For over 40 years, Jamie Lee Curtis gave life to one of the most iconic characters in the horror entertainment industry —one of the longest actor-character pairings in cinema history. Her personification of Laurie Strode from 1978 to 2022 in the Halloween franchise positioned her as the epitome of a scream queen.
The veteran is giving her loyal fans her last rodeo fighting her serial killer brother Michael Myers, also known as The Shape, in the upcoming Halloween Ends movie, premiering on October 14 in Peacock and theaters.
The upcoming ‘Halloween Ends’ movie premieres on October 14 in Peacock and theaters
After 45 years, the most acclaimed, revered horror franchise in film history reaches its epic, terrifying conclusion as Laurie Strode faces off for the last time against the embodiment of evil, Michael Myers, in a final confrontation unlike any captured on-screen before. Spoiler! Only one of them will survive.
In 2018, Halloween shattered box office records, becoming the franchise’s highest-grossing chapter. In 2021, Halloween Kills earned the biggest opening weekend for any horror film in the pandemic era and simultaneously set a new record for a non-live event premiere streaming on Peacock.
In this unexpected final chapter, set four years after the events of last year’s Halloween Kills, Laurie is living with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) and is finishing writing her memoir.
Allyson (Andi Matichak) and Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell)
Michael Myers hasn’t been seen since, but a new character, Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), becomes the bridge that connects them for one last time.
During an exclusive sit-down interview with HOLA! USA, Jamie Lee Curtis reveals how she is farewelling the role that launched her acting career at 19 years old; if it makes sense that Michael Myers passes the torch, and what she thinks of the newest generation of horror actresses, including Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera.
The upcoming ‘Halloween Ends’ movie premieres on October 14 in Peacock and theaters
How do you feel about ending this chapter in your career?
Well, you came in right after they made me do a big fan appreciation video that had me feeling feelings. I’m feeling a lot of feelings. I’m trying to receive at all, and it’s a lot of attention on me. I am somebody who likes a little bit of attention, but this month of the tour is starting to take its toll. There’s like a level of saturation of appreciation. I’m trying to receive it all. And I get it. And I’m feeling it. And it’s beautiful.
How did you say ‘goodbye’ to Laurie Strode?
The beautiful part of movies is that they live on forever and ever and ever and ever. As long as there are people, these movies will exist. Because that’s the beauty of the movies, so I feel like I’ve left my message in the work and in the character and the integrity of the character and my deep love and appreciation of Laurie and her indomitable spirit of survival and courage, and grace. And even though for Jamie, it’s going to be emotional to say goodbye to it all. I also now have a creative life because of the Halloween movies that I didn’t ever have. And so this set of movies has also given me a freedom creatively that I’ve been longing for a long time. So, you know, the movies speak for themselves. I get to say thank you, and then I get to move forward and do other work.
The movie makes you feel that Michael Myers is “passing the torch.” Do you think it will sit well with die-hard fans of the franchise if the boogieman returns with a familiar face?
The beautiful thing is I’m not the filmmaker. I’m the actress. I have my improv mature in the story. It’s a big swing of a movie. It’s a big creative swing. It’s a big emotional swing. And I think that audiences so far, what we’re hearing is that they get it they understand what we’re doing. They understand what we’re going for thematically, and they feel that they have seen a conclusion to this inevitable battle between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode.
As Laurie Strode says in the film: “Evil doesn’t die; it changes shape.” Is this really the franchise’s end? Can the boogieman reincarnate?
Well, we know historically that evil doesn’t die. It changes shape. So I think it’s more a metaphor for that. Evil lives inside all of us. And it says much a movie about we are all monsters as it is that Michael Myers is a monster. So I think it poses some good questions. I don’t know about reincarnation. The whole sci-fi aspect of that, I’m not a fan of that genre. I’m a practical person.
The upcoming ‘Halloween Ends’ movie premieres on October 14 in Peacock and theaters
What goes through your mind when you see the beloved for many Michael Myers mask and think about its impact on the entertainment industry?
He is not great. He is a piece of sh*t. Honestly, it’s just a rubber mask. It’s not Michael. I understand people are going to try to be Michael. I understand why the mask was so scary. But evil is evil. And Michael Myers was evil; a mask isn’t evil at all. It’s just rubber.
You are one of the most beloved scream queens in history. What do you think of the newest generation, including Jenna Ortega, and Melissa Barrera, making a name in horror films?
Of course! We’re here alive, artists creating in our time, and it breeds other art. I mean, it’s just the nature of the beast. The beautiful John Steinbeck quote is about the art of creation and that it happens in one person. Nothing good is ever created by two people. It’s one person who creates it, and then another people can build on it. And so, as we all are creating different things, these young actresses are creating their own spirits in the work, their own path, their own legacies.
My legacy as Laurie Strode is that you never give up. That you never give up trying and that you believe in yourself. That through anything, you can make it, and that’s a beautiful legacy. And I don’t know what their legacies are going to be because they’re young and developing them. I don’t know what the stories are. But as long as they do it with truth and integrity, they don’t approach it like a joke. They’ll be great.
How are you going to celebrate the end of this era?
I’m just going to reconnect with my people. I’ve been gone for a month. I have a dog. My people want me home, and my life is very quiet. I live a very private, quiet life. I’m not all this. These clothes all get donated, and I wear black sweatpants and fuzzy Birkenstocks and read Steinbeck novels and Wallace Stegner.
Halloween Ends co-stars returning cast Will Patton as Officer Frank Hawkins, Kyle Richards as Lindsey Wallace and James Jude Courtney as The Shape.
From the creative team that relaunched the franchise with 2018’s Halloween and Halloween Kills, the film is directed by David Gordon Green from a screenplay by Paul Brad Logan (Manglehorn), Chris Bernier (The Driver series), Danny McBride and David Gordon Green, based on characters created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill.
Watch the trailer below
