INT. HADDONFIELD POLICE STATION

The front doors of the Haddonfield Police station open and in walk Kristen and Tyler, followed by Tommy, who is carrying little Steven along.

The group makes its way across the lobby to the counter.

Lucy gets up from her desk and hurries over.

Tommy hands Steven to Kristen.

Tommy pulls off his coat and lays it behind the counter.

As Lucy opens a phone book, Tommy takes Kristen by the arm.

Steven interrupts.

Lucy quickly writes the phone number down on a pad by the phone.

Kristen hands Steven over to Lucy.

ANGLE ON LUCY as she takes Steven over to the water cooler and begins getting him a cup of water.

INT. LOBBY

Kristen turns to Tommy.

Tommy runs his hand through his hair.

There is a long silence as Kristen only stares.

Kristen's mouth drops open slightly.

Kristen brings her hand to her mouth.

Tommy's eyes move back and forth as he pieces it together.

CLOSE-KRISTEN

CLOSE-TOMMY pulls Kristen to him.

CLOSE-KRISTEN clutches Tommy tightly to her.

CLOSE-TOMMY

INT. LOBBY

Tommy pulls back from Kristen.

Kristen lets go of Tommy.

Tommy walks over and picks up the phone off of the counter. He picks up the pad laying beside the phone and dials the library.

INT. LIBRARY

Kara stands at a counter sorting through a pile of books. Beside her, the phone rings. She reaches over and picks up the receiver.

INTERCUT Tommy and Kara's conversation.

INT. POLICE STATION

Tommy hangs up the phone and motions to two officers over at a desk to one side of the room. One of them is Riley Owens. The other is a younger officer, PATRICK MALONE.

Malone stands up quickly. Owens remains seated and looks up at Tommy.

Owens looks disinterested.

Tommy looks sternly at Owens.

Owens slowly gets up.

Owens and Bentley move across the lobby toward the exit. Owens turns to Tommy, inches from his face.

Tommy stares into Owens' face.

Owens turns and walks out of the building.

EXT. UNIVERSITY OF HADDONFIELD-BROWN HALL-NIGHT

CAMERA across the street from Brown Hall. Owens's patrol car pulls up to the curb in front of the building. Deputy Riley Owens emerges and walks up the leave-strewn sidewalk to the main entrance of the building. Owens enters and suddenly the back of the shape's head POPS INTO FRAME in the foreground. It stands for a moment and watches the large three-story building from across the street.

INT. NIKKI'S APT.-LIVING ROOM

Danny and Danielle sit on the sofa facing the television, with Nikki in between them. Nikki has a bowl of popcorn in her lap. On the television, a movie is just starting.

ANGLE ON TELEVISION The opening credits for the film begin and we see that the movie is John Carpenter's 1982 version of "The Thing."

INT. LIVING ROOM

Danny grabs a handful of popcorn.

A KNOCK comes at the apartment door.

ANGLE ON NIKKI as she hops up from the sofa and sets the bowl of popcorn down on the coffee table. She hurries across the living room and through the kitchen to the front door. We follow her.

Nikki steps up to the peephole and peeks through.

NIKKI'S POV Riley Owens stands on the other side of the door, his face and body contorted through the peephole lens.

INT. KITCHEN

Nikki undoes the chain on the door, then turns the deadbolt. She yanks open the door.

NIKKI'S POV Owens stands before us.

INT. KITCHEN

Nikki hurries over to the kitchen table and returns with a chair.

Owens takes the chair.

Nikki closes the apartment door.

INT. HALLWAY-LATER

CAMERA TRACKS down the hallway. Owens sits in his chair just to the left of Nikki's apartment door.

OWENS' POV Owens looks down the empty hallway.

Suddenly, a shadow flickers across the floor, then disappears. It appears again. Disappears again.

INT. HALLWAY

Owens gets to his feet and walks slowly down the hall.

OWENS' POV The shadow continues to appear and disappear across the floor in front of the stairwell door. As Owens approaches, we see through the window in the door that the light in the stairwell is flashing on and off causing the shadow on the floor.

Owens continues to approach and peers into the stairwell. The light comes on and stays on. No one is visible.

ANGLE ON OWENS as he draws his revolver and thrusts open the door.

INT. STAIRWELL-THIRD FLOOR

Owens moves quickly into the stairwell and looks around. Nothing. Owens stands on the third floor platform holding the door open and looking around.

Suddenly, the light goes off.

OWENS' POV From the light of the hallway, we see a light switch next to the doorframe.

ANGLE ON OWENS as he reaches out and flicks the switch. The light comes back on.

The light goes off.

Owens looks around curiously, then flicks the switch again. Once again, the stairwell is illuminated.

The light goes off again.

Owens peers down the stairwell.

No one answers.

Still no answer.

Owens flips the light switch again. This time the light stays.

OWENS' POV Down the stairwell no one can be seen. We turn and see the security box for the passkeys beside the door.

ANGLE ON OWENS Owens pulls his night stick from his belt and lays it in the doorframe. He slowly allows the door to swing closed. The night stick prevents the door from closing all the way.

Owens begins to move down the steps, revolver drawn. As he gets to the landing between the second and third floors, the lights again go out.

Owens fumbles with a pouch on the side of his belt and finally removes a flashlight. He turns it on and aims it down the stairwell.

OWENS' POV The flashlight beam moves around illuminating the dark empty stairwell.

INT. STAIRWELL-FIRST FLOOR-MOMENTS LATER

Owens moves down the last small flight of steps and continues to shine the flashlight around.

OWENS' POV-LIGHT The beam illuminates a light switch next to the outer door.

ANGLE ON OWENS Owens flicks the light switch, and the stairwell is flooded with bright incandescent light.

Owens, revolver still drawn, turns and looks around into the alcove underneath the stairs. No one there.

Owens then turns and throws open the outer door, aiming the gun outside.

OWENS' POV Owens shines the light around the yard. It, too, is seemingly empty.

EXT. BROWN HALL

Owens glances behind the door and then pushes the door open until it clicks, propped open. He then steps out of the doorway and walks along the hedges, shining his light around the yard.

As he moves past the large hedges along the side of the building, a branch catches on his coat, snagging him.

Owens pulls the coat free from the branch and looks up.

OWENS' POV The flashlight illuminates the yard along the edge of the hedges.

Suddenly, an arm bursts from the dense brush of the hedges directly in front of us.

ANGLE ON THE HAND as it grabs Owens' revolver and wrenches it from his hand. The gun flies across the yard into the darkness.

OWENS'POV The large figure of the shape smashes from the thick hedges out into Owens path. The flashlight beam illuminates the white death's head of Michael Myers, directly in front of us.

ANGLE ON OWENS as he spins around and runs back toward the open stairwell door.

ANGLE ON THE SHAPE'S FEET The shape begins to move forward in pursuit.

ANGLE ON OWENS A few feet from the doorway, Owens trips and falls. His police hat sails off and his head lands right in the doorstop.

ANGLE ON THE DOOR The shape's deformed hands slam the door shut with awesome force. A loud CRACK is heard as the metal door smashes Owens' head up against the doorframe.

INT. STAIRWELL

THE SHAPE'S POV The shape ascends the concrete steps.

ANGLE ON THE SHAPE'S FEET The shapes' workboots climb the steps slowly.

THE SHAPE'S POV We move up onto the third floor landing. The stairwell door approaches. Owens' night stick remains lodged in the doorjamb, propping the door open.

INT. NIKKI'S APT.

Nikki and the kids remain on the couch watching the movie. A KNOCK is heard at the front door.

Nikki stands up and heads into the kitchen. We follow her.

NIKKI'S POV The apartment door is quickly approaching. Light from the hallway shines in through the small peephole.

ANGLE ON NIKKI as she moves up to the door and reaches for the chain link. She stops quickly and leans forward to the peephole.

NIKKI'S POV A figure stands on the other side of the door, wearing Owens' police hat. The figure's blurry head is bent at an angle so that only the brim of the hat is visible.

ANGLE ON NIKKI Satisfied it is Owens, Nikki undoes the chain and unlocks the deadbolt. She pulls the door open.

NIKKI'S POV The figure in the police hat stands in the doorway before her. The figure's head slowly looks up, revealing the pasty-white mask of the shape beneath the brim of the hat.

INT. HALLWAY

CAMERA into the apartment from behind the shape. Nikki makes an attempt to slam the door, but the shape slams into the door with its large body, knocking the door back into Nikki.

ANGLE ON NIKKI Nikki is flung across the kitchen. She smashes into the refrigerator and then lands hard on the linoleum floor.

ANGLE ON THE SHAPE The hat falls from the shape's head as it steps into the apartment, and slams the door.

THE SHAPE'S POV Nikki's unconcious body lies on the kitchen floor. The shape's gaze travels quickly up. The shocked faces of two children stare. Danielle and Danny shriek and disappear down the apartment's hallway.

ANGLE ON THE SHAPE As the shape stalks through the dark kitchen, it reaches over and yanks a large butcher knife from a dishrack by the sink.

ANGLE ON DANNY AND DANIELLE as they hurry down the hall into Danielle's bedroom. We follow them as they run inside and slam the door, locking it.

INT. DANIELLE'S BEDROOM

ANGLE ON DOOR WHAM! The door rattles as the shape slams into it.

Danielle screams.

ANGLE ON DANNY as he looks around frantically.

DANNY'S POV The bedroom window is on the wall opposite the door.

INT. DANIELLE'S BEDROOM

Danny runs over to the window. He unlocks the catch and yanks on the window. The window slides up easily.

DANNY'S POV Danny peers out the open window. To the left of the window sill, just out of reach is the edge of the fire escape.

Danielle runs over to the window beside Danny.

ANGLE ON THE DOOR As the shape continues to pound on the door, a loud splintering is heard.

INT. BEDROOM

Danny climbs out onto the window sill.

ANGLE ON DANIELLE as she runs over to the bed against the wall and drops to her knees. She begins to wriggle under the bed.

DANIELLE'S POV Danny is perched on the window sill, reaching for the fire escape.

There is a loud CRACK! as the door frame gives out. Danielle jerks around and sees the door swing inward. She quickly yanks herself all the way under the bed.

THE SHAPE'S POV Danny is hanging out of the window stretching for something out of sight.

We move toward him as the shape approaches.

DANNY'S POV The shape is moving across the bedroom toward him, a large knife clutched in its right hand. Danny's gaze whirls around to the fire escape, just beyond his fingers' grasp.

DANIELLE'S POV The heavy workboots of the shape move past the bed.

CLOSE-DANIELLE shrinks up into a ball under the bed, watching terrified as the shape walks past.

DANNY'S POV The shape is still coming, almost upon him. Again, Danny stretches for the fire escape. His fingers are mere centimeters away from his goal.

CLOSE-DANNY gathers his strength and leaps from the window ledge.

EXT. BROWN HALL

Danny flies through the air.

ANGLE ON WINDOW The hand of the shape reaches out of the window quickly and grasps Danny's foot as he jumps.

DANNY'S POV The fire escape is before him. His hands wrap around the metal railing.

ANGLE ON DANNY Danny grabs the fire escape railing, but the shape has his left foot. He screams.

ANGLE FROM GROUND Danny hangs in midair three stories above. Hands on the railing, foot firmly in the shape's grip.

ANGLE ON DANNY as he yanks desperately, trying to escape the grip of the shape.

ANGLE ON DANNY'S SHOE as it slips off in the shape's hand. Danny's foot is free.

ANGLE ON DANNY Danny's body drops through the night air. He holds firmly with his hands though, and his body slams into the fire escape.

Danny pulls himself up and over the railing of the fire escape. Once safely on the metal balcony, Danny turns to look behind him.

DANNY'S POV The shape stares at Danny from the window, the mask almost glowing in the dark. The shape drops Danny's shoe and disappears back inside.

ANGLE ON DANNY as he begins to scramble down the fire escape.

DANIELLE'S POV The shape's workboots move back across the room and out into the hallway.

CLOSE-DANIELLE breathes a sigh of relief.

EXT. BROWN HALL

Danny drops down from the bottom rung of the fire escape and lands on the grass below. He glances around quickly and then darts off across the backyard and into the darkness.

INT. LIBRARY-MAIN ROOM-NIGHT

CAMERA PANS down from a high ceiling. The main room of the library stretches out before us. Numerous tables are scattered across the room, all of which are empty. A row of computers runs down one wall of the large room. In the center of the room, a counter juts out from the wall and runs three-quarters of the way across the room. There, the counter angles to the right all the way to the wall, boxing in an area. Behind the counter, desks and file cabinets are arranged with walking space between them. Kara sits at one of the desks, sorting through an overdue list. From time to time, Kara looks up and consults a computer resting on the desk, then goes back to the list, sometimes crossing off a name with an inkpen. Kara runs her hand through her curly, dark brown hair and looks up at a clock on the wall.

KARA'S POV The clock reads nine o'clock.

INT. MAIN ROOM

Kara places the list down on the desk, and stands up. Kara stretches as she walks across the crowded area to the counter. An older bald man, DR. BENJAMIN EVANS, stands at the counter.

Dr. Evans glances up from a book at Kara over a pair of wire-rimmed glasses. A glowing jack-o-lantern stares at Kara from beside Dr. Evans on the countertop.

Dr. Evans looks at his watch.

Kara turns. A cart filled with books rests next to the counter. Kara grabs the end of the cart and pushes it through a swinging door, emerging from behind the counter. Kara pushes the cart across the main room and heads through a doorway into a side room. She calls back over her shoulder.

INT. LIBRARY-SIDE ROOM

Kara pushes the cart along, stopping at a sliding metal door in the wall. A sign above the door reads:

Kara reaches out, pulls the sliding door open, and begins loading books onto the metal platform of the book elevator. When she finishes, Kara yanks the door closed and walks across the room to the stairwell. She pushes open a metal door and starts down the steps.

EXT. LIBRARY-NIGHT

Officer Patrick Malone sits in a chair on the large front porch of the library flipping through the pages of a magazine. The SNAP of a twig comes from the darkness out in front of the library. Malone looks up quickly.

MALONE'S POV Malone's gaze travels over the dark campus. A lamppost off in the distance casts shadows across the courtyard. A light bank of fog blankets the ground, oozing slowly across the campus.

ANGLE ON MALONE as he lays his magazine down beside the chair and stands up, drawing his weapon.

MALONE'S POV The courtyard remains empty and silent. WHOOSH. A soft noise comes suddenly from behind him. Malone wheels around. Dr. Evans is standing in the doorway of the library.

EXT. LIBRARY

Malone holsters his revolver.

Malone picks up the chair and hands it to Dr. Evans. Evans takes the chair and disappears back inside. Malone turns and surveys the courtyard again.

MALONE'S POV The courtyard remains still, except for the trees swaying in the night breeze and the gentle motion of the fog. As Malone turns away, we catch a glimpse of a shadow dart quickly across the ground over behind one of the large pillars on the front porch.

ANGLE ON MALONE as he spins back around and withdraws his gun. He slowly moves over to the column.

MALONE'S POV as he steps quickly around the large white column. No one there.

EXT. LIBRARY

Malone shakes his head and turns to walk back to the main door. CAMERA ZOOMS back slowly. Around the next column, stands the shape.

ANGLE ON MALONE in the F.G. as he walks toward us. Behind him, in the B.G., the shape begins to follow. A large knife is held in its hand.

THE SHAPE'S POV as Malone spins around suddenly. Malone draws his gun and fires at the shape.

MALONE'S POV BANG! BANG! The shape flies backward as the bullets from Malone's gun riddle its body. The knife slips from the shape's hand.

ANGLE ON THE KNIFE as it falls and disappears in the dense blanket of fog.

ANGLE ON THE SHAPE The shape crashes to the ground with a THUD.

EXT. LIBRARY

Malone approaches the lifeless figure of the shape cautiously. He kneels down beside it and checks for a pulse.

CLOSE-THE SHAPE The fog oozes eerily over the stark-white mask of the shape. Suddenly, the mask rises from the fog as the shape comes to life.

CLOSE-MALONE tries to jerk back, but the shape grabs him by the collar.

ANGLE ON THE KNIFE The shiny blade of the knife emerges quickly from the blanket of fog, clutched tightly in the shape's hand.

CLOSE-MALONE opens his mouth to scream, terrified.

CAMERA behind Malone as the shape slashes the knife blade across his throat with brilliant speed.

The shape releases Malone and he falls backward.

ANGLE ON MALONE as his lifeless body disappears into the fog.

INT. LIBRARY-DOWNSTAIRS

Kara unloads the last of the books onto another cart, and begins to push the cart down an aisle lined on either side with countless books. She grabs a book off of the cart and searches for its home on the shelf. Locating a gap in the books, she pushes the book into it. Kara rolls the cart farther down the aisle. She selects another, somewhat larger, book, and kneels down, pushing it into its place on the shelf. She moves down the aisle farther still.

Suddenly a loud BANG shatters the silence, like the report of a rifle. Kara spins around quickly.

KARA'S POV The aisle extends about twenty feet back to where it connects to the main aisle. In the floor, about ten feet away, lays a large book.

ANGLE ON KARA as she walks slowly toward the spot where the book lays. She reaches down and picks up the book.

KARA'S POV We see it is the very book just returned to the shelf.

CLOSE-KARA A look of mild concern crosses her face as she crouches down to return the book to the shelf.

KARA'S POV Kara's hand pushes the book into its place on the shelf, and then her gaze travels upward slightly. Trough the empty space between the shelves, something is looking at her, at us. Something with a nightmarish white face. It is the face of the shape.

CLOSE-KARA lets out a high-pitched scream as a hand comes bursting through the books, shoving into her chest and knocking her backwards to the floor.

ANGLE ON KARA as she lands on her back in a lake of books. She claws her way into an upright position, scattering books across the dingy, tiled floor.

KARA'S POV We scan the bookshelf in front of us frantically. There is no sign of that terrifying white face, only rows and rows of endless books, and an empty aisle beyond. Kara turns her head quickly and searches the opposite shelf. We see only the same.

ANGLE ON KARA Kara gets to her feet and slowly sneaks toward the main aisle, continuously glancing behind and all around her. Kara reaches the middle aisle and peers cautiously around the end of the bookshelf.

KARA'S POV To the left, the aisle stretches fifty feet. There stands the metal door that opens into the stairwell. Large metal file cabinets rest on either side of the door. To the right, the corridor extends only twenty feet. The book elevator is at the end of the aisle, the sliding metal door still open.

ANGLE ON KARA Kara stalks slowly toward the stairwell door. As she closes the distance, she begins to hurry along faster.

KARA'S POV The stairwell door is fast approaching, and suddenly the huge metal file cabinet on the right of the door teeters over. WHAM! It crashes loudly to the floor.

ANGLE ON KARA as she stops quickly.

KARA'S POV The stairwell door is blocked by the fallen cabinet.

Suddenly, the large figure of the shape steps out from behind the last bookshelf, that awful white face with those dark, souless eyes staring at us.

ANGLE ON KARA Kara lets out a loud shriek, and begins to back away.

KARA'S POV The shape only stares.

ANGLE ON KARA

Kara continues to back away, searching around desperately for a way out.

KARA'S POV The book elevator is at the other end of the room, sixty feet away.

ANGLE ON KARA Kara turns quickly and darts back the way she came.

ANGLE ON THE SHAPE The dark spectre that is the shape begins to move after Kara, gliding eerily across the floor.

ANGLE ON KARA as she sprints hurriedly down the long corridor. Behind her in the B.G., the shape is coming.

ANOTHER ANGLE ON Kara as she reaches the book elevator and dives headlong into the opening in the wall.

CLOSE-KARA pulls herself into the cramped elevator. Two taught ropes run parallel up the back of the small shaft. Kara grabs desperately at one.

ANGLE ON HAND A burned and grotesquely scarred hand is suddenly thrust into the crowded space, grabbing for Kara.

INT. BOOK ELEVATOR

Kara yanks fiercely on the rope and the platform jerks upward shakily.

The hand is pulled back as the space between the platform and the top of the opening is closed off. Kara pulls and pulls on the rope, propelling the carriage upward in quick spasms of movement.

KARA'S POV The cramped elevator shaft extends upward three stories. Light shines in from an opening that leads to the ground floor.

INT. LIBRARY-SIDE ROOM

ANGLE ON OPENING Kara's hand appears at the edge of the opening of the book elevator and then Kara's face and upper chest come into view. Kara scrambles out of the elevator, falling hard to the tiled floor.

ANGLE ON KARA as she gets to her feet shakily. We follow Kara as she begins to run toward the main lobby, weaving in and out of a maze of bookshelves and file cabinets.

INT. LIBRARY-MAIN ROOM

Kara runs through the threshold of the doorway into the main lobby and stops suddenly. The room is dark, except for the jack-o-lantern on a table in the center of the room.

CLOSE-KARA A look of confusion overtakes Kara's face as she realizes that the pumpkin has been moved from the countertop. She stumbles forward in the dark toward the jack-o-lantern.

KARA'S POV The grinning jack-o-lantern approaches, but it is not setting on the table after all. Dr. Evans's mutilated body is propped up in a chair beside the table, the glowing pumpkin resting on his shoulders where his head once resided. Kara begins to whimper as her gaze travels down to the floor. From the dim glow of the jack-o-lantern, we can make out Dr. Evans's bald head setting on the floor at his feet. A terrified scream escapes Kara's throat.

ANGLE ON KARA Kara glances quickly over her shoulder and then sprints to the main entrance. She slams into the door full force, but the door does not move. Kara crashes to the floor, stunned. She quickly recovers and gets to her feet.

Kara rams forcefully on the metal bar of the door. It does not give. Suddenly a telephone RINGS, shattering the silence.

CLOSE-KARA screams loudly and spins around.

KARA'S POV A telephone on the counter is ringing, illuminated by the light from the side room. The phone grows in size as Kara runs toward it.

ANGLE ON KARA Kara reaches over the counter and grabs the receiver, bringing it frantically to her face.

KARA'S POV The eerie white face of the shape rises quickly from behind the counter, directly in front of us.

ANGLE ON KARA Again Kara screams and retreats into the darkness, dropping the phone.

She stumbles to the door and shoves desperately on the metal bar. The door will not budge. Something is propped against it.

ANGLE ON THE SHAPE The shape moves quickly through the swinging wooden door, emerging from behind the counter.

ANGLE ON KARA Kara continues to slam into the door. She risks a glance back over her shoulder.

KARA'S POV-THE SHAPE is coming, light from the side room gleaming off of the large butcher knife in its hand.

ANGLE ON DOOR Kara rams the door again, and it suddenly gives way. The door swings outward halfway and then slams into something, sending Kara sprawling headlong into the metal door and then to the ground. Kara lands on something soft.

KARA'S POV as she comes face to face with the dead eyes of Officer Malone.

EXT. LIBRARY

Kara screams and clambers off of the body, pulling her hind quarters from within the library.

KARA'S POV Kara glances back into the library as the door swings shut. The shape is still moving toward her, disappearing as the door closes.

ANGLE ON KARA as she gets to her feet and limps quickly down the sidewalk across campus.

INT. HADDONFIELD POLICE STATION-MAIN LOBBY

Tommy stands next to the counter in the middle of the lobby. He holds a phone receiver in his hand.

Tommy slams the phone down, and turns to Tyler.

Tommy leans quickly over the counter and grabs his jacket laying on the desk.

Tyler stands up quickly from the desk.

Tommy begins yanking the jacket on.

Tyler moves quickly around the counter.

Tommy stops him.

Kristen, lying on a bench asleep under a blanket, begins to stir.

Kristen drops the blanket and begins walking over to Tommy.

Tommy grabs Kristen and hugs her.

Kristen clings tight to Tommy's neck.

Tommy takes Kristen by the shoulders and pulls her from him slightly. He looks into her eyes.

Kristen's gaze drops to the floor.

Kristen looks up into Tommy's face.

Tommy hugs Kristen tightly.

Tommy wipes the tears from Kristen's cheeks.

Kristen lets go of Tommy and he turns to Tyler.

Tommy turns and heads for the door.

Tommy pauses and turns to look.

CLOSE-TOMMY Tommy mouthes the words "I love you."

CLOSE-KRISTEN only stares.

ANGLE ON TOMMY as he turns and disappears through the main exit.

INT. TOMMY'S SQUAD CAR-MOMENTS LATER

As Tommy speeds along, siren blaring, he reaches down and picks up his CB.

EXT. HADDONFIELD STREET-NIGHT

SHAPE'S POV The shape lurks back between two houses in a dark alley. The alley runs about ten feet up to the street. Sirens are heard in the distance, growing louder. Suddenly a police car, Tommy's car, speeds by. As the shape moves quickly forward, we approach the street and peer around the edge of the house on the right. Tommy's squad car has just reached the end of the street, and now turns a corner to the left, in the direction of the university. Tommy's car disappears behind a building standing on the corner. The shape gingerly moves from the dark alley out onto the sidewalk, and begins to walk determinedly down the path in the direction that Tommy came from-the direction of the police station.