Here’s the Quick Way to Understanding the New ‘Halloween’ Family Tree
Everybody knows that Michael Meyers and Laurie Stroud are siblings. What the new Halloween trailer presupposes is... Maybe they aren't?
The new Halloween trailer dropped today and, once again, Michael Meyers is on the hunt for Laurie Stroud. But while the trailer will surely thrill any horror fans, you may find yourself confused about some of the plot details mentioned in the new trailer, specifically how exactly this movie fits into the larger Halloween universe. The newest Halloween has a very different family tree. Here’s what’s new.
The trailer opens with an investigator visiting Meyers at a prison for the criminally insane, where he has spent “the last 40 years in captivity.” At that moment, most people might be wondering what the hell is going on, as we all know Meyers did not spend those 40 years in captivity. He spent that time murdering random people, surviving countless attempts on his life, and, of course, trying to kill Laurie, who he has a very special connection with.
In Halloween II (1981), it is revealed that Michael Meyers wasn’t actually just trying to kill a random babysitter in the suburbs of Illinois. He was trying to kill his sister, as Laurie was secretly given up for adoption when she was a baby. This twist has proven to be incredibly divisive, as most fans feel giving Meyers such a clear motivation and backstory undermines the pure evil of this psychotic killer.
And based on the new trailer, it appears these complaints were heard loud and clear, as Halloween goes out of its way to let viewers know that, canonically, all those other sequels (and the two remakes) no longer exist, meaning that Laurie and Michael are no longer siblings. In a bit of metacommentary, the trailer even addresses the notion of Laurie and Meyers being siblings and dismisses it outright. Instead, Meyers has been rotting in jail for 40 years, while Laurie has been trying to forget about that time a serial killer chased her around with a knife.
Both have been patiently waiting for a reunion and now it’s finally here. And just like Michael and Laurie, we can’t wait to see who comes out alive.
This article was originally published on
