Why does Michael Myers want to kill Laurie? Halloween Killer Motives & Theories

The heart of the Halloween Saga is the killing spree of Michael Myers, with Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) being his ultimate target, and his motives for killing her have changed several times. In 1978, John Carpenter directed HalloweenA slasher movie that helped popularize the genre. Halloween Introducing Michael Myers, who, at the age of six, killed his older sister, Judith, on Halloween night. Michael became the patient of Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasance) at Smith’s Grove Sanitarium and never spoke again. On October 30, 1978, Michael escaped and returned to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois.

Michael Myers targeted Laurie Strode for years, though in the first timeline in the Halloween saga, he went after her daughter, Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris), after Laurie was killed amid the events of Halloween II And Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. Laurie Strode was Michael Myers’ main target in the following recons And in the Rob Zombie remakes, but what was Michael looking for specifically, and what theories have emerged about their deadly dynamic?

Michael Myers was obsessed with Laurie after he first saw her in Halloween

Laurie was in the wrong place at the wrong time

In Carpenter’s movie, a reason for Michael Myers killing his sister was not given, and he was simply described as the embodiment of evil – so if he killed his sister without a clear motive, he could kill almost anyone. When Michael returned to Haddonfield, he hid in his childhood home, which is now abandoned and for sale. LAurie Strode is first seen leaving her house to go to school but making a stop at the Myers’ house To leave the keys as her father was in charge of selling the house.

Michael was lurking inside, and he saw her drop the keys at the door and leave with young Tommy Doyle (Brian Andrews). After that, Michael started following Laurie, and the first time she saw the boogeyman was in class, when she turned to look through the window and saw him on the other side of the street looking at her. This was the beginning of Michael’s obsession with Laurie, which continued for many, many years and through different timelines.

The sibling connection of Laurie and Michael Myers is not revealed until Halloween 2 (but later acknowledged)

Lori was Michael’s other sister

What made Michael Myers so terrifying in the 1978s Halloween It was that he had no reason to go after Laurie; He simply saw her and chose her as his target. Halloween II Made a huge and highly divisive discovery by explaining that Laurie is actually Michael’s youngest sister. A few years after Judith’s murder, Michael Meyer’s parents died in a car accident, and Laurie was placed in foster care, where she was immediately adopted by the Strode family.

It is unknown how Michael knew that Lori Strode was his sister, but it gave him a somewhat clear reason to go after her. Halloween II Didn’t give an exact reason why he wanted to kill his youngest sister, but other sequels tried to explain this. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers Introducing the Cult of Thorn, a group of druids who believed that the ancient demon Thorn spread disease and death. To save themselves, the cult placed a curse on a child from their tribe, who was then possessed by Tarn.

This drove the child to kill their family on the night of Samhain, and by then, The final link in the Myers bloodline was Jamie’s baby, StevenWhat would be Michael’s last sacrifice. The sibling connection between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers continued in the Halloween H20: 20 years later/Halloween: Resurrection timeline, as they serve as sequels to Halloween II.

for its remake, Halloween And Halloween IIRob Zombie also added the sibling connection between Laurie and Michael, but he also added their mother, Deborah Myers, as a ghostly presence in Halloween II. This controversial connection was removed from canon in the Halloween Reboot trilogy, which serves as a sequel to Carpenter’s original movie, and Laurie’s granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak), even mentioned that Laurie and Michael being siblings was made by the press.

Michael Myers’ obsession with killing Laurie Strode increased when she became unkillable

Laurie Strode was always the last girl

Laurie Strode is not an easy target as Michael probably thought when he first saw her in HalloweenAnd as the saga evolved, Laurie became harder to kill. Laurie survived various encounters with Michael Myers throughout the Halloween SagaAnd although she was killed three times, only one was because of Michael. Halloween: Resurrection Begins with Laurie now as a patient at Grace Andersen Sanitarium after the events of Halloween H20And of course, Michael made his way there to continue haunting her.

Laurie is killed by Michael in the first minute of Halloween: ResurrectionBut then she experienced several close calls. The harder Lori became to defeat, the more obsessed Michael was about killing her. This changed their dynamic from victim/murderer to a war between the two to see who was the smartest and strongest, and the only way it could end was with one of them dying.

In the reboot timeline, Laurie was the big winner as she and Alison finally killed Michael and made sure he was really dead this time by throwing his body into an industrial shredder.

Theory: Annie was Michael Myers’ target in Halloween, not Laurie

Laurie’s best friend was the one Michael originally wanted to kill

Laurie Strode was Michael Myers’ main target during the Halloween Sage, but that doesn’t mean she was his plan A. A theory suggests that Michael Myers was actually going after Annie Brackett (Nancy Loomis), Laurie’s friend. While Lowry was the first he saw when he returned to Haddonfield, there was plenty of evidence left Halloween What supports the idea of ​​Annie is the one that Michael really wanted to kill – and, unfortunately, he fulfills his plan.

The first piece of evidence is when Laurie, Annie and Linda (PJ Soles) are walking back home when Michael drives past them, slowing down as he drives in front of them. Annie yells at him, “Hey drunk! Speed ​​kills!“Believing him to be one of their friends, that might have been enough for him to decide to stalk her. Later, when Annie and Laurie are babysitting Lindsay (Kyle Richards) and Tommy respectively, Michael follows them.

Instead of going to the Doyles’ house to kill Laurie, Michael goes to the Wallaces’ place, and he even stares at Annie when she enters the house. After Annie drops Lindsey off at the Doyles’ as she was expecting her boyfriend to arrive, Michael kills her in the car inside the garage, and it isn’t until Laurie goes over to check on her that Michael starts after Laurie to kill her.

This theory is further supported by Michael placed Annie’s body on the bed with Judith’s tombstone standing over it. If Annie was Michael’s real goal, then he fulfilled his plans quite quickly, and Lori was his second goal.

Theory: Michael Myers went after Laurie because she disturbed his home

Laurie Strode’s dad is trying to sell Michael’s house

Another theory, although this is about the Halloween Reboot trilogy, suggests Lori became the target of Michael Myers because she disturbed his home. The second installment in the reboot trilogy, Halloween killsExplained that what Michael Myers really wanted was to go back home, to the point where he killed the new owners. In the 1978 movie, Lori dropped the keys to the Myers house because her father was going to sell the house, which most likely did not sit well with Michael.

Most of Michael’s murders in Halloween (2018) and Halloween kills It happened, because he was on his way to his house, he literally got rid of whoever stood in his way. What weakens the theory is that Halloween ends Didn’t continue the “Michael just wants to go home” storyline and instead made a time jump to introduce a copycat killer. Still, it makes sense that Michael would target Laurie for disturbing his family home, and that’s a much better explanation than the controversial sibling connection.

Theory: Michael Myers represents Laurie’s repressed desires

Laurie Strode was the first ‘good girl’ victim

The big theme in slasher movies is that the slasher killers are still the “bad kids,” meaning the youngsters do drugs, drink alcohol, party, have sex, and otherwise act against social norms. That wasn’t the case with Laurie Strode, although that was what was happening to her friend Annie. When Michael killed Annie, it fits the theme of most slasher movies. For Laurie Strode, she was the opposite. she was the “good girl” who mostly made the “right decisions”.

However, the theory supposes that Michael Myers acts out Laurie’s repressed desires as a good girl (via CBR). Michael attacks the bullies who are picking on Tommy Doyle first. He then goes after Annie, who dumps the babysitting job onto Laurie so she can party with her boyfriend. It seems that, at least in the first movie, Michael killed the people who possibly victimized Laurie or her charges in some way. Then, when Lori felt guilty about their deaths, Michael targeted her, as punishment for her sins.

Theory: Michael Myers doesn’t even care about Laurie

Laurie Strode is the only one who thinks Michael is haunting her

There is also a theory that Michael Myers does not care about Laurie Strode. In the first Halloween In the movie, he targets several people around town, and then he comes for Laurie. This could only have been because she was his next target, And not for any reason other than that. However, the trauma that surrounds a serial killer targeting a person is terrifying, and that trauma may have caused Laurie to think that she was a particularly targeted victim.

The theory suggests that the only person who thinks Michael Myers is haunting her is Laurie, and it’s all in her head. She has to answer why the monster wants to kill her, and considering that she must be cursed is a way to explain it to herself. in Halloween IIMichael wanted revenge since he didn’t kill her and was hurt in the process. After that, it was almost like Laurie was going after Michael, so Michael was then just fighting back.

Ultimately, what makes Michael Myers terrifying isn’t exactly a reason to go after Laurie (or anyone else). However, these Halloween Movie series gives viewers a couple of reasons to choose the one they like the most.