Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings!    Today is the first day of September, which is the unofficial beginning of the Season of the Witch, so I have decided to do a Spooky Season-appropriate post.    Therefore, this week’s Femme Fatale Friday will be focused on the character of Laurie from the cult classic horror anthology film Trick ‘r Treat!    I want to acknowledge this post will include spoilers for the film, in case you have not seen it and do not want spoilers.

Laurie was portrayed by Anna Paquin in the film, which was recorded in 2007, making its recording before the start of True Blood, however, it would not be released until 2009.    The film is an anthology of four interwoven stories all taking place throughout a single Halloween in Warren Valley Ohio, a town that adores the holiday.     The only character to appear in all the tales is Sam, who is the embodiment of the Spirit of Halloween, which is why his full name is Samhain.    

Now that I have briefly acknowledged the backstory of the film, let’s get onto the discussion of Laurie as a character!    Laurie is featured in the tale entitled “Surprise Party.”   Laurie is presented to the audience as a shy 22-year-old virgin, whose sister and friends are focused on getting to lose her virginity that Halloween night!    In the beginning of her storyline in the film she seems to be very traditional, as well as shy and quiet, but as the “Surprise Party” storyline unfolds the audience learns that Laurie and her friends are not who they appear to be.    Each of the girls in the “Surprise Party” group is dressed as a different fairytale figure, as it is stated that each year they choose a different theme to create a group costume.    Laurie is dressed as Little Red Riding Hood for her part in the group costume.   Hers is also the most demure costume amongst the group, lending to her air of a traditional and shy nature.    When the other girls in the group decide they want to pick up dates, Laurie breaks away from the group to enjoy the Halloween festivities in the town by herself.    It is there that she garners the attention of a man dressed as a Vampire.    

This Vampire followed her into the Woods, where she was going to meet her sister and friends for the titular “Surprise Party.”   When it appears that Laurie got attacked by the Vampire, who was known to be a murderer in the film, the audience is left to think she became his next victim.   That is until the film shows Laurie arriving at the “Surprise Party,” having overpowered the Vampire.    That is when the Surprise of the Party is revealed, as all of the girls in Laurie’s group, and Laurie herself, reveal their true natures.

Each of the girls began to transform into a Werewolf!   It is a fantastic Werewolf transformation sequence and it gets bonus points for turning the “innocent pretty virgin” trope on its ear.    It becomes obvious that Laurie is a virgin, in that she had never killed someone before, and after that Halloween, she had truly lost her virginity!    I also love the irony of having Laurie dressed as Little Red Riding Hood when she lost her Werewolf virginity by killing the man dressed as the Vampire.   This makes Laurie one of the genuinely fatal characters covered for Femme Fatale Friday. It is such a fun sequence in the film, and is definitely my favorite of the four tales, which is why I chose to focus on the character of Laurie for this first Femme Fatale Friday of September!

I hope you have enjoyed reading my thoughts on Laurie from Trick ‘r Treat.   Are you a fan of the film?    Were you surprised by her revelation as a Werewolf the first time you watched the film?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is Laurie on her way to the party.   I found the image on https://www.aceshowbiz.com/still/00003457/trick_r_treat14.html.

Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services!    I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon!  Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/

Further Watching

• Trick ‘r Treat (2007)