SDCC 2018: Hall H’s HALLOWEEN Panel Reveals How Laurie Strode Saved A Life
Evan was on hand yesterday for the full Hall H panel on Universal/Blumhouse's Halloween sequel when something rather emotional occured:
"Jamie Lee Curtis came out with a ton of fire. Pretty much everything she was passionate and inspiring, but she leaned hard into an amazing speech about why she came back to the role and how it relates to female empowerment. There comes a point where you say ‘I am not my trauma. The narrative of my life is not that I’m a victim.'”
Just a few hours before, I'd had the opportunity to sit down with Curtis, David Gordon Green and Jason Blum, and can attest to how much purpose the brilliant Scream Queen was injecting into that same message for us during our interview session. This version of Halloween is all about not becoming a victim and fighting back, even when everyone else might be telling you you're wrong. Watching Curtis command a room is really spectacular, as she's all poise and precision, even when simply doing press.
Well, it seems like the legacy of Laurie Strode was felt in the crowd during that Hall H presentation as well, especially when longtime fan Jeffrey Scott stepped to the mic and shared his story of being nearly killed by a knife-wielding home invader, and how his memories of Halloween (and everyone's favorite babysitter in particular) helped him become "a victor, not a victim" before being embraced by Jamie Lee.
Check it out:
In fairness, we should probably always be asking ourselves "what would Jamie Lee Curtis do?", but seeing this obviously traumatized man seek comfort in one of horror's greatest stars is a really touching moment, and a reminder that no matter how trivial we sometimes make pop art out to be, it touches lives in ways we sometimes don't even consider.
But beyond anything else, the interaction between Scott and Curtis proves how these conventions become holy grails for certain attendees, and seeing this guy be able to finally relay this terrifying memory to the woman who inspired him is like watching a dude achieve a goal he'd been planning for years, without any real hope of getting to carry out his task until now.
Here's to Laurie Strode, who will be coming back to theaters this October in Halloween, and hopefully teaches a whole new generation of horror fans how to battle in desperate situations once again.
This article is part of B.M.D. Guide To: Halloween
