Synopsis:

I've made extensive alterations in order to Shape my ideal version. Many changes have been made to strengthen continuity, remove filler & improve pacing.

Intentions:

My intention was to create a tighter version that injects new energy while retaining the original mood.

Change List:

-added my production logo. -new "a Rick Rosenthal film" credit. -added the Mustapha Akkad credit, cut from the opening credits. -added the Dino De Laurentiis credit, cut from the opening credits. -added the John Carpenter/Debra Hill credit, cut from the opening credits. -scored the production credits with a synth drone from the Halloween II Theme. Pt. 1 FLASHBACK- -synth drone continues. -removed the Mr. Sandman song. -shortened the duration of the Haddonfield, Illinois title. -shortened the duration of the October, 31 1978 title. -added new sound effects. (crickets, tree branches, outside ambience.) -shortened the shot panning down to the Doyle house. -synth drone fades out as Laurie talks to the kids. -shortened the shot of Laurie telling the kids to go call for help. -removed Tommy's whinny sound. -shortened the shot of Laurie sitting in the doorway. -synth drone resumes, then fades into the original score as Michael sits up. -cut a gunshot sound so Loomis fires the correct amount of times. ("6 times!") -new sound effect when Michael hits the ground. -cut Loomis trying to fire more shots from his spent revolver. -shortened the shot before Laurie asks "Was that the boogieman?" -shortened a shot of Loomis so that he isn't still pointing his revolver. -synth drone resumes as Loomis says "As a matter of fact, it was." -shortened a shot of Loomis on the front porch. -fade-out as Loomis runs around the corner of the Doyle house. -synth drone fades into the Halloween II Theme. TITLE CARD / OPENING CREDITS- -moved the Jamie Lee Curtis/Donald Pleasence credit to the cast credits. -re-timed the title to appear in time with the music. -moved the Mustapha Akkad credit to the opening production titles. -moved the Dino De Laurentiis credit to the opening production titles. -moved the John Carpenter/Debra Hill credit to the opening production titles. -re-timed the pumpkin so that it doesn't jump around due to the new credits edit. -split the Jamie Lee Curtis/Donald Pleasance credit into two individual titles. -removed "in" from the Jamie Lee Curtis & Donald Pleasance credits. -removed "starring" from the Charles Cyphers credit. -edited the Halloween II Theme to match the new edit timing. MICHAEL PROWLS THE NEIGHBORHOOD- -fade-in on Michael's POV. -cut Loomis saying "This guy, this man..." before "He's not human!" -cut Alice speculating that Mr. Elrod beats Mrs. Elrod. -edited "Are your folks home?" to sound more intelligible. -additional sound effect when Alice hears something in her house. -cut a shot from Alice's POV looking across the living room. -Michael doesn't jump up when he attacks Alice, he simply stands up. -cut a shot of Michael's eyes as he attacks Alice. -added a throat slash sound effect. LAURIE IN THE AMBULANCE- -cut a shot of the paramedics putting Laurie into the ambulance. -cut a shot of a paramedic shutting the ambulance doors. -cut Laurie protesting the anesthesia. -cut the driver asking about Laurie's father's realty business. AT THE HADONFIELD HOSPITAL- -cut the mother taking her son into the ER. -cut two shots of the ambulance arriving at the hospital. -shortened Nurse Jill checking the boy into the ER -cut three shots of Laurie protesting anesthesia again. -shortened a shot of Laurie cringing from the needle. LOOMIS & BRACKETT ON PATROL- -cut Brackett asking "How long has it been?" & Loomis' reply, "30 mins." -cut Loomis telling Brackett to "Shine the light on that tree over there!" MISTAKEN IDENTITY CAR CRASH- -cut Officer Hunt saying "He came out of nowhere! I couldn't stop!" -cut a shot of Loomis. -cut a shot of the burning wreck. -Brackett's "Is it him or not?" is heard over a different shot. BACK AT THE HOSPITAL- -cut the mom & boy leaving the ER. -added an establishing shot, cut earlier. -cut Jimmy creeping towards Laurie's bed & rubbing her hand while she's asleep. MICHAEL ROAMS THE STREETS- -cut Karen & her friend talking on their way to her car. -the music gains volume as Michael walks down the street. BACK AT THE HOSPITAL AGAIN- -cut Karen getting out of her car & going into the hospital. -cut Jimmy, Budd & Janet watching the news on TV. -cut the shot of the green window. -cut Budd singing about sex & offering Jimmy life advice. -cut Michael watching Karen from the nursery. -cut Michael watching Mrs. Alvez from the nursery. -cut Michael's POV walking down the stairs. -cut Laurie saying "Why me? I mean, why me?" -cut Nurse Alvez talking to Laurie about trying to call her parents. -cut Janet protesting Mrs. Alvez's order to go tell Mr. Garett about the phones. -cut Laurie checking the phone after Nurse Alvez leaves the room. CHECKING THE PHONE PROBLEM- -cut the cat scaring Mr. Garett. -shortened the shot of Mr. Garett walking around the dumpster. -shortened the shot of Mr. Garett sliding the store room door open. -shortened a shot of Mr. Garett entering the store room. -shortened the shot of the flashlight shining on the tool wall. -shortened a shot of Janet so that she's already fidgeting with the walkie-talkie. -cut a shot of Janet still trying to work the walkie-talkie. -added a squish sound when the hammer hits Mr. Garris. -shortened the final shot of Janet with the walkie-talkie. AT THE CORONER'S OFFICE- -more deliberate rhythm on Hunt's "Every street. Every house. Every backyard." RIOT AT THE MYERS HOUSE- -sound of the angry mob gets louder as the camera pulls back. -cut Loomis saying "One of their number was butchered. This is a wake." -cut Loomis & Officer Hunt going over the story of Michael killing his sister. HIJINKS AT THE HOSPITAL- -shortened the shot of Karen preparing pills. -cut the rest of the scene after Budd says "Happy Halloween." -cut the shots of the empty hospital hallways. LAURIE DREAMS OF MICHAEL- -cut this entire scene. IN THE HYDROTHERAPY ROOM- -shortened a shot of Budd watching Karen undress. -cut a close-up of Budd's face as he watches Karen undress. -shortened the shot of Karen leaving the changing room. -shortened the shot of Karen approaching the hot tub. -shortened 3 shots of Karen & Budd making out. -cut a shot of Budd getting out of the tub. -added a synth drone as Michael kills Budd. -synth drone fades as Karen begins speaking. INVESTIGATING THE CLASSROOM- -moved Loomis asking "what are you doing here?" to after Marion asks for him. -cut Loomis not recognizing Marion. (he was with her just a few hours ago) TROUBLE AT THE HOSPITAL- -cut Jimmy talking to Laurie while she's unresponsive. -cut Janet looking into Dr. Mixter's shower room. -cut Jimmy looking for Mrs. Alvez in the ladies lounge. -shortened the shot of Laurie hiding in another room. -music continues into the scene with Loomis leaving the school. -cut Jimmy saying "We gotta find Laurie." -shortened the shot of Jimmy laying unconscious next to Mrs. Alvez. -the door doesn't bounce open after Nurse Jill slams it when running back inside. -shot lingers longer on the doors after Jill goes inside. NURSE JILL FINDS LAURIE- -shortened the shot of Laurie crawling out into the hallway. -cut Laurie walking away after Jill calls out to her. -cut Laurie's blurry POV. -cut a shot of Jill walking down the hall. -cut the shot of Michael stepping out behind Jill. LAURIE ON THE RUN- -shortened a shot of Laurie rounding the corner of the reception desk. -cut two shots of Laurie gaining visible distance from Michael. -cut a shot of Laurie wheeling a gurney into the middle of the hallway. -shortened a shot of Laurie on the stairs for continuity with the next shot. -cut a shot of Michael s l o w l y walking down the stairs. -cut the close-up shot of Laurie reacting to the dead security guard. -cut three shots so that Laurie gets through the window much quicker. -cut Michael's hand getting through the elevator door. -shortened a shot of Laurie hiding in the car. -shortened the shot of Laurie looking out of the car's front window. LOOMIS, MARION & THE MARSHALL- -cut Loomis explaining the origins of Samhain. -added a shot of the Marshall, cut earlier, while Marion explains the "Secret File". LOOMIS & CO. AT THE HOSPITAL- -cut the Marshall saying "Except my job" after "What have I got to loose?" -new sound effect of the hospital doors closing. -added a door locking sound effect after Loomis & Co. enter. -shot lingers longer on the closed doors. -cut Laurie screaming just after the hospital doors close. -the Marshall responds as soon as Laurie starts banging on the doors. -cut three shots of Laurie screaming for help. -cut two shots of Michael approaching. -replaced a shot of Michael approaching with one cut earlier. -added a gunshot sound so that Loomis fires all six of his rounds. -cut the Marshall protesting Marion's right to use the radio. -cut Loomis pulling in so close to talk to Laurie. -Loomis' "Are you all right?" is heard over a different shot. -Laurie's "Why won't he die?" is heard over a different shot. -merged two shots of the Marshall inspecting Michael into one single shot. -cut three shots of Laurie & Loomis looking around the surgery room. -cut a shot of Michael blindly swinging at Laurie. -cut a shot of Loomis at the oxygen tanks. -cut a shot of Loomis saying something unintelligible. ("Grum de hi-hat"?) -added an additional Thud sound effect when Michael falls. -new music plays as the ambulance drives away. (He Knows Where She Is) -fade out on the shot of the ambulance driving away. -cut the shots of Laurie in the ambulance & Michael burning in the hospital. END CREDITS- -added the title before the credits roll. -different music over the end credits. (He Knows Where She Is & Halloween II Theme) -removed the credit for the Mr. Sandman song. -text scrolls all the way up & off the screen instead of fading out at the end. POST CREDITS- -added the shots of Laurie in the ambulance & Michael burning, cut earlier. --added fire & burning sound effects. -added my production logo to the end. -added a cue from the track Michael Kills Judith.

Additional Notes:

I wanted the editing to feel more kinetic without any obvious changes. This version has a quicker pulse than the original, but still feels like the '78 classic.

Other Sources:

SOURCES USED: VIDEO- -Halloween (Shout! Factory bluray, 2021) ADDITIONAL AUDIO- -Halloween 2007 (Lionsgate bluray, 2011) -Halloween Soundtrack (Varèse Sarabande Records, 1983) -I'm Your Boogie Man by K.C. & the Sunshine Band (from the album Part 3, 1976) -Sound Effects (YouTube.com).

Special Thanks: