Surprised you didn’t like the Mrs. Jones stuff. It was a little cliche, and there’s a lot I’d change about it, but it felt more…I guess confident is the word I’d go with.

Totally agree about the crossroads. That was a great concept that just didn’t have enough payoff.

By the by, I’ve got a copy of one of the earlier drafts of the script. You may have read it already, but if not, let me know and I’ll send you a copy. I’m about a fourth of the way through it and so far, I think it’s better than what ended up on screen.

The construction site sequence was the best of the lot, I’ll give him that. It had weight to it and finally (I say finally, even though it was minutes) feels like an actual threat is appearing, that there is cause and effect to The Hap, but it is over and done with too soon.

I thought the old woman’s house was a joke, as if Night took the most complained about part of WAR OF THE WORLDS (though I actually like the Tim Robbins bit) and toiled over how to make a more grating sequence.

For me the only sequence that worked towards creating any lasting moment was the crossroads one in which all the cars converge and they finally realize they’re done. Except even then Shyamalan came up short, arriving at the set up and doing nothing else to improve it past its base.

But don’t get me wrong; it was still a big disappointment, and a huge missed opportunity for Night. I thought the exposition was hackneyed and crude, and the dialogue sounded like it was pulled from a first draft.

And I think you’re right about the nature of the “infected.” There’s a real fundamental disconnect between the harm and its source, that means the audience isn’t scared for the characters, but only of seeing them do something gross to themselves. It may be tense, but it’s not actually scary.