Terror includes a Laurie Strode storyline entitled "Visiting Hours". Set between H20 and Resurrection, it shows Laurie in the Grace Anderson Sanitarium, where she wonders how her life could have been if Michael hadn't found her in 1978. She lives a happy life in which her friends are still alive, but the memory of Michael invades her fantasy world and leaves her with nothing. Laurie concludes that "I can't even dream of a normal life without [Michael] killing it", and can do nothing but wait for her brother's inevitable "visit" to set her free. Laurie appears prominently in the comic book limited series Halloween: The First Death of Laurie Strode; set after Halloween II, it depicts the events which lead to her faking her death and becoming Keri Tate.

Trivia

• In Halloween II, Nurse Marion Chambers reveals to Dr. Loomis "...that Strode girl, that's Michael Myers' sister. She was born two years before he [Michael] was committed. Two years after, his parents died, and she was adopted by the Strodes." Michael was committed to Smith's Grove in 1963. Laurie was born in 1961. Ironically her first name is Marion. this was her name in the 1960 film Psycho. Her initials are "MC"
• Some of the information regarding an expanded look on the original Halloween film- especially about what takes place before and on October 31, 1963- can be found in Halloween: A Novel by Curtis Richards. Published by Bantam Books, it was released in 1979 and re-released in 1982. (ISBN 0-553-26296-3).
• Background information on Laurie Strode (especially concerning her biological parents, foster parents, her two marriages and her two children) were once part of a "character information" page on the official Halloween Series website- halloweenmovies.com. This page was removed a few years ago for unknown reasons. Other characters included were Michael Audrey Myers, Dr. Samuel Loomis, Annie Brackett, Lynda Van Der Klok and Jamie Lloyd.
• According to the former Laurie Strode character page as mentioned above, Dr. Loomis was responsible for assisting Laurie in her going into hiding. Also, even while she was living across the country, he still maintained contact and kept watch over her.
• Laurie's biological parents were Don and Edith Myers. Her foster parents are Morgan and Pamela Strode. Based on the continuity of the 2007 film: Laurie's biological mother was Deborah Myers. Her foster parents are Mason Strode and Cynthia Strode.
• In the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of the official website, it is confirmed that while no date and story settings were featured in Halloween: Resurrection, Laurie's death took place on Halloween 2001, while the Dangertainment events took place one year later on October 30 and 31, 2002.
• Also in the FAQ, it explained what had happened to Laurie's son John Tate. Apparently, Laurie hid him somewhere safe to avoid being found. A picture of him can be seen above Laurie's bed in her cell. In the special features of the H8 DVD, one moment of Laurie's dialogue on the rooftop scene had her say to Michael "...but you won't find my son. I made sure of that."

Laurie Strode Information:

• Location: Haddonfield, Illinois, United States
• Family: Michael Myers (brother) Judith Myers (sister) Kara Strode (cousin) Jamie Lloyd (daughter) John Tate (son ) Stephen Lloyd (grandson)
• Appearances: Halloween Halloween II Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (photo)Halloween H20: 20 Years Later Halloween: ResurrectionHalloween H2
• Portrayed by: Jamie Lee Curtis and Scout Taylor-Compton

Categories: Halloween (film series) characters Horror film characters Fictional characters from Illinois Fictional orphans Fictional adoptees Fictional principals Fictional murderers