Tracing The Shape 24: Laurie Drops The Knife - A Final Girl Theory

When you're in the habit of watching Halloween a lot, as I've been for more than two decades now, you tend to end up in situations where people want to watch it with you. And if you're in those situations, you're gonna get certain common criticisms recurring again and again, viewing after viewing. And if your friends are like mine, one such criticism will reign supreme: Why does she drop the knife?!

I am not here to refute this criticism in any way. It is a very valid question. Dropping the knife is a stupid move in this situation no matter how emotional you are, and we do not believe at this point in the film that someone like Laurie Strode could make that mistake. She's too smart for that. So why? Why this boneheaded decision from our demonstrably smart heroine?

This is the part where I'm going to dig into the "horror characters make stupid decisions" thing, but I promise I'll limit this particular rant to the arena of Halloween. Bear with me.

Laurie Strode is not afraid to fight back if she has to. We know because, upon realizing Michael's gotten into the Doyle house through a window, she crouches in the center of the room and reaches for a knitting needle from her bag. She is very aware of the danger, and the stakes, so when Michael lunges over the couch at her, she swings and lands that needle right in his neck.

Then, she makes the next practical decision, picking up Michael's knife and peeking over the back of the couch to make sure he's out. When it looks like he is, Laurie's expression shifts. She sinks. She melts back into the couch cushions, her grip on the knife barely there anymore. When she lifts it slightly to look at it, it seems like she's doing it with the last ounce of strength she has, and then she casts it aside.

Keep in mind that Laurie believes she may have just killed another human being. She has no context for Michael's unkillable nature – at this point, none of us do – and, with no experience in murder, doesn't really consider checking. Even then, she holds on to the knife, lost in the adrenaline crash, in the despairing spiral of her mind. She only drops it when her clouded brain snaps to a realization.

The realization is: I killed him, and now I'm holding his knife. I'm like him now, aren't I?

To be clear, I do not believe that Laurie Strode has a complete existential crisis in the mere moments that pass in this scene. What I do believe is that thought has emerged, fully formed, in the back of her mind, and it's begun its climb to the front. It's a whisper at first, but if she lets it get any louder she'll never be able to stop thinking it.

So she drops the knife. Because she can't be like him.

And if that's just a little too...esoteric for you, I'll put it this way. Inasmuch as there can be a binary quality to any collection of Final Girl characters, I think they can roughly be divided into two groups: The Ones Who Drop The Knife, and The Ones Who Take The Knife. Usual caveats apply, nothing like this is ever entirely airtight, I'm probably not the first person to think of this, et cetera.

Ones Who Drop The Knife can still use knives, and Ones Who Take The Knife can still be making the wrong choice, but it's all about character philosophy. Sidney Prescott and Nancy Thompson? They Take The Knife. Jess Bradford and Laurie Strode? They Drop The Knife.

Which side a character falls on, by the way, has nothing to do with their bravery, or their will, or their survival instincts. If you're a Final Girl, then by definition both ways work somehow. It's a characterization thing more than a horror movies rules thing.

Laurie Strode is a caregiver. Acts of Service is her love language. She takes care of her family, her friends, the kids she babysits. She looks out for everyone, and with this role firmly ensconced in her own head, she has realized in this moment that she failed. Three of her closest friends are dead. Her best friend's father doesn't have a daughter anymore. She was the Ol' Girl Scout, the one who was looking out for everyone, and this happened on her watch.

When Laurie picks up the knife, this is what she thinks of, and looking down at helpless, silent Michael, this is what she sees in her hands. She sees not just what Michael has done with this knife, but what she thought about doing with the knife when she peered over the couch. Her friends are dead. Would she feel better if she made sure this guy was dead, too? Would it be worth it?

I'm not placing a value judgement on this, either. (Sidney, you kill as many ex-boyfriends as you have to, girl.) This is a horror film. If you have to kill someone, you have to kill someone. But whether you Take The Knife or Drop The Knife says a lot about you.

Laurie Drops The Knife, because she has to. Because that is who Laurie Strode the constant caregiver is. She might be naive and she might be stupid and she might pay for this, but she drops the knife for the first time. It will not be the last.

Next Time: Get in the game, Loomis!