Jamie Lee Curtis: ‘Halloween’ is about overcoming female trauma

It’s been 40 years since the first “Halloween” movie, starring Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, the shy babysitter who survives serial killer Michael Myers. Now she’s back.

Speaking to Press Play, Curtis said that this 11th installment is about a traumatized woman who lets everything in her life fall away, so she can focus on one thing: being ready for Myers’ return.

The film aims to explore what long-term trauma really looks like and how it impacts someone’s life.

The timing of the film’s release is part of its strength.

“Every scene you see in the movie was written prior to what we have now learned is the #MeToo movement. That’s what the movie was about — prior to knowing that it was going to be this bigger story about women taking back their power,” said Curtis.

Despite its serious themes, the film has a sense of humor. Director David Gordon Green is funny, said Curtis, and was the reason she returned to the franchise — overcoming fear that audiences would have “Halloween” fatigue.

So far, there hasn’t been fatigue. “I’m sitting here with a movie that is better reviewed than any movie that I have ever been in,” Curtis said.