John Carpenter is one of the most celebrated horror movie directors of the past half-century. After mortifying audiences with his runaway hit slasher film Halloween in 1978, which features a strong character and performance by Jamie Lee Curtis, Carpenter continued to populate his films with formidable female protagonists.
Many factors contribute to the strength of a character, be it brute force, inner courage, influential power, or the willingness to make a sacrifice for the greater good. While many of Carpenter's strongest female characters can be found in his horror filmography, several others are present in his action and science-fiction films as well.
Jenny Hayden - Starman (1984)
At first blush, Karen Allen's Jenny Hayden in Starman appears to be a fearful and helpless widow living alone without much self-agency. But, over the course of the story, she showcases tremendous strength in her dogged attempt to save her own kidnapper, an extraterrestrial being, played by Jeff Bridges, that resembles her deceased husband. In the process, she overcomes her own grief.
In one memorable moment, Jenny tosses her trepidation aside and shows strength by rescuing Starman at gunpoint after he's beaten up at a truck stop. In addition to challenging the authorities at every turn as they outrace the law, Jenny's increasing heroism helps her to get over her husband's death.
Angelique - "Pro-Life," Masters Of Horror (2006)
Carpenter's second foray into the Masters of Horror anthology series includes "Pro-Life," a vicious vignette that features a strong female lead in Angelique and a commanding performance by Caitlin Wachs.
When Angelique is impregnated by a demon, she seeks an abortion. Her religious, pro-life father, played by Ron Perlman, and her three brothers storm the hospital in an attempt to prevent the procedure. What makes Angie so strong is, in addition to the sheer agony of delivering deadly demonic offspring, she is willing to dispatch of the demon child and prevent any further chaos as soon as it arrives.
Catherine Danforth - Prince Of Darkness (1987)
Of the four central female characters in Carpenter's supernatural horror Prince of Darkness, only Lisa Blount's Catherine Danforth is able to stave off demonic possession. Her strength as a character is reinforced by her willingness to sacrifice her own life to thwart the presence of evil. She's also one of the few Carpenter female-leads not to rely on men to survive.
The plot concerns mysterious canisters of demonic slime found buried beneath a church. While the other female characters are easily possessed by the slime and show little resistance in the process, Catherine's selfless and courageous act of heroism helps end the scourge before it's too late.
Leigh -Assault On Precinct 13 (1976)
Laurie Zimmer's Leigh begins her role in Assault on Precinct 13 as a modest police station secretary. By the end of the film, she's a hardened gun-toting action hero fending off a hyper-violent prison invasion.
The film follows the skeleton crew of a decommissioned police precinct nearing closing day. When a vengeful father chases a gang of criminals into the precinct, a massive shootout ensues with Leigh and others inside. By navigating a hail of gunfire, outsmarting her attackers, and showing immense bravery, Leigh becomes one of the few survivors in the end. She's so tough that she even denies medical help for a gunshot wound.
Holly - They Live (1988)
Carpenter's satirical sci-fi action film They Live follows Roddy Piper's Nada, a blue-collar worker who begins seeing hidden subliminal messages around town while wearing a special pair of sunglasses. Nada discovers the messages are created by an alien race out to keep humanity in a docile state of obedience.
Along the way, Nada meets Meg Foster's Holly, a nefarious human working with the aliens. Holly exudes enough super strength to knock Nada out of a window, overpower and kill his ally Frank (played by Keith David) and wound Nada long enough for the cavalry to come and end his life.
Christine - Christine (1983)
While technically inhuman, Carpenter's iconic killer car Christine still ranks as one of his strongest female characters. Based on the car in the classic Stephen King novel, the classic 1958 Plymouth Fury here demonstrates the possessive qualities of a jealous girlfriend out to avenge those who wrong its beloved owner, Keith Gordon's Arnie, proving that hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn.
Possessed by the spirit who died in the car years prior, Christine uses her power to lock Alexandra Paul's Leigh inside and suffocate her, explode a gang of vandals, crush Robert Prosky's Darnell, and ultimately kill Arnie. Additionally, she's even so indestructible that she survives a bulldozer in the end.
Leigh Michaels - Someone's Watching Me! (1978)
Released the same year as Halloween, Carpenter's little-known TV movie Someone's Watching Me! also features a strong female lead. The story centers on Lauren Hutton's Leigh Michaels, a woman spied on and terrorized by one of John Carpenter's creepiest killers.
After spending the first half being scared out of her wits, Leigh slowly begins to figure out who her stalker is. She manages to identify the culprit and demonstrates tremendous strength by overpowering his final attack, stabbing him with a shard of broken glass, and knocking him off the balcony to his death.
Stevie Wayne - The Fog (1980)
With a masculine double name meant to hint at her inherent strength, The Fog's Adrienne Barbeau's Stevie Wayne is also the smartest character in the film. As a radio host who constantly warns the inhabitants of Antonio Bay of the ominous fog, Stevie uses her vocational power to act as a town protector.
In addition to fighting off one of the ghosts on the roof of the lighthouse, Stevie's advice allows Tom Atkins' Nick and Jamie Lee Curtis' Elizabeth to survive long enough to rescue her son from harm.
Melanie Ballard - Ghosts Of Mars (2001)
Despite the tepid reviews for Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars, the film features one of his most badass female characters in Natasha Henstridge's Lieutenant Melanie Ballard. She's commanding, physically imposing, and totally fearless.
As the masculine leader of armed mercenaries tasked with transporting an inmate through a mining post on female-dominated Mars, Ballard remains in charge. As her crewmen die at the hands of demonically possessed minors, Ballard survives by wielding heavy artillery, using expert combat skills, and utilizing a nuclear reactor to dissolve the ghosts from thin air.
Laurie Strode - Halloween (1978)
Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie strode is, was, and will probably always be John Carpenter's strongest female character. Defined as one of the most iconic scream queens of all time, Laurie Strode's stature comes from summoning the strength to quell the relentless attack of scary serial killer Michael Myers. Her longevity over several films only increases her strength.
In addition to protecting herself physically, Laurie's biggest strength comes from outwitting Michael at every turn, refraining from drugs and sex on Halloween night, remaining in the present, and conjuring enough courage to fight the menacing and murderous Michael head-on.