Jamie Lee Curtis Has The #1 Movie On Streaming
While the critics didn’t seem to understand audiences need to flock to the cinemas, we say who can resist Jamie Lee Curtis
This article is more than 2 years old
Although the night he came home caused terror and chaos for the townspeople of Haddonfield, it also created a box office smash for everyone involved in the cast and crew of Halloween Kills. If you didn’t make it to the theater or weren’t able to snag your friend’s Peacock password, you can now catch Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode and the rest of the tiny Illinois town rise up against Michael Myers on HBO Max. And you wouldn’t be the only one to do so. Currently, the second installment in director David Gordon Green’s spooky trilogy is the streaming service’s number one movie.
In a franchise that boasts 12 films and counting, it’s no wonder as to why Green’s new takes on the classic story are sailing sky high. Although other directors over the years (including gore aficionado Rob Zombie), have tried their hand at recreating or telling their own stories in the universe of The Shape, Green took it upon himself to give viewers an update on the current life of final girl, Laurie Strode. Beginning with 2018’s Halloween, Green took fans on a journey now 40 years since the night of the John Carpenter film’s original events.
In Halloween, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a mother to an adult child, Karen Nelson (Judy Greer), and a grandmother to a young adult, Allyson Nelson (Andi Matichak). Things take a wicked turn when Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney/Nick Castle) manages to escape the mental hospital that has housed him over all of these years and makes a beeline for the Strode homestead. Ready to rise to the occasion, Laurie has been waiting for the knife-wielding maniac and is more than prepared to take him on. While we won’t spoil the ending for you, let’s just say that not all goes according to plan. This brings us up to the newest movie, Halloween Kills.
Halloween Kills picks up immediately following the events of 2018’s Halloween. It’s still Halloween night and Laurie Strode is in the hospital surrounded by Allyson and Karen. Ever the hero, Laurie insists that she needs to get back out there and fight Michael before he catches up to her. Utilizing an incredible makeup and prosthetics team to bring some long-deceased actors back to life, the film returns viewers to that bloody night in 1978 to cover some background on exactly what went down.
Meanwhile, at a local watering hole, members of the community who were around for the original events toast and cheers to one another in memory of that fateful night. Included in the revelers are Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall), Lonnie Elam (Robert Longstreet), and Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards). It isn’t long before Michael reveals himself, slashing down everyone in his way. The sudden return of their tormentor locks the survivors together as they set out to bring him down once and for all with a rallying cry of “Evil dies tonight!” Again, we’ll save the rest for you to watch on your own. It’s filled with twists, turns, and Jamie Lee Curtis wearing a chef’s kiss of a wig.
Met with a 40% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 66% from audiences. After being a year and a half into the pandemic, it was highly anticipated by fans who headed to theaters to catch the franchise’s newest installment. For those who wished to stay home, production made a move to simultaneously release it on Peacock which certainly drove its viewership up. Expecting to suffer a box office loss due to its premiere coinciding with Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel, Halloween Kills did anything but. The feature ended up raking in a whopping $50.4 million which earned it the title of the best R-rated opening during the pandemic.
While the critics didn’t seem to understand audiences need to flock to the cinemas, we say who can resist Jamie Lee Curtis staring dramatically in hospital garb and Kyle Richards’ return to the big screen? Clearly, the Golden Globe winner and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star did something right as it was soon announced that Halloween Ends, Green’s final film in his trilogy, was heading into production and planned a release date of October 31, 2022.
The daughter of actor Tony Curtis (The Defiant Ones) and Psycho star Janet Leigh, Jamie Lee Curtis made her onscreen debut in the original slasher flick back in 1978. Over the years the engaging performer would take her talents to genres across the board, appearing in films including Freaky Friday, Blue Steel, and Knives Out and television shows such as Anything But Love and Scream Queens. While she branched out from the Halloween franchise, she just couldn’t get away from it, until now. Halloween Ends will mark the actress’s seventh time playing Laurie Strode and she says it will be her last. And while we are sad to see her leave Haddonfield for the last time, we are incredibly excited to see Green’s final installment and find out if our favorite final girl finally wins her faceoff against The Shape.
