Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for Halloween Kills
After three years of anticipation for the franchise to return, Halloween Kills is finally here. The film picks up right at the ending of its 2018 predecessor as Michael Myers breaks free from the fiery trap set by Laurie Strode in her home, inciting the people of Haddonfield to rise up with Laurie's daughter Karen and her granddaughter Allyson to bring the fight to Michael.
Screen Rant spoke exclusively with star Judy Greer to discuss her return as Karen, balancing the emotions of her loss with the kinetic nature of the story, and the possibility of her return in the finale, Halloween Ends.
Screen Rant: It's great to talk with you again after Uncle Frank last year. Halloween Kills is just as fun as Uncle Frank, albeit in a totally different way. What was it like for you to come back for your character in this one?
Judy Greer: Oh, it was so fun. I love everyone that David Gordon Green surrounds himself with, so it was almost like doing the second season of a TV show. It's the same crew, it was fun to have some new actors to play with, but really, it was just like coming home.
One of the things that was so interesting about the first movie, in terms of your character's story, was that final reveal in which you were in on the planning the whole time. What was that like for you to sort of carry over back into becoming the mom and the grieving wife again in this story?
Judy Greer: I liked it because it was what would really happen, I think. I like that David Gordon Green keeps logic and the flow at the forefront of his storytelling as much as he can anyway. I was happy that she kind of started to nurture her mom and then we saw that this is a character who is grounded and stable and calm and then really does the right thing. When I was talking about that, like with Tovoli [David Lowe], trying to steer the crowd away from the wrong guy. I really think that Karen is actually a truly good person, probably a little too idealistic for a horror movie. [Laughs]
So what would you say were some of the biggest creative challenges for you coming into this one in comparison to the last Halloween movie?
Judy Greer: Having to wear the sweater again and kind of keeping the energy alive since we basically cut like no time at all has passed. We had to remember that feeling. We start right out of the gate with this one, right where we left off. So having to remember just as far as challenges of trying to make sure that we maintained that level right when we started where we left off, no time had passed. So there was no, like, "Oh, she has taken a shower, she has processed the death of her husband." Like none of that.
You have so many emotionally ranged moments throughout the film, what would you say was one of your favorites to really get to explore?
Judy Greer: I enjoyed trying to protect Tovoli from the crowd. I thought that was an interesting choice in the middle of the mob mentality. I had a lot of compassion for that character. I liked that Karen cared enough to try to protect him, that was fun and that was something unexpected.
Since you do mention that scene, this film does get to see you get involved in a lot more chaos than the first film did. What was that like for you being a part of these more physically intense sequences as much as emotionally?
Judy Greer: Honestly, I'll tell you it was at times legitimately frightening. When you get a bunch of people together who are actually looking to tear someone apart but we're acting like it, it's really scary and adrenaline takes over. There was some specific shots where I was actually nervous; we were getting stepped on, we were getting shoved, we were getting thumped.
I was like, "Oh my god, you guys it's Jamie Lee Curtis, leave her alone, like give her some room." But of course, in the moment, I'm like, "Oh, my mom, she's bleeding, help!" But really I'm like, "Stop bumping into Jamie Lee Curtis."
One of the things I find so interesting about this film too is that we get to see the return of not just you, Andi Matichak, and Jamie Lee Curtis but also a lot of legacy characters. What was that like for you seeing that in the script and then meeting with Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Longstreet and everybody for the film?
Judy Greer: Oh, it was really fun. It was really cool how David brought the world back to Haddonfield and made Haddonfield a real character in this story. I think that was really smart because I think we were telling new stories, but it gives the fans a little something that they love from the past. I think that was really fun to work with those people too, it wasn't, "Oh, we're gonna watch Judy and Jamie and Andi keep running from Michael Myers," I think it was smart to make the world bigger.
So the ending is quite the surprise. Can you give me any insight into how that was for you filming all of that?
Judy Greer: I think it was a real happy accident that she shows up in time to save Allyson, but I think leading him away is - first of all, as a mother, you would want to get that thing as far away from your kid as possible, and even sacrifice yourself to do it. But I think that there's something really beautiful about her allowing the people of Haddonfield to kill the thing that has terrorized them their whole lives, I think that's really cool that she wants to do that with Tommy.
It's too bad that he is some kind of insane monster person who's probably inhuman, because he ended up, as we now know, killing them all. But I think that instinct to get the bad thing away from your kid is kind of what always drives Karen.
So then with your final scene in the film, it seems like it's a pretty clear cut thing, but with these movies there's always the potential, so is there any hope that maybe you're coming back for Halloween Ends?
Judy Greer: I have been told nothing of the sort, but I believe in hope. [Laughs] I'd be so bummed out I don't get to go and play with everybody, they're my family now. But I don't know man, I was sad. When it was time to start getting Halloween Kills together to shoot, David Gordon Green called me, he's like, "I'm gonna send you the new script of the new movie and I'm just gonna tell you right now someone had to go and it's gonna be you" and I was like, "Aww man!" So at least he warned me, which was good. [Laughs]
It's played very well in the film.
Judy Greer: It's beautiful. I have kind of caught that it's a little bit of an homage to Psycho, which is for Jamie and kind of beautiful and very like a dance and operatic and it's supposed to be really gorgeous. I also think that because it's Karen, it's not a gory murder, it's like something [out of] those old Italian movies like Fellini. It's very stylized. I like that for the end with the voiceover and everything, it's pretty great.
So what do you think both you and Michael will see when you stand at that window?
Judy Greer: Well, you know what, I've been thinking a lot about that in preparation for this junket and I probably should have a better answer, but I think maybe that window is like a mirror. We see inside ourselves, you see inside yourself, you see who you really are. I might change my mind about that, but that's how I feel today.
For my final question, I know that Ant-Man 3 is filming and we didn't get to see you come back for Avengers: Endgame, so I'm curious, will we get to see you return alongside Bobby Cannavale for the next one?
Judy Greer: I haven't been told anything so I guess I'm not in it. I'm actually not, I'm terrible at [keeping secrets]. I always tell people like, "Just don't tell me if you don't want me to tell everyone." No one has contacted me and feel free to print that, that I'm very available and very willing to go.
Halloween Kills arrives in theaters and on Peacock on October 15.
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