A feminist reading of Halloween (2018)

Slashers have a bit of a bad name. The idea that horror movies exist only to promote sex and violence largely comes from this subgenre. But the original slasher movies didn’t spawn this reputation on their own: in fact, many Slasher films, like Scream, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween have become respected classics among movie fans.

Of course, they all have more than their fair share of gore and nudity, but the notion that this type of movie exists for the sole purpose of those things became dominant largely as a result of the constant stream of slasher sequels throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s and, from the mid-2000s until today, slasher remakes.

But there are slasher films, even sequels or reboots, that have a lot to say. Take the 2018 Halloween reboot. In it, the escaped convict Michael Myers returns to take revenge on Laurie Strode, the only teenage babysitter to escape the original movie alive. While most of its story plays out as one would expect of any slasher film, Halloween (2018) also manages to comment on issues of gender, sexual violence, and trauma.

40 years after her initial encounter with serial killer Michael Myers, now-grandmother Laurie Strode continues to deal with her traumatic experiences. As a result of her paranoia and ceaseless preparation for the day when Michael returns, she has lost several marriages and alienated herself from her daughter and granddaughter. The sentiment, repeated several times throughout the film, that Laurie should “just get over it”, should be familiar to any trauma victim. Great pains are taken to ensure nuance: Laurie did hurt her family by raising them under her scared, isolated view of the world, even though her preparations ultimately do help protect them during the climax.

Women are very consciously placed in leading roles in the film. Unlike other installments in the franchise, which typically center a single “final girl” alongside Michael’s psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis, the reboot has three female leads representing each of the three generations of Strode women. While there is a new doctor filling Loomis’s role, he becomes a surprise secondary antagonist by the third act.

Men in the movie are generally either malicious, uncaring, or incompetent. Many characters are almost explicit criticisms of how victims of trauma are treated by society. For instance, the true crime podcasters Dana and Aaron are reminiscent of supposed “allies” who, instead of helping victims, choose to exploit and fetishize their struggles for publicity.

Beyond just being sleazy, slasher films have had a storied history of problematic gender politics. Halloween (2018) seems to deliberately acknowledge this history, and by acknowledging these failures while recognizing that the subgenre can grow beyond its past faults, may be taking a careful step forward.