Laurie Strode is Halloween’s final girl, and thanks to the different retcons and remakes the franchise has gone through, Laurie has survived the attacks of Michael Myers five times – here’s how. In 1978, John Carpenter changed the horror genre with Halloween, and even though it wasn’t well-received by critics upon its original release, it has been revisited over the years and is now considered one of the best horror movies ever. Halloween was also key in developing the slasher genre, serving as an inspiration to many filmmakers and popularizing these movies in the 1980s.
Halloween introduced a new slasher: Michael Myers, who after killing his sister on Halloween night when he was six years old, was sent to Smith’s Grove sanitarium. Fifteen years later, Michael escaped and returned to his hometown Haddonfield, Illinois, where he stalked Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and friends on Halloween night. The sequel, Halloween II, gave a reason to Michael’s stalking and killing spree by making him and Laurie siblings, a storyline that continued through the franchise’s first retcon in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later and Rob Zombie’s 2007 remake, but was finally left behind in the 2018 reboot. These retcons, remakes, and reboots have not only changed the link between Michael and Laurie, but also the latter’s fate, as she has died three times, but has also survived five times.
During her first encounter with Michael Myers in the original Halloween, Laurie managed to stab him in the eye with a coat hanger and then took his knife to stab him on the chest. Michael recovered and began to strangle her, but Dr. Loomis arrived and shot him six times, knocking him over a balcony. Michael survived the fall, and his chase continued in Halloween II. The sequel was set right after the first one, with Laurie at the hospital after the attack. Michael found out where she was and went after her, so Laurie fled to the parking lot and hid in the car of a paramedic, with whom she attempted to drive away before he passed out. Loomis arrived and both he and Laurie were chased by Michael into a theatre, where the latter stabbed Loomis in the stomach. Laurie shot Michael and with the help of Loomis burned the place down. Of course. Michael survived, and Laurie was transferred to another hospital.
After that, Laurie went through her first death and was given a daughter, Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris), who became Michael’s new target. Laurie returned in Halloween H20, where it was revealed that she faked her death and started a new life under a new identity – and had a son, John (Josh Hartnett), with Jamie being erased from the story. Michael found her after stealing her file from Loomis’ retirement house, and after saving John and his girlfriend, Laurie confronted Michael, who she stabbed numerous times and pushed him over a balcony. Michael was later loaded into a coroner’s van, which Laurie stole. Michael awakened and attacked her again, with Laurie stopping the van and causing Michael to fly through the windshield. She then drove the car into Michael, and to be sure he would really die, Laurie decapitated him – but Halloween: Resurrection revealed that wasn’t Michael, but a paramedic he put in his place. Laurie died again in Resurrection, this time at the hands of Michael.
Rob Zombie’s Halloween took the basic premise of Carpenter’s movie and made it his own, with Laurie also surviving the first movie. Michael kidnapped her and she stabbed him so she could escape, but was recaptured. As Loomis subdued Michael, Laurie took the gun but was cornered by Michael, and they fell off a balcony. Laurie then shot him, but he survived. Laurie’s latest encounter with Michael Myers was in David Gordon Green’s Halloween, where she was believed to be dead after being stabbed and pushed over a balcony, but reappeared to trap him in the basement safe room and set the house on fire. Whether Laurie will survive the final two installments in the Halloween franchise or not is unknown, but she has had a wild history through the movies.