HALLOWEEN 666: THE ORIGIN OF MICHAEL MYERS
by Daniel Farrands
DARKNESS fills the SCREEN. SUPERIMPOSE:
October 30, 1995
DEAD SILENCE for what seems like an eternity, followed by a
startling, bone-chilling SCREAM as we
FADE IN:
INT. DUNGEON - TUNNELS - NIGHT (DISTORTED)
The agonizing SCREAMS continue as we MOVE rapidly through a
labyrinth of winding underground tunnels. Glowing torches light
the way. Blurry, indistinct silhouettes of grim FIGURES wearing
black-cowled robes flash along the dank, craggy walls.
As we BLAST around dark corners, we realize we are looking from
the P.O.V. of a SCREAMING young woman being pushed forward on a
gurney. Plunging deeper into this hellish maze.
A door is SLAMMED. Wooden. Heavy. Muffling the SCREAMS.
Spurs CLANK on a pair of silver-tipped cowboy boots as a
MYSTERIOUS STRANGER steps into VIEW. Long black duster.
Widebrimmed fedora. Lit cigarette dangling between gloved
fingers.
INT. BIRTHING CHAMBER - NIGHT (CONTINUOUS)
A rat scampers from a hole, foraging in the muck of a rotted
rack. A white sheet, saturated with blood, covers the parted legs
of JAMIE LLOYD, now 16, cheeks flushed with perspiration.
JAMIE
Oh, God, it's coming! It's coming!
MARY, a young midwife, rushes in with a bowl of hot water. Jamie
lurches, knocking the bowl out of the girl's hands; it SHATTERS on
the floor.
JAMIE
(continuing)
Mary, mother of God, please make it stop!
Mary's face is frozen in horror. Jamie's SCREAMS build to an
unnerving crescendo. The paiin too much for her to bear.
FLASH CUT TO:
Lurid SHOCK CUTS from the previous "Halloween" entries -- a
surrealistic blend of IMAGES and VOICES -- as Jamie relives her
terrifying childhood ordeal:
LOOMIS (V.O.)
... Ten years ago he tried to kill Laurie
Strode ...
A) LAURIE STRODE (Jamie Lee Curtis) twists and squirms as she is
strangled mercilessly in the hands of the murderous SHAPE.
LOOMIS (V.O.)
... Now he wants her daughter.
B) Trapped in her bedroom, 10-YEAR-OLD JAMIE (Danielle Harris)
struggles to open the door. She flings it open. The Shape is
standing there, knife poised to kill!
LOOMIS (V.O.)
Michael Myers is here to kill that little girl
and anyone else who gets in his way!
C) RACHEL (Ellie Cornell) dies in anguish as the Shape plunges a
pair of scissors through her chest. TINA (Wendy Kaplan) dives
right into the path of the Shape's knife. "Jamie, run!!!"
D) Jamie sinks to her knees behind the fallen Shape, taking its
hand in her own. CLOSE ON the Shape's hand. Fingers flexing to
life. A grotesque BRAND on its wrist -- an inverted isocsceles
triangle that will come to be known as the mark of THORN.
E) BLINDING EXPLOSION rips through cinderblock. A jail cell blown
to oblivion. FIRESTORM rages. The MYSTERIOUS STRANGER appears,
opening fire with a SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLE.
Pitiful wails of death. OFFICERS writhing in pools of blood. In
the aftermath of this carnage stands YOUNG JAMIE.
FLASH CUT TO:
INT. CHAMBER - NIGHT (SAME)
Jamie struggles against her bonds. Pushing. SCREAMING. Lapsing
in and out of consciousness during the excruciating pangs of
labor. Haunted by low, moaning VOICES. CHANTING.
FLASH CUT TO:
EXT. POLICE STATION - BACK ALLEY - NIGHT (NEW FOOTAGE)
RESUME Jamie, filled with repidation as she staggers through the
smoke-filled cell into a darkened, drizzly alleyway.
JAMIE'S P.O.V.
Beyond the clearing wisps of smoke, THREE FIGURES wearing black
ski masks usher THE SHAPE -- arms and legs shackled in heavy
chains -- into the back of a white van.
BACK TO SCENE
Mutely terrified, Jamie backs away -- into the arms of another
figure, obscured by smokescreen: the Mysterious Stranger!
Jamie's scream is cut off as the Stranger descends upon her like
the Angel of Death.
A cigarette arcs throug the darkness like a tiny flare. Crushed
under the boot of the Stranger.
A moment later, Jamie is shoved into the front seat of the van.
Doors SLAM. Tires SCREECH over wet pavement.
THE ENTIRE PRECINCT EXPLODES IN A HUGE CONFLAGRATION!
SHOCK CUT TO:
INT. CHAMBER - NIGHT
A SLAP and the first cry of the newborn BABY. Jamie sobs
uncontrollably, the straps preventing her from reaching him.
JAMIE
Please ... give him to me ...
The infant is wrapped in black swaddling. The wooden door CREAKS
open. Jamie's eyes fill with horror as the shadow of the Stranger
fills the room. Standing at the threshold. Waiting to receive
the child.
JAMIE
(continuing)
No, please ... my baby!
The dark sentinels march out in somber procession, ignoring her
desperate pleas. Torches lighting the way.
JAMIE
(continuing)
Damn you!! Damn you all to hell!!!
Jamie's heartrending SHRIEKS are cut off by the cold sound of the
SLAMMING DOOR.
FADE TO BLACK.
MAIN TITLE SEQUENCE
A diaphanous column rises, a ghostly, slow-motion cylinder of
flame that BURNS through the SCREEN to form the MAIN TITLE:
HALLOWEEN 6
The OPENING CREDITS are BRANDED against the BLACK SCREEN by an
invisible, kenetic force, interspersed with a SERIES OF CUTS:
Jamie's baby is lain upon a primitive altar. Ringed by eleven
stones engraved with cryptic markings.
Hooded, faceless figures. Torches held aloft. Disembodied
VOICES. Whispering. Invoking a dark spell.
MARY, the young midwife, peers around a corner. Eyes glazed with
horror. Watching. Spying.
The newborn SCREAMS. The flattened blade of a dagger smears a
triangular symbol in blood over the baby's torso.
We MOVE IN on this symbol, capturing it in FREEZE FRAME. It burns
off into fiery cinders, disintegrating into DARKNESS.
Silence. Then a startling CLAP OF THUNDER as we
SHOCK CUT TO:
A SIGN POST
standing askew in a matted patch of lawn. WIND and RAIN. INTENSE
FLASH of LIGHTNING illuminates:
"For Sale By Strode Realty - SOLD"
EXT/INT. MYERS HOUSE - SUBJECTIVE P.O.V.
MOVE along a trail of drowning toys -- baseball, Power Rangers, a
deck of Pogs -- TOWARD a weather-beaten porch. Leftover gallons
of Sears Best. Brushes soaking in turpentine. A dozen or so 2 x
2s l;ined up to replace a row of broken railing slats.
P.O.V. LOOKS UP to the tall, brooding edifice. Address reads: 45
Lampkin Lane. Fresh coat of white paint over old clapboard. New
shutters on the narrow windows. A jack-o'-lantern grins behind
filmy curtains. The Myers house.
Despite its recent face-lift, it looks just as foreboding as it
did in "Halloween I."
P.O.V. stalks down the side of the house, around to the back
door. Opens it and quietly MOVES inside.
P.O.V. MOVES across the darkened kitchen. A drawer is opened.
LIGHTNING reveals a large butcher knife being withdrawn.
P.O.V. glides past the living room -- a few boxes, furniture to be
arranged -- and MOVES swiftly UP a long flight of stairs.
Down the long, dark hallway ... through a door. A bedroom.
P.O.V. FINDS 6-year-old DANNY STRODE ... tossing and turning in
the throes of a nightmare.
An ear-splitting THUNDER CRASH causes the boy to bolt upright in
bed, looking right into the P.O.V. Sweating. Shaking.
Petrified.
DANNY'S P.O.V.
The THUNDER seems to ROAR from the ferocious jaws of T-REX -- a
24" scale model posing on a shelf among an army of Jurassic
monsters. Seemingly brought to life by the ELECTRICAL STORM.
FOLLOW DANNY
as he leaps out of bed and pads across polished wooden floors into
the hallway. LIGHTNING FLASHES. With the next THUNDER CRASH
comes a startling, barely intelligible VOICE.
WHISPERING VOICE (O.S.)
Danny ...
Danny freezes. Slowly turns.
DANNY'S POV
An ominous shadow at the end of the hall, illuminated by
LIGHTNING. Long duster and brimmed hat. The Stranger! In his
outstretched hand, the gleaming butcher knife!
WHISPERING VOICE (O.S.)
Kill for him!
BACK TO SCENE
Danny screams! THUNDER CRASHES HELLISHLY. Lights flash on.
Doors fly open. Suddenly Danny is swept up in the protective arms
of his mother, KARA, 22.
KARA
Danny!
The little boy holds onto her for dear life. Crying
hysterically. Eyes clenched tightly.
KARA
(continuing)
Shh. Mommy's here. What is it?
DANNY
The voice man! He's here!
Kara looks in the direction he's pointing. In the light there's
just an antique coat rack -- "dressed" in a hat, rain jacket and
old silver-tipped umbrella.
KARA
Danny, no one's there.
Danny dares to look -- but now only cries harder.
Kara carries Danny back to his room, averting the steely-eyed gaze
of her father, JOHN STRODE, staunch, late 40s, wearing boxer
shorts and a well-worn undershirt.
JOHN
Some of us have to get some sleep around
here. What's with that kid?
Kara ignores him as her mother, DEBRA, careworn face with
compassionate eyes, tries to lend a hand.
DEBRA
Let me take him for you, Kara.
KARA
It's all right, Mom. Go back to bed.
Debra sighs resignedly. TIM, 18, stocky and streetwise, wearing
torn red sweat pants and "Ice-T" t-shirt, casually replaces his
Walkman headphones and returns to his room.
INT. DANNY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT (A FEW MINUTES LATER)
Kara opens the closet and switches on the light. Satisfying Danny
that it's empty, she breaks into her perfunctory routine.
KARA
Stay away monters, stay away ghouls. Stay away
from Danny. You jerks know the rules.
(crossing to Danny's bed)
Better?
Danny giggles as his pretty young mother tucks him in.
DANNY
Mommy, when can we go home?
Kara sighs. They've been through this one before.
KARA
Home is here in Grandma and Grandpa's new
house. At least while I'm in college.
Remember our deal.
DANNY
The kids at school said this is a haunted
house -- that a bad man used to live here.
KARA
They did, did they? Since when did we start
listening to the kids at school?
DANNY
But I've seen him!
KARA
You've been watching too much TV.
DANNY
He says things. Bad things.
KARA
Like what?
Danny is afraid to tell her.
KARA
(continuing)
If you mean the things Grandpa says sometimes,
ignore him. Once he gets to know you he'll
come around ... Let the bad things you hear
slide right off your back.
Kara tousles his blond hair and kisses his forehead. Then she
goes to the closet, just about to turn out the light --
DANNY
(sitting up; panicked)
No, Mom -- keep it on!
KARA
Okay ... But just for tonight.
Kara adjusts the closet door, causing one of Danny's school
drawings to fly off the wall. She picks it up on her way out.
KARA
(continuing)
Good-night, Danny.
Kara softly closes the door. Danny lies awake, blankets drawn up
to his chin, eyes wide. Still very much afraid.
INT. KARA'S ROOM (CONTINUOUS)
Kara yawns, removes her glasses and rubs her eyes, setting Danny's
drawing on a pile of open books. Cliffs Notes and Diet Coke
cans. Telltale signs of a late-night cram session.
Adjusting the dial on her FM/alarm clock, Kara begins to move
about the little room, slipping out of her clothes as the
subtly-seductive voice of a WOMAN comes over the radio:
WOMAN (V.O.)
I know this sounds crazy, Harry, but I love
him. I write to him every week. I think I
even want to have his child --
The woman is cut off by the nasally, steel-trap voice of HARRY
SIMMS, talk radio's most popular man of controversy:
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
Let me get this straight, Debi. Now you're
saying that not only does this guy get you
sexually aroused, but now you want to bear his
offspring?!
Wearing only her bra and panties, Kara moves to a full-length
mirror and lets down her long, flaxen hair. Beneath her studious
exterior, she is quite attractive: delicate features with an
enviable, naturally-toned figure.
WOMAN (V.O.)
Deep down, he's just like you and me. He just
needs someone to understand him. Someone to
love him.
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
You're talking about one of this nation's most
notorious serial killers like he belongs in
some kind of Est seminar! What planet have
you been on, lady? Michael Myers has been
dead for six years!
A CLICK as the woman is abruptly DISCONNECTED.
Kara suddenly whirls around, startled by a FLASH of something -- a
face -- in the mirror!
Drawn to the window behind her, she rubs off rainy mist and peers
outside.
KARA'S P.O.V.
of the large Victorian frame house directly across the street.
Another FLASH OF LIGHTNING reveals the shadow of a man standing in
the uppermost window -- looking right at her!
ANGLE ON KARA
Frightened, her eyes lock on Danny's drawing. A child's
scribbling in red Crayon: The triangular symbol of Thorn!
EXT. MYERS HOUSE / BLANKENSHIP HOUSE
Kara draws the priscilla curtains over the window as we PULL BACK
through the pouring RAIN ... toward the house across the street.
An ornate sign on the front door reads:
"Blankenship House - Rooms Available"
CRANE UP toward the window where the shadowy figure stands. An
insidious CRASH OF THUNDER as we PUSH through the window.
INT. TOMMY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT (CONTINUOUS)
A macabre display of old newspaper headlines, arranged
helterskelter on a wall: "HALLOWEEN KILLS ESCAPES FROM ASYLUM."
"HORROR IN HADDONFIELD: MICHAEL MYERS CLAIMS 16 LIVES." "REIGN
OF TERROR ENDS AS MYERS PERISHES IN VIGILANTE EXPLOSION."
Harry Simms BOOMS over a state-of-the-art HiFi system. A cassette
tape RECORDS the continuing broadcast.
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
Now we've got someone who claims he's actually
seen Michael Myers. Does this whacko caller
have a name?
Staring out the window at the Myers house, TOMMY DOYLE, a
strapping 25-year-old with reddish brown hair and intense eyes,
cradles a cordless phone.
TOMMY
My name's Tommy. I was only eight- years-old
when I saw him. But I was lucky. I survived.
Tommy paces nervously around his sparsely-furnished attic
apartment. Classic horror movie one-sheets and mint first edition
comic books share wall space with a chilling array of guns,
knives, and survivalist weapons.
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
Sounds like you're a candidate for
electroshock therapy, Tommy. Don't tell me
after all this time you still believe Myers is
alive?!
Tommy pauses, mesmerized by one of the newspaper clippings.
TOMMY
Michael's work isn't finished in Haddonfield.
Now it's just a matter of time before he comes
home to kill again. But this time I'll be
ready.
MOVE IN TIGHT on the headline, frail and yellowed by age:
"November 1, 1978. TOMMY DOYLE SURVIVES BABYSITTER BLOODBATH."
Directly beneath this: "November 3, 1989. JAMIE LLOYD FEARED
DEAD IN POLICE STATION MASSACRE."
CLOSE ON a photograph of young Jamie and
SLOW DISSOLVE TO:
INT. DUNGEON - CHAMBER - NIGHT
Jamie remains strapped to the table, wrapped in bloody sheets.
Eyes closed. Deathly still. Suddenly an urgent, WHISPERING VOICE
pierces the darkness:
WHISPERING VOICE (O.S.)
Jamie? Jamie?!
Jamie startles awake to see the midwife frantically releasing her
straps.
MARY
Come with me if you want to save your baby.
Jamie can't believe her eyes. Mary opens a threadbare knapsack --
revealing the baby inside!
A soul-shuddering RUMBLE echoes throughout the cavern. Jamie
leaps up, eyes wide with fear, sensing the evil presence.
JAMIE
Oh, God ... He's coming!
MARY
We've got to move. Now!
Pulsing with adrenaline, Jamie harnesses the knapsack over her
shoulders and follows Mary out into the tunnels.
TUNNEL GATE
Chains GRIND over rusted pulleys. A massive iron gate rises,
revealing a pair of filthy work boots. Legs planted in bold
stance as a tall, ominous shape begins to emerge.
ANOTHER TUNNEL
The terrified midwife leads Jamie with her baby on a breathless
flight through the winding network of tunnels. Haunted by the
ECHOING SOUNDS of the rising gate.
STALKING P.O.V. - THROUGH TUNNELS
Gliding forward into the hollow catacombs. Slow by determined.
Sensing the way.
ANOTHER PART OF THE TUNNELS
Reaching a corner, Mary stops and sends Jamie off in the opposite
direction.
MARY
There! It's that way!
JAMIE
No --
MARY
Save your baby -- go now!
Jamie runs, disappearing down the dark tunnel. Mary quickly
removes her shoes and tears off, now SILENT.
STALKING P.O.V.
surges around a corner. FINDS Mary. MOVES IN on her.
ANOTHER ANGLE
Mary turns in small circles. Fear mounting as she falters into
darkness. Heavy, labored BREATHING fills the tunnel.
A mask -- the pale, neutral features of a man weirdly distorted by
the rubber -- materialized out of the void right behind her. THE
SHAPE!
Mary turns, about to scream when the Shape lunges out, lifts her
up by the nape of the neck and SLAMS her forehead into a large
metal SPIKE jutting out from the cavern wall!
Leaving her impaled like a fish on a hook, the Shape resumes its
relentless pursuit. Eerie under the lighted torches.
END OF TUNNEL
Jamie runs frantically. Methodical, heavy FOOTSTEPS behind her.
She chances a look behind. The Shape is coming!
Jamie vaults up a dark stairwell. A trap door above. It won't
budge. Jamie frantically POUNDS against the hatch.
The Shape mounts the stairs!
Strength fueled by sheer desperation, Jamie forces the door open.
Tumbles onto muddy ground.
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
Jamie drags herself out of the hole and half-runs, half-stumbles
with her baby through an ugly, charred forest. Sharp branches
whip at her face. RAIN falls. LIGHTNING streaks across the sky.
As if hell-spawned, the Shape emerges from the underground chamber
and trudges forward, bold and unstoppable.
Jamie tumbles into a gully, nearly dropping the knapsack. She
picks herself up, hands groping at rain-sopped earth. The Shape
is right behind her!
INT. PICKUP TRUCK - NIGHT (SAME)
A slap-happy, overweight MOTORIST sips coffee from a 7-11 cup,
straining to see the road through falling rain and fogged-up
glasses. Harry Simms keeps him mindlessly occupied.
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
Next up is Dwayne. What's on your feeble
excuse for a mind, "Dwayne?"
The Motorisft lets out a hardy GUFFAW, spilling his coffee.
MOTORIST
Shit!
Fingers burning, he searches the glove compartment for a napkin.
DWAYNE (V.O.)
I'd just like to say that I listen to your
show every night, Harry. I think you're the
best. I can't tell you how excited we are
that you'll be paying a visit to our little
town tomorrow night.
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
Do you have a point to make here, Dwayne, or
should I just keep practicing my wrist
exercises?
DWAYNE
(chortles)
Harry, you're too much. I'd just like to say
that I understand how things have changed in
the 90's. Gays in the military, cut off your
husband's do- jigger, become a national hero.
But I just can't see any sense in bringing
Halloween back to Haddonfield.
The Motorist looks up. Eyes go wide with panic. Startled GASP.
P.O.V. THROUGH WINDSHIELD
Jamie stands in the middle of the road, SCREAMING bloody-murder.
EXT. WOODED ROAD / INT. PICKUP TRUCK (SAME)
Tires SCREECH. The pickup stops on a dime. The Motorist just
sits there, mouth agape as the shrieking girl throws open the door
and clambers into the passenger seat.
JAMIE
Drive! Goddamnit, drive!
Through his side-view mirror, the unsuspecting Motorist sees the
outline of a quickly-approaching man. Unrolling his window, he
rubbernecks a look outside.
MOTORIST
Hey, what do you think you're --
CRUNCHING BONE and TEARING FLESH as the Shape's hands shoot
through the window, twisting the man's head off his shoulders!
Jamie SCREAMS! Lunges for the steering wheel. Slams her foot
down hard on the gas.
ANOTHER ANGLE
The pickup bullets forward, fishtailing up the road, never slowing
down as the driver's door flies open, dumping the motorists's
headless bulk into a muddy ditch.
INT. PICKUP (SAME)
Jamie drives. Checks to see that her baby is safe. Then lets out
a PRIMAL SCREAM. A hysterical release of fear and rage, drowned
out by the squabble of VOICES over the radio:
MALE CALLER #2 (V.O.)
You're coming here for this Halloween fair --
it's all just a game -- a publicity stunt for
you, isn't it Harry? These kids -- they're
not old enough to remember what Myers did
here. They look up to you. Now you're just
asking for trouble.
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
You people really get me. What are they
putting in the water in that town?
CUT TO:
INT. LOOMIS'S CABIN - NIGHT (SAME)
LIGHTNING FLASHES and RAIN pelts the windows of a bucolic cabin.
This is a man's retreat and has been for years. Dark wood, worn
leather, a few tastefully-chosen antiques. Floor-to-floor ceiling
shelves containing a myriad of books and an impressive display of
awards and degrees, all bearing the name: SAMUEL J. LOOMIS, Ph.D.
After a STATION IDENTIFICATION, "The Harry Simms Show" resumes,
tinny-voiced CALLERS blaring over a handsomely-restored 1928
Bremer-Tully.
MALE CALLER #3 (V.O.)
All these fanatics aside, Harry, I'd
personally like to thank whoever did the
masked one in. Saved us tax-payers a lot of
money in the long run.
FEMALE CALLER #3 (V.O.)
Yeah, that sucker's been dead for six years.
It's about time they had a Halloween revival
in this town. Now my kids can stop driving me
crazy!
MOVE IN behind a bald, sharp-featured man, hunched over a can as
he reminisces over a collection of framed photographs -- memories
of his wife and children.
MALE CALLER #4 (V.O.)
What happened to that psychiatrist of his?
Loomis, I think was his name. I heard the old
quack was dead.
Turning at the mention of his name is DR. LOOMIS himself, wearing
spectacles, a comfortable sweater and his trademark goatee. For
the first time ever, we actually see him smile. The burn scars on
his face have all but faded away. Last traces of the horrid past.
LOOMIS
Not dead. Just very much retired.
Loomis hobbles to the desk and finishes cutting out a newspaper
article. As he arranges the strips of paper in a leather-bound
scrapbook, a sudden KNOCK at the door gives him a startle.
EXT. LOOMIS'S CABIN - NIGHT (SAME)
An ominous FIGURE, clad in hat and trench coat, stands beneath the
glowing porch light, silhouetted in the pouring RAIN.
Loomis opens the door, eyes straining in the semi-darkness, trying
to identify his unexpected visitor.
LOOMIS
(sudden recognition)
What the devil?! Come in -- come in!
INT. LOOMIS'S CABIN - NIGHT (CONTINUOUS)
Shuffling inside, dripping with rain, DR. TERENCE WYNN, a
well-dressed gentleman in his 50s, removes his hat and coat,
quickly making himself at home by the crackling fire.
WYNN
Christ, what a night! Not even so much as a
sign for five miles on that road!
LOOMIS
That's the whole idea of living in the
country. I thrive on the seclusion.
Wynn heads for the kitchen, rummaging through cabinets and drawers
as Loomis dutifully wipes up his muddy trail.
WYNN (O.S.)
Don't tell me that the reviled Rasputin of
Smith's Grove has grown complacent in his
golden years. I don't buy it for a single
second, Dr. Loomis.
Loomis immediately senses that Wynn has an angle.
LOOMIS
And in all these years, I've never known you
to make house calls, Dr. Wynn. Especially at
this hour ...
Wynn returns with a bottle of Irish whiskey and two shot glasses.
Thrusts one in Loomis's hand and begins to pour.
WYNN
Unlike you, Sam, I learned many years ago not
to second-guess the motives of my fellow man.
Remember what Freud said: 'Sometimes a cigar
is just a cigar.' Or, in this case, a drink
is just a drink.
LOOMIS
I hope you didn't come all the way out here in
this storm just to quote Freud.
WYNN
As always, your keen powers of perception
astound me. And you're right. I've come to
celebrate.
(raising his glass)
After thirty-two years as Psychiatric
Administrator, guess who has been named
Smith's Groves new Chief of Staff.
LOOMIS
But surely Rogers isn't --
WYNN
Retiring.
Loomis is abruptly stunned and delighted by the news.
LOOMIS
Why -- congratulations! I can think of no one
better suited for the position.
The two old sparring partners drink to the occasion. But Wynn's
angle soon comes to the helm.
WYNN
Of course, I need a new Administrator. Someone
who can bring new life -- and some old blood,
if you'll pardon the expression -- back to our
program ...
Loomis prepares himself for the bomb.
WYNN
(continuing)
We need you, Dr. Loomis.
LOOMIS
You should know that it's not wise to play
Halloween pranks on me.
WYNN
You're the only man for the job, Sam. Things
haven't been the same since you left. I'm
recruiting the best psychiatric team in the
country. Old colleagues. This is your change
to finally make a difference.
Loomis scratches his head and settles down into his comfortable
easy chair, amused at the irony of Wynn's speech.
LOOMIS
Even after my stroke six years ago they
practically had to hold a gun to my head to
get me to retire. Now things have changed.
I've changed. The ghosts have been buried.
Why on earth would I want to dig them up
again?
Loomis finally looks over at Wynn, surprised to find him standing
at the desk, looking through his scrap book.
WYNN
Seems to me there's at least one ghost that's
still lurking in your closet.
We follow Wynn's gaze down toward the open page. A blazing
tabloid headline: "MICHAEL MYERS - DEAD OR ALIVE?"
SHOCK CUT TO:
EXT. RURAL HIGHWAY - NIGHT
Jamie's getaway truck ROARS around a bend, tearing up a deserted
stretch of highway. The STORM rages.
INT. PICKUP (CONTINUOUS)
Jamie strains to see as she drives through sheets of RAIN. Bone
weary, fighting panic, holding one hand steady against the wheel,
the other on the CRYING infant.
JAMIE
God ... Help us, please ...
Something up ahead. Jamie's face fills with expectancy.
JAMIE'S P.O.V. - THROUGH WINDSHIELD
A lighted sign appears out of the darkness. Glowing salvation.
Familiar red-white-and-blue logo. "GREYHOUND."
EXT. BUS DEPOT - NIGHT
The pickup drives into the glow of orange vapor lights. SKIDS to
a stop in a deserted parking lot. Jamie staggers out, cradling
the knapsack as she runs toward the old depot.
INT. BUS DEPOT - NIGHT
Jamie blasts through double glass doors. But the bus station is
devoid of life. Empty benches. Blank ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE
signboard. The low hum of vending machines.
Jamie moves toward the ticket counter. A handwritten sign left by
the attendant: "BACK IN 20."
Shivering, holding her baby, Jamie enters an old-fashioned phone
booth. Picks up the receiver and immediately dials 911.
VOICE (V.O.)
You have reached Haddonfield Emergency
Services. Due to severe weather conditions,
all circuits are momentarily busy. If this is
not an emergency, please dial directly ...
Jamie slams the phone down in terrified frustration. Suddenly she
becomes aware of the radio program. Piped in over ancient
loudspeakers:
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
For anyone who gives a flying circus, this is
Harry Simms -- the light in your night, the
love of your loins -- and I want to hear from
more of you bogeyman believers out there. So
give me your best shot at 1-800-878-7274.
That's 1-800-URTRASH!
The STATION IDENTIFICATION cuts in. Jamie picks up the receiver and
frantically dials the number.
INT. LOOMIS'S CABIN - NIGHT (SAME)
Wynn doesn't give up the sales pitch even as Loomis leads him to the
door. The radio program still squawking in the b.g.
WYNN
But with Rogers and his house of hacks gone,
you'd make the rules. Just think it over.
LOOMIS
Please try to understand, Terence. I've already
made up my mind.
As Wynn continues to talk, his voice trailing off into nothingness,
Loomis's attention is diverted to the VOICES on the radio.
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
So they're trying to kill you and your baby.
Don't tell me. Your name also happens to be
Rosemary.
JAMIE (V.O.)
(intense whisper)
No -- please listen! They're coming ... coming
for me and my baby.
Loomis's eyes widen; a man possessed.
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
Come on, sweetheart -- what is this? Who's
coming?
JAMIE (V.O.)
It's ... Michael ...
(releasing)
... Michael Myers!
Loomis staggers. A lifetime of nightmares coming back to haunt him
all at once.
INT. TOMMY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT (SAME)
PRESS IN TIGHT ON TOMMY in bed. Listening through headphones.
Sitting upright. Thunderstruck.
JAMIE (V.O.)
Somebody help me! Dr. Loomis, are you out
there? Can you hear me?
INT. LOOMIS'S CABIN - NIGHT (SAME)
Wynn watches with rapt attention as Loomis unlocks his safe and
withdraws a metal case. He pops it open, revealing his trusted .357
Magnum and a box of cartridges.
INT. BUS DEPOT - NIGHT (SAME)
A bus has arrived. The ATTENDANT returns to his post. Jamie hangs
up the phone, filled with trepidation as PASSENGERS file inside. A
strung-out ROCKER. A pair of stern-faced NUNS. A PRETTY TEENAGER
greeted in the loving arms of her BOYFRIEND.
Just as she is about to step out of the phone booth, a TALL MAN,
back turned, wearing a hat and black trench coat, moves to stand
outside the booth! Jamie freezes.
Securing her baby in the knapsack, Jamie throws open the door.
Suddenly the Tall Man steps in her path!
TALL MAN
Are you all right, young lady?
Shaking uncontrollably, Jamie shrinks away. Backing down a narrow
hall through the door marked "LADIES ROOM."
INT. LADIES ROOM - NIGHT (SAME)
Water runs into a grimy basin. Unable to contain her tears, she
washes the newborn. Takes a roll of paper towels and tries to rub
the triangular blood mark off his chest.
Suddenly the lights go out. Jamie gasps. Clutching her baby, she
turns off the faucet and melts into the darkness.
The door CREAKS open. FOOTSTEPS echo inside.
JAMIE
has locked herself inside one of the stalls. Heart pounding. The
FOOTSTEPS grow louder. Jamie's eyes dart frantically.
STALKING P.O.V.
MOVING methodically past the row of stalls, pushing open each door,
revealing that they are all empty. A CRASH from the last stall.
P.O.V. moves toward it. RUSTLING and MOVEMENT inside.
A HAND pushes on the door. An open window above the toilet. Jamie
is gone!
EXT. BUS DEPOT - NIGHT (CONTINUOUS)
Jamie trembles off a stack of crates piled beneath the window and
dashes around the side of the depot.
Suddenly the bus ROARS by, sending up a muddy wave as it pulls out,
disappearing down the highway.
Jamie moves swiftly across the parking lot, clutching the knapsack.
She throws open the door of the pickup and jumps into the driver's
seat.
INT. PICKUP - NIGHT (CONTINUOUS)
Slapping down the locks, Jamie thrusts the key into the ignition.
The engine REVS to life. She guns it, peeling out of the parking
lot. Back toward the highway.
She drives on, suppressing her tears, stealing glances at the
knapsack bunched up on the passenger's seat. Then she turns and
looks forward with concentrated attention.
JAMIE'S P.O.V.
A sign looms ahead: "Haddonfield Memorial Hospital - 10 Mi."
BACK TO SCENE
Jamie sighs with relief, steadying the wheel just as --
HIGHBEAMS flash on right behind her, a juggernaut roaring out of
blackness! Jamie's eyes flood with terror.
JAMIE'S P.O.V. - THROUGH WINDSHIELD
The grill of a familiar white van shoots forward, SLAMMING violently
against the pickup's rear bumper.
JAMIE
is jolted forward in her seat. Holding on the wheel with a
white-knuckle grip as she's repeatedly hit from behind.
EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT
The unseen madman noses forward, veering sharply over the double
yellow line, scraping sides with the truck.
Headlights sear a path through the night, locked in neck-and-neck
profile. SPARKS flashing at 70-miles-per-hour.
The van forces Jamie onto the shoulder. It leaves the road, tearing
branches from trees. Jamie SCREAMING.
EXT. PUMPKIN PATCH - THE CHASE
A quick-cut MONTAGE, events ticking out in fractions of a second
like a nightmare:
The pickup springboards over a gulch and slams down hard, tires
spinning in waves of mud, careening through a vast field. A
pumpking patch.
The van reappears in a glare of headlights. Its engine screaming
with fire-breathing rage.
The pickup puts on a furious burst of speed. Eating up pumpkins and
spinning out chunks of splattering seeds and pulp.
The van bears down hard, slingshotting across the field, whizzing
past the pickup, cutting right in front of it.
INT. PICKUP
Something heavy is thrown from the back of the van right through the
windshield!
Glass EXPLODES! Jamie SCREAMS, hands going up instinctively to
protect her face. Swerving wildly out of control.
She looks to see a sprawling, mutilated corpse on top of her. Wide,
cold, lifeless eyes -- Mary!
JAMIE
No!!!
EXT. PUMPKIN PATCH (CONTINUOUS)
The pickup rockets at breakneck speed toward the edge of the field.
Suddenly --
JAMIE'S P.O.V.
The Shape stands in the field, tall and unmoving, white mask glowing
hideously in the rush of oncoming headlights.
BACK TO SCENE
The truck plows into the Shape, dragging it under, SLAMMING headlong
into the trunk of a huge oak tree.
Everything is abruptly and shockingly silent. Like a phantom in the
night, the van is gone. The Shape nowhere to be seen.
Steam billows from the pickup, engine TICKING, a heap of shattered
glass and mangled steel. Pinned against the base of the tree is a
shape in human form -- a scarecrow!
MOVE IN on Jamie, face-down against the steering wheel. Coughing on
the noxious fumes, she stirs back to life. Slowly, painfully, she
shoulders the door. Falls onto the ground.
A SPARK ignites. BLINDING FLASH as the gas tank EXPLODES, setting
the truck ablaze. Jamie turns, her face a frozen rictus of horror.
Debris rains down on her.
Suddenly a grim shadow rises from the field. The Shape -- wielding
an enormous butcher knife!
Jamie rolls onto her back, SCREAMING.
JAMIE
No -- NO!!!
Suddenly the knife plunges down and lands with a terrible THUD.
INT. PICKUP
The knapsack catches fire ... but inside there is no baby. Only a
roll of paper towels from the bus depot.
THE SCARECROW
burns; mocking Jamie with its grinning, hand-painted face.
SLOW DISSOLVE TO:
THE SHAPE
looks at us, white mask scintillating against blinding rays of
SUNLIGHT. Rivulets of blood drip off a large carving knife.
PULLING BACK, we see it is a life-sized, knife-wielding effigy of
Michael Myers, sitting astride the "For Sale by Strode Realty"
sign. Stage blood spells out the words: "He's coming!"
EXT. MYERS HOUSE - MORNING (CONTINUOUS)
John Strode looks up with disgust as he inspects the grim monument
that's been left on his front lawn during the night. Puffing on a
cigarette, wearing slippers and a flimsy bath robe, John raises a
large axe.
A group of neighborhood KIDS -- some dressed in Halloween
costumes -- stand a safe distance away. Gathered on the sidewalk.
Gawking, whispering, tittering.
John angrily swings the axe into the signpost. The kids jump with a
collective start.
JOHN
Enough ...
(one CHOP)
... of this ...
(two CHOPS)
... Michael Myers ...
(timber)
... shit!
Suddenly the sign crashes down -- and "Michael Myers" with it. The
kids huddle. John turns on them, brandishing the axe.
JOHN
(continuing)
You stinkin' kids got three seconds to get the
hell off my property! One, two --
That's all it takes. The kids scatter, tripping over one another as
they tear off down the black.
Satisfied with himself, John stubs out his cigarette and hauls the
sign and its now-headless rider to the trash.
Then he trudges up the porch steps, dropping the axe as he enters
the house. Uttering oaths under his breath.
BOOM UP over the surrounding neighborheed. SUPERIMPOSE:
"Haddonfield, Illinois. Halloween."
Last night's storm has given way to an incredibly bright and
picturesque morning. CHILDREN pour out of their homes, bursting
with excitement, dressed in colorful costumes.
Even the Myers house, with its trimmed hedges and fresh coat of
paint, somehow manages to look invite.
A white van slowly rolls up the street. WKNB logo, streamers and a
large orange banner proclaiming: "HADDONFIELD JUNIOR COLLEGE
HARVEST FAIRE '95 - See Harry Simms Live - October 31." A
now-familiar voice booms over loudspeaker:
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
This is Hard Harry Simms harping on ya from the
Big Apple. Tonight's the night and the place
to be is the First Annual Harvest Faire. So
come on out of your broom closets, 'Fielders,
and bogey the night away with me.
MALE CALLER #4 (V.O.)
Harry, I just won first prize for ugliest
costume! Guess who I'm dressed as.
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
Your mother?
MALE CALLER #4 (V.O.)
No, man -- You!!!
EXT. SANITARIUM - MORNING
A car bearing an official state emblem stops outside an imposing
curtain of security gates. A large sign reads: "SMITH'S GROVE -
WARREN COUNTY SANITARIUM."
A hand reaches out and waves a plastic key card in front of an
infrared scanner. Surveillance cameras perched on the walls.
As the gate yawns open and the car drives through, we SEE the asylum
in the distance -- the entire perimeter bounded by woods and barbed
wire fences.
INT. WYNN'S CAR (CONTINUOUS)
Wynn drives. Loomis in the passenger seat, fueling his own
anxieties.
LOOMIS
It was her voice. On the radio. It was
Jamie. Calling for me.
WYNN
You don't know that for sure. It could have
been anyone. A practical joke. Kids.
LOOMIS
It was Jamie Lloyd. She came back, as I knew
she would one day. And whatever has brought
her back has brought Michael back as well.
WYNN
After six years? Sam, she died with him in
that explosion after the --
LOOMIS
That's what someone wants us to believe, but I
tell you Michael is alive. I feel him. I
sense the evil that lives inside, just as I did
all those years as I watched him. Sitting
behind these very same walls. Staring. Growing
stronger.
(off Wynn's silence)
As my colleague, as my friend, please. I can't
go through this again. Not alone. I need your
help to stop him.
Wynn stares. Loomis's words fall on him like a death sentence.
INT. SANITARIUM - RECEPTION AREA (SAME)
Gold insignia on mahogany doors: "TERENCE WYNN - CHIEF OF STAFF."
Wynn and Loomis stride through a plush reception area. DAWN, an
attractive, high-energy secretary, keeps pace, taking notes, handing
Wynn his briefcase, phone messages, etc.
WYNN
Cancel all my appointments. Get Dr. Loomis
anything he needs -- files, tests, records of
every treatment ever administered to a former
patient of ours -- Michael Myers.
DAWN
(stunned)
Michael Myers?
Wynn stops abruptly before heading out the door.
WYNN
That's right. We think there's a very good
chance he might still be alive.
Loomis acknowledges Wynn's silent understanding.
CORRIDOR
Wynn and Loomis move along a sterile white corridor. Wynn uses his
key card to BUZZ them through a series of metal security cages. A
retinue of DOCTORS and NURSES fall in behind.
WYNN
(continuing)
Notify Haddonfield's sheriff; tell him we're on
our way. I want the entire staff on alert. We
go to code red lockdown for twenty-four hours.
(beat)
If he is alive, I plan on bringing him back.
LOOMIS
Or what's left of him.
They cut down a sub-passageway and out a fire exit.
EXT. SANITARIUM - LANDING FIELD (CONTINUOUS)
Loomis and Wynn dash across a windswept field where a Smith's Grove
medical transport helicopter awaits them. The deafening WHINE of
spinning rotors as a TECHNICIAN refuels.
The doctors step inside. The doors close and the helicopter lifts
off, rising high above the cluster of the white coats below.
CUT TO:
INT. MYERS HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING
A blender whips up a revolting concoction of chocolate Yoo-Hoo,
banana yogurt and chewy Gummi-worms as Tim, wearing Levi's baggies
and a "Harry Simms Kicks Ass" T-shirt, raps on the phone.
TIM
Bro', I knew Harry when we lived in the city.
Don't worry -- he'll be there. We've got
everything arranged. Get with me tonight at
the fair and I'll hook you up. Peace.
Tim hangs up, guzzling down his shake as Debra navigates around him,
setting out the breakfast dishes as Kara tries to study.
John, dressed in what might be a respectable business suit if it fit
him better, mutters grumpily as he pours himself a cup of coffee.
JOHN
Shitheads ... Defacing my property. I showed
them ...
DEBRA
Relax, John. They were just kids.
JOHN
Kids are what's ruining this country.
Everywhere you go, it's the same. No goddamn
respect.
Tim lets out a huge BELCH as he finishes drinking his breakfast.
JOHN
(continuing)
See what I'm talkin' about?
DEBRA
You'll never pass that exam on an empty
stomach, Kara.
Debra snatches the book out of Kara's hands.
DEBRA
(continuing; reading)
Cognitive Therapy and Emotional Disorders?
What are they teaching in college these days?
The art of going crazy?
KARA
(indignant)
It's called psychology, Mom. Living in this
house is what's driving me crazy.
JOHN
Who the hell told you to come live here in the
first place?
Kara rises, collects her books, trying to avoid a confrontation.
KARA
I'd better get Danny to school.
JOHN
She don't show her face for five years, then
expects us to roll out the red carpet. You
think going to college is gonna make up for
your mistakes, girl?
DEBRA
John, please don't --
TIM
Yo', just lay off her, Dad.
Suddenly Danny runs in, showing off in his dinosaur costume.
ROARING loudly. Startling John.
JOHN
What the fuck --
Kara immediately seizes Danny's hand and ushers him toward the back
door.
KARA
Let's go, Danny.
DEBRA
Kara, wait. John. Can't we all just sit
down? Try to be a family for once?
KARA
I'm sorry, Mom.
Debra reaches into her purse and hands Kara a couple of dollars.
JOHN
That's it, Debra, keep slipping her the cash.
While you're at it, why don't you just give her
all our goddamn money?!
John explodes, dumping the entire contents of her purse onto the
floor. Debra recoils. Kara steps in. Danny is terrified.
KARA
Stay away from her, you bastard.
JOHN
(re Danny)
I only see one bastard in this house.
Kara flies at him with Medea-like rage. John instantly grabs her by
the neck and shoves her violently against the counter.
TIM
Dad! Let her go!
DEBRA
John! Stop it! Stop it!
Danny looks outside. Frozen in horror. A VOICE whispers.
WHISPERING VOICE (V.O.)
Kill him, Danny ... Kill him ...
Danny moves across the kitchen. Mesmerized. Through the screen
door, the Shape can be seen standing in the back yard.
Kara's eyes bulge as John squeezes her throat. Choking her.
JOHN
You ever raise your hand to me again, I'll kill
you, you understand?
John looks down to see the tip of a butcher knife pointed at his
groin. Danny is holding it -- his eyes dark, emotionless. Ever so
slowly, John releases Kara. Debra and Tim watch in horrified
astonishment.
Suddenly there's a KNOCK at the back door. Kara dives toward
Danny. The knife clatters to the floor as she picks him up, grabs
her book bag and hurtles outside.
EXT. MYERS HOUSE - BACK YARD (CONTINUOUS)
BETH, 19, very "retro," cute in the waifish sense -- milky white
skin, two-tone hair and a dangling nose ring --is nearly bowled off
the back porch as Kara and Danny fly out the door.
BETH
Make way for the Hardin County Express.
(following them across the yard)
Hey, where's Tim? We're supposed to go over
the list of events for tonight --
Beth is taken aback when she sees the bruise on Kara's neck.
BETH
(continuing)
He do that to you?
KARA
Another episode of 'Daddy Knows Best' at the
Strode house.
BETH
Pig. What the hell happened this time?
Suddenly Tim jumps out from behind a clothesline, locking his arms
around Beth, attacking her with kisses.
BETH
(continuing)
Hold on, hot lips. We got work to do.
TIM
Shit, Beth, why do we have to be the ones to
organnize this friggin' fair? It's only
Halloween.
Beth shoves the clipboard at him, a champion of her cause.
BETH
How many times o I have to tell you? It's not
about Halloween. It's about being political.
There are too many people with corn-cobs up
their ass in this town telling us what we can
and can't do. If we want change, it's up to us
to set an example.
INT. MYERS HOUSE - KITCHEN (SAME)
Debra is on the floor, stifling her tears, putting things back in
her purse. John stares coldly out the window.
JOHN
I want her and that kid out of here tonight.
Debra rises, facing him scornfully.
DEBRA
I thought inheriting your father's house ...
the business ... moving out here might change
things. But you're still the same, John.
(with finality)
Kara has come home, and I'll be damned if I let
you turn her away again.
Debra storms off. John bores holes into her with his eyes.
EXT. BLANKENSHIP HOUSE (SAME)
Tim lifts Danny into the back seat of Beth's convertible VW Bug --
plastered with "Greenpeace" and "This is Your Brain on Drugs" bumper
stickers. Kara and Beth in front.
TIM
Whatever happened to women in back?
BETH
Reality check, dillweed. This is 1995.
Pulling away from the curb, Beth honks at MRS. BLANKENSHIP, at least
80, owner of the student boarding house across the street.
BETH
(continuing)
See you tonight, Mrs. Blankenship!
The old woman just stares forward. A gardem hose in hand as she
waters a garden of long-dead flowers.
Kara shields her eyes, distracted, looking up at the old Victorian
house.
KARA'S P.O.V.
Beth drives down a shady, tree-lined avenue, unaware of the white
van that is following them.
KARA
Beth, who's that guy that lives across the hall
from you?
BETH
Why? You interested?
KARA
No! I keep seeing him staring out his window.
Watching me.
BETH
You mean Tommy. Yeah, on the weirdness scale
he's about an eleven. Supposedly some scary
shit happened to him when he was a kid. Messed
up his head. He's harmless, though. Probably
just lonely.
Tim leans forward, ravaging Beth's neck.
TIM
Or horny.
KARA
Tim, do you always have to act like such an
asshole?
TIM
Only when you're around to dump on ... Hey,
chill, sis. I'm just doggin' ya.
Suddenly the van ROARS by and cuts them off. Beth lays on the
HORN. Slams on the brakes. Narrowly avoiding a collision.
BETH
Speed kills, asshole!
Suddenly the van swerves around to face the VW head on. For a
breathless moment the van and the VW sit at opposite ends of the
intersection. Idling. A tense stand-off.
KARA
Who is that ...
Kara strains to get a look at the van's driver. A momentary glimpse
of a pale white face behind the wheel.
BETH
(bravely)
I've got my pepper spray.
Danny sits frozen in the back seat. Suddenly the van shoots
forward, tires SCREAMING. Startled GASPS. The van turns off
sharply at the last second, SCREECHING down the next block.
TIM
(relieved)
Happy fuckin' Halloween.
BETH
Someone's trying to scare us out of having this
fair ... and it's not gonna work.
Beth drives on, grimly determined. Kara looks back at Danny. He
returns her frightened gaze.
INT. TOMMY'S APARTMENT - DAY
Tommy paces in his cramped apartment. Dark circles under his eyes.
A remote control in hand, reviewing his recording of last night's
Harry Simms broadcast:
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
So they're trying to kill you and your baby.
Don't tell me. Your name also happens to be
Rosemary.
JAMIE (V.O.)
No, please listen! They're coming ... coming
for me and my baby.
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
Come on, sweetheart -- what is this? Who's
coming?
JAMIE (V.O.)
It's ... Michael ... Michael Myers!
Frustrated, Tommy plays it again. Adjusts the speed. Tries to make
out something else in the b.g. Jamie's voice comes through. Slow.
Eerie.
JAMIE (V.O.)
(continuing; slowed)
It's ... Michael ... Michael Myers!
Another VOICE, distant and distorted, filters up behind hers.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Bus 611 from Russellville now arriving.
Tommy quickly stops the tape, throws on his worn leather bomber
jacket and bolts straight out the door.
MOVE IN on a pair of old newspaper clippings left on the floor.
Headlines read: "November 5, 1989. JAMIE LLOYD STILL MISSING."
"November 19, 1989. MYERS' NIECE PRESUMED DEAD."
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. FORD EXPLORER / EXT. RURAL HIGHWAY - MORNING
Tommy drives like a bat out of hell. The "Greyhound" sign looms
ahead.
EXT. BUS DEPOT - MORNING (CONTINUOUS)
The Explorer pulls up to the depot. Tommy makes a beeline for the
entrance, cowboy boots splashing through rain puddles.
INT. BUS DEPOT (CONTINUOUS)
Tommy wades his way through a small crowd up to the ticket booth. A
cross-eyed ATTENDANT greets him.
ATTENDANT
Can I help you, sir?
TOMMY
Can you tell me if a bus arrived from
Russellville last night?
The Attendant checks her roster.
ATTENDANT
Sure did. About seven hours ago. You lookin'
for someone --
TOMMY
(walking away)
Thank you.
The Attendant eyes Tommy suspiciously as he enters the phone booth
in the corner. Inside, he picks up the receiver and pretends to
dial a number. Makes a cursory inspection.
TOMMY'S P.O.V. - PHONE BOOTH
On the floor, tiny droplets of what appear to be blood form a dotted
trail out the door.
TOMMY
follows the crimson path around the corner down a dim hallway,
stopping at the door marked "Ladies Room." Checking first to make
sure the coast is clear, he steps furtively inside.
INT. LADIES' ROOM (CONTINUOUS)
Tommy walks past the sink. Water drips into the filthy basin. He
touches something inside, rubs it on his fingers -- blood.
Tommy whirls, startled by a sudden NOISE. Muffled, indistinct.
Like CRYING. Tommy gathers his courage as he slowly moves past the
long row of empty stalls. The CRIES grow louder as he reaches the
final stall. Jamie's escape route -- the window -- still wide open.
A hole in the wall behind the toilet. Tommy reaches in, his hands
locking onto something. Shock and amazement overcome him when he
lifts out a baby -- Jamie's baby.
TOMMY
Jesus ...
The helpless newborn kicks and CRIES, the triangular symbol of Thorn
still caked in blood over his tiny torso.
SUBJECTIVE P.O.V.
Someone partially opens the door, peering in from the hallway as
Tommy removes his jacket and bundles the baby inside.
TOMMY
Okay, little guy. You're okay.
BACK TO SCENE
A CREAK. Tommy looks up. The door slowly closes.
DEPOT HALLWAY
Tommy looks into shadowy stillness. No one there. Hiding the baby,
cradling his jacket, he hurries through the crowd and slinks out the
door marked ENTRANCE.
SHOCK CUT TO:
HELICOPTER P.O.V.
The SOUND of THWACKING BLADES as we FLY past a winding rural highway
over a dense grove of oak trees -- massive, ancient guardians of the
sprawling pumpkin patch that lies beyond.
As we circle the field, red-and-blue gum machines -- police cars,
fire engines and ambulances -- can be seen through gauzy veils of
rising BLACK SMOKE, dissipating with the strong WIND.
Charred in the ground, three intersecting lines stretch a hundred
feet across the plan to form a vivid geoglyphic. The symbol of
Thorn.
HELICOPTER PILOT (V.O.)
(filtered)
Chopper One to Smith's Grove. We've got a
visual. Approximately ten miles due east of
Haddonfield.
INT. HELICOPTER (CONTINUOUS)
Loomis surveys the crash site with morbid fascination. Wynn,
wearing headphones, shouts over the noise.
WYNN
(pointing)
What is that?
LOOMIS
It's a sign. He's come home.
EXT. PUMPKIN PATCH - MORNING (CONTINUOUS)
The helicopter lands, windmilling gusts of ashen earth. Loomis and
Wynn jump out, ducking past the spinning blades.
We FOLLOW them through EMERGENCY CREWS and a few CURIOSITY-SEEKERS
toward the center of attention. A charred body is lifted from the
eviscerated, flame-blackened pikcup truck.
A few feet away, a team of PARAMEDICS work frantically around
another body, hidden among a cluster of pumpkins.
Loomis surges forward, at once halted by an armed DEPUTY.
DEPUTY
Sir, you'll have to step back.
LOOMIS
Please. I need to see the sheriff.
WYNN
Official business.
Wynn flashes his badge. The Deputy gives them a vexed glance.
DEPUTY
Wait here.
Loomis's eyes flicker with nervous anticipation. The Deputy
whispers something to SHERIFF JIM HOLDT, a brooding giant of a man
who dons a Stetson, holstered .44 Special and steel-toed boots that
give new meaning to the term "bad ass."
Even Loomis steps back as the sheriff lumbers toward them.
LOOMIS
(extends his hand)
You must be Sheriff Holdt.
Holdt responds by stubbing out his Marlboro at Loomis's foot.
HOLDT
As a matter of fact, I am. And I take it
you're the infamous Dr. Loomis.
LOOMIS
I'd like to introduce you to Terence Wynn, the
Chief of Staff at --
HOLDT
Smith's Grove. They told me you'd be coming.
Now I suggest you fly right on back to your
crackpot asylum. You people got no business in
my town.
LOOMIS
Michael Myers is my business.
Holdt towers above him.
HOLDT
I want you to listen and listen good, Loomis.
Things have been quiet for six years and that's
the way they're gonna stay. The last thing we
need is you spouting off your ghost stories.
As usual, Loomis isn't easily intimidated.
LOOMIS
I suppose it was a ghost that did all this. A
ghost who called the radio station last night.
Maybe that same ghost is lying over there right
now.
Holdt fumes, ready to boil when --
DEPUTY
Sheriff! She's alive!
Holdt and Loomis wade through the crush of paramedics, running
alongside the stretcher being whisked toward an ambulance.
A large knife extruding from a girl's stomach, packed under sterile
gauze. Skin pasty-white. Lips blue from shock.
LOOMIS
Dear God ... Jamie!
CUT TO:
EXT. HADDONFIELD JUNIOR COLLEGE - PARKING LOT - MORNING
Beth's car pulls into the parking lot of a picturesque, impeccably
landscaped campus, speckled with colorful leaves. A buzz of
excitement fills the autumn air.
Tim and Beth are surprised to see a small crowd -- camped out in
sleeping bags, holding "We Love to Hate Harry" signs.
TIM
Yo, check it out. They've been lining up all
night just to see Harry.
(to Kara)
You lose your mind in that thing, Kara?
Kara is nervously rifling through her enormous book bag.
KARA
I can't find my term paper.
TIM
So copy someone else's. I do it all the time.
Works primo.
Armed with her clipboard, Beth is assailed by her COMMITTEE.
Inundating her with QUESTIONS.
BETH
Give us victory or give us death. See you
tonight, Kara!
Tim and Beth are swept away. A large sheet of paper falls out of
Kara's bag. She picks it up, startled by what she sees.
KARA'S P.O.V. - THE DRAWING
Crayola figures of Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Tim, and Mommy. Knives
piercing them. Blood dripping. Mouths screaming. A black shadow
figure bearing the word "THORN."
On the flip side, the drawing she found last night. Danny's
scribbling of the odd triangular symbol.
BACK TO SCENE
The horrifying images send chills up Kara's spine.
KARA
Thorn ...
Lost in grim reverie, Kara walks on, oblivious to the activity all
around her ...
A banner hangs from the eaves of the library: "HADDONFIELD JR.
COLLEGE - FIRST ANNUAL HARVEST FAIRE."
Tim and Beth supervise as preparations for tonight's event get
underway.
STUDENT VOLUNTEERS nailing together booths, hanging decorations. A
half-assembled Ferris wheel, a merry-go-round, an ominous-looking
House of Horrors.
Rounding the corner onto the quiet path behind the library, Kara
suddenly finds herself alone. WIND whips at her hair. She glances
over her shoulder, as if sensing a presence.
KARA'S P.O.V.
No one is there. Just the rustling of leaves on the ground.
ANGLE ON KARA
Walking off in the distance. Suddenly the Shape steps shockingly
into FRAME, watching her disappear around the corner.
SHOCK CUT TO:
INT. HADDONFIELD MEMORIAL - EMERGENCY ROOM - DAY
Doors BLAST open. The stretcher holding Jamie is pushed through,
Loomis right beside her. Wynn follows, trying to stop him. A
SHOCK-TRAUMA unit swarms in. No time to lose.
PARAMEDIC
Penetrating abdominal trauma. Massive blood
loss. We've given her two units of O-negative
stat and dextran. BP sixty. Pulse one-twenty
... Somehow she pulled through out there all
night!
DR. BONHAM, the ER resident, peels off the sheet, exposing a dark
sea of blood around the enormous knife still jutting from Jamie's
stomach. Bonham stares, incredulous.
DR. BONHAM
How can this girl still be alive?! Type and
cross-match for another six units! Get a CT
scan and move her into surgery.
(re Loomis and Wynn)
And get them out of here!
ORDERLIES move in. Loomis won't release Jamie's hand.
WYNN
Sam, don't -- let them take care of her.
LOOMIS
I'm here now, Jamie. You're going to live.
You have to.
HOSPITAL ENTRANCE / ADMITTANCE DESK
Pneumatic doors fly open. Tommy bursts through, holding the baby in
his jacket. PATIENTS and COPS everywhere. He hones in on the NURSE
behind the admittance desk.
TOMMY
I need to see a doctor.
NURSE
What seems to be the problem?
TOMMY
I-it's a baby -- my baby. There's been -- been
an accident.
NURSE
What kind of an accident?
TOMMY
(explodes)
Just get me a doctor right now!
ADJACENT HALLWAY
Wynn and Loomis skirt past a line of SECURITY GUARDS.
WYNN
There's nothing more you can do for her.
The shrill sound of Wynn's beeper. He clicks it.
WYNN
(continuing)
I'll be right back.
Wynn disappears around the corner. Loomis wanders off alone.
TOMMY (O.S.)
Dr. Loomis!
Loomis reacts, taken aback by the frantic young man bounding toward
him.
LOOMIS
Yes?
TOMMY
Dr. Loomis, thank God you're here. You heard
her, didn't you? It was Jamie.
LOOMIS
I'm sorry, but do I know you --
TOMMY
I'm Tommy. Tommy Doyle. Laurie Strode --
Jamie's mother -- she was baby-sitting for me
that night --
Loomis suddenly recognizes him. It's been a very long time.
LOOMIS
Yes ... Tommy. What are you doing here?
TOMMY
Please -- just tell me the truth. Has Michael
Myers come home?
Loomis pulls Tommy aside into an empty alcove.
LOOMIS
What do you know about Michael?
TOMMY
I know he's alive. People in this town -- they
want us to believe he's dead. But I know.
I've always known.
LOOMIS
Right now at least one girl is dead and Jamie
Lloyd is in there fighting for her life. She
is the last of his blood line. If she dies --
TOMMY
(gravely)
No, Dr. Loomis. She's not the last night.
Tommy hesitates. Loomis's eyes are drawn enigmatically to the
infant in Tommy's arms.
TOMMY
(continuing; startled realization)
Oh, God -- his cousins. The Strodes. They're
living in the Myers house!
Loomis's face flls with horror. Tommy sees the Admittance Nurse,
flanked by a pair of security guards, walking his way.
TOMMY
(continuing)
I gotta go.
Tommy bolts toward the exit. Loomis tries to stop him.
LOOMIS
Tommy, wait!
But he is gone. A hand taps Loomis's shoulder; he reels. Wynn.
WYNN
There you are. Who was that boy?
LOOMIS
An old friend.
Darkness fills Loomis's countenance as we
CUT TO:
EXT. MYERS HOUSE - DAY
We peer OVER THE SHOULDER of the Shape, standing across the street.
Watching Debra, in jeans and a rumpled sweatshirt, collecting
left-over painting supplies from the front porch.
Debra starts to open the CREAKY screen door when she notices the axe
John had used earlier. Clumsily picks it up and slides it through
the top of the crate she is holding.
INT. MYERS HOUSE - FOYER (CONTINUOUS)
Laden with her heavy load, Debra nudges the door shut with her
foot. Then crosses to another door -- the cellar door.
INT. MYERS HOUSE - CELLAR - DAY (CONTINUOUS)
Debra, silhouetted at the top of the stairs, hits a light switch; a
naked bulb springs to life. Slowly she descends the rickety
staircase.
The basement, pitch dark save for a spear of sunlight shooting
through an elevated window, is overrun with cobwebs, rusted tools
and broken bicycle parts. A clunker of a washing machine RATTLES in
the corner.
Debra makes space for the crate in a storage cabinet. Suddenly the
washing machine stops. Nonplissed, she moves toward it. Lifts the
lid. The bed sheets inside are sopping wet.
Opening the electrical fuse box, she flicks a switch back and forth
a few times -- but the washing machine doesn't respond.
DEBRA
Great.
Frustrated, Debra looks down to see a large puddle of water forming
on the floor.
INT. MYERS HOUSE - FOYER (SAME)
Debra hauls a laundry basket upstairs, filled with wet sheets. She
turns, startled. The front door is standing wide open.
Just as she goes to shut it, a man steps out from the living room
behind her. She gasps, dropping the basket; it's Loomis.
LOOMIS
I'm very sorry, Mrs. Strode.
Debra shudders at the sight of the beguiling, wide-eyed man.
LOOMIS
(continuing)
I've been knocking. The door was open. Is
everything all right in here?
DEBRA
(defensively)
Who are you?
LOOMIS
I've come to help your family.
Debra steps aside as Loomis walks in right past her. Holding a
valuminous file bearing the name "MICHAEL AUDREY MYERS."
CUT TO:
INT. TOMMY'S APARTMENT - DAY
The SOUND of JANGLING KEYS. A door UNLOCKING. Tommy scrambles in,
the baby iin one arm, a bag of groceries under the other.
With a single swipe, he clears away the junk on his futin, then
carefully lays down the CRYING infant. He digs through the bag:
Baby Wipes. Diapers. Formula. Bottles.
TOMMY
Shhh. Okay, okay, Kyle. You like that name?
Yeah, I think it suits you.
Quickly he scans the directions on the formula. Pours the liquid
into a bottle, nukes it in the microwave, then returns to the
business at hand.
Tommy grimaces at the mess inside his leather bomber. The baby
CRIES harder.
TOMMY
(continuing)
This is worse for me than it is for you.
Armed with Baby Wipe and a diaper, Tommy goes to work.
UPSTAIRS HALLWAY (SAME)
Mrs. Blankenship traverses the hall outside Tommy's apartment. The
baby's CRIES; Tommy's GROSSED-OUT GROANS can clearly be heard. But
the old woman keeps walking, oblivious to it all.
TOMMY'S APARTMENT (SAME)
Tommy finishes securing the diaper. The baby in his arms, he tests
the formula's temperature and feeds him. The infant sucks
voraciously. The crying stops. Tommy rocks him gently.
TOMMY
It's okay, big guy. Don't you worry. I'm gonna
take care of you.
CUT TO:
INT. MYERS HOUSE - LIVING ROOM (SAME)
Loomis, setting out the case file on Michael Myers -- gruesome
photographs of the murder scenes -- has Debra's undivided attention.
LOOMIS
Michael Myers was just six-years-old when he
stabbed his sister to death in 1963. Here in
this house. For the next fifteen years, I
became obsessed with finding out what was
living inside of him. He was my lift's work
and my ultimate failure. I knew what he was
but I never knew why.
CUT TO:
INT. COLLEGE CLASSROOM (SAME)
Kara sits in the front row of a classrooom as a PROFESSOR drones
on. He looks at Kara, something frightening in his gaze. Watching
as her pen glides dreamily over her notebook.
LOOMIS (V.O.)
There's a living force inside of him. Driving
him. And I fear that somehow it has been
unleashed again.
KARA'S P.O.V. - NOTEBOOK
An entire page of scribbled triangles. The mark of Thorn.
CUT TO:
EXT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - PLAYGROUND - DAY
A group of KIDS engaged in a game of Pogs -- two opponents facing
off, slamming down the colored discs. Lunch money on the ground.
High stakes indeed.
IAN, a lunkish 5th grader, is clearly the man to be reckoned with.
IAN
Who's my next victim?
The other kids make way as Danny takes the empty spot on the
tetherball court, sitting face-to-face with the inplacable Ian.
Danny says nothign as he places his bet and slams the stack of
Pogs. Ian glowers. Easy money. The showdown begins.
CUT TO:
INT. MYERS HOUSE - HALLWAY / KARA'S ROOM
Loomis vivdly reenacts the nightmare as Debra shows him upstairs.
LOOMIS
He crept up these stairs and made his way into
this room. His sister's room. Right here.
Where it all began.
DEBRA
(near tears)
What makes you think he'll come here again?
LOOMIS
This house is sacred to him. It's the source
of his memories -- his rage. Mrs. Strode, I
beg you. Don't let your family suffer the same
fast as Laurie and her daughter.
DEBRA
Jamie? But I thought she was --
LOOMIS
Found this morning. In a field outside
Haddonfield. Stabbed.
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL - OPERATING ROOM - DAY
Dr. Bonham and his team surround Jamie, anesthetized on the
operating table, her condition weak but stable.
Blood flows from the gaping wound in her abdomen. Slowly,
painstakingly, the knife is extracted.
A NURSE takes a sample of a thick, viscous fluid from beneath
Jamie's gown and holds it up to the light for the doctor.
CUT TO:
EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY (SAME)
Danny wins another round. His till growing. More kids gather to
watch. Ian is losing his cool, determined to save face.
IAN
Double or nothing.
Danny pushes over the stack, nothing incisive in his manner. Ian
retorts, angrily slamming his Pogs.
IAN
(continuing)
Look how he sits there. Little freak. Just
like the bogeyman who used to live in his
house. Are you the bogeyman, Danny?
Ian trumps Danny's hand and smiles haughtily. The low, whispering
VOICE which only Danny can hear RUMBLES in his mind.
WHISPERING VOICE (V.O.)
Kill him, Danny ... Kill him now ...
Danny stares blankly across the playground.
DANNY'S P.O.V.
The white van is parked across the street. A tall figure in black
stands beside it, watching Danny. The Stranger!
CUT TO:
INT. CAMPUS LIBRARY - DAY
Kara sits glued behind a computer monitor, the glow of the screen
reflected in her reading glasses.
LOOMIS (V.O.)
This force which drives him, which keeps him
alive, comes from something more powerful --
more deadly than we can possibly imagine. The
embodiment of all that is evil.
KARA'S P.O.V.
A litany of topics scroll up the screen. Kara punches in one of
them. Card catalog entry reads: "Thorn: The Devil's Rune."
EXT. PLAYGROUND (SAME)
Spellbound, Danny slams down the winning Pog. Methodically, he
dumps the money in his Halloween bag and begins to walk away.
Ian sees red. Written across Danny's last Pog: "DIE, FAT ASS."
IAN
You crazy little freak!!!
Ian goes berserk, leaping out at Danny like an enraged lion. The
kids cheer him on as a full-fledged playground brawl ensues.
Danny breaks away. Runs. With an amazing burst of strength, he
swings a tetherball. Th ball CRACKS Ian right between his eyes,
laying the bully flat on his ass.
CUT TO:
INT. MYERS HOUSE (SAME)
Debra leads Loomis to the front door, her face clouded with fear.
DEBRA
What should I do?
LOOMIS
Lock the doors and call your husband. Get your
family as far away from Haddonfield as
possible.
DEBRA
God ... this can't be true.
LOOMIS
Mrs. Strode, Michael Myers is here to kill his
family. And he won't stop until you are all
destroyed. I only thank God that I found you
before he did.
Loomis grips her hand reassuringly, then heads out the door. Debra
turns the deadbolt, securing it with the chain lock. She collapses
against the wall, tears of horror in her eyes.
CUT TO:
EXT. PLAYGROUND / GATE (SAME)
A TEACHER blows a WHISTLE, wading through the screaming, cheering
kids as Danny pummels Ian brutally with his fist.
The teacher helps Ian out of the fray, eyes warbling, nose and mouth
bleeding. Danny takes off running toward the gate.
Suddenly he barrels into the outstretched hands of a towering
shape. Danny looks up in shock at a stone-faced man -- Tommy!
CUT TO:
INT. CAMPUS LIBRARY - DAY
MOVING with Kara through long rows of books -- a veritable labyrinth
of knowledge. She comes down a deserted aisle, searching. Her eyes
spotting what she is looking for.
She pulls out an old, dusty tome and begins flipping through its
pages.
As she reads we SEE the cover: "Runes and Ancient Black Magic."
CUT TO:
EXT. STRODE REALTY - DAY
ESTABLISHING. A modest, one-story building located in the older
business section of town. Cheap Halloween decorations hang in the
windows. An "OPEN" sign on the front door.
MOANS of ecstasy resound along the street, attracting the attention
of the mid-day passerby.
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
I'm coming. Yes. I'm coming. Get ready. I'm
coming. Oh, yes! Yesss!!!
The WKNB station van rolls by; another Harry Simms plug. Some
people laugh. Others wince in disgust.
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
(continuing)
Made ya look!!! I'm coming, all right. And you
better be there. Tonight. Let's do it
together.
INT. STRODE REALTY - DAY (CONTINUOUS)
A sparesely-furnished office screaming for renovation. Business is
obviously slow. John rattles a jammed file cabinet, then kicks it
in a fit of angry frustration before answering the incessantly
RINGING phone.
JOHN
(barking)
Strode Realty.
INT. MYERS HOUSE - KITCHEN
Debra on the other end. Tears reddening her cheeks.
DEBRA
John, it's me. Something terrible has
happened.
INTERCUT their conversation.
JOHN
What is it this time?
DEBRA
A man came by the house. A psychiatrist by the
name of Loomis.
John stiffens, slowly sits down behind his desk.
DEBRA
(continuing)
He told me about the terrible things that
happened here. In our house.
JOHN
What the fuck are you doing letting strangers
in without --
DEBRA
(releasing)
John, they sound Jamie Lloyd this morning!
Someone tried to kill her!
JOHN
What in God's name are you talking about,
woman? When are you gonna stop listening to
those damned talk shows?
DEBRA
I'm getting the children out of here. At least
until we know what we're dealing with. John, I
want you to come with us.
JOHN
(whispers)
Debra, you're fuckin' insane.
DEBRA
You knew, didn't you, John? You knew.
A CLICK as the line suddenly goes DEAD.
John scowls, opens his lower desk drawer, produces a bottle of JD
and a small glass. He blows off dust and begins to pour.
JOHN
Trick-or-treat to you, too.
CUT TO:
INT. MYERS HOUSE - UPSTAIRS (SAME)
CAMERA FOLLOWS Debra in frantic flight from bedroom to bedroom,
throwing open closets and drawers, filling a suitcase with a night's
worth of clothes for her family. She accidentally knocks a family
portrait off a bureau. Glass SHATTERS.
FOYER / LIVING ROOM
Debra drags the suitcase downstairs. Lets out a horrified gasp.
The crate she had previously stored in the cellar is now sitting in
the center of the hallway ...
The axe that had been sticking out of it earlier is now missing!
The telephone RINGS. Eyes riveted to the crate, Debra backs away
down the hall. Into the living room. Picks up the phone.
DEBRA
Hello?
A startling, intensely whispering VOICE:
WHISPERING VOICE (V.O.)
We want the child ...
Debra slams down the phone. Terror paralyzing her.
MUFFLED, HEAVY BREATHING fills the room.
DEBRA
Oh, God ...
Debra races back into the foyer and struggles with the door. In her
panic, she can't release the chain lock.
She turns to see the Shape standing right behind her! Debra
SCREAMS. Breaks for the hall. Through the kitchen. Flings open
the back door.
EXT. BACK YARD - DAY (CONTINUOUS)
Debra half-runs, half-stumbles through the endless rows of
clotheslines. White sheets twist around her like ghosts in the
blustering WIND. She tosses them aside, one after the other.
Approaching the driveway. Safety up ahead.
Whipping aside the last sheet, Debra finds herself staring into the
Shape's death mask. Her eyes bug. Too late to scream. The missing
axe swings at her like a sledge hammer. Blood paints the sheets red
as we
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. COLLEGE CAMPUS - DUSK
Laden with her book bag, Kara exits the library and heads across the
campus green. All around her, the sights and sounds of the
impending carnival come to life.
Rides assembled. Paper witches hang from broomsticks. Goblins lurk
behind syrofoam gravestones.
Kara waves at Beth in the distance, making last-minute
preparations. Student volunteers scurrying in every which
direction. Donning costumes.
A ducking for apples booth. Homebaked goodies set out on picnic
tables. Long rows of pumpkins lined up for a jack-o'-lantern
carving contest.
The centerpiece of all this is a huge, magnificently decorated
HALLOWEEN TREE. Tim and a gaggle of WORKERS stream up ladders,
stringing lights, hoisting up colorful bunting filled with mounds of
candy.
As Kara walks along, her hair being tossed about in the brisk WIND,
she becomes aware of the magical, almost out of time quality that
seems to hang in the air.
EXT. STREET (SAME)
Kara walks past the crows of "Harry-ites" gathered outside the
campus gates, now extending half-way around the block.
The WKNB van rolls by, exhorting the crowd with the voice of the man
they've all come to see:
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
It's almost that time, all you kiddies and
women with big -- hey, what rhymes with
kiddies? So let's count it down as we get down
to the witching hour!
Kara walks on, smiling to herself as the crowd bursts into gales of
wild, exuberant CHEERS.
EXT. LAMPKIN LANE / MYERS HOUSE - DUSK
The setting sun glows behind the trees, casting long shadows as Kara
rounds the corner onto her street.
KIDS already pouring out of their homes, some accompanied by
PARENTS, others joining groups of friends.
Kara ambles up the walk of the Myers house, shoes clapping up the
porch steps as she digs the keys out of her overstuffed bag.
Unbolting the door, she finds that it's secured with the
chain-lock. Kara pushes on it, calling inside.
KARA
Mom, I'm home ... Hello?
No response. Puzzled, she steps off the porch and makes her way
around the side of the house, CAMERA FOLLOWING as she peers into the
windows along the way.
BACK YARD (CONTINUOUS)
Kara walks along the billowing clotheslines, passing the blank spot
where the blood-stained sheets were -- and are no longer.
She reaches the back door. Standing ajar.
KARA
Mom?
Casting one last glance across the yard, she steps inside.
INT. MYERS HOUSE - KITCHEN (SAME)
Everything in its proper place. Kara drops her heavy bag on the
kitchen table and proceeds down the hall.
LIVING ROOM / FOYER - DUSK INTO NIGHT (CONTINUOUS)
The room is quickly falling into darkness. The eeriness almost
palpable. Kara advances into the living room, eyes roaming.
KARA
Mom? ... Danny?
Nothing. Kara moves into the foyer. Her mother's suitcase still
sitting there. Beyond, the cellar door stands wide open. Kara
moves toward it, peering into blackness.
A sudden CRASH from upstairs. Kara jerks the door closed and looks
up the deeply-shadowed staircase.
KARA
(continuing)
Mom? Are you there?
A muffled ROAR. Kara mounts the staircase.
UPSTAIRS HALLWAY (CONTINUOUS)
Kara reaches the second floor landing and moves slowly toward the
door at the end of the hall. Danny's room. An orange glow flickers
around the edges of the closed door.
KARA'S P.O.V.
Her hand grabs the doorknob, turns it. The door swings open.
DANNY'S BEDROOM
Someone sitting on the edge of Danny's bed. A man. His back
turned. Dinosaurs ROAR on Sega Genesis. Danny squatting on the
floor, engrossed in his game.
Kara stares at the intruder in horrified disbelief.
KARA
Who the hell are you?
The man watching over Danny turns toward Kara. It's Tommy.
TOMMY
I-I'm your neighbor from across the street. My
name's Tommy. Tommy Doyle.
Panicked, Kara makes a wall of herself between Tommy and Danny. The
little boy isn't the least bit fazed.
KARA
What are you doing with my son? Where's my
mother?
Tommy backs off a tick, calmly trying to explain.
TOMMY
She wasn't here when I brought Danny home
from --
KARA
(fortissimo)
Danny, go downstairs -- Now!
Danny finally looks up, exasperated.
DANNY
Tommy's my new friend. We've been playing 'til
you got home. He knows all about dinosaurs.
One look at Danny's black eye and Kara goes ballistic.
KARA
My, God! What have you done to him?
TOMMY
I didn't -- He got in a fight and I --
KARA
You stay away from him!
Kara starts to drag Danny away by the arm. He resists angrily.
DANNY
It wasn't Tommy! It was the voice man.
Kara sees Tommy hunkering down in the corner, lifting something out
of a crate -- a makeship crib. He turns, his expression very
grave. Holding the baby.
TOMMY
I want you to listen very carefully to
everything I'm about to tell you.
Kara's face is a melange of wonder and fear as we
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. JAMIE'S HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT
Jamie lies comatose, ensconced in the dim GLOW of monitors.
Sustained by I.V.s and a breathing apparatus.
MOVE IN on Jamie. EKG registers rapid heartbeat. MOVE IN TIGHT on
her eyes, darting beneath closed lids.
INT. CORRIDOR - DISTORTED VISION (DREAM SEQUENCE)
Blood-chilling SCREAMS as we MOVE rapidly through a BLINDING TUNNEL
OF LIGHT. Blurred, indistinct images. FIGURES wearing long white
coats flash along sterile walls.
As we BLAST around corners, we realize we are seeing from the P.O.V.
of a girl being pushed forward on a gurney. It is Jamie.
Her arm injected with a sedative. Eyes lolling. Succumbing.
JAMIE'S P.O.V. - MOVING (DREAM SEQUENCE)
Even more DISTORTED now, images swirling at random. Cold, staring
FACES. Flashing lights on a wall panel: "3-2-1-B" -- an elevator.
Going down. Down. Beneath the basement level.
The doors open. The gurney SLAMS out into DARKNESS. VOICES ECHO.
Lighted torches flicker on craggy walls.
JAMIE (O.S.)
Please -- don't let him do this to me.
VOICE (O.S.)
We're not going to hurt you, Jamie. He chose
you. Now it's time.
SHAPE'S P.O.V.
Pacing back and forth behind iron bars, agitated, disturbed. SEEING
Jamie strapped to a table. Surrounded by robed figures. CHANTING.
Weakly, Jamie reaches out toward the cell.
JAMIE
Please, Michael ... Help me.
Suddenly a long SHADOW fills the room. The P.O.V. becomes more
restless as the Stranger glides toward Jamie and disrobes. The
figures close the circle. Jamie SCREAMS in terror.
The Shape's hands SLAM violently against the iron bars, a horrific
SHUDDER of metal as we
SHOCK CUT TO:
INT. JAMIE'S HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT (SAME)
Jamie's eyes flash open! A dark shadow fills the room. The
Stranger descends on her!
Gloved hand covers Jamie's mouth. A switchblade FLICKS open.
WHISPERING VOICE (O.S.)
Your work is done, Jamie.
The glinting blade SLASHES across Jamie's throat, cutting off her
soundless scream!
Then the Stranger flows out of the room. Spurs CLANKING. Like a
thief in the night. The shrill sound of a BEEPER going off as we
SLOW DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. HADDONFIELD STREETS - NIGHT - SERIES OF SHOTS
The dark blanket of night envelops the little town. The LIGHTS of
the fair twinkle in the distance, bright and beckoning.
Families -- men, women and children alike -- turn out from their
homes wearing COSTUMES, joining a growing procession along the
peaceful streets of Haddonfield.
A large group of PROTESTORS carry PICKET SIGNS in front of the
campus gates. Rallying against the celebration.
Haddonfield's finest out in full force, squad cars sweeping
alongside a black STRETCH LIMO as it makes its way through town.
Tinted windows make it impossible to see inside.
EXT. CAMPUS PARKING LOT / HARVEST FAIR ENTRANCE - NIGHT
Tim and Beth, standouts as punk versions of Frankenstein and his
bride, stride purposefully toward the fair entrance. Beth is a
jumble of nerves as she runs down her checklist of events.
BETH
Seven-thirty is the costume pageant ... Carving
jack-o'-lanterns at eight ... Photos for the
school paper at nine ... Then Harry lights the
tree at nine- thirty ... I just know I'm
forgetting something!
TIM
Relax. Everything's cool. Didn't I tell you
Harry would be here?
The limo crawls into the parking lot. A stampede of overzealous
FANS surge past them.
BETH
That's what worries me.
Tim and Beth move into the fair, with all its noise and colorful
movement.
ANOTHER ANGLE
KIDS waving signs and T-shirts. Throwing themselves at the
windows. Frenzied CLAMORING. Harry-mania abound.
The WKNB van parks parallel to the steps of the library, adorned
with HAREM GIRLS and a large golden throne. The side door opens. A
red carpet is rolled out.
A tall, imposing figure emerges from the van and walks up the
steps. Spurs CLANKING on black boots. "Jesse James" style duster.
Hat cocked slightly.
HARRY SIMMS (V.O.)
Hellllo, Haddonfield!!!
The crowd turns in a mass of confusion. Standing above them, waving
from a microphone, is HARRY. Dark sunglasses. Gaunt, glacial
features and an outrageous mane of black hair.
Suddenly Harry throws open his duster -- flashing them -- revealing
that he has nothing on beneath except his boots and a pair of bright
orange boxer shorts that say "HAPPY HALLOWEEN."
The kids go insane.
ANGLE ON LOOMIS
Making his way through the teeming crowd. Walkie-talkie in hand.
The helicopter zooms overhead. Wynn's voice squawks over garbled
RADIO CHATTER. Conducting a surveillance by air.
WYNN (V.O.)
(filtered)
There's more people moving eastbound down Old
Reservoir Road past the elementary school.
LOOMIS
(into walkie-talkie)
Any word on the location of the Strodes?
WYNN (V.O.)
No one's home. Checked it out myself.
LOOMIS
Good. I want around-the-clock surveillance on
that house.
Suddenly Loomis is waylaid by a giant wall of a man -- Sheriff
Holdt. Loomis meets his fiery gaze.
HOLDT
I'm warning you, Loomis -- stay out of my way.
You may have had free reign when Ben Meeker was
sheriff, God rest his soul, but I'm in charge
now. And I'm not about to stand by and watch
you turn this night into some kind of sadistic
witch hunt.
WYNN (V.O.)
Sam, I just got word from the hospital. You'd
better get over there right away.
LOOMIS
(into walkie-talkie)
What's wrong? What's happened to Jamie?
WYNN (V.O.)
I'll meet you over there.
Loomis tears off. Holdt stares brazenly, throwing down his
cigarette. Crushes it under his boot and slowly follows him.
CUT TO:
INT. BLANKENSHIP HOUSE - LOBBY - NIGHT
Carrying the CRYING baby, Tommy leads Kara and Danny into the lobby
of the vintage boarding home. Polished wood. Framed old
paintings. Wall-to-wall Tiffany lamps.
Mrs. Blankenship sits behind the front desk, oblivious to the
GRINDING and SCREAMING on the television as "The Texas Chain Saw
Massacre" reaches its horrific climax on the annual Horrorthon.
TOMMY
Quiet around here tonight, huh, Mrs. B.?
As usual, the senile old woman doesn't reply.
KARA
(indignantly; to Tommy)
Do you mind telling me what this is all about?
Tim and Beth are waiting for us.
Tommy ushers Kara and Danny up the stairs. Mrs. Blankenship stares
at the boy -- the kind of stare that would send most kids running
for their moms. But Danny is undaunted.
INT. TOMMY'S APARTMENT (CONTINUOUS)
The door opens. Kara is repulsed by the sight of Tommy's musty,
unkempt apartment.
DANNY
Mom, I want to go to the fair ...
KARA
(to Tommy)
You can't expect us to stay here --
Tommy adjusts the blinds on the window looking out on the Myers
house.
TOMMY
I want you to watch your house. You can see
everything from this window.
Kara glares, reminded of last night.
KARA
Do you know how insane this is? Who am I
supposed to be looking for?
TOMMY
Him.
Tommy flashes a newspaper article in front of her. One we've seen
eariler: "MICHAEL MYERS - DEAD OF ALIVE?"
The baby's SCREAMS are verging on overload. Tommy dashes to the
recessed kitchen area and heats up another bottle.
As Kara reads, Danny tugs at his mother's blouse.
DANNY
Come on, Mom. We're gonna miss all the fun
stuff!
KARA
(snapping)
Danny, you're just going to have to wait!
Danny plods off. Kara hands Tommy a nipple for the bottle. Their
eyes lock for a beat. He takes it.
TOMMY
Shhh. It's okay, Kyle. Just give me one
more --
(the microwave BEEPS)
-- second. There you go, big guy.
Kara looks on as Tommy attempts to feed the baby. Despite his
clumsiness, she's undeniably moved.
Behind them, Danny's imagination kicks into high gear as he drives a
Power Ranger over an invisible race track. On the floor. Across
the windowsill. Glancing across the street.
DANNY'S P.O.V. - THE MYERS HOUSE
Standing below on the front lawn is the Shape, silhouetted under a
moonlit tree. Looking right at Danny.
BACK TO SCENE
Danny backs away, terrified. Tommy and Kara are too concerned with
the baby to notice.
TOMMY
God, what's wrong with him?
KARA
Here. Let me try.
Tommy gingerly hands the baby over to her. Instantaneously, Kyle's
CRIES subside.
KARA
(continuing; fawning)
There. All it takes is a mother's touch.
For one fleeting moment, Tommy and Kara find themselves smiling at
one another. Unaware as Danny glides silently out the door.
Tommy's expression darkens once again. A man possessed.
TOMMY
Kyle's mother might be dead for all I know.
Now I'm afraid he could be next.
KARA
Why would anyone want to kill an innocent baby?
TOMMY
Not just Kyle. All of you. His entire family.
(reaching toward Kyle)
Here. Look at this.
Tommy opens the baby's quilt, revealing the blood mark smeared over
his torso. Kara's face registers terrified recognition.
TOMMY
(continuing)
It was there when I found him this morning. It
looks like some kind of letter or number or --
KARA
It's a rune ... Thorn.
CUT TO:
INT. JAMIE'S HOSPITAL ROOM / HALLWAY - NIGHT
POLICE on the scene. A crying NURSE gives a statement. A CRIME
SCENE PHOTOGRAPHER snapps photographs as Jamie's bloody corpse is
covered over with a white sheet.
Loomis stands frozen in horror. Tears in his eyes.
LOOMIS
Jamie ... I failed you again. I never should
have left you.
He spins, pouncing on Sheriff Holdt.
LOOMIS
(continuing)
Now will you do something?! How many more
innocent people have to die?!
Wynn restrains him. Pulls him away. The sheriff doesn't budge.
WYNN
Don't do this to yourself, Sam. Let's go.
Come on.
Wynn ushers Loomis out of the room. Holdt stares apathetically.
HALLWAY (CONTINUOUS)
Wynn tries to calm Loomis down. Jamie's doctor approaches.
DR. BONHAM
Dr. Loomis?
WYNN
What is it?
DR. BONHAM
I'm very sorry ...
LOOMIS
You let it get to her. How could you?
DR. BONHAM
Dr. Loomis, there's something else you should
know. During surgery, we discovered that
Jamie's uterus was hemorrhaging. We found
this.
(displays a small vital)
It's placental fluid.
LOOMIS
God in heaven. You don't tell me she was --
DR. BONHAM
I estimate she gave birth no more than a few
hours before the attack.
WYNN
Then where's her baby?
Jamie's covered body is wheeled out past them. Loomis regards Wynn
with a look of abject fear.
LOOMIS
I think I may already know ...
CUT TO:
INT. TOMMY'S APARTMENT (SAME)
CLOSE ON a chapter heading. "Thorn - The Devil's Rune." Beneath
it, a bold depiction of the familiar Thorn triangle.
PULL BACK to REVEAL Tommy poring over the old library book. Kara
paces, rocking the baby, feeding him with the bottle.
KARA
Runes were a kind of early alphabet that
originated in Northern Europe thousands of
years ago. They were symbols -- carved out of
stone or pieces of wood. Of all the runes,
Thorn had the most negative influence. Cults
used them in blood rituals to portend future
events and invoke magic.
TOMMY
Black magic ...
(reads)
'In ancient times, Thorn was believed to cause
sickness, famine and death. Translated
literally, it was the name of a demon spirit
that delivered human sacrifices ... on the
Celtic celebration of Samhain.'
KARA
Halloween.
TOMMY
'When applied directly to another person, Thorn
could be used to call upon them confusion and
destruction -- to literally visit them with the
Devil.'
Tommy jumps up, frantically moving around the apartment, collecting
his jacket, his keys -- a gun.
KARA
(terrified)
Where are you going?
TOMMY
To find the rest of your family before Michael
Myers does -- or whoever's been controlling
him.
An ominous CLICK as Tommy loads a cartridge into his gun. He bolts
toward the door. Finds it standing wide open. Kara freezes,
noticing for the first time that Danny is missing.
KARA
Oh, God -- Where's Danny? Kara flies down the
hall, the baby in her arms. Tommy moves out
right behind her.
INT. BLANKENSHIP HOUSE - LOBBY (CONTINUOUS)
Kara and Tommy barrel downstairs, searching frantically.
KARA
Danny?! Danny!
TOMMY
Mrs. Blankenship, have you seen the little boy
who came in with me and --
They find Mrs. Blankenship and Danny sitting side by side, watching
the Horrorthon. A bowl of popcorn between them.
KARA
(grabs him)
Danny, don't ever walk off without telling me
where you're going!
Danny looks at her. A blank, hollow stare. The old woman's eyes
glitter madly.
MRS. BLANKENSHIP
The voice. He hears the voice. Just like the
other little boy who used to live in that
house.
Tommy throws on his jacket and opens the front door.
TOMMY
Take the kids upstairs, lock the door and wait
for me.
(beat)
And Kara, whatever you do -- don't go back to
your house.
Kara watches fearfully as Tommy heads out the door. Leaving her
alone with the children.
EXT. HOUSES / STREET - NIGHT
Wind MOANS. Dead leaves blow across the WINDY lane as Tommy flies
down the path of the Blankenship house and hops into his Explorer.
The Shape suddenly RISES INTO FRAME. Watching him peel off down the
block. Taillights disappearing.
A moment later, another car rambles up the street, swerving
erratically into the driveway of the Myers house.
The Shape watches.
INT. GARAGE - NIGHT (CONTINUOUS)
The car parks. Sits in silence. Suddenly the driver's side door
opens, emblazoned with the "Strode Realty" emblem.
John spills out, collar unbuttoned, tie dangling. Picking himself
up, he staggers out of the garage. Laughing. Singing.
JOHN
... Pretty woman, walking down the street ...
Pretty woman, the kind I'd like to meet.
EXT. MYERS HOUSE (CONTINUOUS)
FOLLOW John's circuitous route across the front lawn, stumbling over
one of Danny's toys on his way up the porch steps.
JOHN
Damn kid ... this is my house ...
John fumbles wth his key, estimates the location of the lock. He
turns the knob -- but the door's jammed. Chain-locked.
JOHN
(continuing)
What the fuck ...
(yelling inside)
... Debra, open this goddamn door before I
break it down! You got to three ...
(no response)
... One ... Two ...
(still no response)
... Two and a half ...
John slams his weight against the door. It doesn't budge.
Grumbling, John totters off the porch, trying to hold himself
steady. Skirting along the side of the house.
INT. MYERS HOUSE - KITCHEN (CONTINUOUS)
John sways in through the back door and flicks on a light. Strains
for lucidity. No one in the kitchen.
JOHN
Debra -- I'm home!
No answer. John shrugs and moves to the stove. Opens the lid on a
pasta cooker. Nothing inside.
JOHN
(continuing; mutters)
Work all day and not even any supper ...
Frustrated, John opens the freezer and removes a frozen dinner.
Tears open the box and pops it in the microwave. Then he flounders
down the dark alley, knocking picture frames awry.
LIVING ROOM / FOYER
Darkness, save for a glowing jack-o'-lantern. John stands there,
listing. Bewildered.
Then he switches on a lamp, kicks off his shoes and crashes onto his
lumpy old recliner.
JOHN
All right ... You can all come out now ...
Still no reply. John sneers, flicks on the television with the
remote control and settles back into his chair.
INSERT - TELEVISION
A scene from another horror movie. A boy shreds his pumpkin mask as
a mass of beetles and snakes pour out of his skull.
BACK TO SCENE
JOHN
What is this shit?
Disgusted, he switches channels to the local NEWS. A shrill BEEP
from the kitchen startles him. The microwave.
KITCHEN
John waddles to a drawer and removes a set of utensils. Then he
reaches for the microwave, opens it. But his dinner is gone.
Spinning around, he sees the piping hot entree already sitting out
on the kitchen table. John double-takes, mentally retracing his
steps. Shrugs.
FOLLOW JOHN
as he picks up his tray and plods back down the hall. Suddenly he
trips over something -- the suitcase Debra had packed earlier,
sitting smack-dead in the center of the hall.
JOHN
So this is the game you wanna play. Fine. Go
ahead. Keep it up all night ...
LIVING ROOM
John settles back into his chair and begins to eat ravenously.
SCREAMS from the television. He reacts.
INSERT - TELEVISION
Someone has switched it back to the horror movie. A
COMPUTER-GENERATED PUMPKIN causes more masked heads to EXPLODE.
BACK TO SCENE
John shakes the remote. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches a
shadowy figure darting by in the darkened foyer.
JOHN
Is that you, you little brat? Danny?!
John rises, about to go for him when suddenly the power cuts out --
and the entire house is plunged into blackness.
JOHN
(continuing)
When I get my hands on you, kid, you're gonna
wish you were never born!
John pulls a rechargeable flashlight from the wall and goes to the
cellar door. It stands open. An invitation to enter.
JOHN
(continuing)
Oh, I'm scared. I'm really scared.
With that, John steps down into the basement.
INT. CELLAR (CONTINUOUS)
John tentatively descends the stairs. Barefoot. The flashlight
beam preceding his every step. A RUMBLING below.
The cellar is lit only by a shaft of moonlight cutting through the
single dusty window. John probes around, shining the flashlight
over cobwebs, boxes -- the puddle of water at his feet. Now
flooding the entire floor.
John SLOSHES through the water toward the washing machine -- which
is running at full tact.
JOHN
What the hell --
He opens the washer lid and lifts out a water-logged sheet. It
drips red onto the white appliance -- blood.
John backs away, loses his footing, and slips in the water --
landing right at the Shape's feet. John SCREAMS as the Shape grabs
him by the neck, lifts him off the floor with one hand, then carries
him across the basement and SLAMS him brutally against the open fuse
box.
The Shape's free hand lifts an enormous butcher knife. A loud WHAP
as it's driven to the hilt into John's chest, through the fuse box.
Sparks wain from the wall. Electricity courses through John's
writing body.
EXT. MYERS HOUSE (SAME)
Lights flash on and off in the windows. Suddenly the entire house
is plunged into darkness.
INT. MYERS HOUSE - CELLAR (SAME)
John's toes curl. The skin around where the knife penetrates
FRIES. The Shape steps back, head tilted, BREATHING steadily,
curiously observing John's hanging, lifeless body.
CUT TO:
EXT. HARVEST FAIR - NIGHT
Tommy grabs the ticket he's just paid for, hands it to an ATTENDANT
and moves through the turnstiles amid a steady stream of REVELLERS.
Loud MUSIC, the aroma of apple cider and pumpkin pie fills the air.
Boots selling food and crafts. Children carving jack-o'-lanterns.
Parents beaming with pride.
Trendy co-eds playing games. Ducking for apples. Shooting
pumpkin-faced balloons with water pistols.
EXT. LIBRARY STEPS
Tim and Beth sit on either side of Harry as he interviews them
during a live BROADCAST. A large crowd gathered below.
HARRY SIMMS
(into mike)
I'm here with Tim and Beth -- the organizers of
tonight's event. How does it feel knowing
you've finally pulled Halloween out of the
closet?
TIM
(into mike)
Yo, Harry, it's great! And having you here
with us is dope. Totally raw. You're the
ultimate juice!
HARRY SIMMS
I'll remember that the next time my wife tells
me I didn't make her climax.
BETH
(impassioned)
What Tim means is that we've taken a firm stand
against censorship. Not only for Haddonfield,
but for every town in the nation. Our
generation will not let the powers-that-be
control our minds, dictate what clothes we
wear, what music we listen to, or what holidays
we celebrate.
Beth's rousing speech is met by gales of enthusiastic CHEERS.
HARRY
(off-handedly)
Have you ever considered running for public
office?
CUT TO:
EXT. HADDONFIELD STREETS - VARIOUS SHOTS - NIGHT
The distant SOUNDS of the celebration are carried on the wings of
the WIND. Howling through dark, empty streets. Rows of deserted
houses. Not a soul in sight. Preternatural stillness.
INT. BLANKENSHIP HOUSE - NIGHT
Kara looks nervously out a window, then walks into the parlor where
she finds Danny sitting in the dark, glued to the Horrorthon.
Flames CRACKLE in the fireplace, casting weird shadows.
Mrs. Blankenship sits in a wooden rocker, cradling the infant,
humming a lullaby.
If we look closely enough, behind her in the window we can see the
hazy shadow of the Shape looking in.
KARA
Mrs. Blankenship, what did you mean about the
little boy who used to live across the street?
The old woman doesn't seem to hear her. Lost in her own world.
KARA
(continuing; insistent)
Mrs. Blankenship, please. This is important!
Mrs. Blankenship looks up sharply, startling Kara.
MRS. BLANKENSHIP
He heard the voice. Same as your boy hears.
KARA
What voice? What are you talking about?
MRS. BLANKENSHIP
The voice that spoke to Michael Myers. The one
that told him to kill his family.
Kara stares at her, numbed. She gazes over at Danny, his eyes
riveted -- not to the TV screen. Looking past it. Across the
street at the Myers house. The haunting VOICE whispers to him.
WHISPERING VOICE (V.O.)
I'm coming for you, Danny ... I'm coming.
CUT TO:
EXT. HARVEST FAIR - NIGHT
Tim and Beth ride high atop the Ferris wheel. Their smiling faces
aglow in a dizzying whirlwind of LIGHTS. DARK CLOUDS are gathering
in the sky, covering the moon and stars. A light RAIN begins to
fall.
ANGLE ON TOMMY
Walking, searching, hunting. Past a large tent where children are
gathering. A sign reads: COSTUME PAGEANT.
Tommy reacts to a terrified SCREAM. Just a couple of teenage BOYS
pulling an innocuously fightened GIRL onto another ride.
THE STRANGER
walks steadily past the bright lights of the Ferris wheel.
TOMMY
pushes through a dense crowd. Suddenly he bumps shoulders with the
Stranger. More people pass. There was something very sinister
about that man.
Tommy turns to look again, eyes widening in terror.
TOMMY'S P.O.V. - STRANGER'S WRIST
Branded with the mark of Thorn!
TOMMY
removes his gun. Flows through the crowd like a vengeful wraith.
People see the gun in his hand and back away. Tommy surges
forward. The Stranger walks faster. Gaining ground. Toward the
Halloween tree.
WORKERS hauling wheelbarrows loaded with jack-o'-lanterns cross his
path. Tommy stumbles, pumpkins spilling out all around him.
The Stranger is getting away! Tommy picks himself up, raises the
gun and begins FIRING shots into the air. People SCREAM, scattering
like insects, ducking for cover.
TOMMY
Stop that man! Stop him!!!
Tommy races through the horrified crowd. The Stranger keeps moving,
never once looking back.
Suddenly SIRENS. Squad cars converge. Sheriff Holdt and a slew of
OFFICERS surround Tommy. Weapons trained.
HOLDT
Throw down the gun! Now!!!
Tommy drops the gun. Puts his arms up in surrender. The cops swarm
in, taking him.
TOMMY
Stop that man! He's the one!
ANGLE ON FERRIS WHEEL
Beth and Tim exit the ride and follow the crowd toward the flashing
LIGHTS of the police cruisers.
TIM
Who's gettin' busted?
Beth is stunned to see Tommy being searched spread-eagle over the
sheriff's car.
BETH
Jesus, that's my neighbor. Tommy.
TIM
Isn't he that psycho who's been spying on my
sister?
BETH
(worried)
Kara and Danny never showed up tonight. We'd
better go home and check on them. There's
nothing else for us to do here.
TIM
But they're gonna light the tree in a few
minutes --
BETH
(suggestively)
We can light our own tree at home.
She brushes against Tim's crotch and saunters away. Tim glances
back at Tommy, then follows her like a hungry puppy.
CUT TO:
INT. BLANKENSHIP HOUSE - TOMMY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
Kara rushes Danny and the baby inside. The old spinster close at
her heels. Releasing her dark secret.
MRS. BLANKENSHIP
I was baby-sitting for him that night. Little
Mikey Myers from across the street. That's
when the voice told him what to do. Same as
his great- grandfather.
KARA
His what?!
MRS. BLANKENSHIP
Eighteen-ninety-five. A hundred years ago to
this night. All Hallows Eve. Murdered his
family in that very same house. Then the
townspeople burned him alive. Our mother
always told us when we were children, 'Don't go
near the Myers house.' We never did.
CUT TO:
EXT. HARVEST FAIR - NIGHT (SAME)
The Stranger glides unnoticed among a large crowd gathered for the
lighting of the Halloween tree. People putting up umbrellas. A
STORM fast approaching.
Hundreds of anxious kids stand beneath the oak tree with open bags
and pillow cases, waiting for the candy to drop on them.
STALKING P.O.V
MOVING behind the tree where a long-haired figure stands in the
darkness. Waiting to make a presentation.
HARRY
turns, sensing a presence. A knife shoots out of the darkness,
jabbing him right between the legs.
CUT TO:
TOMMY
is shoved into the back of the squad car. Suddenly Loomis appears.
Prevailing upon the sheriff.
LOOMIS
Wait! This boy is being placed in my custody.
Tommy looks out, stunned.
HOLDT
What are you trying to pull now, Loomis?
LOOMIS
Uncuff him! This is a matter of life or death.
SHOCK CUT TO:
HARRY
The knife is lifted straight up, splitting his torso in two, eyes
bugging with shock. He slumps to the ground in a huge pool of
blood.
CUT BACK TO:
TOMMY AND LOOMIS
The sheriff uncuffs Tommy and shoves him out of the car.
HOLDT
You'd better as fuck have an explanation for
this, Doctor.
Loomis begins to usher Tommy through the gaping crowd.
TOMMY
Dr. Loomis, there's something you should
know --
Tommy is prodded forward by Loomis's .357.
LOOMIS
I know enough already. Just shut your mouth
and take me to that baby.
They move swiftly through the gaping crowd.
ANGLE ON TREE
A growing murmur of concern spreads. "Where's Harry?" The children are
becoming impatient, and the impending STORM isn't doing much to calm
anyone's nerves. Harry's people are at a loss to explain their star's
whereabouts.
ANGLE ON LOOMIS AND TOMMY
On the fringes of the crowd. Walking away.
"Oohs" and "ahhs" as the tree suddenly comes to life with thousands of
orange lights. From the boughs of the tree, ropes are pulled. Bunting
tears open, dropping hails of CANDY on the SHRIEKING kids.
Tommy glances back. His eyes drawn to something. Grotesque and misshapen. In the
tree.
TOMMY
Oh my God --
ANGLE ON TREE
Kids of all ages scurry around the stage, laughing and screaming as a
rainbow of candy RAINS down on them. Diving for it. Fighting over it.
Scooping it up in big handfuls.
ANGLE ON TOMMY AND LOOMIS
Tommy instantly breaks away and tears back through the crowd.
LOOMIS
Tommy!
Loomis goes for him. Sheriff Holdt sees what is happening and
flies toward them in pursuit.
ANGLE ON TREE
A BALLERINA looks down at her white pillow case in horrified
astonishment. Her hands painted red as she reaches inside. All
of her candy is covered with blood!
The other kids back away in revulsion -- the entire stage begins
to drip with blood!
The adults don't seem to notice what is happening, more concerned
with the sudden burst of POURING RAIN.
Tommy pushes his way through the crowd, SCREAMING.
TOMMY
Get them out of there! Get out!!!
Sheriff Holdt tries to intercept Tommy just as he leaps up onto
the stage, pushing kids out of the way.
Parents' faces register shock when they see their children running
toward them, SCREAMING hysterically, soaked with blood.
Loomis sees what Tommy sees. Words cannot convey the horror in his
eyes.
Just then, a BOLT OF LIGHTNING ignites the tree. SPARKS flash.
Tiny pumpkin lights EXPLODE in a startling chain reaction.
Tommy helps the last of the kids off the stage when something falls
from the gnarled branches: a dangling, rotating, wrapped-up thing.
The mutilated remains of Harry Simms!
Horrified, Tommy dashes headlong off the stage. Runs with Loomis
with the trampling crowd.
Struck dumb with terror, Holdt looks out upon the mass destruction.
The bloody corpse hanging from the tree. People running, SCREAMING,
carrying their children toward the exits.
EXT. CAMPUS PARKING LOT (SAME)
Bumper to bumper cars. Horns BLARING. Women SCREAMING. Men SHOUTING.
Children CRYING. Pandemonium.
Loomis and Tommy appear out of this jumble of confusion. More people
running along the sidewalks.
TOMMY
Oh, God -- Kara!!!
A car SCREECHES to a halt as Tommy barrels across the street. Loomis
right behind him. Running toward home.
Once again, terror reigns in Haddonfield, Illinois.
CUT TO:
INT. BLANKENSHIP HOUSE - TOMMY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
Kara shivers as she curls up beside Danny on the futon, holding the
sleeping baby close at her bosom. THUNDER rattles the old house.
DANNY
Mommy, I'm scared.
KARA
There's nothing to be scared of, baby. It's just another
storm. Try to get some sleep.
DANNY
I can't. The voice man is coming to get me.
KARA
No one's coming to get you. Not while I'm around.
DANNY
Promise?
KARA
(kisses him)
I promise.
Kara stands up and goes to the window, looking out into the
pouring RAIN.
KARA'S P.O.V. - THE MYERS HOUSE
Dark and foreboding. LIGHTNING FLASHES. Beth's car parked in
front.
ANGLE ON KARA
She stares at the car, puzzled. Quickly she moves away from the
window, heads out the door.
HALLWAY
She KNOCKS loudly on the door across the hall. A sign that reads:
"Beth's Place."
KARA
Beth, are you in there?
She knocks again. No response. Another CLAP OF THUNDER. Kara
shudders, quickly returns to Tommy's apartment and locks the door.
INT. MYERS HOUSE - FOYER (CONTINUOUS)
Sounds of PASSION as we FOLLOW a trail of hastily-discarded costume
pieces across the darkened foyer. Tim and Beth are on the stairs,
half-naked, kissing fervently.
BETH
(coming up for air)
Guess they -- went to the fair after all.
TIM
(hot and heavy)
Guess so ...
Tim nuzzles his face in Beth's chest. She's feeling apprehensive.
BETH
What if your parents come home?
TIM
Then they can watch.
Laughing, they heard up the stairs, kissing, fondling each other.
Slowly we PULL BACK into the foyer. THUNDER and LIGHTNING CLASH,
revealing the Shape, knife held at ready. Watching.
INT. TOMMY'S APARTMENT (SAME)
She picks up the cordless phone, switches on and dials her home
number. We HEAR the phone RINGING on the other end.
INT. MYERS HOUSE - KARA'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Beth collapses with Tim onto Kara's bed. The PHONE RINGS. Tim
ignores it, consumed by passion. Beth sits up nervously.
BETH
Aren't you gonna answer that?
TIM
Answer what?
BETH
(fends him off)
What if it's Kara?
Frustrated, Tim jumps off the bed and stomps into the bathroom,
taking a candle with him.
TIM
Fine. You answer it. I'll make friends with my soap on a
rope.
Tim slams the door. Beth deliberates her move, then goes to pick
up the phone.
BETH
(into phone)
Hello?
INT. TOMMY'S APARTMENT
Kara is frantic. Looking out the window at the Myers house.
KARA
(into phone)
Mom -- Who is this?
BETH (V.O.)
Kara? ... No, this is Beth.
KARA
What are you doing there? Where's my mother?
INT. MYERS HOUSE - KARA'S BEDROOM (SAME)
BETH
We were worried about you guys so we left early to see if
you were --
KARA (V.O.)
Is Tim there?
BETH
He's in the bathroom.
BATHROOM - SHOWER (CONTINUOUS)
A lighted candle flickers. Tim waits for the running shower to
warm up as he does a bare-ass jig over to the sink.
Rinsing off his tooth brush, he elbows out a circle of steam from
the mirror. He gasps. The Shape is standing right behind him!
Before he can react, Tim's head is yanked backwards. The chilling
SNAP of his neck is punctuated by a CRASH OF THUNDER.
INT. TOMMY'S APARTMENT
Kara can SEE Beth on the phone. Sitting by the window.
KARA
I'm across the street. I can see you. Beth, I want you to
listen to me. Get Tim and get out of that house. Right
now.
Unnoticed by Kara, Danny rises and crosses the room. Drawn toward
the door by the irascible voice.
WHISPERING VOICE (V.O.)
Come to me, Danny ... Come to me.
INT. MYERS HOUSE - KARA'S BEDROOM
Beth shifts nervously, looking out across the way at Kara.
THUNDER drowns out the sound of the bathroom door CREAKING open. The
Shape advances.
BETH
Kara, what the hell is going on?
INT. TOMMY'S APARTMENT
Kara's mouth suddenly drops open. Her mind snaps into sensory overload.
She can see the Shape walking up behind Beth! Raising a gleaming
butcher knife!
KARA
Beth, look out! There's someone in the room! He's right
behind you!
INT. MYERS HOUSE - KARA'S BEDROOM
Beth drops the phone, eyes bulging as the Shape plunges the knife
into her back. She falls, CRASHING against the vanity.
Beth SCREAMS unholy terror. But the Shape isn't through.
INT. TOMMY'S APARTMENT
Kara stands frozen in pure horror, hearing and seeing her friend's
vicious murder.
Her eyes shoot down. A little blond-haired boy is walking steadily
across the street toward the Myers house.
No, it can't be true. Kara wheels around. Danny is gone.
INT. MYERS HOUSE - KARA'S BEDROOM - ANGLE THROUGH WINDOW
Danny can be seen below walking toward the house as Beth's
blood-gurgling SCREAMS fill the room. The knife repeatedly,
mercilessly SLASHING down at her.
EXT. STREET / MYERS HOUSE - NIGHT
Kara bolts out of the Blankenship house and races across the street,
chasing after Danny through RAIN and LIGHTNING.
KARA
Danny, no!!!
KARA'S P.O.V. - FOLLOWING DANNY
He glides up the porch steps and slips through the front door of the
Myers house. Disappearing inside.
KARA
shoots across the lawn. Up the porch steps. Right behind him.
INT. MYERS HOUSE - FOYER
Kara dives through the front door. THUNDER shatters the house.
Everything is frighteningly dark. Shockingly quiet.
Inch by inch, she makes her way inside. Eyes wide. Savage.
Shaking uncontrollably. A CRASHING SOUND behind her. She jumps out
of her skin. Just the door SLAMMING shut in the WIND.
KARA
(the faintest whisper)
Danny?
She advances into the hall. Old floorboards CREAK beneath her feet.
SOUNDS up ahead. FOOTSTEPS.
Kara looks up. LIGHTNING FLASHES. Danny is nearing the top of the
stairs!
Instinct propels her up the stairs after him. Then suddenly she stops
dead. Reason taking over. And she turns back.
Picks up a fireplace poker sitting in the corner. Then she heads back
up the stairs. Mind-blown with horror.
UPSTAIRS HALLWAY
Kara reaches the top of the staircase, looking down the dark hallway.
Summoning all of her courage, she moves forward.
Suddenly Danny darts out from the adjacent hall and disappears inside
his bedroom -- a fleeting, ghostly image. Kara startles. Follows him
inside.
DANNY'S BEDROOM
Danny stands in a corner. LIGHTNING illuminates his toy dinosaurs.
Kara goes to him, takes his hand. He resists her.
KARA
(intense whisper)
Come on ... Danny, please.
She picks him up, carries him toward the door. LUMBERING FOOTSTEPS.
Kara stands paralyzed in the doorway as the Shape stalks down the hall.
Eyes probing. Walking right past them.
DANNY'S BEDROOM
Kara slips silently back into the room, carrying Danny through the
bathroom. Adjoining on the opposite side into
KARA'S ROOM
LIGHTNING CRACKLES. The walls are covered with blood. Kara stumbles
over something on the floor. Cranes her neck to look down.
Beth's bloody, mangled remains at her feet.
Shock waves send Kara reeling backwards against the open bathroom door.
Hanging on a hook is Tim's naked body, eyes open, staring at her in a
horrified rictus of death.
Kara SCREAMS. Drops Danny. Quickly covers her mouth. Realizing that
she's given them away.
Suddenly the bedroom door tears open, buckling off its hinges. The
Shape bulldozes in, wielding its huge butcher knife!
KARA
Danny, run!!!
Danny ducks into the hall, evading the Shape's lurching hands.
DANNY
careens down the stairs. THUNDER RAGES.
KARA
brandishes the fireplace poker at the killer. The Shape moves in,
backing her through the bathroom ... into Danny's room. Suddenly
she SLAMS the door on the Shape.
Kara tears off into the hallway. Turns. Waiting for the Shape to
appear. It doesn't.
Kara vacillates down the hall. Jumping at every sound. Training her
weapon at things unseen. SLAMMING doors along the way, sealing off
every passageway as she tries to find her way through the impenetrable
dark tunnel.
Suddenly something CRASHES down from above. Kara's mother, strung up on
a bloody sheet, dangling upside-down from the trap door in the ceiling!
The axe still protruding from her chest.
ANOTHER ANGLE
Kara SCREAMS, shrinking away from the gruesome sight, faltering through
the blackened doorway behind her. An unbearable moment of tension as we
think the Shape's mask will be there.
Suddenly the Shape shoots up directly in front of her! Tearing the
dangling corpse from the sheet, dislodging the axe from Debra's chest
with a repulsive SQUISH.
Kara wheels toward the stairs. The Shape advances. Swings the axe.
Misses her by inches. Kara ducks, lurches behind the Shape. Swings
the fireplace poker with everything she's got. CRACKING it full-force
over the back of the Shape's head.
The Shape breaks through the banister and plunges off the landing,
SLAMMING hard onto the floor below.
Terrified, Kara chances a look down. The Shape doesn't move.
EXT. STREET / BLANKENSHIP HOUSE - NIGHT (SAME)
Tommy's Explorer skids to a stop outside the boarding house. Loomis and
Tommy fly up the front path. Tommy glances back at the blackened Myers
house for a moment, then follows Loomis inside.
INT. MYERS HOUSE - DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAY (SAME)
Kara barrels off the stairs. Moves cautiously past the Shape. Sprawled
face-up in the middle of the hall.
LIVING ROOM
Kara searches for Danny, keeping her eyes trained on the Shape. The
little boy appears in the doorway directly across the hall.
The Shape lying in between them.
KARA
Danny, come to Mommy.
Danny shakes his head. Too frightened to move.
HALLWAY / FOYER
Ever so slowly, Kara moves toward the threshold. Hefting the fireplace
poker, she steps right over the Shape.
Instantly she snatches Danny up in her arms. Takes one step forward when
suddenly --
DANNY
Mommy!!!
The Shape springs up, twisting Kara's ankle. She falls, splaying forward.
The Shape claws at her leg. Kara fights back, kicking herself free of the
vice-like grip.
Scrambling to her feet, Kara rockets Danny through the foyer to the front
door -- desperately trying to escape from this real-life house of horrors
-- only to find that it is locked.
The Shape rises, gleaming butcher knife in hand.
Kara twists the deadbolt, but someone's secured the chain lock! Too late
to remove it. The Shape is right behind them.
Only one way to go. The cellar. Kara shoves Danny through.
INT. CELLAR (CONTINUOUS)
Kara and Danny clatter down the rickety stairs and SPLASH across the flooded
basement floor.
A soul-shuddering POUNDING on the door above.
Kara ushers Danny toward the elevated window.
The cellar door EXPLODES, the Shape's hand breaking through, splintering
the wood as if it were paper.
Kara HEARS the Shape moving rapidly down the stairs. Lifts Danny up the
wall toward the window. But it's not a wall -- it's John's electrocuted
body, propped inside a storage cabinet!
Danny SHRIEKS, staring into John's lifeless eyes. Kara pushes him up.
Danny reaches for the lock. Just an inch away.
Kara can't lift him any higher. The Shape is coming!
Danny hoists himself up just enough to twist the lock. He pushes the
window open and clambers outside.
Kara scrambles up old pressboard shelves. They break under her weight;
she topples back to the floor.
The Shape wades toward her. Reaching up for the window.
EXT. MYERS HOUSE - BASEMENT WINDOW
Danny watches his mother struggle to climb out of the crypt.
KARA
Danny, help me!
Kara's hand reaches toward him. Danny makes no movement.
WHISPERING VOICE (V.O.)
Come to me, Danny ... Come to me.
Danny obediently turns and starts to walk away.
KARA
Danny!!!
INT. MYERS HOUSE - CELLAR
Kara's foot falls on the handle of the knife jutting from her father's
chest. Uses it to springboard herself half-way through the window.
Clawing at wet grass.
The Shape's hand shoots out of the darkness below, grabbing at her legs.
Kara writhes, kicking and SCREAMING.
EXT. MYERS HOUSE - CELLAR WINDOW
Kara grabs chunks of mud as she is pulled back through the window. The
Shape yanks hard. Kara catches herself on the window frame. Quickly
losing her grip.
INT. MYERS HOUSE - CELLAR
The knife swipes downward, swiping her ankle.
EXT. MYERS HOUSE - CELLAR WINDOW
Kara reacts to the searing pain, releasing her grip on the window frame.
Suddenly Danny appears, locking onto her collar, pulling her clear in one
massive heave.
Kara shuffles across the ground and picks herself up. Grabs Danny's hand
and runs full-tilt around the side of the house.
EXT. STREET / BLANKENSHIP HOUSE
CAMERA FOLLOWS their frenzied flight across the street. Past Tommy's
Explorer. Kara limping. Danny surging toward the Blankenship house. Kara
SCREAMS, pounding frantically on the door.
KARA
Please! Open the door!
INT. BLANKENSHIP HOUSE - TOMMY'S APARTMENT
Tommy and Loomis have turned the apartment upside-down.
TOMMY
The baby -- where's the baby?!
Suddenly they HEAR Kara's frantic pleas outside. Tommy bolts out the door.
Loomis right behind him.
EXT. BLANKENSHIP HOUSE (CONTINUOUS)
Kara POUNDS furiously.
KARA
Please! Somebody help us!
Danny huddles beside her, peering out across the street.
DANNY'S P.O.V. - MYERS HOUSE
The Shape trudges boldly down the porch steps -- knife in hand!
BACK TO SCENE
Kara sees the Shape -- walking slowly and deliberately toward them. Her
SCREAMS become even more intense.
KARA
Help us please!!!
The Shape closes in. At the last second, Tommy throws open the door. Kara
and Danny tumble inside. Into his arms.
INT. BLANKENSHIP HOUSE - LOBBY / PARLOR (CONTINUOUS)
Loomis slams and deadbolts the door.
LOOMIS
Get them upstairs. Now!
Kara pounds against Tommy's chest. Hysterical.
KARA
Where's the baby?!
TOMMY
He's gone.
Kara holds Danny close to her side, backing away in horror as Tommy and
Loomis go around the parlor, securing the doors and windows. THUNDER RIPS
through the darkened room.
TOMMY
(continuing)
Who else knew I had the baby?!
LOOMIS
No one.
TOMMY
No -- there had to be someone else. Who knew?!
LOOMIS
Only me --
(dark realization)
-- and Dr. Wynn.
Suddenly the window behind Kara EXPLODES. She SCREAMS, recoiling. Then
the window in front of her. HANDS reach through. Tommy shoves her out of
the way.
ANOTHER HAND shoots through the stained glass window in the front door,
twists open the lock.
Danny races across the lobby and up the stairs.
Robed figures fill the doorways. Climbing through windows. Moving inside
the house. Surrounding Loomis.
LOOMIS
(continuing)
Wynn!!!
The robed figures descend on Loomis. Drops his .357. Tommy lurches for it,
to no avail. Loomis's SCREAM fills the darkness like a fever dream.
LOOMIS
(continuing)
Run, Tommy!!! Run!!!
TOMMY
No!!!
Tommy backpedals up the stairs. Kara pulling him along as the cloaked
figures glow toward them. Daggers raised.
UPSTAIRS HALLWAY
Kara reacts to the SOUND of Danny's VOICE.
DANNY
Mommy! Please help me!
Kara rushes through darkness to find him.
KARA
Danny! Danny, where are you?!
TOMMY
Kara, no!
Kara trips and falls. A pair of silver-tipped black boots planted in
bold stance. Slowly she looks up the long duster, the cigarette in the
gloved hand of the nefarious Stranger -- Dr. Wynn! Danny stands by his
side, staring dispassionately.
KARA
Danny, no ... please ...
Kara picks herself up, shaking her head in unmitigated fear, staggering
back down the hallway.
She turns to see the black figures overtaking Tommy. His SCREAMS
swallowed by hollow darkness.
Alone, Kara careens through another doorway into
TOMMY'S APARTMENT
Kara slams the door, turns in desperate circles.
Stepping out from behind the door is Mrs. Blankenship -- the baby bundled
in her arms!
KARA
Mrs. Blankenship -- Oh, God -- Hurry. We have to --
As Kara reaches for the baby, the old woman raises a dagger. Her eyes
burning. Her wrist branded with the mark of Thorn!
Kara SCREAMS. The old woman opens the door, allowing the figures to
enter the room. Daggers drawn. CHANTING a dark invocation.
The coven forces Kara backwards. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.
Suddenly Kara makes a decision -- and takes a running leap toward the
window!
EXT. BLANKENSHIP HOUSE (CONTINUOUS)
Defenestrating herself, Kara SCREAMS, tumbling through the air, bouncing
off the porch overhang before plunging to the front lawn below. A
thousand grass fragments raining down on her.
KARA
lies on her back, eyes close, hands folded over her chest in silent
repose. She doesn't move.
THE HOUSE
is still. Unearthly silence fills the cold October night.
SLOW DISSOLVE TO:
KARA'S P.O.V. - DISTORTED - INT. TUNNELS
A ring of faceless figures move in, completely surrounding her.
Suddenly the feeling of RAPID MOVEMENT. Glowing torchlight flickers
across dank walls.
KARA
is being pushed forward on a gurney. Strapped down. SCREAMING for God's
mercy.
TOMMY
is wheeled through another tunnel. His face a mass of bloody cuts and
bruises. His eyes glazed over, trying to find focus. SLAMMING into
darkness.
EXT. SANITARIUM - NIGHT
LIGHTNING illuminates the cold, forbidding asylum. The white van pulls up
to the security gate. Headlights illuminate the sign: "SMITH'S GROVE -
WARREN COUNTY SANITARIUM."
The main gate cranks open. The van pulls through.
THE VAN
pulls to a stop near the main building. The door slides open and Danny
steps out, surrounded by Smith's Grove staff wearing white jackets.
Leading him toward the entrance.
LANDING FIELD
The helicopter touches down. Wynn ducks out, moving in long, even strides
toward the building.
INT. SANITARIUM CORRIDOR - NIGHT
FOLLOW Wynn through the series of security cages, using his key card to
BUZZ through. White coats bringing up the rear.
Through tall mahogany doors, they cross purposefully into the adjacent wing.
EXECUTIVE RECEPTION AREA
Dawn, Wynn's efficient secretary, rises with a congenial smile.
DAWN
Good evening, Dr. Wynn. Your -- appointment is waiting
inside.
Wynn picks up his messages, then heads straight into the office. Dawn
resumes her typing. Something eerie in her grin.
INT. WYNN'S OFFICE - NIGHT (CONTINUOUS)
Wynn and his staff file inside. Removing his hat and duster, he walks over
to where Loomis is seated -- shackled to a chair, a bloody slash across
his forehead.
Seeing this, Wynn snaps angrily at two burly GUARDS.
WYNN
What is this all about? Remove those!
The guards comply. Loomis rubs his aching wrists, glowering.
LOOMIS
Where's the child?
WYNN
Sam, you know you never fail to amaze me. Yesterday
happily retired, today right back in the thick of things.
Somehow I knew you still had it in you.
Loomis sees his .357 resting atop Wynn's desk -- only inches away. Wynn's
hand covers it, slips it inside the top drawer.
WYNN
(continuing)
Come now, Sam. This is a gathering of old friends. I know
how difficult this must be for you -- a man of your
upbringing and integrity -- but now that I'm in charge I
felt it was only fair that you finally know the truth.
(gestures to his staff)
After all, you're the only one around here who's still in
the dark, as it were. This isn't the way I wanted to tell
you, but you've really given me no other choice.
LOOMIS
This is madness, Wynn.
WYNN
Your madness is another man's greatness. This is the way
things have always been. You've just been too blinded by
your own reality to see.
(beat)
But having you on the outside has been convenient for us in
many ways.
(smiles)
You always did come through -- our loyal watch dog.
Finding him. Bringing him back to us once he'd finished his
work. Although after you had that nasty stroke the last
time, I had to go after him myself. And what a terrible
time we had getting him out of that jail cell.
LOOMIS
It was you.
WYNN
(lights a cigarette)
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
LOOMIS
Why did you take Jamie?
WYNN
She has the gift -- the blood of Thorn running through her
veins. Michael's mother had it, too. So for six years I
incubated her, prepared her for this night. Michael has
served his purpose. And soon we will have a new progeny.
LOOMIS
Jamie's baby ...
WYNN
There you go trying to make sense again.
(grimly entranced)
It's a curse. Handed down through countless generations.
As ageless as this celebration which you call Halloween.
LOOMIS
Samhain.
WYNN
And I'm its deliverer.
(slams his key card on the desk)
Its calling card, if you will. I follow it. Protect it.
Act as its guardian. In a sense, Sam, so do you.
Loomis shudders, rocked by these revelations.
WYNN
(continuing)
I know you have more questions, my friend, and there's so
much more for you to try to make sense of.
Loomis is hoisted out of his chair and led out of the office. Wynn and
his white coats flow out behind him.
INT. CELL - NIGHT
A tight, damp, claustrophobic space. Tommy is strapped upright to a crude
metal rack, not unlike the one Jamie was bound to the night before.
Feverishly he rubs his wrists against a jagged metal edge, cutting through
skin, wearing away his bonds. Breaking through.
INT. TUNNELS - NIGHT (CONTINUOUS)
A group of white coats, led by Wynn, usher Loomis off an old service
elevator, leading him through the dark passageway. Wynn turns around,
surveying the tunnel. As he walks on, we SEE something fall from his back
pocket.
As they disappear down another tunnel, a wooden door slowly CREAKS open.
Tommy appears, cautiously stepping out into the catacombs. Edging along
the dank, torch-lit walls. WIND MOANS. Rats scamper past his feet.
Wynn has dropped his security key card. Tommy swipes it.
INT. CATWALK (SAME)
Loomis is led across a narrow precipice overlooking a filthy prison cell.
The Shape lies inside. Dormant.
Wynn stares down hypnotically at his most prized possession. Michael Myers.
WYNN
Look at him. So silent, yet so deadly. He moves when I
tell him to. Act on my impulses. Feels what I feel.
Wynn demonstrates. Loomis looks on, spellbound.
WYNN
(continuing)
Michael -- Rise.
Below, the Shape slowly rises. Wynn takes out his trusted switchblade.
WYNN
(continuing)
Michael -- Pain.
Wynn cuts his hand. The Shape grabs his own hand in agony. Wynn smiles,
sucking the bleeding gash.
WYNN
(continuing)
Michael -- Kill.
Suddenly Wynn whirls around, throwing Dawn -- his faithful secretary --
inside the Shape's pit. Wynn watches with hideous delight as her horrified
SCREAMS trail away into blood-gurgling SILENCE.
Loomis closes his eyes in anguish.
LOOMIS
You've created a monster.
WYNN
Amazing, isn't it? I even taught him to drive.
Wynn carries on without remorse. Loomis is brutally shoved forward.
WYNN
(continuing)
We're not the only ones, you know. There are many
believers -- generous contributors to our church. You'd be
amazed to know how far it reaches.
INT. CATACOMBS - STORAGE BUNKER
A metal door BUZZES open. Tommy makes his way furtively inside,
pocketing the key card.
A storage room filled with sawdust and wooden crates. Tommy pries one of
them open. Eyes widening in startled disbelief.
A small arsenal of automatic rifles and ammunition inside.
TOMMY
Holy shit ...
Tommy lifts a rifle, awed by its devastating lines, then slams in a
cartridge and bolts out the door. Back into the tunnels.
INT. CEREMONIAL ROOM - NIGHT
A large, amber-hued chamber. The CHANTING coven forms a circle around a
primitive stone altar where Kara is tied down, wearing a white gown, her
head adorned with a wreath of mistletoe.
A wooden symbol of Thorn, like an inverted crucifix, hangs in a place of
reverence.
Behind the altar, the Shape stands in its cell. Waiting.
Loomis is led inside. Wynn glides through this macabre gathering, up to
the altar. Looming over the terrified Kara.
The CHANTING continues as Wynn dons a magnificent ceremonial robe. At
Wynn's gesture, there is SILENCE. The worshippers offer an obedient
response, removing their hoods, baring the mark of Thorn on their wrists.
We recognize many of the faces in the congregation. Wynn's staff. Dr.
Bonham. Mrs. Blankenship. The cross-eyed attendant from the bus depot.
People from all walks of life.
Faces glazed with sadistic rapture.
WYNN
(prophetically)
Behind, Disciples of Thorn! The final sign! The birth of
the heretic child, delivered unto us on the eve of our
great Feast of the Sun ... as I have foreseen it.
Jamie's baby is carried forth, CRYING as it is lain inside a baptismal urn
beside Kara. Ringed by candles and a circle of stones -- eleven in all --
etched with symbolic runes.
INT. TUNNELS
Letting the rifle guide him, Tommy makes his way through the tunnels.
Toward the sound of MUFFLED CHANTING up ahead.
CEREMONIAL ROOM
The coven CHANTS its invocation. Wynn draws a magic circle around the
infant with blood from a silver chalice. Then he inscribes a pentagram in
the air with an ornate dagger.
WYNN
Spirits and powers of the flame, attend and witness this
ritual. Bear our gifts to Thorn. Open us to the path of
Darkness. By these runes transform us. Open our eyes and
show us the Chosen One to whom we offer this sacrifice of
Innocent Blood.
Suddenly Danny is issued forth up to the altar. His eyes dark, lifeless
pools. Kara struggles against her bonds.
KARA
Danny!!!
Loomis lurches forward. Halted by massive, restraining hands.
CATWALK
Tommy moves cautiously along the narrow wooden lip, looking down upon the
evil ritual. Startled by the SOUND of rusted chains. Pulleys CRANKING.
The Shape's cell being opened.
CEREMONIAL ROOM
The Shape emerges from its cell and slowly walks forward. Strangely calm.
Hypnotized. Looming above Kara. She lets out a SCREAM of unbridled terror
as he raises a gleaming dagger.
Wynn stands behind Danny. Places the dagger in his hand and holds it aloft.
Above the baby.
WYNN
Strong and fierce Thorn, Thundered, by thy hammer we summon
thee and offer this sacrifice of innocent blood. Let thy
Darkness descend on your son. Danny. Lord of the Dead.
Danny drifts into the dark spell, holding the dagger above the SCREAMING
infant. Wynn speaks in the ominous WHISPERING VOICE:
WYNN
(continuing)
Kill for him, Danny ... Kill for him.
Kara cries, appealing to the boy inside of Michael.
KARA
Michael, please. You can make him stop. You remember,
don't you?
The Shape stares hard at her through the sockets of its mask. Listening.
Reminded of his mother.
KARA
(continuing)
Remember what he did to you that night. What his voice told
you to do. You can stop it, Michael. Stop the voice
forever.
Danny's eyes flash like fire. The CHANTING is insidious.
WYNN
Kill him, Danny. Kill him!
KARA
Danny, don't listen! The voice isn't real!
Danny turns sharply, seeing his mother. Suddenly terrified.
WYNN
Kill him, Danny! You feel the rage inside! You are Thorn!
Suddenly Danny drops the dagger. Wynn flies at him, SCREAMING like an
enraged beast. The Shape raises its dagger and plunges it -- into Wynn!
Wynn's eyes go wide with shock. The Shape lurches empathetically. Wynn
staggers, yanks the blade from his stomach.
RAPID-FIRE GUNSHOTS rip through the chamber as Tommy lets loose a barrage
of bullets from above. Taking out several coven members, the rest scattering,
retreating into the tunnels.
Loomis dives Danny a split second before he through Kara's bonds with the
dagger.
Kara springs toward the baby as the room is ripped apart by GUNFIRE. The
altar decimated. Candles falling. Setting the room ablaze.
Wynn releases the supports which suspend the catwalk. Wooden girders CRASH
down from the ceiling. Tommy pitches to the floor, dropping the rifle.
The Shape staggers, trying to get to its feet. Slowly. Painfully. Flames
lapping at its back.
Loomis crawls toward the rifle. Grabs it. Rises just as Wynn seizes Danny,
a dagger at his throat. Pulling him away.
LOOMIS
No!!!
WYNN
Stay away, Sam.
LOOMIS
Leave the boy. Take me.
Loomis slowly places the rifle down in front of Wynn. Surrendering himself.
Tommy drags himself toward Kara and the baby. Paralyzed with horror as they try to
anticipate Wynn's move.
WYNN
(smiles trenchantly)
Good-bye, Dr. Loomis.
Loomis turns. Gasps in startled reflex. The Shape rises up behind him,
swiping the dagger across his chest!
Wynn retreats and flies through a doorway with Danny.
DANNY
Mommy!!!
KARA
Danny!!!
Tommy and Kara race across the flame-engulfed room, reaching the door just
as it SLAMS shut. Cutting them off.
The Shape, the trail of flames growing on its back, hurls Loomis over the
crushed altar.
Tommy sees Loomis writhing on the floor, about to go for him when --
The Shape turns on them! Tommy stands in front of Kara and the baby,
backing away, propelling them out into the tunnels.
The Shape walks forward in fevered pursuit, all but consumed by fire.
TUNNELS
Tommy, Kara and Danny race deep into the heart of the tunnel maze.
LOOMIS
painfully crawls away.
LOOMIS
Die, Michael. In the name of God, die!
END OF TUNNEL
Tommy, Kara and Danny reach the tunnel end. Kara pounds frantically on the
elevator panel. A DEAFENING ROAR -- the SOUND of fire as the Shape sweeps
toward them.
THE SHAPE
glides steadily through the tunnels. A walking pillar of flame. Undaunted.
Unstoppable. Hell-spawned.
END OF TUNNEL
Finally the doors open. Kara and Tommy barrel inside. Mashing buttons until
the doors close -- a millisecond before the Shape reaches them.
INT. ELEVATOR
Kara cradles the baby. Tommy waits anxiously as the old elevator MOANS and
GRINDS toward ground level. The doors open.
INT. SANITARIUM CORRIDOR
They barrel off the elevator and race down a long corridor.
TOMMY
This way!
Tommy leads her toward an exit sign. Behind them, the elevator doors close.
The indicator light shows it moving down.
They reach a dead end. The row of coded security cages.
KARA
What now?!
TOMMY
(realization)
Wait a minute ...
He reaches into his pocket -- withdrawing Wynn's key card!
Suddenly the elevator doors open. FIRE GUSTS. The Shape emerges, totally
engulfed in flame. The emergency sprinklers are activated. Dousing the
flames as it walks after them.
Tommy panics, runs the key card. The gate BUZZES open. They run through.
The Shape's hands lurch through the bars, missing Kara by inches.
They race toward the next gate. The gate behind them opens, and the Shape
walks through!
Tommy runs the card again. The gate BUZZES. They slam it -- one step
ahead of the Shape.
The third and final gate. Tommy tries the card. Nothing!
KARA
Come on!
TOMMY
(tries it again)
It's not working!
The Shape moves through the last gate. Inside the cage with them!
TOMMY
(continuing)
Someone's controlling it!
INT. WYNN'S OFFICE (SAME)
Standing behind his computer, observing them on the security monitors, Dr.
Wynn jams the card's access code. Then he grabs his satchel and strides
quickly out of the office. Pulling Danny with him.
On the screens, we can SEE the Shape approaching. Kara's SCREAM can almost
be heard on the silent monitor.
INT. SECURITY CAGE (SAME)
Kara SCREAMS as the Shape rakes Tommy against the cage. Kara cowers in the
corner, protecting the baby.
EXT. SANITARIUM - FIELD - NIGHT (SAME)
Wynn races with Danny across the field toward the waiting helicopter.
Getting ready for take-off as they duck inside.
INT. SECURITY CAGE
The Shape slams Tommy's head against the bars; he slumps to the floor. Then
turns its murderous attention on Kara and the baby.
INT. WYNN'S OFFICE
A hand reaches into the top desk drawer, removes the .357 and FIRES an entire
round into the security console. Destroying it.
The man holding the gun is Loomis.
INT. SECURITY CAGE
The door BUZZES open. Kara drags Tommy and the baby out. Slamming the door
shut on the Shape. Trapping it inside.
The Shape lurches against the bars in wild paroxysms.
EXT. SANITARIUM - LANDING FIELD
Tommy comes to as he races with Kara and the baby across the windswept field.
Suddenly they stop dead, watching in horror as the helicopter lifts off.
Kara stands paralyzed with shock, looking skyward. The helicopter disappears
into the gloom-filled night.
Tommy drags Kara in another direction. A vehicle parked nearby. The white
van.
INT. VAN (SAME)
Kara lifts the baby inside. Tommy flops down in the driver's seat. Face
bruised and bloody. A key in the ignition.
Kara holds Jamie's baby. Tears falling.
KARA
How will we ever find him?
Tommy's gaze terrifies her. He starts the engine and tears off toward the
sanitarium gate.
Kara looks down at the baby, then stares numbly forward.
In the back of the van, we can SEE the the Shape's white mask. Glowing in
the darkness. Emerging.
Kara and Tommy drive on, unaware. And that, for now, is how we leave them.
FADE OUT.
ROLL FINAL CREDITS