Script To Screen: “Halloween”

Here is the last set of scenes from the 1978 Halloween, written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill.

Setup: A night filled with terror being stalked by crazed killer Michael Myers, babysitter Laurie is about to have one whale of a Final Struggle.

INT. BEDROOMLaurie emerges from the closet and carefully crosses the
bedroom, avoiding the shape's body. She goes to the bathroom
door and knocks softly.LAURIE
Tommy, it's me. Open the door.There is a silence, then the door opens. On the other side
are Tommy and Lindsey, looking utterly terrified. Laurie
bends down and shields them from the sight of the shape.LAURIE
Now, I want you to walk to the
door, down the stairs and right
out the front door.LINDSEY
You're coming with us...LAURIE
Listen to me. I want you to walk
down the street to the MacKensie's
and knock on their door. You tell
them to call the police and send
them over here. Do you understand?TOMMY
Laurie, you come with us...LAURIE
No! Do as I say.She stands up and guides the children carefully across the
bedroom to the door and ushers them outside.She watches for a moment as they walk down the stairs,
then slumps down against the door frame in an exhausted
heap.EXT. DOYLE HOUSE -- NIGHTTommy and Lindsey run out of the house and down the walk
to the sidewalk. They rush up the street. As they leave
frame we see Loomis on the other side of the street.ANGLE ON LOOMISHe watches the children with a puzzled frown.LOOMIS' POV -- TOMMY AND LINDSEYShrieking with fear, Tommy and Lindsey run up the sidewalk.ANGLE ON LOOMISHe stares at them for a moment, then moves for the Doyle
house.CUT TO:INT. DOYLE HOUSE -- ANGLE THROUGH BEDROOM DOOR -- NIGHTWe SEE through the bedroom door. In f.g. sits Laurie,
slumped against the door frame, staring out at nothing,
tears streaming down her face. In b.g. lies the shape.Slowly Laurie begins to pull herself together once again.She gets up to her knees and begins to pull herself up to
her feet.Her back is to the shape. As she starts to stand the shape
sits up, the head turning to Laurie.CLOSE SHOT -- LAURIELaurie rises into frame, holding herself erect by grasping
the doorframe.Behind her the shape rises up into frame, quickly, silently.Laurie just hangs there on the doorframe. An exhausted,
ironic smile comes over her face.LAURIE
Well, kiddo. Some Halloween...Slowly the shape moves for her, his hands outstretched.Just as he is about to grab her, Laurie manages to step
out the door.ANGLE IN HALLUnaware he is behind her, Laurie limps toward the stairs.Suddenly the shape jumps out of the bedroom and grabs her,
hands around her neck.Laurie SCREAMS. She twists and squirms and claws at him,
her finger ripping at his mask. She pulls it off over his
face, wriggles out of his grip and turns around.CLOSE SHOT -- MICHAELThe shape, Michael, stares at her with his one eye. He has
a dank, white face with blond hair. There is something
completely unhuman about his features, the open mouth, the
dark staring eye.ANGLE IN HALLMichael lunges at her again.Suddenly there is a THUNDERING EXPLOSION and Michael is
blown off his feet. Laurie falls back against the wall.ANGLE ON LOOMISStanding at the top of the stairs is Loomis, gun in his
hand. He moves forward down the hall.ANGLE IN HALLMichael slowly gets to his feet, still refusing to die.Loomis stops and takes aim. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!Michael is hit three times, each bullet throwing him
backward further down the hall until he hits the window at
the end and SMASHES through it.EXT. DOYLE HOUSE -- UP ANGLEMichael falls from the second story right down into CAMERA
with a CRASH!ANGLE IN HALLLoomis rushes to Laurie and bends down beside her. For a
moment she just cries in his arms, sobbing hysterically.Then she looks up at him with a glazed, wild expression.LAURIE
It was the Boogeyman...Loomis looks down at her, then up at the shattered window
at the end of the hall.LOOMIS
As a matter of fact it was.He walks slowly down to the window and peers out.LOOMIS' POV -- BACKYARDHe looks down at the spot where Michael should be, but
there is nothing there, just a trampled patch in the grass.ANGLE ON LOOMISHe stares down with a growing fear, then looks out from
the house.LOOMIS' POVThe backyard, the neighboring yards, the street, all are
empty, quiet, dark. There is only the SOUND of the wind
swelling in the trees.Michael is gone.FADE TO BLACK.ROLL END TITLES.THE END

Here is the scene in the movie:

I’ll see you in comments for a discussion of this terrific scene from Halloween.

One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a weekly series on GITS where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.

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