Halloween Ends: Does Laurie Strode Survive?
Halloween fans have known that Halloween Ends would serve as a sendoff to Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode for quite some time, sparking speculation about the character's fate in the franchise. In 1988's Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, the narrative claimed that Laurie had died in a car accident, as the series then focused on her daughter Jamie, as played by Danielle Harris. When Halloween H20: 20 Years Later rolled around in 1998, Laurie had "faked" her death years earlier and was living under the name Keri Tate, with the sequel Halloween Resurrection then killing Laurie in its opening scenes. With Halloween Ends out now in theaters, we know the fate of Laurie and how Jamie Lee Curtis has exited the franchise seemingly for good.
WARNING: Major spoilers for Halloween Ends below
Even though this is the last Halloween film for Curtis, her Laurie Strode manages to survive the wrath of Michael Myers.
Since we last saw her in Halloween Kills, Laurie has spent the past four years attempting to make peace with the trauma caused by Michael over the years. This means buying a new house with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) and trying to set her up with Corey (Rohan Campbell), who has similarly been ostracized from the community. Just a year after Halloween Kills, Corey was babysitting a young boy and accidentally knocked him off the stairs, with the child plummeting to his death. While Corey escaped jail time, the town still held him accountable for the death.
After a chance run-in with the hiding Michael Myers, Corey is inspired to kill those who stand in his way. Laurie, meanwhile, is attempting to put her past behind her and move forward, which includes embracing her fondness for Officer Hawkins (Will Patton). He tells her that nearly getting killed gave him a new appreciation for life, inspiring him to learn Japanese to potentially visit their impressive cherry blossom trees one day.
When Laurie realizes Corey is heading down a dark path, she attempts to stop his relationship with Allyson, resulting in him trying to kill her too. Luckily, she defends herself from Corey, who takes his own life in front of her. However, with Corey having taken Michael Myers' mask to commit his killings, the real Myers returns and confronts Laurie. After a vicious battle, Laurie pins Michael to a table and cuts his throat while Allyson cuts his wrists so he bleeds out. His body is then taken to the dump and tossed into a trash compactor to fully destroy him once and for all.
After Laurie finally kills Michael 44 years after their initial collision, Hawkins arrives to tend to her and her injuries. With Allyson having left Haddonfield in the wake of Michael's destruction, Laurie asks Hawkins to tell her more about the cherry blossoms, with the film ending as the two finally get to share peace with one another.
Longtime fans of the series will surely be relieved that Laurie survived the encounter relatively safely, yet there are bound to be those fans who assume her survival means Jame Lee Curtis will ultimately return to the role at some point in the future.
Halloween Ends is in theaters now.
Are you glad Laurie survived the film? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!