Type in “2018 is…” into Google. The consensus? “Strange” and “A bad year.” A constant state of political despair, depressing headlines upholding male power and privilege and the President of the United States thinking climate change will “change back again” (#FakeNews). For many, this year has been a surreal nightmare, one we’re trying desperately to wake up from. During these uncertain times, rather than seek solace in escapist rom-coms, people are going out of their way to be scared more. Hereditary, A Quiet Place and Suspiria (2.0): the horror genre is having a major moment.
John Carpenter’s Halloween [released in 1978] is oft credited with creating the “modern slasher” movie, causing an avalanche of fright night pictures thereafter, from Scream to Friday 13th. Flash-forward 40 years, the cult classic is being reinvented for the next-gen; seeing OG scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis return to her horror roots as Laurie Strode. This time, however, she’s no victim. The new Halloween is being hailed as a slasher movie for the #MeToo era: at its core, a story about a trauma survivor (Strode) trying to take back the narrative in her life from the man that abused her decades previous.
Today, Jamie Lee Curtis oozes confidence and speaks openly on Hollywood’s cultural climate: “When there are times of great social dissatisfaction [and] social unrest, people are frustrated, people are angry,” she says. “There is something that happens chemically when you put a group of people in a theatre and you scare them. It’s some release of tension. It allows you to scream.”
Watch our exclusive interview with Jamie Lee Curtis, sharing with HUNGER TV her real-life fears and female heroes in 2k18…
Halloween comes to cinemas 19 October, check out the trailer here.
