halloween 9 the homecoming

HALLOWEEN 9: THE HOMECOMING

by

Chris Carr

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EXT. A HOUSE - NIGHT - SUBURBIA

we hear a scream

INT LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

17-year-old JIMMY HOWELL takes off the fake blade attached to his face and wipes off the fake blood with a look of satisfaction, then goes outside.

EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT

He sneaks around back, not hearing the sound of breaking glass coming from the living room followed by another scream.

DISSOLVE TO:

A PLAQUE:“Hillcrest Academy High School”

EXT. CLASSROOM BUILDING - DAY

Autumn leaves from the few deciduous trees blow around on the grass.

INT. CLASSROOM - DAY

Head mistress LAURIE STRODE (alias KERI TATE) fills in for a teacher. A bitchy student, SARAH, gives a report on the murders committed from 1963–1995 in Haddonfield, Illinois.

SARAHIn 1965 Michael Myers’ parents died and his younger sister, Laurie, was adopted by the Strode family...

CLOSE ON Keri. She looks like she’s seen a ghost.

SARAH (continuing)

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...the night before Halloween in 1978, Michael escaped from Smith’s Grove Sanitarium. The next day, Halloween, he went back to Haddonfield...

Sarah's voice fades to an echo... Keri appears off in her own world, hearing only snatches of what’s being said...

SARAH (O.S.)He wore a white mask... In 1979 Laurie Strode married Jimmy Lloyd and, in 1980, gave birth to their daughter, Jamie. But when Jamie was just a few months old Laurie was killed in a car accident...

CLOSE ON Keri - tries to hide her shaking hands.

SARAH (fading back in)...On Halloween in 1995 the body of fifteen-year-old Jamie Lloyd was found outside of Haddonfield. She had been impaled on a corn thresher.

Keri turns pale and rushes out of the room. Her students look perplexed.

INT. LADIES ROOM - DAY

Keri runs into a stall and throws up, tormented by guilt and grief...

CUT TO:

A slightly neglected graveyard... scattered with old oak and maple trees, with patches of blooming flowers here and there...

SUPER the legend: HADDONFIELD, ILLINOIS

FRED WILLIAMS, the elderly caretaker, leads Detectives RICHARD CARTER and TONI BLAKE down the cemetery path. They stop in front of a gravesite... TOMBSTONE missing... patchy grass covers the grave.

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BLAKEAnd you're sure this is Laurie Strode's grave?

FREDSure as I'm standing here.

He gestures to an adjacent headstone...

FREDBuried her daughter right next to her not too long ago. You don't suppose that Myers fella took the tombstone?

CARTERProbably just a couple of kids playing a Halloween prank.

BLAKETee-peeing a house, yes. Spray-painting a window, maybe. Digging up a tombstone? I don't think so.

Carter shrugs, takes a drag off his cigarette.

BLAKE (cont’d)Come on, you know it's Michael. Night before last, that kid over in Langley -- Jimmy Howell -- said he saw a man in a white mask come out his back door right before finding his friend and Nurse Whittington dead on the floor.

CARTERWell, what do you want me to do, put out an A.P.B. on a man wearing a white mask dragging a headstone?

BLAKEYes...

FADE TO:

EXT. SANITARIUM - NIGHTFALL

SUPER the legend: OCTOBER 31, 2001 - HALLOWEEN

INT. SECURITY OFFICE

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The two security guards - FRANKLIN MUNROE and WILLIE HAINES – shoot the breeze.

FRANKLINBut get this -- the paramedics forgot to take the mask off the body before loading it into the back of the ambulance!

WILLIESo it wasn’t Myers in the body bag?

FRANKLINNo. See, this one poor paramedic had been first on the scene and, well... no one should’ve been in there alone with Myers.

WILIESo it was the paramedic in the body bag... And where was Myers?

FRANKLIN:Can you believe it? He impersonated the paramedic! Not sure how he pulled that one off.

WILLIEYou mean the other paramedics didn’t even notice?

FRANKLINThe people they hire... When the real paramedic came to, in the back of the ambulance, he found Ms. Strode driving -- she’d hijacked it. Not exactly sure what she thought she was doing. Didn’t wanna take his death for granted, I guess.

WILLIEThe police ruled it an accident, didn’t they?

FRANKLINYeah, but when Ms. Strode found out she’d killed the wrong guy she flaked out.

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WILLIEWell why didn't the paramedic just take the mask off?

FRANKLIN (shrug)

Maybe he went without oxygen for too long when Myers choked him.

INT. LAURIE STRODE’S ROOM – NIGHT

Laurie sits as if in a trance, barely noticing the two nurses - NURSE WELLES and newcomer NURSE PHILLIPS - attending her.

CLOSE ON a PHOTOGRAPH on the wall above Laurie’s bed - it’s a photo of her son, John (from Halloween: H20).

The nurses push the medicine cart out into the hallway.

INT. SANITARIUM HALLWAY - NIGHT

NURSE PHILLIPSDoes anyone come to visit Ms. Strode?

NURSE WELLESHer son used to, but then he just stopped.

EXT. SANITARIUM - SIDE ENTRANCE – NIGHT

Willie escorts mental patient HAROLD TRUMBLE back to his room after finding him outside unattended. There is a FULL MOON in the sky.

POV - From the shadows of the woods we see Willie & Harold enter the building. We hear the hoot of an owl.

INT. SANITARIUM BASEMENT

As they walk down the corridor, Harold shows off his knowledge of serial-killers:

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HAROLDJason Voorhees, born June 13, 1947 in Crystal Lake, New Jersey. Murdered 35 people. Was killed June 15th, 1980.

They turn and enter a stairwell.

INT. HAROLD’S ROOM

Harold sits at his desk, reading a detective magazine. In one hand he holds his clown mask. Among the artifacts on his wall is a hockey mask.

HAROLD(continuing)

Wayne Williams, born May 27...

He stops when he hears a faint sound, like a scream, coming from far below. After a moment, when he hears nothing more, he puts his clown mask on and goes back to reading.

SANITARIUM ROOF – NIGHT

MICHAEL MYERS dangles upside down over the edge of the building in the trap Laurie set for him. She walks toward him, knife in hand, TAUNTING HIM. He is silent.

LAURIEYou've failed, Michael. And you'll never find my son. Never.

He just stares at her through empty eyes.

LAURIE(continuing)

You want to know why you've failed? Because I’m not afraid of you.

(barely a whisper)But what about you? Are you afraid of me?

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INT. HAROLD’S ROOM

Harold proudly holds up the bloody knife like it’s a trophy.

HAROLDI knew he’d come for her soon...

CLOSE ON Harold's WRIST - we see a tattoo of the PAGAN symbol ‘THORN’.

DISSOLVE TO:

A QUIET RESIDENTIAL STREET - MORNING

CLOSE ON a NEWSPAPER in a driveway: “ST. LOUIS CHRONICLE”. PULL BACK to reveal a modest, one-story house.

SUPER the legend: UNION, MISSOURI

A man comes out to get the paper. As he gets closer we see it is TOMMY DOYLE, survivor of Halloween 1 & 6. He’s now in his early 30's and has on a wedding band. In the driveway are a 10-speed bike and a smaller bike with training wheels. He grabs the paper.

CLOSE ON TOMMY. He flips through the paper, stops at NATION.

CLOSE ON – NATION. About halfway down the first page is a headline: "Laurie Strode Found Dead At Sanitarium".

VERY CLOSE:"Laurie Strode, 40, sister of serial-killer Michael Myers, died Wednesday at Grace Anderson Sanitarium in California...

...Ms. Strode is preceded in death by a daughter, Jamie Lloyd, and a sister, Judith Myers. She is survived by a son, John Tate, 20. Mr. Tate could not be reached for comment."

TOMMY (to himself)

Well, Michael... you got Jamie. And now Laurie.

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(extended beat)But you can’t have Steven. I won’t let you have Steven, Michael. Never...

He glances toward the house, sees no one is looking, and tucks the newspaper under his shirt...

*opening credits*

FADE IN

A simple HEADSTONE

Jamie LloydApril 24, 1980 – October 30, 1995

PULL BACK to reveal JOHN TATE (the young man in the photo on Laurie’s wall) standing nearby.

WIDE ANGLE - CEMETERY - DUSK

SUPER the legend: OCTOBER 30, 2003. Thunder & lightning.

ANGLE ON John. In front of him the headstone reads:

Laurie StrodeFebruary 2, 1961 – October 31, 2001

May she rest in eternal peacebeside her daughter, Jamie.

John holds a flashlight but it’s turned off. He’s dressed in informal attire – mostly grey and brown - making him almost invisible in the dark cemetery.

He reaches under his jacket, pulls out a small bouquet of daisies and places it on his mother’s grave. After a moment he pulls one daisy out of the bouquet and places it in front of Jamie’s headstone.

He looks up, eyes darting around the cemetery, but nothing is there. Except for him the cemetery seems devoid of human life.

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The only sound is the leaves blowing in the wind and the distant roll of thunder.

He continues to stand, head bowed.

POV - SLOWLY APPROACHING JOHN FROM BEHIND... A HAND REACHES OUT AND TOUCHES HIS SHOULDER. John jumps in fear and whirls around, as if expecting to see a white mask and raised butcher knife. Instead, he sees a man he doesn’t know – it is Tommy Doyle.

TOMMY: John?

JOHN (about to throw a punch): Who are you?

TOMMY (holds up his hands in peace): Sorry I scared you. But I was afraid if you saw me you’d run off, and I didn’t want to shout out your name.

JOHN: And just how do you know my name?

TOMMY: Well, I wasn’t sure it was you at first. But I recognize you now from the newspaper. Besides, I had a feeling you’d be out here sometime tonight.

John continues to eye Tommy suspiciously.

JOHN: And you are?

TOMMY: Tommy Doyle. Your mom used to babysit me. I'm sorry for your loss. I take it you were in hiding when they held the funeral two years ago?

John nods. Tommy’s face takes on a dark expression.

TOMMY: He came after me, too... once, a long time ago. Then again several years ago.

After a moment, surprisingly, John laughs.

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JOHN: Well, I guess you know he tried to kill me. That’s why the police advised me to stay away from Haddonfield. Nobody knows I’m here.

TOMMY: Maybe you shouldn’t be.(glances around)I’m not sure it’s safe.

JOHN: Yeah, well... I hardly have any family left. I never see my dad anymore. I decided I needed to come here and learn as much as I can about the sister I never knew.

TOMMY: I think I know who might be able to help. I can take you tomorrow, if you like. But why don’t we go someplace to talk now. (looks up at the sky)Looks like it's about to rain. Besides, there’s something I need to tell you.

JOHN: Ok, sure. I could use a beer, anyway.

POV - FROM BEHIND A CLUSTER OF TREES. Lightning lights up the cemetery as Tommy & John leave...

[murder scene?]

A TAVERN - NIGHT

NEON SIGN in front. Rain is just starting to come down. Inside, Tommy and John sit in a dark corner, talking and drinking beer.

TOMMY: I’m glad I found you.

John looks at Tommy curiously.

JOHN: How did you know I’d be out there tonight?

TOMMY: I just had a hunch.(beat)Well, actually I knew about...

Awkward silence.

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JOHN: You can say it -- I was in a treatment center. I just got out a month ago.

TOMMY: Well listen, man, it’s no big deal. I spent time in an institution myself. Besides, I read about all that stuff that happened at your school... what was it, five years ago?

John nods

TOMMY (cont’d): No wonder you were messed up.

John shudders at the reminder.

TOMMY (cont’d): It made the national news. That’s how I found out... you two... were in California. All of us back here in Haddonfield thought... your mom died in a car crash in 1980. So I guess she must’ve faked the crash?

JOHN (nods): Dr. Samuel Loomis -- Michael’s shrink -- helped her come up with a plan to fake her death and enter the witness protection program.

TOMMY (surprised): Dr. Loomis??

JOHN: Did you know him?

TOMMY: Well, I guess you know it was Loomis who saved your mother that night from Michael.

John nods.

TOMMY (cont’d): He must’ve known Michael’d come back to Haddonfield for her... I met Loomis several years back, not too long before his death.

JOHN: I think after that night she started to look to him as a father figure.

TOMMY (to himself): So Loomis hid her. And he lied to me...

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JOHN: Huh?

TOMMY: Oh... nothing. So your mom told you the whole story?

JOHN: Well, most of it. She told me about her past -- who she really was, how her brother tried to kill her -- but she never told me about Jamie. I didn’t even know I had a sister till I read about her murder. (beat)I’ll never forget. I was sixteen.

Tommy closes his eyes for a moment, seeming to remember something about that incident, too

TOMMY: Did you ask your mom why she never told you about Jamie?

JOHN: She said it was too painful to talk about. Leaving Jamie behind was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do.

TOMMY: Why did she leave Jamie, exactly? Did she say?

JOHN: She wouldn’t say much. I do know that after that Halloween night in 1978 she started drinking a lot.

TOMMY: Yeah, I think I knew that.(shudders)I still have nightmares about that night myself.

JOHN: She did get married, though.

TOMMY (nods): To Jimmy Lloyd. His brother went to school with her.

JOHN: That was like ’79, and they had Jamie in 1980. But not long after, my mom’s drinking got worse and they started having problems.

TOMMY: Right. I remember now; Haddonfield’s a small town. Eventually things got so bad he left her and took Jamie with him. She was only a few months old.

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THROUGH THE WINDOW WE SEE A FLASH OF LIGHTNING. A FIGURE WEARING A WHITE MASK CAN BE SEEN LOOKING IN. RAIN IS POURING DOWN. WE HEAR A CLAP OF THUNDER.

JOHN (oblivious): Finally my mom decided she didn’t have a choice. She needed to go into hiding for her own sanity. She was unstable and didn't really feel fit as a mother. She decided Jamie was probably safer with Jimmy, anyway.

TOMMY: Well, I knew she wouldn’t just leave Jamie.

JOHN: Only a few people knew of my mom's plan to fake her death, and Jimmy wasn’t one of the select few. The last thing she did before she left was ask Dr. Loomis to watch after Jamie.

TOMMY: I see... so she faked her death... late 1980?

JOHN (nods): Something like that.

TOMMY: moved to California...

JOHN:...and changed her name to Keri White, married a guy named Justin Tate - my dad - and had me, all within a year. Eventually, she got a teaching certificate.

John orders another beer, then looks at Tommy.

JOHNI have a feeling he’ll show up. Michael, I mean. It’s almost Halloween. He hasn’t been seen since last year, has he?

TOMMYNo... not since last Halloween.

JOHNI know he’ll come for me. It's his family he wants most of all, and I’m the last of his bloodline.

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TOMMY(slowly)

No... not the last.

JOHN(puzzled)

What?

TOMMYThat’s what I wanted to tell you. Just before Jamie died in 1995 she gave birth to a son. You have a nephew, John. His name is Steven. He was born only a few hours before...

(falters)...before Michael murdered Jamie.

John is silent, needs a moment to absorb this.

JOHNHow do you know this?

TOMMYWell, I knew that Jamie was on the run from Michael and I went out to try to help her. But instead, I found Steven. She’d hidden him... let’s just say... someplace safe. And I found something that gave me a clue as to who he was.

JOHN (intrigued)

What?

TOMMYWell, it’s a bit difficult to explain...

FLASH BACK TO: (from Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers) Tommy finding the Thorn symbol painted on the baby’s stomach.

END FLASHBACK

INT. TAVERN – NIGHT

John looks puzzled, but doesn’t pursue the question.

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JOHN(partly to himself)

So it was Michael who murdered Jamie. The murders in '88, '89 and '95 didn't even make the national news. Eventually people found out, but everyone in Summer Glenn said it was a copycat killer.

TOMMY(nods)

Haddonfield residents tried to keep it out of the news. They were afraid it would hurt their economy.

JOHNI believed the copycat rumor when I was little, but after learning of Jamie’s murder I started to wonder. I didn’t tell my mom -- I knew she’d freak -- and I was angry at her for not telling me about Jamie.

FLASHBACK (footage from Halloween: H20)

SUMMER GLEN, CALIFORNIA – MAIN STREET - DAY. John and Keri Tate (aka Laurie Strode) argue out on the sidewalk:

JOHN(to Keri)

Don’t talk to me about "responsible", Mom!

END FLASHBACK

TAVERN – NIGHT

JOHN (cont’d)...but in the back of my mind I was starting to have doubts...

FLASHBACK (more footage from H20)

HILLCREST DINING HALL - NIGHT. John follows his friends into the building through a window. Behind him there is a rustling in the bushes. He stops and looks back for a moment with slight

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misgiving. CLOSE ON his NECKLACE - it has a diamond-shaped pendant.

END FLASHBACK

INT. TAVERN - NIGHT

JOHN (cont’d)Anyhow... I guess she did what seemed right at the time. So... do you know...

(whisper)where my nephew is?

THERE IS ANOTHER CLAP OF THUNDER. WE SEE ANOTHER STREAK OF LIGHTNING THROUGH THE WINDOW - BUT NOW, THE FIGURE IS GONE...

Tommy glances around warily, then leans forward.

TOMMY (low voice): He lives with me and my wife, Kara, and her son, Danny. Danny’s fourteen. Kara’s your mom’s adoptive cousin. ‘Strode’ is her maiden name. We met when they were living in the old Myers house and I was renting a room across the street.

JOHN: Why the hell would they stay in the Myers house??

TOMMY: Because they couldn’t sell it. Anyhow we changed our last name when we left. The only one who has our new address is Dr. David Loomis –- Dr. Sam Loomis’ son. Oh, and Lindsay Wallace -- the other kid who was with your mom and me that night in 1978.

JOHNI didn’t know about David Loomis. Well...(low voice)I guess as long as... Steven... is safe.

He drains his glass and motions for another. Tommy looks a bit concerned. We hear another clap of thunder...

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. CARRUTHER’S HOUSE – DAY

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SUPER the legend: OCTOBER 31, 2003 - HALLOWEEN

The sun is shining. Tommy’s car is parked a few driveways up; he’s in the driver’s seat.

ZOOM IN ON a second-floor window. Inside, John Tate and DARLENE CARRUTHERS go through Jamie’s things. Darlene has a scar on her lower neck just above the collar, and another one on her fore-arm. She seems distant...

JOHNI appreciate your doing this, Darlene. I hope it’s not too difficult. I just realized, it was 14 years ago today, wasn't it?

DARLENE(with effort)Yes. But now’s as good a time as any. It never gets easier... I try not to feel bitter; it wasn’t Jamie’s fault. But if she’d never come to live with us...(tries to maintain composure)...I’d still have my Rachel.

John gently touches Darlene’s elbow.

JOHN: Are you sure you're up to this?

Darlene wipes her eyes, nods.

JOHN (hesitantly): So... you took Jamie in right after Jimmy died?

DARLENE: Yes, right after he and Clara were killed. Clara was his second wife -- Jamie’s stepmother -- but Jamie thought of her like a mother.

JOHN: They were in a car accident, weren’t they?

DARLENE (nods): Drunk driver. Day before Thanksgiving, 1987. Can you imagine? Jamie was lost without them.

Slowly, John opens a shoe box. Inside, among various mementos, he

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sees a couple snapshots of his mother as a teen.

JOHN: That’s my mom... and Jamie’s.

DARLENE: Yes.

JOHN: Why would Jamie keep pictures of our mother? My mom faked her death and moved to California when Jamie was just a baby. There's no way Jamie'd remember her.

DARLENE: Jimmy and Clara decided, out of respect, that Jamie shouldn’t forget her real mother so they gave her pictures of Laurie as a teen. Jamie seemed to treasure them.

John flips through the mementos. He sees a photo of a young girl perched on a man’s shoulders.

JOHN: Is that Jamie and her dad?

DARLENE: No. That’s her with Jimmy’s brother, Ziggy, just a couple months before the accident. He was kinda eccentric. Got in trouble with the law. He was good with kids, though.

John looks closely at the photos of his mother. He holds one up.

JOHN: This one looks like a candid. Looks like my mom’s sitting outside waiting for someone. I wonder who she’s waiting for, and who could’ve taken this photo?

DARLENE: I don’t know, John. Probably some neighbor took it. Your mother was a pretty girl.

Darlene shivers. John senses Darlene’s discomfort.

JOHN: Uh, listen, Darlene -- do you mind if I hold on to these photos?

DARLENE: No. In fact, you can have all this stuff. I don’t want it. It’s just a reminder of...(fights back tears)

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John lays his hand on Darlene’s shoulder...

INT. TOMMY'S CAR - DAY

John gets into the passenger seat, holding the shoebox. Tommy seems curious as to its contents but doesn’t press John. He just starts the car.

TOMMY: Everything go ok?

JOHN: Yeah. It wasn’t easy for her of course.

TOMMY: I’m glad you decided to come with me. I told Steven about you. He’s real excited about having an uncle.

JOHN: I’ll be glad to meet him, too. I’m just worried my being there might put you all in danger.

TOMMY (ponders this): Yeah, I thought about that. But I can’t leave you here to take on Michael yourself.

John sighs reluctantly. They ride for a moment in silence.

TOMMY (cont’d): You know... I kinda had a crush on your mom as a kid.(beat)I remember one day after school -- she was coming over to babysit that evening. I hid behind the bushes and took some snapshots of her with my zoom lens. I think only one of them came out.

John looks over in surprise.

JOHN: You took that photo?

TOMMY (laugh): Wondered if you might’ve found it going through Jamie’s things. I'm an amateur photographer -- and part-time voyeur. I used to spy into ladies’ bedrooms at night with my zoom lens.(embarrassed laugh)Till fairly recently, actually.

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JOHN (laugh): Well, I guess I should confess -- I did the same thing. Spied into the girls’ dorms at Hillcrest with my binoculars.

TOMMY: Addictive, isn’t it?

John kind of laughs, slight nod.

TOMMY (more seriously): Anyway, after Laurie... left, I gave the picture to Jimmy. I figured he’d like to have it.

JOHN (thoughtfully): You know, my mom looks happy in that photo. I don’t really remember her looking happy that often.

TOMMY: Ironic you should say that.

JOHN: Why?

TOMMY: I took that photo on Halloween -- only a few hours before HE came home...

EXT. HADDONFIELD TOWN SQUARE - DAY

INT. CAFÉ - DAY

MOLLY CARTWELL (survivor of Halloween: H20) and SARA MOYER (survivor of Halloween: Resurrection) sit at a table, drinking coffee. Sara looks somber. Molly wears a necklace with a diamond-shaped pendant - the very necklace John Tate wore in H20. She holds up the pendant and looks at it thoughtfully. On the table is a newspaper. After a moment she lets go of the pendant and picks up the paper.

CLOSE ON newspaper. Across the top: “HADDONFIELD TIMES - FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2003”. A headline on the front page reads “Survivor of Halloween Massacre Found Dead”. Beneath it is the text:

“Freddie Harris, one of the two survivors of last year’s Halloween massacre at the old Myers house, was found stabbed to death in his motel room near Mt. Sinclair Cemetery in Haddonfield late Thursday night. The murder is believed to have occurred

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sometime Thursday evening ... “

MOLLY (ominously): It’s happening again.

SARA (partly to herself): I just know that psycho’s after me now. I’m the only one left from the group last year.

Molly sets the paper down and sighs.

MOLLY: I know. I saw you on that... live webcast thing last year.

SARA (slight laugh): You and two million others... So what makes you think John came back to Haddonfield?

MOLLY: I know him...(partly to herself)I could see it in his face the last time I visited him in rehab.(glances back up to Sara)Um, I hope that’s not sharing too much personal information.

SARA: No, not at all... Do you mind my asking what he was in rehab for?

MOLLY: No, it’s ok -- alcohol and meth-amphetamines. John's mother was an alcoholic. After her death he kinda had a breakdown. Now I think he’s gonna try to take on Michael himself.

SARA (wryly): I tried to do that myself -- didn’t work out so well. If Freddie hadn’t come along when he did... Do you know where John might’ve gone?

MOLLYWell, I asked at that Red Rabbit lounge, but nobody’d seen him. And I can never reach him on his cell-phone.

SARAThere’s a couple smaller bars, but they’re in seedy areas.

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MOLLY(ponders this)

Are either of them near the cemetery?

EXT. A HOUSE IN A SUBURB – DAY

SUPER the legend: SMITH’S GROVE, ILLINOIS

Inside, a NAMEPLATE on a desk reads “David Loomis, M.D.”. Files are stacked haphazardly on the desk & floor. DR. DAVID LOOMIS - son of the late Dr. Samuel Loomis - sits at the desk and makes a phone call. We hear a recorded message: "Hi, this is Tommy. Please leave a message."

Dr. Loomis slams the receiver down in frustration.

CUT TO:

RURAL FARMLAND - DAY

Tommy’s car heads down a state route.

INT. TOMMY’S CAR - DAY

John adjusts the radio dial, trying to pick up a signal.

TOMMYI think I’ll pull over and give Kara a call to let her know we’re coming.’

JOHNGood idea. I should try to call Molly again.

Tommy pulls into a gravel driveway. He takes out his cell phone and sees he has several messages. He dials his voice mail. As he listens he begins to look puzzled. John looks at him questioningly. Tommy dials a number.

TOMMYDr. Loomis?

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DR. LOOMIS (v.o.)Tommy! I’m glad I finally got you.

The connection is weak since it’s in a rural area.

TOMMYI found him, Dr. Loomis! He was just where you said he’d be.

CUT TO:

INT. LOOMIS’ OFFICE - DAY

DR. LOOMISTommy, didn’t you get my messages?

TOMMY (v.o.)Just now. I’ve been having trouble with my voice mail service. Is... something wrong?

DR. LOOMISTommy, someone broke into my house last night. I keep all my father’s files here.

(beat)Are Kara and the kids with you?

CUT TO:

INT. TOMMY’S CAR - DAY

TOMMYNo...

(nervously)Why would they be? The kids are in school. Steven’s got soccer practice till four.

DR. LOOMIS (v.o.)Steven’s file is missing. I called Kara when I couldn’t reach you. I told her to take the kids and leave immediately.

TOMMYWhere did they go?

We hear a lot of static...

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TOMMY (cont'd)Dr. Loomis? Hello??

The connection is lost. Tommy snaps his cell phone shut in frustration.

TOMMY(looking straight ahead)

Change of plans...

CLOSE ON JOHN. He seems to be able to tell what has transpired.

JOHNYou think they went back to Haddonfield?

TOMMY(slight nod)

I should've switched cell phone services months ago.

(sudden anxiety)And Steven’s been having nightmares lately. He said something the other day about the “Nightmare Man”.

CLOSE ON John. A look of dread starts to form on his face but he remains calm.

JOHNWe’d better turn around. Otherwise we won’t make it back to Haddonfield by nightfall.

TOMMY(to himself)

Of all nights for them to go back to Haddonfield...

FLASHBACK (footage from the original Halloween): Haddonfield, Halloween night, 1978 - 8-year-olds Tommy & Lindsay come running out of the Doyle house, screaming. From across the street Dr. Samuel Loomis hears their screams.

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FLASH AHEAD TO: That same night, a few minutes later - in the upstairs hallway of the Doyle house, Dr. Loomis shoots Michael just as he’s about to kill Laurie. Michael stumbles out onto the balcony and falls off. A moment later, Loomis looks down on the grass where Michael fell –- Michael is gone!!! Heavy breathing is heard...

FLASH BACK TO:

INT. TOMMY’S CAR - Present day.

Tommy's radio barely picks up a weak signal: “Well, kids, I hope you all are ready to go trick-or-treating. You remember what today is, don’t you?”

Tommy starts the engine, cuts the wheel sharply, steps hard on the gas and heads back the opposite direction, leaving a trail of dust behind.

PAN RIGHT. In the front yard we see a SCARECROW. Slowly move toward farmhouse. On the front porch is a carved JACK-O-LANTERN.

WIDE ANGLE view of Tommy’s car speeding back toward Haddonfield, the sun just starting to head west...

EXT. CEMETERY – DAY

Molly & Sara approach the graves of Laurie and Jamie. The tombstones are just beginning to cast shadows across the grass. Molly sees the bouquet of daisies and picks it up.

MOLLY: Daisies were his mom’s favorite. He’s been here. I just know it! And these daisies are fresh. It must’ve been recent.

She sets the bouquet back down and studies the two graves reflectively. Sara glances anxiously around, then gasps.

SARA: Oh my god! Freddie lived in that cheap motel right across the street. Do you think...

MOLLY (slowly): Yes, I get a feeling Michael was here last night,

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too. But I think John made it out safely. And he didn’t leave alone. Look -- there are two sets of footprints.

SARA: The bar is probably open now. We should ask in there if anyone saw him come in last night.

IN. TAVERN - NIGHT

Molly shows John’s picture to the bartender.

BARTENDER: Yeah, he was here last night. Came in with some other guy.

One of the patrons at the bar, an elderly man, overhears their conversation.

PATRON: I recognized the guy -- it was Tommy Doyle!

MOLLY: The kid John’s mom was babysitting on Halloween night in 1978!

Sara stands for a moment, contemplating.

SARA: I bet I know who can help us find him. Dr. David Loomis -- Dr. Samuel Loomis’ son.

HADDONFIELD - RESIDENTIAL STREET - DAY

We see the burned-down ruins of the Myers house.

EXT. HADDONFIELD UNIVERSITY

INT. DORM HALLWAY

Sara walks down the hall toward her room, fumbling for her keys, then looks up, surprised to see Jimmy Howell sitting by the door.

JIMMY (shaken): Have you heard?

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SARA: (nods) It was in this morning's paper.

She opens the door. They stand awkwardly for a moment. They are clearly not romantically involved.

SARA: Listen, I don’t have much time.

JIMMY: This is important..

Reluctantly, Sara holds the door open & lets Jimmy in.

INT. BOARDING HOUSE - PARLOUR - DAY

John & Molly sit on the sofa. On the coffee table lies the copy of the Haddonfield Times. Tommy sits at the table, drumming his fingers.

TOMMY (to himself): Why did Loomis keep Steven’s file at his house? I thought surely he kept it in a vault somewhere after the way Michael broke into Marion Whittington’s house.

MOLLY: The nurse who worked with Loomis on the Myers case?

TOMMY (nods): He stayed with her the last couple years of his life. After his death, she kept his files at her house.

JOHN: That’s how Michael found out my mom was alive, and that she and I were in California.

TOMMY: I’ll just bet he was looking for Steven’s file and came across your mother’s by accident.

JOHN: And last night he almost found us!(holds up newspaper)

Steven comes running in.

STEVEN: I wanna go trick-or-treating!

ANGLE ON Steven. To his side, out of view of the others, is the

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kitchen.

TOMMY: Yeah, I know, sport. Sorry. We’ll find something else fun to do.

MOLLY (to Steven): Hey, I hear yesterday was somebody's birthday!

STEVEN: Oh yeah.(proudly)I’m eight!

MOLLY: Wow, you’re getting pretty big!

Tommy gives Molly a look of gratitude.

TOMMY: That’s right! We've still got a birthday party to throw.

ANGLE ON Steven. Suddenly, behind him, we see THE SHAPE standing in the kitchen, staring at him. Steven doesn’t see him.

TOMMY: Let’s see if she’s got any birthday candles.

Tommy gets up and walks past Steven to the kitchen. THE SHAPE is gone...

FADE TO:

A TV SCREEN. We see a scene from It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: All the kids in the Peanuts gang find candy in their trick-or-treat bags except Charlie Brown, who finds a rock.

PAN AWAY from tv screen - parlour now dark. Tommy sits on the sofa with Steven in his lap. On the love seat sits Danny. After a moment, Tommy lifts Steven up, sets him on the sofa and heads upstairs.

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT

John & Molly sit on the bed. There is a knock at the door.

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MOLLY: Come in.

Tommy enters.

TOMMY: Am I catching you at a bad time?

JOHN (reluctantly): No.

Tommy sits at the desk. The curtains are closed.

Awkward silence.

JOHN: You started to tell me last night about a clue to Steven’s identity.

TOMMY: Well, when I first found Steven, there was a symbol painted on his stomach. I recognized it right away -- the mark of Thorn. ‘Thorn’ is a rune -- know what a rune is?

MOLLY (nods): A kind of ancient symbol.

TOMMY (nods): You see, there is -- or was -- this cult. They called themselves the Cult of Thorn. I spent a lot of time researching it as a kid.

MOLLY: Thorn -- I remember John’s mom teaching us about that one day in English Lit.

JOHN (laugh): Oh, yeah.

MOLLY: She was filling in for our teacher. We thought it was strange since we hadn't been studying runes.

JOHN (sigh of boredom): We'd been studying Shakespeare.

TOMMY: Supposedly one child from each tribe was inflicted with the Curse of Thorn, which caused him to kill his entire family as a sort of sacrifice, to ensure the survival of the tribe as a whole.

JOHN (skeptically): So Michael was inflicted with this curse?

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TOMMY: That’s what the Cult says.

JOHN: Well, that’d explain why he’s so hell-bent on killing me. But he kills everyone, not just his family.

TOMMY: Yeah -- I’m starting to think these people are crazy. I know at least one of them was committed. And you’ll never guess who their leader was...(dramatic pause)

JOHN (impatiently): Who??

TOMMY: Dr. Terrence Wynn.

JOHN: Dr. Loomis’ colleague at Smith’s Grove Sanitarium??

TOMMY (nods): And Wynn was supposed to be Loomis' friend... But I did more research on the Celts, and now I’m not so sure this Thorn curse ever existed.

JOHN: Well, it seems pretty far-fetched if you ask me.

TOMMY: Did your mom teach you about the Thorn constellation?

JOHN: No.

TOMMY: Well, according to some sources, there’s a constellation in the shape of the Thorn symbol that only appears every few years on the night of Samhain.

MOLLY: ‘Samhain’. That’s Gaelic for ‘Halloween’.

TOMMY: Right. And it’s only on years when it appears that he appears. Or so I was told.

JOHN: Do you believe that?

TOMMY: I don't know, to tell the truth. I guess it’s open for interpretation. The more reputable sources don't say anything about the constellation. Besides, people see all sorts of things

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when they look up at the night sky.

MOLLY: Kind of like that Rorschach test -- a reflection of the unconscious mind.

TOMMY: Exactly. Oh, and another thing -- turns out 'Thorn' isn't even a Celtic rune. It was actually used in Germanic and Norse languages, and it portended good tidings!

MOLLY: It's spooky, though. Michael does seem to mainly appear on or near Halloween.

A shadow seems to come over the room..

KITCHEN - NIGHT

On the counter is a large kitchen-knife and the remains of a birthday cake. Over by the window, Molly & Kara sit and drink tea.

MOLLY (low voice): Kara, I hope this isn’t getting too personal, but... does Steven know? About his... genealogy, I mean.

KARA: Yes. Tommy and I talked about it. We didn’t want him to have nightmares, but we decided he needed to know for his own safety.

MOLLY: I agree.

KARA: We tried to tell him in a way that hopefully he’d understand, but wouldn’t be too scared.

MOLLY: Do you know who Steven’s biological father his?

Kara glances over at the butcher knife.

KARA: No.

She gets up and walks over to the counter. She picks up the knife and holds it up into the light.

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KARA (continuing): Tommy tried to find him once. He asked around Haddonfield. There was one young man, Billy Hill, who seemed to have known Jamie well. But he vehemently denied being the baby’s father.

She puts the knife up in a high cabinet, then glances out into the parlour. PAN OVER to parlour - Steven's still sitting on the sofa, entranced by the movie, Frankenstein's Monster

Molly’s cell phone rings. She glances at it to see who’s calling - it’s Sara Moyer.

FRONT PORCH - NIGHT

John stands just outside the door, smoking a cigarette and looking up at the stars. Behind him, to the side, the parlour window is slightly ajar. A light is on. We hear the television.

ANGLE ON SKY - it's a cloudless night

Tommy comes outside.

TOMMY: (gesturing to cigarette) You know those things’ll kill you.

He seems to instantly regret his choice of words, but John shrugs it off.

JOHN: You know how I recognized Steven? There’s a strong physical resemblance between him and...

TOMMY (nods): Michael as a kid. I know. (beat)Well, he is a blood-relative...

JOHN (puzzled): His grandnephew, right?

TOMMY: Yeah. But when I was fighting Michael in the lab at Smith’s Grove, I told him some bull about Steven being his son, to throw him off guard. He actually seemed to buy it for a

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second.

JOHN: When was this?

TOMMY: Halloween, eight years ago -- the day Jamie’s body was found. Loomis and I were rescuing Steven, Danny, and Kara from the sanitarium...

JOHN: Oh yeah, Molly and I read about that online.

TOMMY: Right... Anyway, I came across Jamie’s medical file when I was hiding in Wynn’s office. It seems Wynn had obtained a, uh, sample... from Michael. He was doing genetics experiments -- cloning or something. (shakes his head in disgust)Bastard. But according to the file, Jamie was already pregnant when the Cult re-captured her. We don’t know who the father is.

JOHN: I wish I’d known about her before it was too late. I don’t think my mom knew, either. She actually tried to find Jamie once, but Jimmy had taken her into hiding. I’ve started to wonder if my mom’s guilt was part of what drove her to drink.

Tommy stares blindly off in the distance.

TOMMY: Nothing can stop him. I tried. That night at Smith’s Grove I even tried a spell I’d learned to break the Curse.

JOHN: Spell??

TOMMY: Yeah. See, I had these pebbles with runes carved on them -- runes of light, to counter the evil runes –- and, well... I’d have to show you. Anyhow, Michael’s hand was around my throat. But I said the word 'Samhain', and he let go!

JOHN: Really?? Wish I’d known about that five years ago when he attacked us at Hillcrest.

TOMMY: But now I’m wondering if Wynn had just hypnotized him to stop when that word was said. Anyway, it only worked for a few minutes. Michael caught up with us again before Loomis could

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unlock the gate, and chased us into the lab.

JOHN: And that’s when you told Michael that Steven was his son?

TOMMY (nods): Danny managed to distract him, and I beat Michael to a pulp. I thought he was dead. Dr. Loomis told us to go far away, and I drove off with Kara and the kids. We wound up in Union. But when I talked to Loomis later, he said that when he went back inside, Michael was gone.

Tommy’s face takes on a distant look.

TOMMY: I should've known...

The voice of eight-year-old Tommy (from the original Halloween) is heard:

“You can’t kill the boogeyman...”

halloween 9 the homecoming

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