Jamie Lloyd is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, Play (theatre), play, Radio series, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or b ...
and one of the main
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
s of the
''Halloween'' franchise. Introduced in ''
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' as the series' new protagonist after
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, children's author, and activist. She came to prominence with her portrayal of Lt. Barbara Duran on the ABC sitcom '' Operation Petticoat'' (1977–78). In 1978, she m ...
declined to return as
Laurie Strode
Laurie Strode is a fictional character in the ''Halloween'' franchise by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. She debuted in the original 1978 film as a high school student who becomes targeted by serial killer Michael Myers on Halloween night. ...
, the character also appears in ''
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers'' and ''
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers''. Jamie was created by
Alan B. McElroy and portrayed by child actress
Danielle Harris
Danielle Andrea Harris (born June 1, 1977) is an American actress and film director. She is known as a " scream queen" for her roles in multiple horror films, including four entries in the ''Halloween'' franchise ('' Halloween 4'' and '' 5''; 19 ...
in the fourth and fifth films of the series, and
J.C. Brandy in the sixth film of the series. Originally, the character was named Brittany "Britti" Lloyd, before her name was changed to Jamie, in an homage to Jamie Lee Curtis.
In the films, Jamie is the daughter of Laurie Strode, who died off-screen in a car accident in the time between ''
Halloween II'' and ''4''. As such, she is also the niece of the series' main
antagonist,
Michael Myers, and becomes her uncle's new primary target after he learns about Laurie's death. Michael eventually succeeds in killing Jamie at age 15 in ''The Curse of Michael Myers'', though not before she gives birth to a baby son, who becomes Michael's next target.
Appearances
Films
Jamie is introduced in ''
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' (1988) as
Laurie Strode
Laurie Strode is a fictional character in the ''Halloween'' franchise by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. She debuted in the original 1978 film as a high school student who becomes targeted by serial killer Michael Myers on Halloween night. ...
's daughter and
Michael Myers' niece. Her mother is described to have died in a car crash at some point before 1988; the identity of her father is not revealed. Following Laurie's death, Jamie was
adopted
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...
by the Carruthers family and develops a close bond with her older foster sister, Rachel (
Ellie Cornell). Jamie suffers from nightmares about Michael and is bullied at school for being related to "The Boogeyman". On October 30, 1988, Michael (
George P. Wilbur
George Peter Wilbur (March 6, 1941 – February 1, 2023) was an American actor and professional stuntman, best known for playing Michael Myers in both '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' and '' Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers'' ...
) recovers from his ten-year coma while being transported in an ambulance, and escapes to hunt down his relatives. In Haddonfield, while on the trail for Jamie, Michael kills the Carruthers' dog, a worker at the power plant (which causes a blackout of the entire town), most of the police force, including a deputy, the police chief's daughter Kelly, Rachel's boyfriend Brady, and 4 men from a vigilante mob. Escaping from town, Jamie cowers in a pick-up truck as Rachel hits Michael head on, throwing him off the truck and knocking him out. Despite Rachel's orders, Jamie goes over to him and holds his hand. When the police arrive, they tell Jamie to drop to the ground and open fire on Michael, sending him to fall down a mine shaft, which then collapses on top of him. Later, back in her foster home, Jamie is apparently possessed by Michael's spirit and attacks her foster mother (Karen Alston). When screams are heard from upstairs,
Dr. Samuel Loomis (
Donald Pleasence
Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF ...
) goes to investigate and finds Jamie wearing a clown costume and holding a pair of bloody scissors, similarly to Michael when he killed his older sister Judith. Sheriff Ben Meeker (Beau Starr) restrains Loomis from shooting her, and both men, Jamie's foster father (Jeff Olson), and Rachel watch in horror, realizing that Jamie is following in Michael's footsteps.
In ''
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers'' (1989), set a year later, a severely traumatized Jamie is housed in the Haddonfield Children's Clinic. She has now been rendered mute and suffers from nightmares and seizures, while being treated for attacking her foster mother (who is described to have survived) under Michael's influence. When a still-living Michael (
Donald L. Shanks) awakens from a year-long coma, she exhibits signs of a
telepathic
Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
link with her uncle, eventually regains the ability to speak, and has seizures whenever her uncle kills someone. Michael kills Rachel, four of her friends, two cops, and the Carruthers' new dog while in pursuit of Jamie. Towards the end, Loomis lures Michael into a trap at the old Myers house, using Jamie as bait. Michael finds Jamie, who tries to appeal to his humanity. At her request, he takes off his mask, but is sent into a fit of rage when Jamie touches his face. Ultimately, Loomis is able to shoot Michael with tranquilizer darts and beat him unconscious with a wooden beam. Michael is subsequently imprisoned at the local jail, awaiting transport to a maximum-security facility, where, Meeker says, he will remain "until the day he dies," to which Jamie responds, "He'll never die." After Jamie is escorted out to be taken home, the mysterious "Man in Black" attacks the police station and frees Michael. Jamie enters to see numerous police officers dead and Michael gone, causing her to sob in terror.
In ''
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers'' (1995), a deleted scene included in the Producer's Cut shows the Man in Black kidnapping Jamie (portrayed by a combination of Harris via footage from the previous film and a similarly aged body double in a new back shot) immediately after breaking Michael (
George P. Wilbur
George Peter Wilbur (March 6, 1941 – February 1, 2023) was an American actor and professional stuntman, best known for playing Michael Myers in both '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' and '' Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers'' ...
) out of jail, and keeping her captive for six years, during which time she is artificially inseminated and impregnated with Michael's son. On the night of October 30, 1995, Jamie gives birth and escapes with the help of a nurse, but is pursued by Michael. She makes it to the local radio station, where she pleads for help (which is heard by Loomis and an adult Tommy Doyle (now played by
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in ...
]) and hides her baby, before being forced to run again when Michael finds her. She eventually crashes the truck she is driving at a barn, where Michael confronts and murders her. The Man in Black is later revealed to be Loomis' former medical colleague Dr. Terence Wynn (now played by
Mitchell Ryan
Mitchell Ryan (January 11, 1934 – March 4, 2022) was an American film, television, and stage actor, who in his six decades of television is known for playing Burke Devlin in the 1960s gothic soap opera ''Dark Shadows'', and later for his co- ...
), who is the leader of a
Druid
A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Wh ...
-like cult. It is implied that the cult is responsible for Michael's actions, placing an ancient curse on him to kill his family to ward off sickness and death. It is also implied that Wynn has been trying and failing to breed the ultimate evil using Michael's DNA and female patients in
in-vitro fertilization
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) f ...
experiments; finally reaching a success with Jamie's baby. In another deleted scene included in the Producer's Cut, Jamie survives Michael's attack and is hospitalized. Loomis and Wynn visit her in the hospital, but she is later killed with a silenced pistol by an unseen person (later revealed to be Wynn).
Literature
Jamie Lloyd's first literary appearance was in October 1988, in Nicholas Grabowsky's novelization of ''Halloween 4''. The official ''Halloween: 30 Years of Terror'' comic book, taking place in the new continuity, has an adult Tommy Doyle illustrating comic books. Various elements from the fourth through sixth movies can be seen on his books, one of which is Jamie.
The cancelled comic ''Halloween: The Mark of Thorn'' was to feature Jamie, as well as Tommy Doyle, Rachel Carruthers and the Man in Black.
Merchandise
In 2019, Trick Or Treat Studios released clown costumes based on Jamie's costume in ''Halloween 4''. She is also featured in the first series of the ''Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' Wall Decor Collection.
Concept and creation
Characterization
Patrick Bromley observed that incorporating children into horror franchise sequels "is usually the kiss of death" but that Jamie's inclusion in ''Halloween 4'' revitalized the series. According to Bromley, "Jamie has been dealt a difficult hand by life: orphaned at a young age, Jamie feels like an outcast at school" while wanting to fit in and have normalcy, Bromley crediting the performance by Harris with evoking "the character's innate sadness without turning Jamie into a mope." Megan Summers of
Ranker
Ranker is a digital media company located in Los Angeles. The site features polls on entertainment, brands, sports, food and culture. Ranker claims to be one of the largest databases of opinions with more than 1 billion votes gathered on over mil ...
calls Jamie "the emotional core" of ''Halloween 4'' and that "Jamie tries her best to defend herself as Michael closes in on her" despite her age and background.
In his ranking of the final girls in the ''Halloween'' franchise, Jake Dee observed that Jamie “overcomes her past trauma and schoolyard bullying for being related to Michael Myers, only to have her homicidal uncle stalk her mercilessly and relentlessly”. Dee notes the character overcoming her uncle's mental hold on her and “her own sense of evil” and cites this as making her one of Michael's strongest opponents. Princess Weekes of ''
The Mary Sue
Daniel Abrams (born May 20, 1966) is an American media entrepreneur, television host, legal commentator, and author. He is currently the host of the prime-time show ''Dan Abrams Live'' on NewsNation, ''On Patrol: Live'' on Reelz and ''The Dan A ...
'' writes that Jamie works as an effective protagonist due to the performance of Harris and "the fact that she as a child was being thrust into these terrible situations." Weekes views Jamie as a foil to Michael who reminds the audience of "the fragility of childhood and how easy it is for a child to be warped into becoming something they are not" and asserts that Jamie could have become like Michael if she did not have a support group who helped her. David Crow of ''
Den of Geek
''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a bi-annual magazine.
History
''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ...
'' cites Jamie, as she is portrayed in ''Halloween 4'' and ''Halloween 5'', as an “especially rare type of final girl” due to being a child and complimented Harris as doing “pretty well for a child actress in this role, particularly in her second entry where her pantomime expressions (the terror of the fourth movie left her mute) allow her instant sympathy—a trait long lost in most horror movie heroines.” Jamie has drawn comparisons to
Tommy Jarvis
Tommy Jarvis is a fictional character in the ''Friday the 13th'' franchise. He first appears in '' Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter'' (1984) as a child interested in special effects who encounters a seemingly unstoppable slasher— Jason Voorhe ...
from the ''
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. ...
'' franchise as both are child characters introduced in the fourth installment of their respective series who defeat the killer and are also "foreshadowed to become the killer themselves" before appearing in a trilogy of movies.
A.A. Dowd of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cr ...
'' writes that Jamie and Rachel split the heroine role previously held by Laurie Strode as the pair of sisters "are stalked by Myers, who in turn is hunted by both a scarred, limping Loomis and a mob of trigger-happy hillbillies."
Little said that Jamie and Rachel had the "universal fear" of being "in a group of people and then suddenly, you are completely alone, isolated and scared." He recounted wanting to explore this feeling with the scene in ''Halloween 4'' in which Jamie and Rachel are separated while
trick-or-treating
Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The ...
and this fear was "not just unique to Jamie because she’s a small child." "At the inception of the film, the innocence and vulnerability of Jamie contrasted with the stern and nonchalant demeanor of Rachel," Rodoflo Salas wrote. Salas explained that the relationship progresses after Rachel recognizes "her selfishness was steamrolling over Jamie" and tries to bring her joy during Halloween ahead of Michael encountering the pair: "Once Michael Myers arrived, Rachel took charge and fought back against Jamie's psychotic uncle on rooftops, schoolyards, and streets. She pulled out all the stops to save her sister." Chris Sasaguay wrote that Jamie demonstrated forced maturity when she commanded herself to stop crying before Rachel could see her and insisted that the sibling bond between Jamie and Rachel causes the latter to "is what makes the suspense scenes reach such a high level of anxiety."
Commentary is directed toward Jamie's role in the ending of ''Halloween 4''. Spencer Whitworth writes that although it appears Michael has finally been vanquished, his wickedness "has survived, and it has passed to his innocent niece" and that "Jamie stands as an emotionless dead ringer of her uncle". Whitworth furthers that "Jamie's transformation and Loomis' despair is a darker final note" than any of the ''Halloween'' films that came before or since have ended on. Summers views Jamie's attack on her stepmother as a reenactment of her uncle's "original sin" and that it provokes "questions about familial cycles of cruelty and whether or not - even if his niece didn't perish - Michael achieved his goal by pushing Jamie over the edge."
Dominique Othenin-Girard said he wanted Jamie to have the chance to redeem herself after stabbing her stepmother. Girard believed removing Jamie's speaking ability would give her "a heavy punishment and a difficulty she had to overcome" in her journey to evolving into a hero. He mentioned that Jamie's visions of Michael were the first part of ''Halloween 5'' to be written and how this element of the traumatized Jamie would play into the main plot of the film. Girard explained, "I gave her the ability to sense the activity of Michael, I wished for her to see what Michael sees when he gets furious. That was the tool for the character to 'help' out the hunt for Michael Myers."
Jason Barr notes ''Halloween 4'', ''Halloween 5'', ''
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood'', and ''
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child'' as being slasher films of the late 1980s that "feature a Final Girl with telekinetic or psychic powers". Barr observes that Jamie "has a psychic bond with Michael Myers that slowly drives her insane" and notices a pattern of the female character in each instance being directly responsible for other characters being murdered, citing Jamie as refusing "to help the increasingly unbalanced Dr. Loomis in ''Halloween V'', which directly results in several deaths, including several of Jamie’s friends." Barr explains that Jamie rejects "masculine gendered role as the Final Girl for much of the film" and that once Jamie makes the decision to assist Dr. Loomis, "she both accepts her Final Girl status while also agreeing to use her feminized powers of empathy."
Eric Browning writes that during ''Halloween 5'', Tina becomes Jamie's "primary caregiver" in the absence of Rachel and "cares more about Jamie than physical intimacy with her boyfriend". Daily Grind House observes that Rachel's death receives backlash "because it paves the way for Tina to be our lead alongside Jamie, and Tina is often referred to as an annoying personality, which I disagree with because while she’s a bit much – very brash indeed, she’s also deeply sympathetic and protective to Jamie which I find to be heartening." Mark Ziobro opined that Jamie's connection with Tina and the performance of Harris are the best parts of ''Halloween 5'', citing some of their scenes as adding "to the film in unique ways. They save the film from complete obscurity and garner a good amount of sympathy for their characters."
Development
''
Halloween II'' was supposed to be the last film in the ''Halloween'' franchise to revolve around Michael Myers. After the 1982 release of ''
Halloween III: Season of the Witch'', the lowest performing film in the series at the time,
executive producer
Moustapha Akkad
Moustapha Al Akkad ( ar, مصطفى العقاد; July 1, 1930 – November 11, 2005) was a Syrian-American film producer and director, best known for producing the original series of ''Halloween'' films and directing '' The Message'' and ' ...
wanted to make a sequel that brought back Michael Myers. On February 25, 1988, writer
Alan B. McElroy, a
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
native, was brought in to the write the script for ''Halloween 4''.
The
writer's strike was to begin on March 7 that year. This forced McElroy to develop a concept, pitch the story, and send in the final draft in under eleven days. McElroy came up with the idea of Brittany "Britti" Lloyd, Laurie Strode's daughter, to be chased by her uncle, who has escaped from Ridgemont after being in a coma for ten years. The setting of the place was once again Haddonfield, Illinois. The character of Laurie Strode was revealed to have died, leaving Britti with the Carruthers family, which included Rachel, the family's seventeen-year-old daughter. Britti's name was later changed to Jamie, a homage to Laurie Strode actress Jamie Lee Curtis.
The ending of ''Halloween 4'' features Jamie stabbing her foster mother as she seemingly inherits the evil of her uncle. Little and McElroy did not return for the sequel. Little later said the duo would have furthered developed the relationship between Jamie and Rachel: "What we would have done was to work on the relationship between the sisters – between Danielle and Ellie – as I do think that was the core of the movie then. We clearly would’ve gone in a very different way, but it really wasn’t up to me to decide at that point because I didn’t have time to participate."
The first draft of the screenplay for ''Halloween 5'' was written by Shem Bitterman. Bitterman's screenplay was written to have Jamie Lloyd becoming evil after stabbing her foster mother in ''Halloween 4''. This idea was rejected by the studio and Akkad, who brought in Michael Jacobs to re-write the script.
After reviewing the screenplay, director Othenin-Girard added Jamie's inability to speak to the draft, along with the
supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
plot device of her telepathic visions connected to Michael.
Othenin-Girard planned for Jamie to be stabbed in the leg by Michael while she was in a laundry shoot so that her escape would seem "almost impossible" to audiences. He believed that a young girl being stabbed "in the extreme confinement of a very dark chute is sooo mean and sooo unfair. I took great care not to shoot it in a gory way, there was no blood splurging out of the leg, just the knife entering the flesh. Just a very short hit which was supposed to hurt and scandalize an audience."
In the original closing scene of ''Halloween 5'', after Jamie finds that Michael has escaped from the police station, she is approached by a black-cloaked figure, who is in fact Dr. Terrence Wynn, the head of Smith's Grove Sanitarium, where Michael had been remanded as a child.
Although the producers at the time had already sought to make a sixth ''Halloween'' film, a series of complicated
legal battles ensued which delayed plans for a sequel; eventually
Miramax
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.
It was initially a lea ...
Films (via its
Dimension Films
Dimension Films is an American film production company owned by Lantern Entertainment. It was formerly used as Harvey and Bob Weinstein's label within Miramax, which was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on June 30, 1993, to produce and r ...
division) bought the rights to the ''Halloween'' series. Phil Rosenberg was the first writer hired for the film. His script, titled ''Halloween 666: The Origin'', was hated by Akkad, who tossed the script across his room after he finished reading it. The script mentions Jamie as having disappeared and she has a brief appearance "in the form of a series of rapid shots during the Samhain/virtual reality segment: Surrounded by scattering rats, Jamie screams as she is trapped in a cage made of human bones." In June 1994, Farrands was hired to write a new screenplay, as the film had an impending shooting date scheduled for October in Salt Lake City, Utah. Farrands has said his initial intent for the film was to "bridge the later films (4–5) in the series to the earlier films (1–2) while at the same time taking the story into new territory so that the series could expand for future installments."
Akkad told Farrands that while he liked the script, he felt it was too long and needed to be cut in half with the first half serving as the basis for the sixth film. The script by Farrands featured a secret society "made up of a lot of the people within the town of Haddonfield" who wanted to take Jamie's life as a final sacrifice. The film concludes with Jamie about to be murdered by Michael and a mob when "all of a sudden out of this crowd appears a dark figure. It turns out to be Laurie, and she’s there to save her daughter." Citing her as "a big star", Akkad doubted that Jamie Lee Curtis would ever come back to the series and told Farrands to come up with another idea; Farrands believed that "Jamie Lee Curtis with Danielle Harris would have been such a cool way to bring the whole thing full circle. That would have been a nice way to connect all the dots." Farrands expanded the "Curse of Thorn" plot line, in which Jamie Lloyd is kidnapped by a covert
cult
In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal ...
who has cursed Michael Myers via the
Runic
Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...
symbol of Thorn, which compels him to kill and also affords him
immortality
Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality.
Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immort ...
.
While the character of Jamie Lloyd dies early in the film, the initial versions of Farrands' script had her character surviving until the final act, at which point she was ultimately killed by Michael.
When screenwriter
Kevin Williamson first outlined ''
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later'' (1998), he created the storyline in which Laurie Strode has faked her own death and taken on a new identity as a specific way of
retconning the character's death in ''Halloween 4''. In Williamson's original treatment, there are scenes in which a Hillcrest student does a report on Michael Myers' killing spree, mentioning the death of Jamie, complete with flashbacks to 4-6 mentioned in the text. "Keri"/Laurie responds to hearing the student's report on the death of her daughter by going into a restroom and throwing up. In a controversial decision, director
Steve Miner
Stephen C. Miner (born June 18, 1951) is an American director of film and television, film producer, and a member of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is notable for his work in the horror genre, including ''Friday the 13th Pa ...
retconned the series with ''Halloween H20: 20 Years Later''. This installment retained Laurie's faked death from Williamson's treatment, revealing that she did so in order to avoid detection by her relentless brother. Under a new identity, Laurie has fled to Summer Glen,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
, along with her only son, John Tate (
Josh Hartnett
Joshua Daniel Hartnett (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor and producer. He first came to attention in 1997 for his role as Michael Fitzgerald in the television crime drama series ''Cracker''. He made his feature film debut in 1998 in the ...
).
However, to focus more on the Laurie Strode character, the events of parts 4, 5, and 6 are implicitly written out of the continuity, thus erasing the Jamie Lloyd character from the new canon.
After the release of ''
Halloween: Resurrection'', there were various ideas on how to proceed with a ninth installment.
Josh Stolberg
Josh Stolberg is an American film director, screenwriter, and photographer. He won the Seashore Award and the Queen Spirit Award as a director of the film ''The Life Coach
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English la ...
, who also unsuccessfully proposed a ''Hellraiser'' crossover with
Bobby Florsheim, pitched ''Halloween: Bad Blood'', which would have brought back Jamie Lloyd. The film would have been set between ''Halloween H20'' and ''Halloween: Resurrection'' and depict Jamie as having survived multiple encounters with Michael in addition to having "honed her self defense capabilities." After a fight between Michael and Jamie, the two would be transported to a hospital where Jamie's blood would be taken and accidentally placed in the storage freezer with no name. This would set up seven random people receiving Jamie's blood via a transfusion and thereby becoming targets of Michael. Stolberg saw this plot point as a way to offer more variety to the series: "we leaned into the idea of the bloodline quite literally. It was our way of being able to expand out the franchise and make it so that we weren’t having to go after the same person every single time with each movie.” Development on a direct sequel suddenly halted when Moustapha Akkad was killed in the
2005 Amman hotel bombings while attending a
wedding
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage ...
in
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Ri ...
, and his son Malek decided to take the series in a different direction.
Early on, the script for ''
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. ...
'' (2018) had Jamie appear alongside Laurie for the first time. However, subsequent rewrites changed her to 'Karen', removed any connection to the character of Jamie and actress
Judy Greer
Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress, who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She first rose to prominence in a variety of suppor ...
was cast as Karen with a different backstory. Danielle Harris, who portrayed the character as a child, expressed disappointment that Laurie would be depicted as having a daughter that was not Jamie, while she hadn't minded Laurie having a son instead in H20.
The film is a direct sequel to the original film and disregards Jamie Lloyd, Michael as Laurie's brother, and the Thorn storyline.
In 2021, ''
Halloween Kills
''Halloween Kills'' is a 2021 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green and co-written by Green, Danny McBride and Scott Teems. It is the sequel to 2018's ''Halloween'' and the twelfth installment in the'' Halloween'' franchise. The f ...
'' producer Ryan Freimann expressed his fondness for the character and desire to implement her in the current film trilogy: "I would love to find some way to bring back that character, the Jamie Lloyd character, in some way. It just didn't fit within the framework of the storyline."
Casting
Melissa Joan Hart
Melissa Joan Hart (born April 18, 1976) is an American actress, producer, and director. She had starring roles as the title characters in the sitcoms ''Clarissa Explains It All'' (1991–1994), ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' (1996–2003), and ''M ...
had auditioned for the role, among various other girls.
Up against her was Danielle Harris, who had previously had a reoccurring role on the daytime soap opera ''
One Life to Live'' as Samantha Garretson; Harris was ultimately cast in the role after auditioning in New York. Jamie Lloyd was Danielle Harris' first feature film role, for which she appears at horror conventions and on ''Halloween'' series-related websites. Little recalled Harris coming to the session with her mother and that they "knew the minute she walked into the room" that they wanted her as Jamie, citing her intelligence. Little said that Harris "really just got it from the beginning" and was without tantrums, whining, or crying. Little did not remember the other auditions for the part of Jamie: "To me, in my memory, Jamie Lloyd was always Danielle."
Ellie Cornell described Harris as "very precocious, very grown-up, very centred, and her mother was there. Danielle was awesome, we got along extremely." Cornell said she and Harris got along famously and that they were in a "partnership – we had so many scenes together – and she made it easy." When asked about her fondness memories of working in the ''Halloween'' franchise, Cornell replied that "it was working with Dwight and Danielle" and described the support she and Harris felt: "It can be an isolating experience to be on location, living in a hotel. It sounds glamorous, it can be really lonely, truly. You’re away from your family, you’re away from the things that are familiar to you, and we just become this giant family in a really cool way."
Harris recalled filming ''Halloween 4'' and ''Halloween 5'' as a child with fondness: "I got to run around yelling and screaming in a Halloween costume, even thought it was really April. Basically all the stuff you really look forward to as a kid. You really don’t think about the fact that you’re working, because you’re young and having so much fun." Besides Harris, the other child actor to have a major role in ''Halloween 5'' was Jeffrey Landman, who portrayed Billy. Landman watched ''Halloween 4'' with Harris and her mother to become familiar with the series. Before filming started, Harris and Landman were brought to Salt Lake City to be trained by a speech pathologist who worked with the pair "on the sign language as well as discussing with us the pathology of stuttering, why people stutter, as well as under what circumstances the stutter would become more prominent."
Don Shanks replaced Wilbur as Michael in ''Halloween 5''. Shanks saw Harris as "a trooper" and remembered that "for eleven years old, she was like a little person. She was always there, and she always wanted to do her own stunts.”
Harris sought to reprise the role for the sixth installment, now titled ''Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers'', but the producers and
Dimension Films
Dimension Films is an American film production company owned by Lantern Entertainment. It was formerly used as Harvey and Bob Weinstein's label within Miramax, which was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on June 30, 1993, to produce and r ...
reportedly refused to pay her the $5,000 she requested, and she was not fond of the script. The role was instead given to actress
J. C. Brandy
Justine Chelsea "J. C." Brandy (born 15 November 1975) is a British-born American actress.
Early life
Brandy is an actress, songwriter, director, and acting coach. She was born in London but grew up in New York City, where she attended Fiorel ...
, who was a ''Halloween'' fan herself. Like Harris, the role was Brandy's first in a feature film. Brandy had conversations with Daniel Farrands about John Carpenter and ''
The Fog
''The Fog'' is a 1980 American supernatural horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and created the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh and Hal Holbrook. It ...
'' and recalled "knowing I was stepping into a part that people were so attached to with another actor, and that’s not easy". Brandy went into hypothermia during the filming of her character's escape scene, as there was a snow storm that caused shooting to cease multiple times.
Reshoots for the film took place in Los Angeles, California in the summer of 1995. Brandy described the cast as being "pretty bummed about the reshoots" and believed it was possible for someone to easily recognize which scenes were added later, citing their lack of lighting and depth. The reshoots altered Jamie's death from being killed with a silencer pistol in a hospital to her being impaled in a barn. Brandy preferred the original because "it was unnatural to have that line they gave me in the barn and it felt really forced, with blades going through my stomach", though she admitted to understanding the altered scene's appeal for its gore and special effects.
Harris made her eventual return to the series as
Annie Brackett
Annie Brackett is a fictional character in the ''Halloween'' franchise. The character was created by screenwriters John Carpenter and Debra Hill. Annie first appears in ''Halloween'' (1978) as a high school student babysitting Lindsey Wallace ( ...
in
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...
's ''
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. ...
'' remake,
as well as its
subsequent sequel.
Her representation contacted the filmmakers of the 2018
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. ...
about reprising the role of Jamie in some way, but they were not interested.
Reception
In 2013, Jamie was ranked 520th on ''
Empire's'' ''The 666 Greatest Horror Movie Characters''. ''
Screen Rant
''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...
'' listed Jamie as the eighth best ''Halloween'' character. Medium.com lists Jamie as the 17th best out of 100 final girls. Jack Wilhelmi observed, "Like it or not, Jamie’s inclusion in the franchise brought a tremendous amount of depth and characterization to staples like Dr. Loomis and Michael Myers, giving them a foil to build off of and play against."
Adrienne Tyler called Jamie "a very likable character" with just as much bravery as any other heroine in horror films and that the performance of Harris made Jamie the "perfect balance of innocence and bravery, as even though she was young, she fought for her life like any other adult character in the franchise."
Jamie was well received in ''Halloween 4'', ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...
'' opining that Harris "is very credible and relatable and took an idea that probably had some fans cringing -- a little girl as the hero of a Halloween sequel! -- and made it work." Dan Tabor of
Cinapse
Cinapse is an English-language blog dedicated to movie reviews, home video reviews, editorials, interviews, film discovery and appreciation. It was founded by Ed Travis and David Delgado in February 2013.
Cinapse has over 15 staff members, some ...
called Jamie "the most tragic character of the franchise" and credited Harris with carrying ''Halloween 4'' "rather effortlessly on her young capable shoulders with a surprisingly powerful take on the troubled young girl." Even in negative reviews of ''Halloween 5'' as a whole, Harris's performance as Jamie still received praise, with Richard Harrington of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' criticizing the film and asserting that Harris was "actually pretty good" in her role.
WhatCulture
WhatCulture Ltd. is an online entertainment news website and magazine which was launched in 2010. The site offers news in the field of professional wrestling, television, films, video games, and board games.
History
Originally started by Pete ...
wrote that Harris led ''Halloween 5'' with a "sensational child actor performance" and Louis Peitzman called Harris "the best thing about ''Revenge'': She has the difficult task of playing mute for most of the film, but she delivers a grounded and believably terrified performance that's even stronger than her work in ''Halloween 4''."
Jamie's death in ''Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers'' is considered memorable, ranking fifth in ''Screen Rants ''Michael Myers’ 15 Most Creative Kills'' list and third in
Collider's ''Michael Myers' Most Brutal Kills''.
The decision to not have Jamie as the antagonist in subsequent installments has been received negatively, as Michael Tatlock opined that carrying on from the ending of ''Halloween 4'' "would’ve brought the series into a new and more interesting path." Josh Heath observed that not having Jamie as the killer retroactively hurts ''Halloween 4'' and "the dumb psychic link that replaced Jamie’s actual villainy in Halloween 5 is lame and serves to push the fifth installment into 'worst of the franchise' territory, just like ''
Friday the 13th: Part V''." Chad Collins called the psychic connection between Jamie and Michael "psychobabble and more complicated than it needs to be. Worse still—and I say this as a fan of both films—it further distances Michael from what makes him Michael." Jamie's role in ''The Curse of Michael Myers'' has also been criticized, with Tyler opining that the movie "did no justice to the character (and the whole 'artificial insemination' part of it was disgusting and disrespectful)".
In popular culture
Harris reprised her role as Jamie in the 2012 horror film ''Among Friends'', Harris's directorial debut. In a hallucination sequence, Jamie appears in her clown costume and calls out for Rachel.
Sources
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Jamie
Halloween (franchise) characters
Child characters in film
Female horror film characters
Fictional adoptees
Fictional characters from Illinois
Fictional murdered people
Fictional mute characters
Fictional teenage parents
Fictional telepaths
Film characters introduced in 1988
Final girls
Teenage characters in film