Why Does Michael Myers Want to Kill Laurie?

The answer depends entirely on which Halloween timeline you are looking at, because Michael Myers’ motive changes across the franchise. In the original 1978 film, Michael does not have a specific reason for targeting Laurie. He kills at random and Laurie becomes his focus simply because she walked up to his childhood home and caught his attention. In the later sequels that followed the original timeline, Michael wants to kill Laurie because the films retconned them into being siblings, and the story claimed he was trying to eliminate his family bloodline. In the modern Blumhouse trilogy, the sibling connection was removed and Michael has no personal vendetta against Laurie at all. In that version, Laurie is not special to him; she is simply the one who survived him, became obsessed with him, and eventually intersected with him again through circumstance rather than destiny.

Table of Contents

Original 1978 Explanation
Siblings Timeline Explanation
Rob Zombie’s Remake Explanation
Modern Blumhouse Explanation
Which Version Is Considered Closest to the Original Intention

Original 1978 Explanation

In John Carpenter’s original Halloween, Michael Myers has no motive. Carpenter has repeatedly stated that Michael is meant to be pure, motiveless evil. His focus on Laurie begins when she approaches the abandoned Myers house to drop off a key. Michael sees her, notices her friends, and begins following them. Laurie is not chosen for any symbolic reason, and she has no connection to Michael. Michael is simply attracted to opportunity. He stalks and kills without reason, and Laurie survives long enough that he continues to pursue her. In this interpretation, Michael’s interest is not personal. It is mechanical, instinctive, and emotionless. Laurie becomes the “final girl” because she fights back and refuses to die, not because Michael had a specific desire to kill her.

Siblings Timeline Explanation

Starting with Halloween II (1981), the franchise introduced a new explanation: Laurie Strode was secretly Michael Myers’ younger sister. According to that storyline, Michael killed his older sister Judith as a child, then returned fifteen years later to kill the remaining members of his bloodline. Laurie was adopted after the murder, which is why she never knew about the connection. This retcon completely changed the meaning of their relationship. In this timeline, Michael’s motive became the extermination of his family, driven by an urge to destroy anyone connected to him biologically. All sequels that followed this branch, including Halloween 4, Halloween 5, and Halloween 6, continued using the idea that Michael is pursuing a family bloodline. This explanation remained popular for decades because audiences became accustomed to the idea that Michael and Laurie were siblings, even though it contradicted the original film’s intention.

Rob Zombie’s Remake Explanation

Rob Zombie’s Halloween films take inspiration from the siblings storyline but shift the reasoning. In these versions, Michael and Laurie are siblings, but Michael’s obsession is tied to trauma and a fractured psyche rather than an urge to extinguish his family. Michael fixates on Laurie because he recognizes her as a remaining piece of his childhood. His violent behavior is still overwhelming and uncontrollable, but the emotional undertone is different from both Carpenter’s original and the 1981 sequel. Zombie’s interpretation focuses more on psychological breakdown than supernatural evil or pure killing instinct.

Modern Blumhouse Explanation

The Blumhouse trilogy removes the siblings connection entirely. Halloween (2018) is a direct sequel to the original 1978 film and ignores every sequel that introduced new lore. In this timeline, Michael Myers has no personal interest in Laurie. Laurie, however, has an obsessive interest in Michael. For forty years, she prepares for his return because she believes he will come after her specifically. Characters in the film point out that this belief is a projection. Michael escapes, returns to Haddonfield, and kills whoever crosses his path. Laurie only encounters him because the events of the night pull their paths together. In Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends, this idea is reinforced. Michael is not driven by revenge, memory, or family ties. He does not hunt Laurie. He kills randomly, and Laurie is simply pulled back into his orbit because of her fixation and the chaos unfolding in their town. In this version, Laurie’s belief that Michael “wants” her is shown to be a misunderstanding created by trauma.

Which Version Is Considered Closest to the Original Intention

John Carpenter has consistently stated that Michael Myers should have no motive. In his view, Michael is frightening because he is not driven by logic, emotion, or personal history. He kills because he kills. With this in mind, the 1978 film and the modern Blumhouse trilogy are the versions that align most closely with Carpenter’s intention. The sibling storyline, although beloved by many fans, was not his idea and was added only because the studio requested a twist for the Halloween II script. The version that best reflects Michael’s original concept is the one where Laurie is not special to him at all. He does not seek her because of identity, bloodline, or personal connection. Laurie becomes important only because she survived, and Michael’s presence in her life is the result of coincidence, opportunity, and the terrifying unpredictability that defines him.