DON’T … GO … IN … THERE!
That’s what an audience member said aloud at the Hollywood sneak preview on Friday, October 13, 1978. I was there, and so was John Carpenter, Debra Hill, and Jamie Lee Curtis, who mentioned thar very outburst in a recent commentary track.
The audience howled, thinking, ‘Here comes the umpteenth example of the innocent victim walking right into danger for no good reason’. But that’s not accurate.
Aside from the opening scene from 1963 — and a brief POV shot of Michael from inside the front door — we haven’t been inside the Myers’ house at that point. It’s been set up for us as abandoned since the killing 15 years before, talked up as haunted, etc. But we never go inside.
Laurie isn’t dumb, and she’s certainly not reckless. She’s had a bad feeling all day, seeing strange cars driving slowly around the school and a masked man who appears behind bushes and standing next to laundry but then disappears. These observations are never once confirmed by anyone else, leading her to reasonably think she might have imagined them or at least their malevolent intent. In fact as this shot opens the third act, she does not yet know that anyone has died. As she stands across the street, seeing the house she’s wondered about for so long bathed in cold blue and purple light, her curiosity gets the better of her —- but, I believe, only to confirm once and for all there is no danger. We can argue whether Laurie should have trusted her gut, but what were her options? Call the sheriff to relay her completely unconfirmed suspicions and then risk looking foolish? She obviously got the babysitting job because she is considered mature and trustworthy by Tommy’s parents, and probably feels that risk to her reputation is not worth it. It’s a shame when sensible people find reasons not to trust their gut over a potential life-threatening danger, but it is understandable and perfectly plausible.
From a filmmaking perspective, the scene makes a nice transition to the great reveals that open the final act. We really, really want her to go in there, too.