When David Gordon Green's Halloween came out in 2018, it was celebrated by fans of the franchise as a refreshing return to what worked in the past. Gone were all of those bad cult plotline sequels and horrible Rob Zombie reboots. This time, we were getting a terrifying Michael Myers with no motive and the comeback of the greatest final girl, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). Say what you will about Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends, but the strategy for the first film in the trilogy paid off in theaters to the tune of a whopping $260 million worldwide on just a $10 million budget. If there was one thing audiences didn't like about Halloween though, it was one of its main characters. This time around, Laurie has a daughter named Karen (Judy Greer). She was seen as being whiny, annoying, and negative, with even Greer's acting choices questioned. Call me crazy, but Karen is actually the best part of the whole movie.
Karen Is a Byproduct of Laurie Strode's Trauma Close
Laurie Strode might be horror's most famous final girl, but it came at a price. In John Carpenter's original Halloween in 1978, Laurie is the epitome of good. She's book smart and shy, but also funny, great with kids, and kind to her friends, even though to us, they might seem beneath her. She loves her friends and the kids she babysits so much that when the Boogeyman comes to Haddonfield, she forces herself to face him. Laurie survives Michael Myers that Halloween night, but her friends don't. As the film ends, we don't see Laurie triumphant but broken.
The idea of exploring how Laurie would be years later after her encounter with The Shape had been done before in 1998's Halloween H20. In that film, she faked her death and ran away to California, where she changed her name and became a teacher. She's on the run from Michael Myers, but she can never escape the memory of what her brother did. She is so haunted by him that it's taken a heavy toll on her relationship with her son, John (Josh Harnett).
Twenty years later, Halloween H20 was wiped away after that changed ending shown in Halloween: Resurrection, where it's revealed that Laurie killed the wrong man. In 2018, we meet a different Laurie Strode. Michael Myers is no longer a sibling but a true Boogeyman. This version of Laurie is even more traumatized. She didn't run away, but instead forced herself to stay in Haddonfield, close to where Michael is incarcerated, so she can be prepared if he escapes. She lives like a survivalist, fortifying her home and amassing a collection of guns. That's fine if she sees fit, but the problem is that Laurie has a daughter named Karen. She puts all of her trauma on this child, trying to turn her into a survivalist as well, so that it ends with not only their relationship strained but Karen being taken away from her. Karen has never met Michael Myers, but she has become another of his victims.
Karen Nelson's Behavior Makes Sense for the Plot She's In
When we meet Karen in the 2018 Halloween, she seems normal enough at first. She's dressed well, lives in a nice home, has a husband named Ray (Toby Huss) who loves her, and a high school-aged daughter named Allyson (Andi Matichak) who's in the National Honors Society. The cracks in her perfect exterior are shown by Karen not inviting her own mother to the party being held for Allyson. When asked, she lies right to her daughter's face, saying she invited Laurie when she never did. This leads to resentment from Allyson, who is drawn to her broken grandmother, and put off by her cold mom.
We immediately don't like Karen for how she dismisses Laurie, but after Allyson invites her grandmother to the party, we understand why Karen didn't want her there. Laurie shows up at the restaurant an anxious mess and almost immediately makes a scene, drinking heavily and talking about Michael Myers before fleeing. This leads to Allyson chasing after her, which makes us love this new character we just met, while Karen is embarrassed and frustrated, going so far as to tell Allyson, "I hate to say I told you so."
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Many fans had a problem with the scene that comes right after, with Karen talking to Allyson in the restaurant parking lot. As Laurie drives away, Karen looks straight ahead and speaks in a numb, monotone voice, as she tells Allyson about her childhood, which involved being forced to learn how to shoot a gun when she was eight, being taught how to fight, having nightmares about the fortified basement she had to help build, and how Social Services took her away when she was twelve. She tells Allyson, "I've spent my entire life trying to get over the paranoia and the neurosis that she has projected on me." Judy Greer's tone is almost robotic, but this isn't the result of bad acting. It's a conscious choice to show just how defeated and done with it all she is. We can be upset all we want by it, but it's real. Laurie Strode's trauma has traumatized her own daughter and ruined her life, and Karen is stuck. She can't take it anymore, but she can't just abandon her mother either.
Karen Proves Her Own Strength in 'Halloween's Finale
It's easy for an audience to not like Karen because we know Michael Myers is coming back, but just because we know where that story is leading doesn't dismiss what Karen is going through. Who wouldn't be messed up after going through all of that? Laurie's trauma has wounded her daughter so deeply that she doesn't even celebrate Halloween anymore. Instead, she wears Christmas sweaters in October like a silent protest against the day that ruined her life. Without saying anything, the sweaters show off the drama in her life. That characterization also makes the 2018 Halloween a smarter slasher film where the after effects of a killer's murder spree are examined. We know what happens to those who died, but what about those who lived?
Karen can be dismissed as a weak, whiny, annoying character if you want, and maybe David Gordon Green knows you're going to hate her, which is why he toys with our feelings at the end. In the third act of Halloween, Karen and Allyson are hiding in the fortified basement, while above them Michael lurks somewhere. When he finally figures out how to get in, Karen points her childhood gun at the top of the stairs before crying, "I can't do it." We want to scream at her cowardice for not protecting her daughter at this most pivotal moment, but the reason why we're angry is because it's believable. Karen is broken by her mother's trauma, and now when she has to face the man who caused it, she can't pull herself together. When Michael steps into view and the scared Karen suddenly becomes brave, saying "Gotcha" before she shoots Michael in the neck, it's not only him she tricked but the audience as well. We fully bought in to her being too emotionally scarred to brave the moment. Karen isn't finding her strength when it matters most. It's always been there, with most of it spent on keeping herself going and creating her own life outside of her mom, but with enough left over to battle the Boogeyman when he comes for her too.
Halloween (2018) is available to watch on Netflix.
Halloween (2018) RHorrorThriller
Laurie Strode confronts her long-time foe, Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.
Release Date October 18, 2018 Director David Gordon Green Cast Jamie Lee Curtis , Judy Greer , Andi Matichak , Will Patton , Virginia Gardner , James Jude Courtney , Nick Castle Runtime 106 Minutes Writers David Gordon Green , Danny McBride , Jeff Fradley , John Carpenter , Debra Hill
WATCH ON NETFLIX