Scenes In Workprint Not In Theatrical Version:
1. During the breakfast scene, there’s additional dialogue between Judith and Deborah concerning eggs. Judith alludes to Deborah having an abortion.
2. The workprint has an opening credits sequence. It plays over the scene of Michael running from the school, Loomis’ introduction, and the bully walking through the woods. These scenes are all longer as a result, most significantly more dialogue between Loomis and Deborah, presented in voice over as Michael runs.
3. There’s an additional shot when Deborah confronts Michael outside the house after the murders.
4. The montage of Loomis and Michael getting to know each other has more dialogue/scene snippets
5. In the workprint, there is an additional scene of young Michael with Deborah at the institution, where he expresses his need to “get out of here”. When he learns he cannot leave, he says “Then I have nothing left to say.”
6. When the nurse looks at the photo of Michael and “Boo”, there is an additional line where she alludes to Michael being ugly. This provides more of a motive for her killing than is present in the theatrical version.
7. The “Fifteen Years Later” scene begins with a newscast about Michael’s possible transfer.
8. Following this newscast begins one of the biggest changes: Udo Kier’s character. In the theatrical he is only in ONE scene, but here he has quite a few as the head of Smith’s Grove. He is joined by Clint Howard and Tom Towles as other hospital higherups. They disagree with Loomis’ instructions for Michael’s care. This is followed by the scene where Loomis tells Michael he can no longer be his doctor.
9. The scene of Ishmael Cruz and the new orderly in Michael’s room is a bit longer.
10. An additional shot of Loomis leaving Smith’s Grove, looking back with a look on his face showing that he is clearly conflicted about his decision to quit on Michael.
11. Additional shots of Michael watching Joe Grizzly.
12. The scene where we meet Laurie and the Strodes is lengthened, there is more talk about the “pervert” hardware store owner.
13. After Loomis speaks at the lecture, there is a scene of him walking with a colleague, asking how he thought he did in the speech.
14. When Laurie and Lynda leave the school, Lynda harasses another female student for some reason, pouring a drink on her head (this is one of the few changes that were for the better, as it makes Lynda even more annoying than she already is)
15. Additional sex talk between the three girls as they walk home
16. When they see Michael, there are additional shots of him standing across the street (in the theatrical we only see his blurry shape)
17. A scene of Laurie walking to her house where her mother is putting up decorations outside. Michael is seen following her in the background.
18. A scene showing Michael in the graveyard, finding the tombstone and then removing it.
19. After Laurie leaves to baby-sit, we hear Michael breathing as her parents chat. When the mother goes inside, Michael approaches. The father sees him and assumes he is a trick or treater.
20. A scene showing Laurie watching horror movies with the kids. Laurie tells Lindsay it’s time for her to go.
21. The chase from the Wallace’s to the Doyle’s is a bit longer
22. The pool scene is a bit longer
23. A scene of Loomis and Laurie walking to the car. After Laurie gets in, Loomis pauses and you can see he is beginning to blame himself.
Scenes In The Theatrical That Are Not In The Workprint:
1. A scene of Loomis explaining the color spectrum to Michael
2. The death of Ishmael Cruz.
3. A scene of Brackett pulling up alongside the girls as they walk home. Brackett offers a ride, which only Annie accepts.
4. The graveyard scene with Sid Haig.
5. A scene where Lynda calls Laurie right before Bob’s death.
6. A quick bit where the Strodes express confusion over what Annie means by saying her dad is “same as always”
7. Loomis buys a gun
8. A shot of Bob backing his van into the driveway at the Myers house. Also, this scene occurs much earlier in the theatrical version than it does in the workprint.
9. A scene where Brackett explains how he knows who Laurie Strode’s real family is (a much needed addition as it is never explained in the workprint how she came to be with that family or how Loomis would know where to find her).
10. Loomis running up to the house and finding the kids is not in the workprint.
Scenes That Are Entirely Different:
1. Michael listens to Monster Mash in the first scene instead of classic rock (note – a lot of the music is different, more usages of the original music, but that is to be expected from a workprint – this was the only one I will point out)
2. The biggest one that almost everyone knows about, when Michael escapes. In the workprint, an orderly and his friend harass and then rape a female inmate in Michael’s room. Michael ignores them until they begin playing with his masks (this pays off the line about him not liking it when people touch his things). He kills them both, gets their keys, and escapes. In the theatrical, he is being moved for some reason and suddenly kills the four guards, including Tom Towles (who plays a different character in the workprint), as well as Bill Moseley, and Leslie Easterbrook, neither of whom appear in the workprint).
3. The scene where Loomis is told that Michael escapes is entirely different, and features more Udo Kier.
4. The scene where Loomis leaves for Haddonfield after arguing with Udo Kier and Clint Howard is completely different.
5. The scene where Loomis meets Brackett takes place in a different location (a diner in the theatrical, and what appears to be the graveyard in the workprint), and the dialogue is different.
6. Mrs. Strode is brutally killed; in the workprint it is just sort of suggested.
7. Bob’s death is completely different. In the workprint, he is killed in his van when he goes out to get beer. In the theatrical, he is killed in the exact same way he was killed in the 1978 film.
8. Tommy goes with Lindsay and Laurie back to the Wallace house in the theatrical version, in the workprint he stays in his own home.
9. The ending is completely different from the moment Michael pulls Laurie out of the car. In the workprint, Loomis talks to Michael for a while longer than he does in the theatrical version. Then the cops show up, guns drawn. Loomis convinces them all to stand down while he continues to try to calm Michael. He succeeds, and Michael lets Laurie go. As she runs to Loomis, the cops (including Brackett) open fire, shooting him dozens of times. Loomis screams for them to stop but it’s too late. Michael appears dead. The film ends on a very nice shot of Loomis standing over Michael’s body, clearly realizing how he failed his patient, as we hear the audio recording of their very first meeting at Smith’s Grove. In the theatrical, Michael kills Loomis, then spends about 10 minutes smashing his house trying to find Laurie. He finally does, and then rushes her. They go out the window, then Laurie shoots him, screams, and the film ends.
