bueno bob
07-21-2009, 01:44 AM
Bear in mind a lot of the dialogue has been added to and changed since this was written, and isn't entirely accurate. Shooting HAS wrapped on it, and it's all about the special effects and editing right now, so it does appear as if the 2010 release date is probably a go.
Anyway, if you want...here ya be...I've taken the liberty of cleaning it up considerably (page breaks and so forth). It's not entirely bad, pretty much par for the course.
It's been colored white so as to give you guys one last chance to turn away before curiosity gets the best of you. Just highlight and there ya go.
Enjoy...
************************************************** ******
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET- 2010 WORKING SCRIPT
FADE IN:
EXT. DEAN’S HOUSE - NIGHT
It’s the kind of two-story home that screams rich suburbia. Tall, wide, on
a roomy plot of land. Music thumps inside. All the lights are on.
Following KRIS (17, next-door cute) as she reaches the front door,
entering:
INT. DEAN’S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Clusters of TEENS are immersed in their cliquish school talk. Everyone has
a longneck or a plastic cup in their hands. As Kris moves past the foyer, a
random teen nods:
PARTYGOER
Hey, Kris.
KRIS
Hey.
PARTYGOER
What was the final tonight?
KRIS
Twenty-eight to ten, Panthers.
PARTYGOER
Rock.
The teen high-fives his friend nearby. Continuing to --
INT. DINING ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION
A handful of high schoolers are huddled around QUENTIN (18, boyish energy). In mid-conversation:
QUENTIN
That’s the thing, though, we just need an FCC license and we’re set. They
don’t have a college radio station, we’d be the only shop in town.
KRIS
Hey, Quentin.
QUENTIN
Hey, girl.
KRIS
Where’s Dean?
QUENTIN
Around here somewhere.
Kris continues into --
INT. KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Lots of beer on the counters. A teen COUPLE kissing by the fridge. Kris
sees a large jar half-filled with crumpled bills. A handwritten sign taped
to it: “Booze Restockage.” Underneath someone has added “Dean’s College
Fund!”
Kris adds some cash to the jar, grabs a beer and moves to --
INT. FAMILY ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Kris passes into this darker room where the rest of the party is gathered.
Nearby, NANCY (18, petite, approaching goth) leans against a wall, iPod
Headphones in her ears, beer bottle in hand. She’s here but she’s not
social. There’s one in every class.
Yet another group is playing and watching Guitar Hero (or some other
rhythm game) on the HDTV.
It’s a competition, and the focus is JESSE (18, wild hair, coiled, anxious)
intensely concentrating on the game.
He’s against DEAN (also 18, clean-and-preppy) whom you can tell must own
the game, because he’s not even watching the screen. He’s just rocking out.
Kris hovers here to wait for Dean. The song ends. Scores totaled. Dean
Wins.
JESSE
What do you do, sleep with this thing?
DEAN:
Who says I sleep?
DRUNK TEEN
(re: Dean’s score)
Dude, perfect score on hard? Cheat.
DEAN
I’m out. Who’s up?
DRUNK TEEN
Dude, I'll play Jesse.
JESSE
Bring it, skippy.
Jesse’s grin vanishes when he sees Kris. Dean invades the awkward beat by
hugging Kris.
DEAN
You made it! Good to see you.
KRIS
Yay, Dean, patron saint of good times.
DEAN
You need a drink? C’mon I’ll show you the good stuff.
He leads her away. Kris gladly follows.
INT. LAUNDRY ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
Dean digs into an ice-filled cooler of imported beer and wine coolers.
DEAN
You’re a wine cooler girl aren’t you?
KRIS
Guilty as charged. Where’s your brewski?
DEAN
Oh, I'm not drinking. I’m on meds right now. Sucks to be me, heh.
Dean fidgets. Kris picks up on it and softens.
KRIS
You okay?
DEAN
Me? Yeah. Just, you know, when I got way stressed about finals...Dad sent
me to see a shrink, someone to ‘help with anxiety.’ Since then, it’s gotten
weird.
KRIS
Weird how?
DEAN
Sleepwalking. Shit like that. Hey, I hope it’s okay Jesse’s here.
KRIS
Yeah, no biggie.
DEAN
I didn’t know if you two were back together or not.
KRIS
We broke up.
DEAN
What’s that make, four times? ive?
Kris playfully slugs Dean in the shoulder.
KRIS
Psh! It’s over this time. I’m serious.
DEAN
Hey, can you stay over? Help me clean up before the folks get home --
CRASH. Two punch-drunk GIRLS giggle over a broken beer bottle in the entry
hall, in view of the door to the laundry room.
Dean starts that way, Kris stops him.
KRIS
I got it, you go be host.
INT. KITCHEN - LATER
Kris dumps the last of the broken glass in the trash. Jesse enters, grabs a
fresh drink off the counter.
JESSE
Kris. You look nice.
KRIS
Jesse. You look... sweaty. Beat.
JESSE
How you been?
KRIS
Fine.
JESSE
Yeah. Me too. So, I was thinking.
KRIS
You’re doing that now? Good for you. I’ll see you around, Jess.
JESSE
Okay. Yeah, no that’s cool.
Kris leaves. Jess gently bonks himself on the forehead with his beer
bottle, a self-afflicted “Dude WTF” gesture.
INT. FAMILY ROOM - NIGHT
Quiet now. The clock on the TV reads 4:01 A.M. Several TEENS including
Jesse and Quentin are asleep on the couch and floor. Finding KRIS curled up
on a large soft-back chair. Her eyes are closed. A loud THUMP wakes her.
She looks around... No one else heard it. But, no sign of Dean. Beat.
THUMP. Kris gets out of her chair and goes to the back hall.
INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS ACTION
She steps in, checking left and right.
KRIS (hushed)
Dean?
At the end of the hall, a set of stairs rise around a corner. Catching
sight of DEAN’S LEGS disappearing around the corner up the stairs, as if he
were being dragged while unconscious. Thump, thump, thump. Kris frowns. She
follows.
AT THE STAIRS
She looks up to the second floor. No sign of Dean. But shadows play on the
wall in the dark.
KRIS
Dean, you okay?
Kris ascends.
INT. UPSTAIRS HALL - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Dean’s bedroom door closes -- not quite all the way. Kris looks at the
thick carpet here. TWO PARALLEL LINES form a path into Dean’s room, like
the heels of shoes dragged. The wind picks up. A draft. Kris pushes Dean’s
door open...
INT. DEAN’S ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Empty energy drink cans rattle when she pushes the door fully open. His bed
has been stripped of its sheets and a pile of books and games cover its
surface. You can’t sleep there. The small balcony door from his room hangs
open. Kris hears:
DEAN (O.S.)
(sotto)
No, please no...
Kris steps out onto the balcony to find Dean standing precariously on the
ledge. His breathing is shallow; panicked.
KRIS
Dean, what, what are you doing? Hello? Oh god are you asleep?
Dean suddenly stops breathing and: Four parallel slashes RIP through Dean’s
shirt, as if by an invisible bladed weapon -- His eyes snap open and he
stares right at Kris, halfwhispering a warning as his last words:
DEAN
He’s back --
He falls backward off the ledge --
INT. ATRIUM BELOW - CONTINUOUS ACTION
-- smashing through GLASS into a sun room where other teens are sleeping.
His body shatters a glass-top coffee table, sending shards and blood in all
directions as the other kids are awakened, spattered in Dean’s blood --
TITLE SEQUENCE. (Continued through following scene.)
EXT. CEMETERY - DAY
A hilly plot freckled with yesterday’s snow. A crowd of maybe a hundred
MOURNERS sit in rows of foldout chairs under an open-air tent at a
gravesite. The MINISTER stands in front of the open grave, speaking to the
group.
Everyone is bundled up, dressed in black.
MINISTER (O.S.)
And so we send Dean to his final resting place, knowing he ascends to the
world beyond. The world of eternal dream.
GLIDING PAST the faces of STUDENTS, among them ones we recognize: Quentin,
Jesse, Nancy, one or two others from the house party. Most wear expressions
of tragedy. Sorrow. Regret. One or two snicker in mockery of the affair,
and other kids nearby glare at them: “Dudes, not cool.”
Beside them, their PARENTS. Stoic. Some even seem angry.
MINISTER (O.S.)
And in that world, he will face God for what he has done in this world.
ARRIVING at Kris. The one person in the crowd who looks frightened and
nervous.
MINISTER
Let us pray now, that he is accepted into God’s Kingdom.
As the Minister speaks, a LITTLE GIRL (maybe 5 years old) in a blue dress
steps forward, a wilting flower in her hands. The Minister and others seem
to ignore her.
Kris looks around -- whose girl is this? -- Then back at the girl who drops
the flower into the open grave...
When she turns back around, she reveals FOUR SLASHES down the front of her
dress. Just like Dean’s wound. Kris’ eyes boggle at this, and she stands
up.
The Girl looks up at Kris when --
A ROTTING ARM reaches from the open grave and GRABS the Girl’s leg --
EXT. GRAVESITE SERVICE - CONTINUOUS ACTION (REALITY)
Kris snaps awake in her seat. The mourners are moving indoors. Her mother
NORA has a hand on Kris’s shoulder.
NORA
Come on. We’re going inside.
Kris nods, adjusting, then glances back at the open grave. No sign of the
little girl.
INT. FUNERAL HOME - DAY
The regalia for the wake of a child: Log book, tons of flowers, soothing
music, and a wall of PHOTOS chronicling Dean at various ages. A banner over
the collage reads “IN MEMORIAM.” Dean’s PARENTS hold onto each other like
they were passengers on the Titanic waiting for a life raft. Visitors
soothe them, other parents in the room. Kris ventures to the photos and
peruses them. THE PHOTOS show Dean’s active young life:
-- At a soccer game.
-- In a stage play in middle school.
-- On vacation with his parents at some touristy locale...
Kris smiles even as she starts to tear up. Then she stops cold when her
eyes lock onto one photo. THE PHOTO is of a very young Dean, maybe 5 or 6,
smiling for the camera at a playground. It’s not Dean that’s the unnerving
element, but off to the side, by a swing set -- THE LITTLE GIRL from Kris’
daydream. Wearing the exact same dress. She’s real, and she’s Dean’s age.
Those eyes, that hair, it’s clearer now... This has to be YOUNG KRIS.
Kris leans in closer, suddenly creeped out, when -- A HAND touches her
shoulder, causing her to jump.
JESSE
Hey, hey, it’s me. Sorry.
Kris lets out a nervous breath.
KRIS
Yeah.
JESSE
Wow, is that you with Dean? You’re adorable.
KRIS
I guess... You know, I don’t even remember knowing Dean back then. I mean,
we all grew up together...
(then)
I’m a mess, God I was right there when it happened.
JESSE
Hey, it’s okay...
Jesse hugs her. She hugs back. Sniffs. Then says while they’re still close:
KRIS
Dean said something.
Jesse pulls back to face her.
JESSE
When?
KRIS
Right before he died. He looked at me and said, ‘He’s back.’ Does that mean
anything to you?
JESSE
No. Maybe his dad?
KRIS
He was out of town. Also, I saw on Dean these, these cuts.
JESSE
He’s been cutting himself?
KRIS
No, not like that... I saw slashes appear on his chest. Out of nowhere.
Does that make sense?
JESSE
I don’t know, maybe your eyes were just playing tricks on you...
Jesse looks past Kris and frowns.
At some point, NANCY has stepped up to the photos, behind Kris. Quiet in
her mourning.
JESSE
Do you mind?
Nancy ignores Jesse but moves off. Kris watches her go.
INT. KRIS’ BEDROOM - NIGHT
A rack of clothes hanging in a closet scrape along the rod as Kris pushes
them OUT OF VIEW. Kris digs around in her closet a few moments more but
comes up empty-handed.
INT. ELSEWHERE IN KRIS’ HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER
Kris descends the stairs to the front hall.
KRIS
Hey, Mom?
A loud BARK and Kris turns to greet RUFUS, a rescue mutt wagging his tail
at her.
KRIS
Rufus, you sweetie.
NORA (O.S.)
Let’s keep Rufus inside at night. A skunk sprayed the Jansens’ dog the
other night.
KRIS
Okay, fine, Mom.
Her mother emerges from the kitchen.
NORA
Wash up for dinner and help me with the plates.
KRIS
Hey, do we still have any of my stuff from when I was young?
NORA (O.S.)
Young? How young?
INT. KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Kris appears at the kitchen entry, leans against the frame.
KRIS
I don’t know. When I was little.
Nora gives her a sidelong glance.
NORA
Well, sure, what kind of mother do you think I am? Lot of it’s in storage,
over the garage. Why?
KRIS
No reason. Did I ever come home with torn clothes? Like one of my dresses?
This stops Nora. She recovers, but it’s too late. Kris knows the question
triggered something.
NORA
I don’t think so. C’mon, go wash up. Let’s eat.
Kris studies her mother a beat before leaving.
INT. KRIS’ BEDROOM - NIGHT
Kris lies in bed. Eyes open, focused on her door. The light from the hall
finally goes out. Mom’s in bed. Kris pulls back the covers: She’s still
dressed. She gets up.
INT. GARAGE - MOMENTS LATER
Kris opens the door and turns on the light. She grips a large flashlight in
her hands. A car partially blocks the garage floor space, and the walls are
lined with boxes and paper bags of junk. Kris struggles with the pull-
string to the trap door in the ceiling. It finally gives way and creaks
open. A set of wooden steps unfolds. Kris goes up into --
INT. CRAWL SPACE - CONTINUOUS ACTION
The only light in here comes from a single naked bulb high in the center of
the storage space. Kris can’t stand fully upright without hitting a support
beam. The space is crammed with boxes of more junk, allowing a narrow aisle
down the middle.
CONTINUED:
Kris’ flashlight shines into the corners and finds a file box labeled KRIS
-- SECOND GRADE. She looks around finding a FIRST GRADE box and then one
at the far end that has no label. Instead, it’s SEALED with packing tape.
Kris uses her nail to tear the tape and opens the box.
INSIDE
A photo of Kris at age 5. A glassy-eyed doll with a limp pull string. And a
stash of her early clothes including...A blue dress with a lace collar.
WIDER
Kris holds the dress up, turns it over... to find FOUR SLASHES in its
fabric, just like her dream. The doll’s pull string spools up and in a
music-box child’s voice:
CHINA DOLL (V.O.)
One, two, Freddy’s coming for you.
Kris picks up the doll, disturbed. On its own, the doll’s HEAD TURNS TOWARD
KRIS, its face now a painted scowl -- Kris drops it in horror -- BEHIND
HER a set of boxes in shadow is crowned by a FEDORA. The fedora rises to
reveal the silhouette of a HEAD and then the sweater-wearing TORSO of a man
-- Kris turns and SCREAMS in shock at the sight of him -- tripping
backwards and spilling into some boxes --
The boxes topple, scattering GARDENING TOOLS onto the floor ahead of her --
Kris tries to get up but she can’t because -- HER FOOT has slipped into a
knothole in the wood plank...yet the hole is barely wider than her ankle.
How her foot fell in, or how she could pull it out now, is impossible.
TIGHT ON A BURNED HAND
with bone exposed at the knuckle, as it reaches for something among the
spilled tools...THE GLOVE. Like a gardening glove, but with a set of razor-
sharp blades welded onto the back of the hand.
WIDER
Kris tries to crab-crawl away from the Man in the room, but she’s still
stuck. Half in shadow, his face shrouded by the brim of his hat, the Man
says in a raspy, guttural voice:
FREDDY (MAN)
Remember me?
The blades on the glove GLINT as it’s raised up -- Kris SCREAMS and he
lunges right at her -
INT. KRIS’ BEDROOM - NIGHT
-- and she sits straight up awake in her bed, her scream from her nightmare
finishing here.
The hall light switches on and her mother Nora comes to her door.
NORA
Kris? You okay?
Kris catches her breath.
KRIS
Yeah, Mom, just a... just a bad dream.
NORA
You want me to make you some hot cocoa? That used to do the trick.
KRIS
Psh, Mom, what am I, eight?
NORA
All right then.
Nora starts to shut the door when --
KRIS
(sounding eight)
Wait, Mom! Can I have that cocoa?
Nora smiles that mother’s knowing smile and heads downstairs.
Beat. Kris absently rubs her ankle -- But then she catches herself doing
it. Her ankle is tender to the touch. Off Kris’ worried expression -- A
bell RINGS.
EXT. SPRINGWOOD HIGH SCHOOL - MORNING
ESTABLISHING. Students pour into the building entrances as school is back
in session.
INT. HIGH SCHOOL HALL - MORNING
Nancy approaches her locker, spins her combo lock. She’s dressed
inconspicuously. Pretty-girl image is not her priority. Getting out of town
after graduation certainly is. She opens the locker...
INSIDE
small matte paintings for art class, each painting a rich, vibrant
landscape of some dream-like destination. The opposite of what you’d think
a girl like Nancy would paint.
WIDER
A hand touches her on the shoulder --
QUENTIN
Hey, Nancy --
Nancy reacts, nearly elbowing Quentin in the face.
QUENTIN
Jesus!
NANCY
Oh. Sorry. I just, I don’t like being touched is all.
QUENTIN
Whatev. So I’m doing a podcast tonight, taking calls for people to share
stories about Dean, kind of a tribute thing.
He hands her a flyer from a small stack. A glance at the headline --
“INSOMNIA RADIO.”
NANCY
Oh. Yeah, cool.
QUENTIN
Wow. You’re the first person not to blow me off.
NANCY
Well, you start the thing at midnight. That could be it.
QUENTIN
Hey, that’s some beautiful work. Is that for art class?
NANCY
No. Those are my rejects.
She shuts her locker door. As if to say: Don’t look.
INT. CLASSROOM - DAY
History class. The round-faced TEACHER drones on at the head of the class,
the chalkboard behind him with homework assignments listed.
HISTORY TEACHER
But in the seventeenth century, peasants couldn’t own weapons.
FINDING Kris at her desk among the students, by a window. The sun on her
arm and neck is warming her. Making her drowsy. Her eyes get heavy...
She blinks awake. Rubs them.
HISTORY TEACHER
Open your books and read pages eighty-four to ninety-six...
Kris flips open her book.
INSERT - TEXTBOOK
Two illustrations of strange, ancient hardware tools fill pages 84-85.
HISTORY TEACHER (O.S.)
The bloodiest invasion of this region was fought with improvised weapons
made from common tools.
Flipping to the next spread... Another set of wicked devices. Always with a
sharp edge or blade.
BACK TO SCENE
KRIS flips again, more concerned now --
INSERT - TEXTBOOK
-- stopping at a page with a diagram of THE GLOVE.
BACK TO SCENE
KRIS sucks in a breath, looks up and -- The classroom has changed. It now
looks like a small preschool classroom, modified from a living area in a
house. Blankets instead of desks. Only Kris’ desk remains. Immediately,
Kris knows what’s happened. She snaps her eyes shut and whispers to
herself:
KRIS
Wake up, wake up, wake up --
SLAM, a deep sound like a heavy book dropped -- Kris opens her eyes again
but now -- THE WHOLE ROOM is charred and smoldering as if a fire had
devoured it moments before. Where the Teacher was, now FREDDY stands at the
charcoal desk, shrouded in shadow. Behind him, a crude chalk drawing on the
damaged board:
A stick-figure girl with X’s for eyes and red chalk in lines on her dress.
The name KRIS written above it.
FREDDY
Time for a new lesson, Kris.
Kris panics and sprints for the door --
INT. IDENTICAL CLASSROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Finding herself entering back INTO a clone of the classroom.
Kris looks back into the first room just as FREDDY grabs her by the hair
and pulls her all the way into the room. Kris struggles. Freddy pins her
down. The air is thick with ash, and the light never seems to fall on
Freddy’s face. He’s still this enigmatic figure. Short on breath, panicked,
Kris looks up at Freddy.
KRIS
Who -- are -- you?
FREDDY
You know my name. We used to play.
The back of his gloved hand goes to stroke her cheek. Kris recoils. Freddy
FLICKS the blades by her nose, slicing a lock of her hair -- Kris squirms
away from it, cutting more of her hair -- Freddy scrapes them along the
floor, right for her face --
Sound of some book SLAMMING as if dropped and --
INT. CLASSROOM - DAY
Kris sits up at her desk, SCREAMING.
She has the attention of everyone in class, and the History Teacher, who
picks his book up from his desk. All heads are turned toward her.
HISTORY TEACHER
Did that wake you, Miss Fowles?
Kris tries to gain her composure. She’s shaking like a leaf.
KRIS
I... I’m sorry...
HISTORY TEACHER
Sorry to have bored you to sleep. Everyone, heads down and eyes on your
books. C’mon.
The students obey, not wanting to get in trouble. Kris then looks down at her own history book.
A lock of her hair rests on the pages. Kris checks her hair and finds
where it had been cut, just like in the dream.
She puts a hand over her mouth -- this is the first proof her dreams can
affect reality.
SAME SCENE - A MINUTE LATER
The bell RINGS. Kris packs up her things. Three rows over, NANCY watches,
as she hefts her backpack. As the room empties, she approaches Kris.
NANCY
Seems like it’s all a bad dream.
Kris whips around, wide-eyed.
KRIS
What? What did you -- ?
NANCY
Being back at school, after what happened to Dean...
KRIS
Oh. I guess so.
NANCY
Anything you want to talk about?
KRIS
Have we ever really talked?
NANCY
Forget I asked.
Nancy moves off. Kris watches her go, than takes the last look at the lock
of hair in her hand...
INT. STUDENT CENTER - LATER
An energy drink VENDING MACHINE. With appropriate slogans: “Twice the
caffeine!” “Who needs sleep?” Etc.
REVERSE
to find Kris standing at it, shaking, trying to straighten a wrinkled
dollar bill.
KRIS
(sotto)
C’mon, c’mon...
She feeds the bill into the slot... it spits it out.
KRIS
Shit.
She smooths a corner and tries again. This time it works.
KRIS
Yesss.
Kris pushes a drink button and grabs it from the dispenser. The machine
spits out change. Kris counts the change, pauses before leaving, and puts
the change into the machine. She buys a second drink.
INT. HIGH SCHOOL HALL - DAY
Kris finishes one of the cans with a final swig and puts another in her
locker. Jesse steps in.
JESSE
Hey, babe, I need to talk to you.
KRIS
Not now, Jess. I don’t have time.
Jesse grabs Kris by the arm before she steps away.
JESSE
Hey, this is serious, we gotta talk about us. You and me.
Kris wrenches her arm free, on edge.
KRIS
We broke up, you remember that?
JESSE
Yeah, but, that’s nothin’ new --
KRIS
That’s the problem! You don’t take this seriously until it’s too late and
now it’s too late, Jesse!
Her tone and volume causes Jesse to bristle. Other kids are watching, as
kids love melodrama. Jesse starts to reply when:
PRINCIPAL (O.S.)
Kristen Fowles.
Kris turns around to see the school PRINCIPAL standing just outside his
office door.
PRINCIPAL
See me in my office, please.
Students nearby AD LIB “ooooooh” and “oh snap,” etc.
INT. PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER
Kris enters to find the Principal with an older MAN, rather distinguished-
looking.
PRINCIPAL
Kris, I heard about your little episode in history earlier. You want to
tell me about it?
KRIS
Not really... Who is this?
PRINCIPAL
This is Doctor James Britt, he’s a therapist and part of our school’s
mental wellness program.
DR. BRITT
Hello, Kris.
PRINCIPAL
I just wanted to make you aware that there are people you can talk to here,
if you need to. After what happened, I mean.
KRIS
Uh. Yeah. Thanks.
DR. BRITT
You’ve been through a terrible ordeal, Kristen. It’s okay to be wounded by
it.
KRIS
I’m okay, really...
DR. BRITT
You have bags under your eyes. Having trouble sleeping? I can prescribe
something to help you...
Kris backs for the door. She’s done.
KRIS
No thanks.
The bell rings.
EXT. ELM STREET - TIGHT ON THE STREET SIGN - DAY “ELM ST.”
DRIFTING OFF to catch sight of Kris driving home.
EXT. KRIS’ HOUSE - DAY
Kris heads to her door. At the front door Rufus barks excitedly. Kris
fumbles with her keys --
KRIS
Okay, Rufus, hang on --
She unlocks the door and then, with her key still in the lock, is seized by
a memory. Reciting the next lyric:
KRIS
Three, four, better lock your door.
Rufus barks at her from inside.
INT. GARAGE - DAY
Kris enters from the kitchen and grabs a sack of dry dog food by the door.
Rufus wags his tail inside. Before she takes the food in, she looks up...
The string for the trap door to the crawl space hangs limply over the hood
of her mother’s car. Kris stares, unnerved...
CLOSE ON HER NOW
The blurry shape of someone behind her --
NORA (O.S.)
Kris --
BACK TO SCENE
Kris drops the dog food in shock. She turns around: Now we get to see Nora
fully. She’s dressed in a flight attendant’s uniform, fastening an earring.
NORA
Oh sorry, honey.
KRIS
Jesus you scared me!
NORA
I think you need to lay off the caffeine, young lady. (fixes Kris’ hair) I
got a red-eye tonight, so we’re gonna go over some ground rules before I
leave.
FOLLOWING Nora and Kris as Nora moves to --
INT. KRIS’ LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Nora’s travel bag stands upright near the front door.
NORA
Now, I’ll be back on Thursday. Meantime, you aren’t to leave this house
except to go to school, and no one comes over. You hear me?
KRIS
Shyah.
NORA
I mean it. The neighbors know to look for any cars parked out front. No TV
after ten, either. (softer) Try and get some sleep, okay?
KRIS
I’ll try.
Nora opens the front door to leave -- NANCY is standing there.
NORA
Oh! Oh, hello, Nancy.
NANCY
Is Kris home?
NORA
Yes she is but she can’t see nyone tonight, I’m sorry.
Kris frowns. What’s Nancy doing here? Peering over, from a few feet behind
her mother, out at her schoolmate.
NANCY
I just brought this over. You know. As a get-well gift.
She hands Nora a small shiny bag of some sort of candy.
NORA
Oh, well that’s, that’s nice of you, dear. Now if you’ll excuse me...
Nora shuts the door and turns to Kris. She hands off the gift to her
daughter.
NORA
No friends over. I mean it. Especially her.
KRIS
She’s not really my...
Kris looks down at the gift:
Chocolate-covered espresso beans. Kris puzzles over it. The door shuts
again -- Nora has left. Kris goes to the front window and pulls the curtain
back, watching her mother get into her car and drive out. Across the street
Nancy pauses to look back at the house. Looking right at the window where
Kris is. Beat. Kris pulls the curtains closed again. Swoosh.
INT. CRAWL SPACE - NIGHT
From the darkness, light spills in as the trap door opens up. We’re inside
the dark storage space looking toward the steps as Kris climbs up. She
pulls the switch for the light and looks around. Moving quickly to the back
of the storage area... Past the SECOND GRADE box and the other ones... The
spot where she found the sealed box is EMPTY. Nothing is there. But Kris
notices: the dust-carved footprint of a box. Something was here, right
here. Now it’s gone.
OFF Kris’ look of concern...
INT. KRIS’ BEDROOM - NIGHT
Kris sits at her computer desk. Researching online. On her monitor: Dean’s
obituary. She scrolls down, where the article describes Dean growing up.
“... in Springwood since he was two years old...”
Accompanying the obituary story is a PHOTO of Dean as a little boy. He
smiles for the camera. The shot was taken outdoors somewhere. Kris rubs her
eyes. She’s been at this for some time. Looking back at the monitor:
THE PHOTO now shows little Dean crying and FREDDY can be seen just behind
him, the photo cropped right at Freddy’s neck so we can’t see his head.
BOOM BOOM BOOM -- the noise rattles Kris who sits up with a start. She
dozed off for half a second. Turning to see --
JESSE at her window.
JESSE
Hey! Let me in before someone sees me out here!
Beat. Kris doesn’t immediately go to the latch.
JESSE
Come on!
She looks back at the article -- THE PHOTO is as it was before. Little Dean
smiles at us. Kris lets out a breath and opens the window for Jesse.
KRIS
What the hell are you doing here? You nearly scared me to death.
JESSE
We gotta talk.
KRIS
My mom isn’t home now.
Kris peers out her window for signs of any snooping neighbors.
JESSE
Don’t worry, I parked down the block.
Jesse settles down in her desk chair.
JESSE
Look, I don’t like how we left things at school. It’s been eating at me.
Kris goes and sits on the edge of her bed.
KRIS
I know you want to talk about us... But I need to talk about something else
right now.
Her voice trembles. Jesse sits up.
JESSE
Yeah, sure. What’s up.
Kris takes a deep breath.
KRIS
I’ve been having nightmares. Like, really bad ones. There’s this man in
them, I think he’s trying to kill me.
JESSE
In your dreams?
KRIS
No... For real. Like, if I go to sleep I... I might not wake up.
Jesse relaxes. That’s just crazy talk.
JESSE
Kris, hey. That can’t happen. You’re just making yourself nuts over it. We
all have bad dreams. Hell, I had one last night.
KRIS
These are different. The same man is after me every time, with this weird
glove made of knives --
Jesse reacts to this last bit.
JESSE
What? Wait. This man, does he wear a hat? And a striped --
KRIS
(joining in)
Striped sweater, ohmigod, you’ve seen him too?
Now the tables have turned. Jesse takes a breath.
JESSE
My nightmare, I saw this dude attack you. Cut you up, and the whole time, I
couldn’t do a thing. Made me feel helpless. I hated it.
Kris’ mind is reeling.
JESSE
How are we dreaming about the same person? Is that even possible?
KRIS
I think Nancy has seen him too.
JESSE
Creepy Goth girl Nancy down the street?
KRIS
She’s not that creepy.
JESSE
This, this doesn’t make sense...
Kris starts crying. Sleep deprivation and nerves have finally broken her
down.
KRIS
I don’t wanna go to sleep, I’m scared, Jesse, I didn’t do anything wrong,
why is he in my head?
Jesse immediately moves to her side, holds her.
JESSE
Hey, hey, shh shh, it’s gonna be okay. I’m here. I won’t let him get to
you.
KRIS
You promise? Promise me.
JESSE
I promise.
Their noses touch. They both meet the final inch for a long kiss. One kiss
leads to another. Hands find their way under shirts and blouses. The
tension and fear converts to raw passion. Clothes peeling off, Kris pulling
them both fully onto the bed, it’s what Jesse has wanted for months and
what she wants only right now. Before they go all the way, Kris holds him
back enough to plead with wet eyes:
KRIS
Stay with me.
JESSE
I’ll keep you safe.
He moves to kiss her again.
INT. KRIS’ BEDROOM - NIGHT
The couple are under the covers, both sound asleep. Kris is tucked up
against Jesse. In the distance, a dog BARKS. Kris’ eyes snap open. Oh god -
she’d fallen asleep. Kris sits up, listening to the dog. Looks around. All
is normal. She goes to the window. On the lawn out back, RUFUS is in the
corner, barking at something unseen. Part of the back yard is being
redesigned for a large garden with a statue or two. Plastic sheeting
crackles in the breeze, hanging over sections of loose soil.
Kris opens the window and calls out in that whispershout:
KRIS
Rufus! Shh!
Rufus keeps barking. Kris slips into sandals and a nightgown.
EXT. KRIS’ BACK YARD - MOMENTS LATER
Kris steps out the back door and calls to Rufus again.
KRIS
Roofy, stay away from the skunk! Rufus...
Rufus tears off into the half-built landscaping. Kris almost goes after
him, but pauses, startled.
The garden area is populated with two dozen realistically painted porcelain
FIGURES.
Kris cautiously enters the rock path, paying close attention to the
figures.
They’re all CHILDREN. In macabre poses. Creepy lawn jockeys. Some of them
are covering their eyes. One seems half-buried in the ground, crawling out.
One peeks out from behind a young tree. The sound of Rufus YELPING in pain
puts Kris in motion again --
KRIS
Rufus!
She approaches a bend in the rock path toward the farthest corner of the
fenced-in lawn, where the crowd of child-statues is the most dense, and --
TRIPS to the ground, catching herself before she busts a lip. Kris gets up
again --
All the children are now pointing in the same direction. With growing
panic, Kris looks that way to see --
FREDDY, slightly larger than life, in the corner, smiling.
Rufus lies dead and bloody at his feet. More blood drips from Freddy’s
glove.
KRIS
(whispered)
No --
Kris flees.
THE BACK DOOR to the house is in sight -- Kris gets to the door and tries
the knob -- Freddy is coming for her, laughing as he gets closer and
closer, like he knows something she doesn’t -- Kris gets the door open and
flings herself inside --
INT. PRESCHOOL HALL - NIGHT
She slams the door shut and leans against it, catching her breath. A beat
later Kris becomes aware of her surroundings:
She’s not home. This is the interior of a home converted to a children’s
daycare or preschool. But something about the place is off. The children’s
finger-paintings pinned to the bulletin board are a mix of typical happy
stick figures and dark, disturbing images in red and black and green
crayon.
From a classroom, a dozen FIVE-YEAR-OLDS spill out, screaming like hyper
little kids, running in all directions. From the group, a LITTLE GIRL in a
blue dress stops and looks up at Kris. This is her self-image, thirteen
years ago. It’s the same blue dress.
FREDDY (O.S.)
Hide and seeeeek...
The Little Girl looks back into the room, then urgently grabs Kris’ hand.
LITTLE GIRL
(hushed)
Hurry. We have to hide.
CREEPY GIRLS (O.S.)
One, two, Freddy’s coming for you...
The Little Girl leads Kris down the hall...
Kris looks into the classroom as they pass the open door -- FREDDY stands
with his back to the door, standing in a corner with his glove’s blades
resting on a chalkboard. Nearby, a set of three little blonde CREEPY GIRLS
jump rope (two spinning the rope for the third).
CREEPY GIRLS
Three, four, better lock your door...
Kris is pulled away and down the hall, past other open doors. There is no
sign of other children now; they’ve all hidden.
KRIS
Wait, wait --
CREEPY GIRLS (V.O.)
(echoing)
Five, six, grab your crucifix...
The Little Girl leads Kris down a set of stairs, into a basement room.
CREEPY GIRLS (V.O.)
Seven, eight, gonna stay up late... Nine, ten, never sleep again.
The house gets darker as she goes.
FREDDY (O.S.)
Ready or not, here I come!
The Little Girl breaks from Kris as Kris looks up the stairs:
The stairs now look like they go up forever. There’s no end to them. The
steps are swallowed in the dark. Up there, sounds of children SCREAMING
but this time it’s not the giggly hyper screams like before. Kris turns
back to see the Girl in the blue dress crawl into an overturned cardboard
box (the size of a TV box).
LITTLE GIRL (O.S.)
In here, quick!
KRIS
Damnit, Jesse, wake me up!
Boom-boom-boom, someone is coming down the endless stairs. Kris crawls into
the TV box --
INT. NARROW TUNNEL - CONTINUOUS ACTION
A squared-off hole dug into the dirt. It goes for a dozen yards ahead, to
the promise of flickering light.
KRIS
Come back!
She hears sounds behind her and crawls deeper.
The tunnel begins to COLLAPSE behind Kris, burying the entry and filling in
onto her feet, threatening to smother her alive. Kris crawls fast as she
can move until she can stand --
INT. DIRT ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Only candles light this underground bunker of a room. A door on cinder
blocks serves as a table in the center of the space.
Behind Kris, the tunnel passage fills with dirt until it’s seamless with
the wall. There’s no way out. Kris backs against it, eyes wide.
KRIS
You.
FREDDY stands on the other side of the table, toying with a small raggedy
doll. The brim of his hat doesn’t hide the wicked smile that spreads across
his face.
KRIS
Who are you!
FREDDY
You know me.
Freddy puts the doll on the table.
FREDDY
Say my name.
KRIS
No --
FREDDY
Say it.
Beat. Kris is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
KRIS
(sotto)
Freddy.
In a flash Freddy is at her throat. Predatory. Smiling; a shark’s smile. A
car horn HONKS, Freddy turns his head and --
INT. KRIS’ BEDROOM - NIGHT
Kris suddenly sits up awake to the sound of a CAR HORN. She catches her
breath. Jesse is asleep next to her.
KRIS
(sotto)
Thanks a lot, asshole.
He nudges him. He rolls away a bit. She nudges him again. Jesse puts the
pillow over his head. Kris notices her hair is damp with sweat. She gets
up.
INT. BATHROOM - MOMENTS LATER
Kris looks at herself in the vanity mirror. Water running in the sink. She
bends down, splashes her face... straightens up again... And it’s still
just her reflection in the mirror. All is normal.
Kris pats her face with a towel and leaves.
INT. KRIS’ BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Kris shuffles back into bed, getting under the covers, rolls over to cuddle
with Jesse -- But it’s FREDDY.
FREDDY
Found you.
Kris SCREAMS --
Freddy is on her in a flash --
INT. KRIS’ BEDROOM - NIGHT
Out of the dream world. Sleeping Kris is breathing shallowly, arms
flailing. It’s enough to wake Jesse.
JESSE
Kris, whoa hey, Kris --
He sits up and goes to shake her wake -- Blood soaks into the covers in a
widening pool around Kris --
JESSE
JESUS!
Jesse flings the covers down to reveal several deep cuts into her flesh,
through the nightgown. Kris thrashes and whimpers, still asleep. Jesse
tries to hold her down, against the mattress. This only makes Kris (still
in the throes of her nightmare) fight harder.
JESSE
Kris! Wake up, baby, wake up!
Kris bucks and another cut slices her arm near where Jesse is trying to
hold her. He lets go and tumbles to the foot of the bed just as Kris’ body
jerks upright. She remains asleep despite the violent motion. Jesse gapes
as Kris vertically levitates out of bed. Her eyes shut, deep asleep still;
arms hanging, legs kicking. Floating in midair. Gurgling on her own blood.
JESSE
This is a dream, I’m dreaming again, c’mon wake up --
Kris is SLAMMED, as if by an invisible force, against the ceiling. A
sickening CRUNCH as her neck wrenches and her head hangs at an unnaturally
skewed angle. Jesse watches, frozen, as Kris’ blood cascades down onto the
bed below. And then, a final act of brutality: Four deep parallel gashes
appear in a quick arc down her front -- collarbone to pelvis. Her eyes snap
open, but they’re blank. Her mouth gapes, but no sound emerges. She
continues to bleed out. Jesse gulps. He moves, slowly, toward Kris’
floating body, his arms extended as though to pluck her out of the air...
Abruptly, Kris drops like a giant broken rag doll back onto the bed,
splashing Jesse and the four walls with all the blood that had been pooling
beneath her. Jesse backs to a wall, horrified. He doesn’t know whether to
puke or run. He goes with run. Almost sprints off in his boxers. But before
he leaves he grabs his jeans by the door --
INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS ACTION
-- putting on his jeans as he makes for the door --
EXT. STREET - NIGHT
Moments later, Jesse bursts out of Kris’ house, shirtless and shoeless.
Behind him, the house security alarm for the front door wails in a high-
pitched tone for ten seconds then starts BLARING --
Jesse, already in panic, runs down the sidewalk toward his bike half a
block down. It’s the dead of night. Only a few street lights shine on Elm
Street. But the alarm -- Over Jesse’s shoulder we see porch and interior
lights awakening -- And already a MAN in a bathrobe and a broom steps out
onto his lawn -- Jesse makes a quick course correction and dives behind a
parked minivan in a driveway. But he moves too close to the garage of this
home and trips the motion-activated light.
Jesse stays low and half-runs into the side-lawn corridor between the two
houses.
EXT. SIDE LAWN - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Hopping over a chain-link fence. Jesse can hear neighborhood dogs all
BARKING at the alarm.
A light to a bedroom at Jesse’s back flickers on. He ducks down and for the
first time sees the shape he’s in: Kris’ blood is spattered across his
chest, arms, and face. He’s a horrible mess... and still barefoot.
POLICE SIRENS in the distance now.
Jesse gets moving again.
EXT. BACK YARD - MOMENTS LATER
Jesse climbs over a nine-foot wooden privacy fence just as a back porch
light flickers on in the yard where he was...
EXT. ADJOINING BACK YARD - CONTINUOUS ACTION
...Landing in a quiet one here, but wrenching his ankle in the process.
Jesse bites down to keep from howling in pain, then tries to walk it off
in a tight circle, limping. After a beat he pauses to listen to the
advancing sirens. Moving through the darkened side lawn toward Elm
Street --
EXT. ELM STREET - CONTINUOUS ACTION
-- where Jesse’s motorcycle is parked at the curb, behind a pickup. Jesse
can see it from where he is. But a SQUAD CAR rolls by, lights and sirens,
and Jesse pauses. A beat later, the Neighbor with the broom steps up to the
sidewalk maybe five feet from Jesse’s bike, and stares down the street at
the police. Jesse reverses his course, back to the back yards.
EXT. KRIS’ HOUSE - CONTINUOUS ACTION
A middle-aged NEIGHBOR greets the two POLICE OFFICERS at the front door in
her pajamas and a long coat.
NEIGHBOR
I heard a scream and then the alarm went off --
Her HUSBAND is with her, stepping on her testimony --
HUSBAND
I told her not to go in until you showed up --
NEIGHBOR
-- saw a boy, I saw him run --
EXT. NANCY’S BACK YARD - MOMENTS LATER
With no other direction to go, Jesse feels trapped. He rakes his hands
through his hair, then turns around to face the house whose back yard he’s
trespassed...
The house is dark save for one bedroom on the second floor. Brief glimpse
of NANCY passing by the thin curtains.
INT. NANCY’S ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Nancy stands staring at us, her head crooked to her side. She’s dressed in
a well-worn tank top and panties, her iPod tucked into its waistband on her
hip. Her shoulders move to the beat of whatever is piping into her ears.
Her hands are black with charcoal as she holds a large stick of it, rolling
it around in her fingers. The walls behind her are papered with amazing art
and photography from the great masters.
REVERSE ANGLE
to reveal the charcoal illustration on canvas. It’s a head shot of QUENTIN.
A blown-up yearbook photo has been tacked to one corner, as her reference.
CLOSE ON NANCY
as she adds a few new strokes, then steps back again. Her hair flutters
from a breeze that makes her shiver, and Nancy starts to turn toward the
window when --
JESSE’S HAND clamps over her mouth from behind --
JESSE
Don’t say a word --
Nancy -- having already demonstrated she freaks when someone touches her
by surprise -- freaks out. Her head jerks back and cracks Jesse’s nose,
hard. He falls back onto her bed, holding his nose. Now Nancy sees who it
is.
JESSE
Ow...
She pops out her earbuds and lets down her guard.
NANCY
Jesse Braun, what the fuck are you doing? Is that blood?
She notices some has smeared onto her skin.
JESSE
Just listen to me, listen. I was with Kris, and something really fucked-up
happened.
Nancy gasps as she realizes:
NANCY
Holy shit, this is Kris’ blood? What did you do?
JESSE
(getting up)
Nothing! It wasn’t me! That’s what I’m trying to tell you --
NANCY
Get away from me --
JESSE
Okay, okay. Just hear me out. Something is going on here.
NANCY
What happened to Kris, Jesse?
JESSE
Someone killed her in her sleep.
Nancy’s expression changes from guarded to vulnerable just like that; with
that one statement.
NANCY
... What?
JESSE
You know what I mean, don’t you. Because you’ve been having the nightmares
too.
Nancy’s focus stops being Jesse. Her attention wanders.
NANCY
I don’t know what... what you’re talking about.
JESSE
Kris said you were! What are you doing awake at this hour, huh?
NANCY
I don’t want to talk about it.
JESSE
Because there’s a guy who stalks you in your sleep, his flesh is all burned
and peeling...
Nancy is wrestling whether or not to say something.
NANCY
All I can remember is the song.
JESSE
What song.
Nancy half-sings the first lyric:
NANCY
One, two, Freddy’s coming for you.
This registers with Jesse.
JESSE
Freddy... That’s him. He’s in all our heads, Nancy.
Nancy shakes her head. She doesn’t want to believe it.
NANCY
Jesse, how --
GWEN (O.S.)
Nancy? Who’s in there?
A knock on Nancy’s bedroom door. Her mother GWEN tries it but it’s locked.
GWEN (O.S.)
Open this right now! If you don’t I’m gonna unlock it.
Jesse makes for the window again, but before he leaves, he makes direct eye
contact with Nancy:
JESSE
We gotta stop this.
NANCY
... How? How do you stop a dream?
JESSE
I don’t know yet, just... Stay awake. You sleep -- you die.
Gwen gets the door open, her eyes immediately finding the blood-soaked
JESSE --
Jesse bails out the window at Gwen’s SHRIEK.
EXT. ELM STREET - NIGHT
A squad car does its best to barricade one end of the block, likely some
deputy who wants to be a big-city cop. Down the block, Jesse makes a dash
for his bike. With a shaky hand he gets the key in the ignition --
KICKS it alive and peels out --
Jesse is in third gear by the time he passes the second driveway -- AHEAD,
another squad car (half the local force) -- POLICE hear him coming and run
onto the street, guns out -- Jesse really has nowhere to go, he skids and
heads the other direction -- But an OFFICER yanks him off the bike before
he can get enough momentum.
ANGRY OFFICER
Down! On the ground! Now!
Jesse lies face-down like he’s about to do push-ups.
AS HE’S BEING HANDCUFFED, Jesse stares at someone O.S.
It’s at Nancy, on the front porch with Gwen. Plenty of other neighbors are
here to rubberneck.
BACK TO SCENE
Jesse shouts as he’s dragged off to the back of a car:
JESSE
I didn’t kill her! It wasn’t me!
(right at Nancy)
It wasn’t me!
BACK TO GWEN AND NANCY
Gwen shakes her head in disapproval, clearly believing Jesse is guilty of
something. Beside her, Nancy -- horrified that Jesse speaks the truth.
INT. HOMICIDE OFFICES - NIGHT
Jesse’s MOTHER and FATHER confront a police LIEUTENANT.
JESSE’S FATHER
You have to wait on his lawyer. You can’t talk to him until then.
LIEUTENANT
Lawyer’s on his way. Meantime, he’s free to talk and we’re free to ask.
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Jesse sits cuffed to the metal table. Two DETECTIVES work the room opposite
Jesse. One paces, the other sits facing their suspect.
DETECTIVE #1
So, let me see if I get this straight.
Jesse sits back in his chair, staring at his cuffs.
DETECTIVE #1
You show up at the girl’s house, and sneak up to her window. She lets you
in and complains about having nightmares.
JESSE
Not just any nightmares, the same ones -- the same guy is in them. Do you
get that?
DETECTIVE #1
Riiiight. ‘Fred.’
JESSE
Yes.
DETECTIVE #1
The guy who also snuck into the house and murdered Kris.
JESSE
Yes.
DETECTIVE #1
Only he’s invisible.
JESSE
He’s real -- he’s gotta be real somehow, to do these things --
DETECTIVE #2
This is blushed.
DETECTIVE #1
Maybe the kid’s going for some insanity plea.
JESSE
I’m not a schizo, if that’s what you’re saying.
DETECTIVE #1
We’re not saying anything. But your girlfriend was cut to shreds. Maybe you
didn’t do it, but you were right there, and you didn’t do anything to stop
it.
This strikes at Jesse’s heart. It’s his worst fear spoken aloud. He puts
is head in his hands.
INT. BOOKSTORE - MORNING
A young BOY (12 years old) sits at a table with his head cradled in his
hands. While it’s a similar pose to Jesse, this boy is just reading a comic
book. The store is a large upscale retail outlet. Nancy enters and crosses
to the STORE CLERK at the counter. The Clerk is around Nancy’s age.
STORE CLERK
Hey, Nancy. What’s up.
NANCY
I’m looking for any non-fiction reference books on nightmares, sleep
disorders, that sort of thing. Where do I find that?
STORE CLERK
Dreams and nightmares, huh? What, you and Quentin working on some school
project?
Nancy reacts -- this is news to her.
NANCY
Quentin?
INT. REFERENCE SECTION - MOMENTS LATER
A tall pile of books sits on a reading table in this section. One look at
the titles on the spines tells us it’s all about dreams and nightmares.
Quentin sits by the stack and skims through one of them, but it’s clear
he’s tired and unfocused. He turns another page, and hears a small squeak.
Looks around; what was that? A small RAT sniffs the air on the edge of the
table, then crawls off the end, out of sight. Quentin glances to see if any
one else saw it. He’s alone. He hears more squeaking, and gets up, moving
around to see --
A FEW DOZEN RATS, all streaming down one of the aisles. Frowning, Quentin
follows the rats.
As he traverses the aisle, we see the telltale glimpse of FREDDY’S SWEATER
through the bookshelf into the next aisle. Keeping pace with Quentin, one
row over. Quentin arrives at --
THE CHILDREN’S SECTION.
Little chairs and tables. Under one table, a SWARM of rats converge, and on
that table rests one book. A children’s book. THE PIED PIPER. Quentin sees
the title, and as Freddy’s gloved HAND reaches and grabs him --
Quentin SNAPS AWAKE back in the reference section. Nancy stands before him,
having gently grabbed him.
NANCY
Nightmares?
QUENTIN
... Yeah. I can’t explain --
NANCY
(interrupting)
Freddy?
The name stops Quentin cold. Beat.
QUENTIN
Yes.
NANCY
We need to talk.
QUENTIN
We need coffee.
INT. JAIL CELL - DAY
Jesse sits on his bunk, dressed in prison orange. His knee bounces
nervously. In the bunk across from him: A rugged INMATE with tattoos.
INMATE
You should calm down, fish. Ain’t going nowhere.
JESSE
I need to sleep.
INMATE
So? What, you scared of me?
JESSE
If anything weird happens, wake me up. Okay? Or call a guard.
The Inmate smiles wickedly and shakes his head at Jesse, then returns to
reading his book. Jesse rolls onto his back on the bunk and stares up.
ANGLE ON JESSE - looking straight down at him. He looks drained and
overtired. He may have been crying earlier; his eyes are bloodshot. Jesse
closes his eyes and takes a breath. Beat. All is quiet.
Then the Inmate STARTLES Jesse by slapping him on the chest.
INMATE
Boo! Hahah.
JESSE
The fuck!
INMATE
Just messin’ with ya.
The Inmate smiles and goes back to his bunk, grabs his book. Jesse stands
up.
JESSE
Dude. Not cool. I’m serious, man. Don’t do that shit.
The Inmate grins wickedly; knowingly.
INMATE
Watch your step, fish.
Jesse steps for the Inmate but then -- THE FLOOR gives way, the concrete
crumbling -- Jesse FALLS down a shaft of dirt, landing HARD -- He looks up
from where he fell --
The bunks of his cell are still bolted into the walls, three stories up.
It’s just the floor that has sunk. He’s at the bottom of a deep shaft. The
walls around him aren’t entirely dirt. The sides of COFFINS jut out here
and there. Like a breakaway view of a cemetery.
JESSE
HEY! Wake me up!
Scratching. The sound of long fingernails on wood. Some of the coffins
start to crack and splinter. Jesse backs up to the far wall. At waist-level
something pushes through the dirt beside him. Jesse looks down at it:
It’s a metal doorknob.
Behind him, an ARM bursts through a coffin wall. The familiar sweater
sleeve of Freddy. Jesse grabs the knob and pushes against the dirt. Freddy
begins climbing out of the coffin...Jesse puts his weight into the dirt
wall and the dirt falls away to reveal the rest of the door, which bursts
inward, spilling Jesse in --
INT. DARK TUNNEL - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Long and narrow, like a catacomb. Jesse runs. The shadow of Freddy bounces
behind him, chasing. Ahead: a wan light coming from the end of the tunnel.
Jesse reaches it to find -- It’s a window looking in at a BOY’S BEDROOM.
Faded babyblue, illustrations of airplanes. Jesse stares out, watching.
Jesse’s FATHER standing with a little BOY who looks very nervous. And very
much like a five-year-old Jesse. The little boy sits on his bed with his
head down.
JESSE’S FATHER
Now I know you and Dean play rough at school sometimes. So tell me the
truth. Did you hurt him?
LITTLE JESSE
It wasn’t me.
JESSE’S FATHER
I told you no more rough-housing --
LITTLE JESSE
Freddy did it!
JESSE’S FATHER
... What?
LITTLE JESSE
It was Freddy.
Jesse’s Father pauses, suddenly deeply concerned.
IN THE TUNNEL
Jesse whirls around.
JESSE
Is that what this is about? Is it? Face me like a man, Freddy! Come on,
let’s see you!
The claw-glove SMASHES through the window behind him and Freddy grabs
Jesse --
INT. BOILER ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION
-- pulling him into this underground room lined with hissing pipes and junk
dumped here as surrogate storage. Jesse gets up, clutching his shoulder.
He’s been cut. Freddy smiles. Scrapes his knives along a pipe.
SCREEECH.
Jesse backs up a few steps, then runs around a corner.
AROUND THE CORNER
It dead-ends at the hanging bodies of KRIS and DEAN. Bound tightly to the
pipes. Their flesh singed, still cooking against the metal. Nowhere to run
now. Just Jesse and Freddy.
FREDDY
This is where you said all those bad things happened.
Jesse swings to punch, but it’s like he’s underwater, his limbs moving
sluggishly -- While Freddy’s blades rake across Jesse’s gut. Jesse doubles
over -- Freddy swings again -- Jesse’s face is badly cut now -- Freddy
hamstrings Jesse -- Jesse collapses back on the floor, bleeding profusely.
He gets up on his hands and knees...Freddy picks him up.
FREDDY
You told them I hurt you.
JESSE
Maybe you did... What do you want me to do?
FREDDY
I want you to spill your guts.
Freddy SLICES Jesse along the abdomen. Jesse falls to the floor at sounds
of his guts spilling...But just before he hits, the boiler room washes away
to be replaced by --
INT. JAIL CELL - CONTINUOUS ACTION
-- and Jesse’s face hits the floor. His blood seeps out in all directions.
His Inmate freaks out as GUARDS storm in --
INMATE
Hey! Hey, this wasn’t me, HEY!
They slam the Inmate into a wall as an ALARM goes up --
INT. BOILER ROOM IN NIGHTMARE - CONTINUOUS ACTION
-- but sounds distant; far off here.
Freddy has hoisted Jesse’s bloody frame up next to Kris’. Jesse coughs up
blood, eyes rolling in his head.
FREDDY
The brain keeps working for up to seven minutes after the body dies.
Freddy leans in close to Jesse’s face.
FREDDY
I still have four minutes with you.
Freddy stabs Jesse again and TWISTS as Jesse SCREAMS --
INT. BOOKSTORE - EVENING (REALITY)
Nancy is seated at a small table on the fringe of the inhouse coffee shop.
The stack of books has migrated here. Quentin arrives with two large
coffees.
QUENTIN
I had them add an extra shot. How you holding up?
NANCY
Going on forty-three hours since any actual sleep. Other than that I’m
fine.
Quentin grabs a notebook and a pen. Some doodles and key words have already
been written down.
QUENTIN
Okay, so what do we know?
Nancy notices a thin book among the pile. The Pied Piper.
NANCY
Why is this here?
QUENTIN
Oh, it was just in a dream I had. I don’t know what it means, but I kinda
feel like Freddy’s trying to tell me something. You know?
Nancy opens the storybook. A richly-colored ILLUSTRATION shows the Piper
leading children out of town. The Piper wears a striped shirt of two
contrasting primary colors. A “pied” shirt.
NANCY
Children is definitely a theme in my nightmares too. And a house, or a
school. I can’t tell which.
QUENTIN
Maybe it’s our childhood. Maybe that’s the thing we have in common.
Otherwise, why us?
NANCY
(sipping coffee)
How long have you lived here?
QUENTIN
I was born here. Why do you think I’m so eager to get out? (grabs another
book) Maybe it was like a summer camp we all went to.
NANCY
I skipped those. Almost went to Crystal Lake one year, but no.
QUENTIN
How about kindergarten. I went to Davison for K-through-five.
NANCY
I was at Bering until third grade.
They share a look of frustration.
NANCY
This is gonna take a while.
QUENTIN
Yeah, but we don’t have the time.
NANCY
What do you mean?
Quentin rifles through the books to find one he’s bookmarked: Mastering
Sleep.
QUENTIN
(reading)
‘At the seventy-hour mark, an insomniac will begin to experience ‘micro-
naps’ every eight to ten minutes. These are periods where the brain will
shut down some of its cognitive function for several seconds in an attempt
to recharge itself. Clinically, the subject is asleep for those brief
moments.’
Nancy gets worried.
NANCY
That’s involuntary?
QUENTIN
(still reading)
‘At ninety-six hours, the insomniac risks permanent brain damage for every
minute they avoid slumber.’
NANCY
We’ll figure this out before then. I’ll dig around in mom’s old photo
albums.
QUENTIN
And if we don’t find any leads?
NANCY
There’s always one way to get more information...
Quentin starts to ask “What” but then the look on Nancy’s face clues him
in. He shakes his head.
QUENTIN
No. Oh no.
NANCY
If I time it right, I could learn something important and get out before he
gets to me.
But now Quentin is looking past Nancy, over her shoulder. Nancy turns to
see the muted TV by the barista counter.
ON SCREEN: The caption “Murder Suspect Fatally Stabbed”
under a live report outside the county jail facility as Jesse is loaded
into an ambulance.
QUENTIN
...Shit. He got to Jesse.
INT. NANCY’S KITCHEN - NIGHT
A knife SLICES carrots on a chopping block. Gwen works the carrots and adds
them to a salad. The front door shuts and Nancy passes by.
GWEN
Hey kiddo, how you doing?
Nancy stops and pulls up at the bar in the kitchen, dropping her book bag
at her feet.
NANCY
Mom...
GWEN
You look awful. Go take a bath.
NANCY
Well, that’s confidence-inspiring. Mom, how long have we known Kris and her
family?
GWEN
Oh, I don’t know. A long while. You were both learning to walk at the same
time.
NANCY
What about Jesse? Did we ever get together with his family for anything?
GWEN
Well. I suppose there were a few school functions and such.
NANCY
What about Dean and Quentin? Were the five of us ever enrolled in something
together?
Gwen’s tone changes to suspicion.
GWEN
What has prompted all this?
NANCY
Look, this is going to sound loopy and paranoid, but I don’t care...is
there anything I should know? About when I was young?
GWEN
Like what?
NANCY
I don’t know. Something to do with a man named Freddy.
Nancy is waiting for the reaction this time. Gwen regards her carefully.
GWEN
Sweetie, does this have anything to do with what’s been going on, like with
Jesse?
NANCY
That’s what I’m trying to figure out!
GWEN
You want to tell me about it?
NANCY
I can’t.
GWEN
Yes, you can. I’m your mother.
NANCY
I mean, I don’t know how it fits together yet. I was hoping you did.
GWEN
I know this must be really rough, what you’re going through now. What with
the loss of your friends... But sometimes bad things happen to good people.
There’s no big mystery to it, really.
Nancy slowly shakes her head. This was a failure. Gwen goes back to
prepping dinner. She turns on a faucet --
INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT
The tub’s faucet runs hot water. Nancy plugs the drain and stands up. She’s
half undressed. She add bath salts to the running water. Foam spreads along
the surface of the water.
SAME SCENE - MOMENTS LATER
Nancy eases into the bubbly bath. As she settles in, she lets out a long,
deep breath. Slicking her hair back with her hands. Her cell phone rests on
a towel rack nearby. She grabs it and presses some buttons.
INSERT - CELL PHONE SCREEN
Showing the alarm timer feature: “15 min.” Then, “Timer Set.”
ON NANCY
feeling like she can finally relax. She eases back into the tub. Closes her
eyes. Beat. It’s her one moment of peace. From the bubbly bath water at her
knees, FREDDY’S GLOVED HAND rises, its blades extended --
A knock on the bathroom door sends the hand back underwater just as Nancy
opens her eyes --
GWEN (O.S.)
You okay in there?
NANCY
Fine, Mom!
GWEN (O.S.)
Just checking.
Nancy checks her phone’s clock.
NANCY
(sotto)
Twelve minutes? No way.
Looking at her fingers: They’ve pruned.
Nancy climbs out of the tub and puts on a robe.
NANCY
(calling)
Hey, Mom?
Opening the door and stepping out --
INT. UPSTAIRS HALL - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Right across from the stairs down. Voices get Nancy’s attention. She peers
downstairs at the foyer -- A stern-looking MAN in his 30s enters the living
room with a slightly younger DR. JAMES BRITT. Nancy’s jaw drops.
NANCY
Dad? Dad, is that you?
She hurries downstairs in her robe to look into --
INT. NANCY’S LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Gwen sits with Little Nancy (about 5 years old) on the couch. Little Nancy
has been crying. Gwen holds her close. A small cassette recorder sits on
the coffee table. Nancy’s Father speaks quietly with Dr. Britt, away from
Gwen and Little Nancy, near the foyer. No one reacts to Nancy entering the
room -- they can’t see or hear her.
NANCY’S FATHER
I don’t want my daughter scarred for life. There’s gotta be something you
can do.
NANCY
Dad, what’s going on?
DR. BRITT
Memories this traumatic take time to heal. But I can help.
FREDDY (O.S.)
So can I.
Nancy looks upstairs to see FREDDY at the top. Starting down toward her.
His GLOVE raking along the banister. She yanks on the front door and runs
out to escape him --
EXT. PRESCHOOL BUILDING - DUSK
She’s now outside the front door of the preschool. Nancy steps back to get
a better look at the building. Leaves rustle from a breeze along the front
steps. The place seems deserted. The SIGN for the school is overgrown with
ivy. Nancy pulls at the ivy to get a good look at it. She gets as far as
the first six letters: “STILLM -- “
FREDDY (O.S.)
Little Nancy. All grown up now.
Nancy turns and backs away. Freddy appears and for the first time we get a
clear look at him. The leathery, peeling flesh, sometimes stripped away to
expose bone. Teeth blackened and rotting. Freddy carries a pitchfork that
looks like another one of his personal inventions. Nancy has backed up to
the preschool building. There’s nowhere else to run. Freddy SLAMS the
pitchfork at Nancy, trapping her arm and neck in the gaps between the
blades as it buries into the wall behind her.
NANCY
I set an alarm.
FREDDY
Yes, you did... in your dream.
Nancy panics
NANCY
Oh shit.
Freddy stands very, very close. Nancy cringes.
FREDDY
We have plenty of time.
NANCY
Stop -- please stop --
Freddy licks her cheek, then whispers in her ear:
FREDDY
As long as your little voices call me a monster, I will never stop.
Somewhere, a phone RINGS.
INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT
Nancy snaps awake in the tub, sucking in a breath. Her phone rings again.
She answerS it:
NANCY
Hello?
QUENTIN (V.O.)
Hey, just checking in.
NANCY
Ohh, God. Thank you. Quentin, you’re awesome.
QUENTIN (V.O.)
Remarks like that will have me calling you every hour. Did you fall asleep?
You have a nightmare?
Nancy’s panic subsides.
NANCY
I have a lead.
INT. QUENTIN’S BASEMENT ROOM - NIGHT
Quentin sits at his computer, his cell phone at his ear in one hand.
QUENTIN
I get a few hits on a Stillman Preschool here in town that was around in
the ‘90s, but nothing more than a brief mention.
NANCY (V.O.)
(filtered)
No address or criminal file?
QUENTIN
Maybe my Google-fu is weak.
NANCY (V.O.)
(filtered)
Wasn’t your mom on like city council or something?
QUENTIN
Yeah, but she can’t remember what happened last week, much less thirteen
years ago.
NANCY (V.O.)
(filtered)
We’ll look it up at the library tomorrow.
QUENTIN
Yeah. Okay. Sleep tight -- (d’oh) I mean... You know what I mean.
NANCY (V.O.)
(filtered)
Good night, Quentin.
Quentin snaps his phone shut and ponders a beat.
INT. QUENTIN’S HOUSE - NIGHT
It’s dark. The room is a study, or library. Quentin searches the
bookshelves with a flashlight. The light lands on a filing cabinet. Quentin
picks the lock and opens the drawer. A creak from somewhere else in the
house alerts Quentin.
He clicks off the flashlight and holds his breath. Beat. Nothing. He clicks
the light back on and rifles through the drawer. It’s filled with manila
folders stuffed with old files.
CLOSE ON ONE FOLDER
his thumb finds: “STILLMAN.”
Flipping through it to find papers and a PHOTO. The photo is of the same
school from their nightmares. The one we’ve been seeing. In front of the
school, PARENTS and their CHILDREN for that year stand for a group shot.
Little Quentin and his mother are in the picture. so are Nancy and her
mother, Gwen. Dean’s father, Kris and her mother, and Jesse’s father are
also recognizable in the photo. Lastly, off to one side, a MAN wearing a
FEDORA and leaning against a rake he’s planted into the dirt at his feet.
The Man is smiling.
ON QUENTIN
Holding the photo up to the light.
QUENTIN
(sotto)
Is that you, you son of a bitch?
The tight beam of the flashlight reveals black-ink handwriting on the flip
side. Quentin turns it over to find first initials and last names of
everyone in the photo.
TIGHT ON ONE NAME
“F. KRUEGER”.
NANCY (V.O.)
(pre-lap)
Krueger.
INT. NANCY’S ROOM - NIGHT
Nancy stands by Quentin, holding the photo in her hands.
QUENTIN
I think that’s him.
NANCY
Could be. So hard to tell with normal skin...
QUENTIN
We’re all there. You, me, Jesse, Kris, and Dean.
NANCY
And a few other kids.
QUENTIN
Point is, we got a full name. We can track him down, see how he fits with
the -- where you going?
Nancy storms out of her room.
INT. GWEN’S BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER
Nancy’s mother Gwen is still in bed when Nancy bursts in and turns on the
light. Gwen sits up in her nightgown.
GWEN
Nancy, what on Earth -- what time is it?
NANCY
Freddy Krueger.
Gwen is suddenly sober-awake. Nancy holds up the photo as evidence.
NANCY
You knew him. You know something you’re not telling me.
Gwen looks down at her hands. She lets out a tired sigh.
GWEN
I didn’t want to keep it a secret, I just hoped you would forget all about
it. And we’d put it past us for good.
NANCY
Forget about what? Tell me!
Gwen’s eyes grow distant as she remembers thirteen years ago.
GWEN
We didn’t know. Not at first.
FLASHBACK - EXT. PRESCHOOL YARD - DAY
Schoolchildren play and laugh in the small playground behind the converted
house of a school.
A rather HANDSOME MAN tends to some flowers along the exterior, wearing
gardening gloves and using a hand-held gardening claw. It takes a beat to
realize: It’s Freddy. Without the burns and exposed bone he’s a different
man.
GWEN (V.O.)
He was just hired help. Walked in from out of town and got a job as a
caretaker for the school.
Little Dean flees from two other children in a game of tag. Giggling he
runs and hides behind Freddy. Freddy smiles and plays like a protective
bear, growling at the other kids.
GWEN (V.O.)
He got along so well with the children.
The other kids just eat it up, fleeing from Freddy. Freddy laughs and it’s
a joyful, warm laugh. Avuncular. To see him as just a man -- and happy --
he’s unrecognizable as the same person in their nightmares.
EXT. FRONT PATH TO SCHOOL - DAY
The children are hiding as Freddy prowls around the front, in search of a
child. Playing he doesn’t see anyone yet.
GWEN (V.O.)
And you all loved to play games with him.
SCHOOLGIRLS
(playing jump rope)
One, two, Freddy’s coming for you --
INT. GWEN’S BEDROOM - NIGHT (PRESENT)
Gwen shakes her head. Ashamed.
GWEN
But sometimes evil hides behind a smile.
FLASHBACK - INT. KRIS’ HOUSE - DAY
Nora pulls off Little Kris’ dress in the bathroom, getting ready for her
bath. on Kris’ back: four long scratch marks. Still fresh.
NORA
Baby... What happened? Did someone at school do this to you?
CLOSE ON LITTLE KRIS’ FACE
Fearful. Nods.
INT. QUENTIN’S HOUSE - DAY
QUENTIN’S FATHER stands in the kitchen on the phone. He looks over at his
son who’s sitting at the breakfast table in front of a plate of hot food.
Little Quentin stares at the floor. Ignoring the meal.
QUENTIN’S FATHER
(into phone)
Yeah, he has been acting strange lately. Why?
INT. JESSE’S HOUSE - NIGHT
The parents are all gathered around in this room, in the middle of a heated
discussion.
JESSE’S FATHER
What do we know about this gardener? Krueger.
NORA
This all started after he showed up at school.
OFF Gwen’s reaction of growing horror.
INT. NANCY’S BEDROOM - DAY
Gwen is on the end of Little Nancy’s bed. Nancy has her back to the corner,
the sheets pulled up around her protectively. Trembling.
GWEN
Nancy, tell me. Did Freddy do this? Tell me it was him and I'll make it all
better.
Nancy finally nods weakly at her mother.
INT. GWEN’S BEDROOM - NIGHT (PRESENT)
Gwen gets cold at the thought. Behind Nancy, Quentin has arrived and stands
at the door. He’s heard the story.
GWEN
Sweetie... Freddy was a child molester.
Nancy is hit sideways by the bold admission. Finally:
NANCY
Was there real proof? Evidence?
GWEN
Audiotapes. Your testimony. Dean’s father brought in a shrink...It took
some time, but eventually every child had some Fred Krueger horror story to
share.
NANCY
Jesus...
(then)
Mom. Tell me the truth. What happened to Freddy.
GWEN
He skipped town. Left before the cops could make an arrest.
In shock from this news, Nancy gets up. She stares at the photo in her
hands.
GWEN
All I wanted to do after that is have you grow up normal. Put this behind
you, Nancy.
Nancy is slowly shaking her head. MOVING WITH her as she leaves the
bedroom with Quentin, picking up pace...
GWEN (O.S.)
It’s okay. He’s long gone!
Nancy’s look says: Oh how wrong you are.
INT. NANCY’S ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
Quentin is at her computer, typing names into a search engine. Nancy paces.
NANCY
I don’t buy it. Just disappeared? There’s more to it.
QUENTIN
I’m trying to track down any of the other kids in the photo, but it’s a
haystack with just a last name. It would be easier if we could get into the
school database.
NANCY
I can do that.
QUENTIN
(yeah right)
You can hack into the public school network.
NANCY
I was aide for Mrs. Garriott last semester. I know her password. I can
probably get in from one of the PCs in the school library.
Quentin gets up.
QUENTIN
I’ll drive.
EXT. HIGH SCHOOL - MORNING
ESTABLISHING. It’s way early. Quentin’s Mustang is parked in the first
Spot.
INT. HIGH SCHOOL HALL - MOMENTS LATER
Nancy and Quentin round the corner in a quiet, empty hall before school
starts. They try the door to the school library hall -- it’s locked.
QUENTIN
They’re not open yet.
NANCY
When are you free today?
QUENTIN
After swim team.
NANCY
Meet me here then. We gotta find out what happened to Freddy.
Quentin nods. At the sound of a coach’s WHISTLE --
INT. INDOOR OLYMPIC POOL - DAY
A trio of student SWIMMERS rocket down lanes while their female coach KELLY
BARBER (short hair, muscular) shouts at them, a stopwatch in her hand.
COACH BARBER
Go, go, go! Two seconds behind!
At three other lanes, another group of STUDENTS wait against the wall,
standing in the water. Quentin is one of them. He rests his head on the
concrete lip of the pool and he stares straight up. It’s impossible to tell
at this angle through his goggles if his eyes are open or closed.
SWIMMER #1
-- and Paul was gonna take her to the prom.
SWIMMER #2
NO SHIT?
SWIMMER #1
Yeah, she and Jesse were broke up for good this time, I heard.
SWIMMER #2
You think Jesse knew she was --
Drifting to Quentin who doesn’t move until the coach’s WHISTLE startles
him.
COACH BARBER
Team two: Positions!
Quentin shakes off the fatigue and prepares to launch himself forward
through the water. The coach whistles AGAIN and they’re off -- Arms
wheeling. Legs pumping.
QUENTIN’S POV
-- Underwater. The lanes marked on the bottom of the pool. Muted splashing
around him. -- Above water. The lip of the pool, a few dozen yards away.
The door to the locker room beyond that. Coach Barber with her stopwatch
shouting at them. -- Underwater again. He’s pulling ahead in his lane. --
Above water and now its ocean as far as the eye can see.
ON QUENTIN
Stopping, in shock.
PULLING BACK... the pool is gone. He’s --
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACIFIC
No sign of land. A fog draping the sky above him. Quentin looks panicked.
QUENTIN
Oh shit. Oh sh --
Something TUGS at him from underwater -- Quentin sucks in a breath,
treading water in fear --
CLOSER ON HIM
As a second time he’s YANKED under -- A beat later he surfaces again,
gasping for air, to find --
EXT. ABANDONED FACTORY GROUNDS - NIGHT
-- he’s in a retaining pond at a closed down chemical plant. He’s still in
the nightmare. Quentin climbs out onto the grass and catches his breath.
Over the rise, the silhouette of FREDDY appears, running for him. Quentin
gets up and runs the other way; toward the abandoned plant. He’s out of
breath and cramping -- He stumbles and falls -- Freddy gets right up on
him -- And keeps running, right past Quentin. Headlights swing around until
they light Freddy’s back. Freddy looks back -- he’s not burned. No glove in
hand. Quentin gets up as several PARENTS (who look a decade or so younger)
pass by him in pursuit.
DEAN’S FATHER
Krueger, you sick son of a bitch!
They’re all crazy-angry.
JESSE’S FATHER
Pedophile!
They make for the small containment building Freddy entered. Quentin
follows, confused. NORA, Kris’ mother, is among the lynch mob. She’s been
drinking. She holds a half-empty bottle of vodka. (NOTE: This matches the
bottle Kris found in the box in the crawl space.) Dean’s Father tries to
shoulder his way into the door. Freddy has barricaded it.
DEAN’S FATHER
You come out, or we’ll force you out!
No response inside.
Jesse’s Father swings a baseball bat and bashes a vertical window near
the door. Another MAN passes by Quentin, holding a flashlight.
QUENTIN
Dad? What are you doing --
QUENTIN’S FATHER
I say we smoke him out.
Dean’s Father grabs Nora’s bottle of vodka and jams his handkerchief into
the neck.
NORA
Wait, shouldn’t we wait for the police?
But Dean’s Father is past the point of no return. There’s only rage in his
heart now.
DEAN’S FATHER
He touched my son!
The Molotov cocktail is lit, and just as Dean’s Father hurls it through the
broken window --
JESSE’S FATHER
Wait -- that building is --
A glimpse at the variety of FLAMMABLE warning signs precedes the light show
when the bottle erupts inside. The blast wave knocks Quentin off his feet.
Inside, Freddy SCREAMS, his voice curdling from within the walls of the
building and then -- He bursts out through the door, a man of living
fire -- Right at Quentin -- Quentin is still on his back, starts to crab-
crawl away -- Freddy FALLS right atop Quentin who covers up his arms --
Freddy’s burning face SCREAMS at Quentin and --
INT. INDOOR OLYMPIC POOL - DAY
Quentin coughs up pool water, spitting it on the concrete. He’s lying on
his back with Coach Barber over him in roughly the same position Freddy
was a moment ago.
COACH BARBER
Quentin. Hey. You swim in it, son, you don’t drink it.
(stands up)
C’mon. Walk it off.
Quentin props himself up on his elbows. He’s back.
INT. SCHOOL LIBRARY - DAY
Approaching Nancy who sits at a computer.
NANCY
There you are. I did a search of enrollment records and figured out the
full names of the other kids in the preschool photo, but I still don’t know
what happened to...
Nancy finally does a double-take on QUENTIN who steps up urgently.
NANCY
Is your hair still wet?
QUENTIN
I know what happened.
SAME SCENE - MOMENTS LATER
Nancy and Quentin sit opposite at a small reading tale by the computer
station.
NANCY
Burned to death?
QUENTIN
You know that old processing station out by Route Nine? I think that was
it.
Quentin brings up an online article on the monitor.
HEADLINE: “BODY FOUND AT PENNICON PLANT.”
NANCY
Jesus... They killed him...
QUENTIN
They were just trying to smoke him out. But something caught fire --
The bigger picture is hitting Nancy.
NANCY
Quentin. They went after him because of what we said. What a bunch of five-
year-olds told them.
QUENTIN
Yeah.
NANCY
What if... What if we made it up?
QUENTIN
What? All of us?
NANCY
Do you know how easy it is to lead a little child? To make them say what
you want them to? Or what you’re afraid they’ll say?
QUENTIN
Nance...
NANCY
Do you remember what Freddy did to you back then?
Quentin has been trying to remember, but...
QUENTIN
No.
NANCY
So, it’s possible we, some of us, we lied --
QUENTIN
-- and those lies killed Freddy. Jesus...
(then)
How can we stop him now?
A realization dawns on Nancy.
NANCY
He said something.
QUENTIN
What? Who.
NANCY
Freddy. In my nightmare. He said, ‘As long as your little voices call me a
monster, I will never stop.’
Quentin doesn’t follow.
QUENTIN
He’s a cryptic asshole, so...
NANCY
The only evidence that would paint him as a pedophile are those audiotapes.
Our testimony. Our voices. We destroy those tapes --
Quentin gets it now.
QUENTIN
-- maybe Freddy goes away.
NANCY
We have to find those tapes.
(then)
How the hell do we do that?
QUENTIN
Someone in that photo has to know.
Quentin taps the PHOTO on the desk, by the keyboard. Nancy hands him her
handwritten list of names.
NANCY
Read me a name.
QUENTIN
(reading)
‘Lisa Harper.’
ON THE MONITOR
Nancy clicks the first search result link from that hit... An online
article appears on screen. The headline:
“TEEN GIRL DROWNS IN BATHTUB.”
BACK TO SCENE
NANCY
Oh no...
QUENTIN
What?
Quentin can’t see the monitor from where he’s sitting.
Nancy shakes her head.
NANCY
Read me another one.
QUENTIN
Why, what’s wrong with Lisa?
NANCY
She’s already dead.
Beat. It hits Quentin. Freddy’s been busy. He reads another:
QUENTIN
‘James Burkleo.’
ON THE MONITOR
Nancy clicks a new link. Another article: “TRAGEDY - ‘HE NEVER WOKE UP.’”
NANCY
Jesus...
(to Quentin)
Another.
QUENTIN
‘Agatha Moore’ and ‘Marcus Greene.’ That’s it, that’s all of them.
ON THE MONITOR
Yet another snippet: “ -- ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL”
BACK TO SCENE
NANCY
Quentin, they’re all dead...
Quentin gets up, starts pacing.
QUENTIN
Okay, so we go back to our parents --
NANCY
Like they’re gonna help us? They killed Freddy and covered it up. They’ve
kept this buried for over ten years.
Nancy halfheartedly keys in the last name into the search engine. A web
page starts to load.
QUENTIN
So we go to the police. Tell them.
Nancy pulls away from the computer to challenge Quentin:
NANCY
Tell them what? We have no proof!
A young man’s voice (MARCUS) speaks from the computer:
MARCUS (V.O.)
Day seven. I saw the preschool again.
Quentin and Nancy stare at each other for a moment -- what was that? Nancy
leans back to see her monitor.
ON THE MONITOR
A video blog site has loaded and plays an entry from MARCUS GREENE. He
speaks to the webcam from his bedroom.
MARCUS (V.O.)
(on screen)
I didn’t get much exploration this time. The guy with the burns shows, and
I have to run. But I added the school building to my map...
Marcus grabs the webcam and shifts it to reveal...A large POSTER tacked to
his wall, with a variety of lines, sketches, and landmarks in black and red
markers.
The title at the top of the poster-paper: “NIGHTMARE MAP.”
MARCUS (V.O.)
(on screen)
The burned man is leading me somewhere, trying to show me something.
BACK TO SCENE
QUENTIN
We gotta warn him.
Quentin looks at the website on the screen, then after finding what he was
after --
QUENTIN
There -- that’s a Chicago number.
He grabs his phone from his backpack and starts dialing. Nancy clicks on
another link to find a high-resolution scanned image of the Nightmare Map.
Marcus has uploaded it to his blog site.
NANCY
He’s been mapping out the nightmare world. Wow.
(sotto)
Why didn’t we think of that?
QUENTIN
It’s ringing.
Nancy clicks back to the blog entries and finds the most recent. She clicks
“PLAY.”
ON SCREEN
An exhausted-looking Marcus sits at his computer, his bedroom partially
visible behind him. Bags under his eyes, messy hair... He’s about to fall
down sleeping.
MARCUS (V.O.)
(on screen)
Day nine. I’m in and out. Can’t last. Gonna sleep here. Set cam to record,
it will kick in when it detects motion.
Marcus clicks around on his own PC, sluggishly.
MARCUS (V.O.)
(on screen)
Okay. Should auto-upload now. Just gonna... close... my...
Marcus nods off in his chair.
BACK TO SCENE
Quentin hangs up and shakes his head at Nancy, then leans in to watch the
video on screen with her.
ON SCREEN
The image records for a few seconds, then it -- HICCUPS, advancing to the
next time the webcam sensed motion. Marcus has leaned back in the chair
now, still slumbering. Another five seconds of stillness, then -- HICCUP --
another skip in recording. Marcus is twitchy now. The light in the bedroom
has changed, it looks darker. Slowly, Marcus’ chair eases backward, away
from the webcam. It seems to move all on its own. Marcus goes still and
then -- HICCUP -- the recording skips to find the chair rotating around.
Now its back is to us. We can’t see Marcus. But we can hear him. Breathing
shallow. Choking. A rending sound. His hands spasm on the arms of the chair
... then nothing. Beat. Two. Is it over? Then -- THE CHAIR ROTATES again,
revealing Marcus slumped, barechested in the seat, his shirt shredded --
Carved into his chest are the words “DIE NANCY.”
And then his body seems to get sucked right into the chair, vanishing in a
sudden YANK from reality just as -- Smashing to STATIC --
BACK TO SCENE
NANCY REELS from the computer, hand over her mouth. Trembling. Quentin is
speechless. Beat.
INT. LIBRARY PRINTER TERMINAL - MOMENTS LATER
At the printer as it spits out a color printout of Marcus’ Nightmare Map.
Quentin and Nancy stand and wait for it to finish printing. Nancy is still
in shock. Quentin’s edgy.
NANCY
We’re the only ones left.
QUENTIN
He’s not gonna get you. We can stop this. We have something to show the
cops now. Okay? They have to hear us after seeing that.
Nancy nods, but her heart isn’t in it.
NANCY
Maybe.
The school bell RINGS, making them both jump. Sleep deprivation taking its
toll.
QUENTIN
Come on.
They head for the hall.
INT. HIGH SCHOOL HALL - MOMENTS LATER
Quentin leads, Nancy follows. It was the second bell, so the hall is empty.
Nancy keeps her head down as she walks.
NANCY’S POV
Floor passes by, following Quentin’s feet, but then we intersect a trail of
blood.
BACK TO SCENE
NANCY STOPS and looks left, right. Down one of the intersecting halls,
Marcus’ bloody corpse marks the end of the trail, half his body already
obscured around another corner. His torso is dragged out of sight -- A hand
reaches for Nancy -- She jumps but it’s just Quentin --
QUENTIN
Hey. Let’s keep moving.
Nancy looks again down the hall. It’s empty. No blood trail.
NANCY
What time is it?
QUENTIN
Two-fifteen.
NANCY
I’m at hour seventy-five.
QUENTIN
(realizing)
Micronaps?
Nancy starts to panic.
NANCY
I need something strong.
QUENTIN
Okay, okay, we’ll get some No-Doz, uppers, something. C’mon. I’ll stop at a
pharmacy.
She nods and they hurry for the door.
EXT. PHARMACY PARKING LOT - DAY
Overcast. The lot is mostly empty. Quentin’s Mustang screeches into a spot.
INT. MUSTANG - CONTINUOUS ACTION
He puts it in park, shuts off the engine, and looks over at Nancy.
QUENTIN
I’ll be right back.
NANCY
Hurry.
QUENTIN
I will.
NANCY
Please.
He gets out and rushes to the front doors. Nancy sits in the car.
Breathing. Beat.
(NOTE: It’s important to note that at no time does she close her eyes --
micronaps occur while you’re still awake, the brain just shutting down for
a few moments.)
She grabs the printout of the Nightmare Map and studies it.
INSERT - PRINTOUT
One corner shows a hand-drawn tree dotted with black. Marcus has labeled it
“TREE OF CROWS.” Another corner shows a line drawing of the PRESCHOOL.
ON NANCY
Now, she checks the time on her phone and just then Freddy opens her car
door and yanks her out of the car -- He drags her onto the lot which is now
dark and foggy -- Nancy SCREAMS and struggles against Freddy -- Freddy gets
her to stop by placing his claws on her stomach, ready to punch them into
her --
FREDDY
You got my message.
And Nancy snaps AWAKE back in the passenger seat of the car, catching her
breath. Tears streaming down her cheeks now. She looks around. Zeroes in
on the in-dash cigarette lighter. She punches it in. Beat. Looking out
toward the door to the pharmacy.
NANCY
C’mon, Quentin, where are you...
Pop! The lighter ejects. Nancy grabs it and turns it over to look at the
burner. It glows orange-hot. Still shedding tears, Nancy takes the lighter
and holds it close to her forearm. Sucks in a breath. Two. Then she mashes
the lighter against her flesh. Wincing in pain, she lets out a primal WAIL.
Pulling back, a nasty BURN on her arm now. Sizzling. Nancy tries to control
her breathing. Wipes her eyes. Beat. Coming down from the pain-rush.
NANCY
Come on, QUENTIN!
Nancy gets out of the car.
EXT. PHARMACY PARKING LOT - CONTINUOUS ACTION
She hugs herself and paces a bit. Then goes for the pharmacy front doors.
They slide away as she enters.
INT. PHARMACY - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Dull Muzak playing on the speaker system. Bright, sterile lighting. A
preoccupied CASHIER at the counter. Nancy starts down one aisle, looking for
Quentin. Halfway down the aisle, the power shuts off. The whole pharmacy
plunges into darkness. Nancy holds her breath. The power then flickers on
again and Nancy is in --
NIGHTMARE - INT. BOILER ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Dank, lined with pipes, a basement space to some very old building above
her. Shaking, Nancy starts to run --
NANCY
No no no no --
Turning the corner to find a row of BODIES tied to the pipes along the
back wall. It’s Freddy’s previous victims. Among them: Dean, Kris, and
Jesse. Nancy pauses and the world seems to flicker
BACK TO REALITY
REVEALING she’s in the aisle at the pharmacy but in the next moment it
PLUNGES BACK TO the boiler room. Nancy turns back around and stumbles upon
a little sort of living area where the main oven for the boiler room is
housed, and a couple of chairs and a rug are furnished. Freddy stands up
from a chair behind Nancy and throws her to the rug on the floor. Nancy
shakes off the trauma and starts to struggle.
FREDDY
This is where you told them I did those things to you. Right here.
Nancy, struggling to free from his grip:
NANCY
Stay -- away --
Nancy punches Freddy --
Freddy snarls and slashes her, cutting deep into her arm --
Nancy yelps and KICKS back while grabbing Freddy’s fedora and blinding him
with it --
QUENTIN (V.O.)
Nancy, wake up!
Nancy shudders as if being shook --
INT. MUSTANG - AFTERNOON
-- and finds herself struggling in Quentin’s grip. Nancy’s left arm is
bleeding from the nasty cuts Freddy gave her; the wound has crossed over.
Nancy sucks in a breath; it hurts badly.
QUENTIN
I’ve been trying to wake you for like a min-- WHOA!
Quentin backs off, startled by something in Nancy’s hands:
THE FEDORA.
Nancy sees it too. She sits up in shock, staring at it.
NANCY
I’m still dreaming?
QUENTIN
You’re awake.
NANCY
No --
QUENTIN
Yes.
She looks out the window at the parking lot. Then back at the hat in her
hands.
NANCY
How...
She feels the worn material with her fingers. Quentin regards it like it’s
potentially dangerous.
QUENTIN
It just -- that’s his, isn’t it.
NANCY
I pulled it out with me... How is that possible?
Quentin finally shakes off the shock of it and notices Nancy’s wounded arm
again.
QUENTIN
Nancy. You’re bleeding bad.
He starts to work on a makeshift sling using a spare button-down shirt from
his back seat. Nancy moans in pain when he puts pressure on it. The shirt
soaks up blood way too fast.
QUENTIN
Ahh, oh man, Nancy, we need to get you to a hospital.
NANCY
Just drive --
Quentin cranks the engine and slams it into gear --
INT. EMERGENCY ROOM - AFTERNOON
Quentin carries Nancy in.
QUENTIN
I need some help here!
TWO NURSES take her from Quentin and rush her to an open station. Nancy
looks pale and queasy from blood loss. Lots of overlapping voices:
NURSE #1
I got ya, just hang in there you’ll be okay --
NANCY
Quentin, don’t leave me --
QUENTIN
Her arm is badly cut, look just let me stay with her --
NURSE #2
What’s her blood type? Do you know? Where are your parents?
The question throws Quentin a beat.
QUENTIN
Our parents? You want our parents? This is their fault!
The Nurse reacts to his hostility and holds up her hands:
Easy, now, stay calm.
INT. E.R. STATION FIVE - MINUTES LATER
Nancy is on a rolling bed, her wound has been cleaned but it’s still pretty
bad.
Nurse #1 finishes cleaning the wound as Nurse #2 enters with sutures and
needles on a tray with a syringe. Nurse #1 exits so Nurse #2 can get in and
start to work.
NURSE #2
Are you allergic to any medicine?
NANCY
No, where is Quentin?
NURSE #2
I’m gonna give you something for the pain, an anaesthetic okay?
NANCY
Wait wait, will it make me drowsy? Will it make --
NURSE #2
With luck it will put you right out and you won’t feel a thing.
NANCY
No no no, don’t, I refuse.
The Nurse is shocked.
NURSE #2
Hon, this is liable to be very painful without it. Take it from me - you
want this.
NANCY
No NO get it AWAY --
Nancy’s mother Gwen arrives, pulling the curtain aside.
GWEN
Oh my god, baby, what happened?
NANCY
Mom... Hold my hand. Just hold my hand.
NURSE #2
Your daughter is refusing painkillers.
GWEN
What in the world is going on? Nancy, who did this to you?
NANCY
Look at it. You know who.
Gwen sees the slices. She frowns, shaking her head.
GWEN
No...
The Nurse begins suturing the wound. Nancy cringes in pain.
NURSE #2
I have to do this now, hon.
INT. HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
Quentin paces alone in this badly decorated area. His FATHER shows up.
QUENTIN’S FATHER
Son, what the devil is going on?
Quentin stops pacing and faces his father. There’s anger in his body
language.
QUENTIN
Dad.
QUENTIN’S FATHER
First I hear you skipped class and now you’re with the Thompson girl at the
hospital? Who stabbed her?
QUENTIN
It’s Krueger.
Dad reacts to the name like a slap.
QUENTIN’S FATHER
Who did you say?
QUENTIN
Freddy Krueger is after us. He’s killed Dean, and Kris, and Jesse, and
every other kid that went to that goddamn school.
QUENTIN’S FATHER
Who told you about Kreuger?
QUENTIN
Certainly not you. What did you do to me back then, huh? To make me forget
about Freddy?
Dad grabs Quentin’s arm and pulls him to a corner, speaking in a lower
voice:
QUENTIN’S FATHER
I don’t know who you’ve been talking to, but Fred Krueger is dead. You
understand? He’s dead.
QUENTIN
Because you killed him! And now he’s back for revenge -- he’s killing us
for what you did!
QUENTIN’S FATHER
Son, listen to yourself. You’re talking about ghosts and fairy tales.
Krueger is no Pied Piper.
Quentin reacts to the reference. He gives up trying to prove it to his
father.
QUENTIN
Where are the tapes, Dad? The things we said Krueger did. The audio tapes.
QUENTIN’S FATHER
He did those... those things. You wouldn’t have lied to us --
QUENTIN
I was five! I said whatever got me attention!
QUENTIN’S FATHER
No... You don’t remember it --
QUENTIN
Where - are - the tapes?
INT. E.R. STATION FIVE - MOMENTS LATER
The Nurse tugs on her thread and Nancy makes an agonizing sound that says:
I am beyond my threshold for pain.
The RESIDENT (30s, harried) enters.
RESIDENT
(to Nurse)
Why is she still up for God’s sake?
Gwen is still right there.
GWEN
Please, can you help her?
The Resident grabs the syringe from the tray --
NANCY
No, Mom, please please --
The Resident turns around with the needle but now --
NANCY’S POV
It’s not the Resident anymore, it’s FREDDY. NANCY SCREAMS and thrashes --
THE RESIDENT gets kicked, dropping the syringe -- Gwen is in tears now,
brought on by panic. The Resident recovers and looks to Gwen.
RESIDENT
A word?
INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY OUTSIE E.R. - MOMENTS LATER
The Resident holds a clipboard of paperwork, and a pen.
RESIDENT
We need to sedate your daughter before she busts any stitching. She’s a
danger to herself. But we can’t go against her demands unless a parent
gives us authorization --
GWEN
What are you saying, just tell me what to do to make my girl better.
The Resident hands her his clipboard.
RESIDENT
Sign here. We’ll take good care of her.
Gwen hovers over the signature line with the pen. And she signs it.
INT. RECOVERY ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
Nancy finds the strength to get off the exam bed. Holding her arm gingerly,
she goes to the door and pulls -- it’s locked. She then turns around and
starts looking for another way out. Desperation in her eyes. Behind her,
the door swings open and --
QUENTIN steps INTO VIEW.
QUENTIN
Nancy.
NANCY
Oh my god, Quentin, oh god --
She wraps her arms around him and hugs him. He hugs back.
QUENTIN
I told you I wouldn’t leave you.
NANCY
Thank you, thank you...
QUENTIN
We gotta keep moving -- can you walk?
NANCY
Yeah, okay. Yeah.
She understands, they’re not out of the woods yet. They hurry for the door.
EXT. ELM STREET - EVENING
A sedan pulls up at Nancy’s house, and both Gwen and Quentin’s Father get
out. Gwen is on her cell phone. They go to the door and meet Jesse’s
Father. Down the block, Quentin’s Mustang glides to the curb and parks, its
engine cutting off.
INT. MUSTANG - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Quentin watches the house as the parents go inside. Nancy sits shotgun.
Both look like they could use a long bath and a lot of sleep. NOTE: Quentin
wears a crucifix necklace.
NANCY
Why are we here?
QUENTIN
I pushed my dad into talking about Freddy. About the tapes.
NANCY
Did he know?
QUENTIN
None of the parents wanted to keep the evidence in their home, so they
locked it up at the preschool.
NANCY
Did he say where the school was?
QUENTIN
Said it didn’t matter, it closed a long time ago.
NANCY
But the stuff could still be there. Right? Couldn’t it?
QUENTIN
I spooked Dad enough, I’m hoping he leads us right to it.
Kris’ mother Nora crosses the street toward Nancy’s house.
QUENTIN
Look at that. Band’s getting back together.
(then)
How you holding up?
NANCY
I’m sure I look beautiful.
Quentin chuckles. They’re both punchy; laugh or cry mode. Nancy grins and
stares out her window at her house.
A distant roar foreshadows a sudden SHIFT --
QUICK BEAT:
ELM STREET IN NIGHTMARE REALM
The same street except the skies are dark, the clouds the color of fresh
bruises. A naked TREE stands in her lawn where none exist in the normal
world. The tree is infested with crows. Nancy sits up in the car and stares
out at the tree -- Thunder CLAPS and the crows scatter like buckshot --
BACK TO SCENE
Nancy is back in the normal world, staring out at her treeless lawn. She
turns to face Quentin.
NANCY
Give me the map. Marcus’ map.
Quentin pulls it from the back seat and hands it. Nancy stares down at a
label on the page: TREE OF CROWS. A straight line runs from beside the tree
all the way up to the top of the map where it dead-ends at the PRESCHOOL.
Nancy’s attention snaps forward, down the long street.
NANCY
The school is on Elm Street.
QUENTIN
What? Where does it say that?
NANCY
Just, trust me. It’s on the other end, that way.
QUENTIN
Nancy, this street doesn’t even --
But he stops himself and grabs a road map from the center compartment.
Tracing a line north:
QUENTIN
Elm Street turns into Treeline two miles out, it doesn’t -- wait. It goes
back to Elm Street on the old side of town. You think...
NANCY
Drive. Just go.
Quentin starts the car.
EXT. TREE-LINED ROAD - NIGHT
The Mustang speeds by, alone in the night. No other traffic.
INT. MUSTANG - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Quentin drives, white knuckles on the wheel. Nancy hugs herself in the
passenger seat, absently rubbing the bandage around her wounded arm. After
a quiet beat.
NANCY
Hey. Talk to me.
QUENTIN
About what?
NANCY
Anything to keep me awake.
QUENTIN
Okay. Let’s see. What music are you listening to? What do you like?
NANCY
If you looked at my iPod it would look eerily familiar. I don’t think I
told you, but I listen to your podcast every week.
QUENTIN
Oh? So you’re the one.
Nancy smiles.
NANCY
You got me hooked onto some great stuff. It’s what I listen to when I
paint.
QUENTIN
Get outta town. Really?
NANCY
It’s true. I’ve been working on a piece for you, inspired by your latest
playlist. I love that track by Justice.
Quentin smiles, too. For the first time in many hours, they enjoy regular
teen conversation. It feels good to feel normal, just for a few moments.
QUENTIN
I wanted to ask you something, earlier.
NANCY
Ask me.
QUENTIN
When this is all over, and we’ve finally slept soundly for, like, a week
straight, I was wondering, if you’d --
NANCY
(immediately)
Yes.
Quentin laughs.
QUENTIN
Well, that was fast.
NANCY
Wait, did you just ask me out?
Quentin’s smile vanishes.
QUENTIN
Uhh, yes?
NANCY
Oh. Okay. Then yes; yeah.
QUENTIN
Wait, what did you think I asked you?
Nancy, suddenly bashful:
NANCY
I thought you asked if I wanted to have sex with you.
QUENTIN
Oh.
(beat)
Oh! So, I have another question for you now, oddly enough...
Nancy grins.
NANCY
How odd, yes.
The Mustang’s headlights illuminate a HITCHER on the side of the road. As
Quentin passes by, it’s clearly FREDDY, holding out his gloved hand.
Quentin snaps out of his flirtation and checks the road behind him.
NANCY
What?
QUENTIN
I saw him on the side of the road.
NANCY
Freddy?
QUENTIN
Yeah.
NANCY
How long have you been up?
QUENTIN
Long enough.
NANCY
Let me drive, then.
Quentin checks the road: Still no sign of other drivers. No sign of Freddy
either.
QUENTIN
Okay. Yeah.
He peers in the rearview mirror --
FREDDY is in the back seat.
QUENTIN
Nancy, look out, he’s --
Before Nancy can turn, Freddy YANKS on her seat belt to trap her flat
against the car seat and then STABS through the seat and up through her
chest. The blades punch out her blouse, blood spraying onto the
windshield -- Nancy’s eyes roll up --
QUENTIN
NO!
Freddy un-skewers Nancy and leans up into Quentin’s face, one hand pressing
down hard on his accelerator-pedal foot:
FREDDY
That felt good.
QUENTIN
YOU SON OF A BITCH!
The world outside is traveling at ridiculous speeds now. It’s like the
Mustang has reached 300 miles per hour. The Mustang’s engine squeals in
combustive agony. Freddy starts shaking Quentin, pulling at his arms --
FREDDY
(in Nancy’s voice)
Wake up, Quentin, wake up!
Quentin looks at him -- It’s NANCY now, trying to wake him up --
NANCY
Get off the gas! Quentin!
Quentin looks back at the road --
They’re fishtailing onto the shoulder, losing control --
EXT. TREE-LINED ROAD - CONTINUOUS ACTION
The Mustang skids and slides in a desperate battle to put itself back on
the road -- But loose gravel spins it and it SLAMS nose-first into a large
tree -- Metal, glass, and plastic explode -- The entire windshield
detonates into a million shards as -- The air bags POP inside -- And the
rear wheels land on the ground again. Beat. Smoke billows from the mauled
engine block.
INT. MUSTANG - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Quentin coughs and pushes against his airbag. It deflates. He winces and
holds his ribs, then looks at Nancy -- She’s out cold in her seat. Her
scalp bleeds from a head wound. Her airbag didn’t keep her from hitting
the window.
QUENTIN
Nancy...
(coughs)
Nancy!
He gently shakes her. She slowly comes to. Groaning. Quentin breathes a
sigh of relief and gets out. A beat later he opens Nancy’s door and pulls
her free.
QUENTIN
C’mon, easy now, easy...
EXT. ROADSIDE - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Nancy and Quentin hold onto each other as they stumble back onto the road.
Nancy’s head is swimming. She’s lost and unfocused.
NANCY
My head...
QUENTIN
You got a concussion. Hold tight. I’m calling nine-one-one.
He dials and puts the phone up to his ear. Nancy grabs it from him and
disconnects the call. With a teardrop of blood leaking down her face from
her forehead, she looks in desperate need of a hospital.
NANCY
We can’t go back to the hospital. Not yet.
QUENTIN
Then what now! It’s another three miles to the end of Elm Street!
Nancy turns and looks out the way they were driving. And she starts
walking. She’s wounded and limping slightly. STAYING ON Nancy, her breath
pluming in the cold night air. After a dozen steps or so, Quentin catches
up by her side. He keeps stride with her. The two broken, bruised, sleep-
deprived kids walk into town.
EXT. ELM STREET - TIGHT ON THE FAMILIAR STREET SIGN - NIGHT
DRIFTING DOWN to find Nancy and Quentin crossing a set of railroad tracks.
They march like zombies.
NANCY’S POV
That distant roar leads to another reality SHIFT --
QUICK POP-IN NIGHTMARE LANDSCAPE
The winds howl and a demonic-looking dog in a yard BARKS at us. On the
street, a long streak of blood runs like a line parallel to the curb.
BACK TO SCENE
Shifted back to reality. No blood on the street.
NANCY
This way.
SAME SCENE - A MOMENT LATER
The couple arrives at a cul-de-sac. They stop in the middle of the dead
end, their attention focused at the last house at the very end of the road:
THE PRESCHOOL.
The house has been converted into a school-ish building with the sign out
front. “CLOSED” reads the sign attached to the Preschool sign. Another dull
roar and SHIFT --
QUICK POP IN NIGHTMARE REALM
The blood trail leads to a POLE in the yard where Marcus’ body hangs, the
words “DIE NANCY” still carved into his chest. Nearby, the creepy
SCHOOLGIRLS jump rope:
CREEPY GIRLS
One, two, Freddy’s co-
BACK TO SCENE
-- snapping to reality. The shift causes Nancy to stumble.
NANCY
They’re getting worse. Must hurry.
Approaching the front porch now. Quentin peers in through the front window.
QUENTIN
Nobody’s home.
NANCY
Good.
Nancy throws a brick through the window, startling Quentin. With her jacket
she pushes out the last of the glass still clinging to the pane, and ducks
inside. Quentin looks out at the street, then follows, one hand absently
moving to the crucifix around his neck.
INT. PRESCHOOL CLASSROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Little desks and little chairs, facing a teacher’s desk. An old chalkboard
on the back wall. Homemade arts and crafts decorations from two holidays
ago smother the bulletin boards. Nancy doesn’t linger.
INT. PRESCHOOL HALL - MOMENTS LATER
Nancy follows the hall to the door to the office. Quentin wants to be
watching every door at once.
QUENTIN
This is seriously creepy. I keep thinking I’m dreaming.
INT. OFFICE - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Small and sparsely furnished. Quick sound of a child’s laughter -- but it’s
just an echo. Nancy quickly checks the desk drawers. Quentin scans the
bookshelf, pokes his head into the little coat closet.
NANCY
Anything?
QUENTIN
Nothing.
Nancy goes back into the hall.
INT. PRESCHOOL HALL - CONTINUOUS ACTION
She pauses at an interior door marked “STORAGE.” Opens it. A set of stairs
plunge down into darkness. Nancy fumbles for a light switch, flips it on.
She descends, into --
INT. BOILER ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION
The room extends the length and width of the preschool. Pipes and
ventilation ducts snake this way and that. A row of old black filing
cabinets line one wall. Household tools are strewn about. In the center:
An old wood-fire oven that serves as the trunk to a set of black pipes. It
may have been the building’s original heating system. Nearby, a tattered
recliner. Nancy ducks under a cobweb and looks around. The filing cabinets
seem to be their last resort.
QUENTIN
I don’t like this.
NANCY
Start a fire.
He nods and gets to work at the oven.
SAME SCENE - MOMENTS LATER
Nancy yanks at a cabinet drawer, rifles through files.
NANCY
They have student records going back for decades...
Quentin adds more wood to the fire. It’s burning well now. He leaves the
door open so the boiler room is warm, instead of the rest of the house.
QUENTIN
We just need one decade ago.
He moves to another cabinet and begins looking. Nancy, out of patience,
kicks at her cabinet and sits down on a box to start looking through the
files of a bottom-most drawer. When she scoots forward a little to reach
the next drawer, the box rustles. Nancy gets up and stares down at the
box. She blows off the dust to reveal “EVIDENCE / KRUEGER.”
NANCY
Quentin...
Nancy rips open the box.
INSIDE
A row of audio cassette tapes. And manila folders stuffed with glossy
photos and paperwork. Quentin helps her pull out the contents of the box.
He gets distracted by the number of audiotapes. One pair has the name
“Quentin” written on the side.
QUENTIN
Jesus, there’s more than I thought.
(reading labels)
Dr. James Britt -- isn’t he the shrink who works for the school system now?
ut Nancy is preoccupied with the stuff in the file folders. In particular:
A folder labeled “THOMPSON, NANCY (AGE 5).” She stares into it as if it
were a carnival horror show. The fear and disgust grows more pronounced as
she flips through one photo after the next. She doesn’t realize when she
starts crying. (NOTE: We never see the photos or the contents of the
folder.)
NANCY
(sotto)
Dear God...
Quentin is still absorbed in the tapes. He looks around:
QUENTIN
I wonder if there’s a tape player somewhere. We should play a little before
we burn -- Nancy?
Nancy drops the folder and bends over behind the filing cabinet, emptying
her stomach.
QUENTIN
Shit, are you okay?
Nancy’s dry heaves tell him “No.”
Quentin sees the file folder atop the box and reaches for it. He opens it
to look inside --
INSERT - FILE FOLDER
THE FIRST PAGE on top is a category label for the contents. Quick pops of
choice phrases -- “Sexual Abuse Evidence”,” “Photo Batch 4,” “Use of Garden
Tools,” “Risk of Permanent Damage.”
BACK TO SCENE
-- the folder is YANKED from Quentin’s hands. Nancy, still queasy, pale as
a ghost, clutches it. Quentin seems more unnerved now than ever before.
NANCY
We were wrong.
QUENTIN
What?
NANCY
Freddy is a monster. He always was.
QUENTIN
But, I thought...
NANCY
He’s not after us because we lied, he’s after us because we told.
The realization sends Quentin reeling. He rakes his hand through his hair.
He starts pacing. Their only solution to stopping the nightmares just
evaporated.
QUENTIN
Fuck fuck FUCK!
He kicks a cabinet.
QUENTIN
What are we gonna do now! How can we stop him!
Nancy is mentally elsewhere. But then her eyes suddenly focus on something
else in the room -- A workman’s sun hat. Old and ratty, dangling from a
shovel’s handle.
NANCY
There is one way.
QUENTIN
How?
NANCY
I could pull him out.
Quentin stops. What?
NANCY
Like I did with his hat.
QUENTIN
Pull Freddy... out? Out here?
NANCY
Yes.
QUENTIN
It’s not bad enough he can kill us in our sleep, you want him to kill us
while we’re awake?
NANCY
He doesn’t have any real power out here. In this world, he’s just human. We
can take him.
QUENTIN
Nancy, hang on. Even if you could pull this off, and I ambush him when he
shows up... You have to go to sleep to make this work.
NANCY
I know.
QUENTIN
You have a concussion. Never mind Freddy, the sleep alone could put you in
a coma.
NANCY
I know.
QUENTIN
Then please, don’t do it. Let me try instead.
Nancy lays down on the lone throw-rug in the boiler room, near the warm
heater-oven.
NANCY
I’m about to fall asleep anyway.
Quentin follows her down, sitting close by. He’s not giving up on the
debate just yet.
QUENTIN
It’s crazy.
NANCY
Trust me. I’ll bring him out.
QUENTIN
I trust you. I’m just worried.
NANCY
Just, be ready to jump him when it happens. Okay? I may not be much help by
then.
QUENTIN
Hey.
Quentin gets close, hovers over Nancy, and kisses her. She kisses him back.
When they finally part lips:
QUENTIN
Trust me. I’ll kick his ass. Here, take this.
Quentin pulls off his crucifix necklace and puts it on her. Nancy tenderly
holds the tiny silver cross in one hand. Quentin grabs the shovel and sits
down in the old recliner. Nancy takes a breath and closes her eyes. Quentin
sits forward. Leans on his shovel. His knee bounces nervously. Nancy’s
breathing relaxes. CLOSING ON her face... A satin cushion lining a plank of
stained wood flips upright along one side of her body as if on hinges.
Another plank snaps into place, creating a corner. The lighting shifts,
growing darker. Nancy opens her eyes --
NIGHTMARE - INT. COFFIN - NIGHT
-- she’s inside a coffin. Nancy pushes and kicks at the lid...
EXT. HEARSE - CONTINUOUS ACTION
The coffin in the back of this hearse bursts open. Nancy climbs out,
cautious. She scans the immediate area. The cemetery is abandoned. Nancy
puts her hand to her neck but -- THE CRUCIFIX NECKLACE is gone. It’s not on
her dreamself. Nancy starts running down the small road, passing GRAVE
STONES with names on them: Dean. Jesse. Kris. Marcus.
NANCY
Krueger!
EXT. STREET OUTSIDE CEMETERY - MOMENTS LATER
Nancy makes it to the middle of this street. Fog prevents her from seeing
beyond a block in either direction. No one is here.
NANCY
Where are you?
INT. BOILER ROOM - NIGHT
Quentin rubs his face with his sleeve. Blinks. Checks his phone for the
time. He starts playing with the settings.
QUENTIN
Alarm, yes. Custom ring tone? Don’t mind if I do.
At his feet, Nancy twitches in her sleep. Quentin blinks again, then
settles back in his chair.
QUENTIN
C’mon, let’s get this done...
A strange noise gets his attention. What is that? He tries to sit up, but
he can’t move. He’s stuck to the chair. When he tries to lift his arms,
the fabric clings to him like sap. From the shadows, Freddy emerges.
FREDDY
That was my chair.
QUENTIN
Shit shit shit --
FREDDY
I used to tell you stories in that chair.
Freddy steps to the filing cabinet and opens a drawer.
FREDDY
You remember what scared you?
QUENTIN
Fuck you, Freddy!
Freddy pulls out a very large jar. Dozens of dark shapes skitter inside the
glass. He steps into the light and we see what they are:
FREDDY
Spiders.
Quentin pales. He stares at the jar in the terror.
FREDDY
Especially the ones with enough venom to kill you.
(smiles)
Like these.
Freddy shakes the jar, and the mass of spiders inside react like an angry
swarm.
QUENTIN
Don’t -- don’t -- DO NOT DO THIS --
Freddy opens the lid and dumps the jar on Quentin --
INT. BOILER ROOM - NIGHT (REALITY)
Quentin, asleep in the chair, spasms and thrashes. Large red welts appear
all along his face and hands, and his breathing turns shallow. At his feet,
Nancy slumbers restlessly...
NIGHTMARE - EXT. ELM STREET - NIGHT
Nancy reaches the end of the street and faces the preschool.
NANCY
Where are you, Freddy!
Quentin SCREAMS from within the school building. Nancy rushes inside.
INT. BOILER ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
Nancy moves down the stairs into the slightly off-kilter boiler room: Like
the real one except the colors are off, and the furnishings look like they
did ten years ago. Spiders scurry past her feet. She backs up to the steps.
From here she can see Quentin in the chair. A handful of spiders still
crawl on his corpse. Nancy recoils, then steels herself.
NANCY
(sotto)
It’s not real.
FREDDY (O.S.)
Poor Quentin. Must have been tired.
Nancy cautiously steps toward Quentin.
NANCY
This is my nightmare. He’s not dead.
Freddy is somewhere in the darkness of the boiler room, behind the pipes,
around a corner... somewhere.
FREDDY (O.S.)
Oh, were you relying on your boyfriend to wake you up?
Nancy, in tears, finally accepting that Freddy got to him.
NANCY
You son of a bitch!
Freddy is suddenly right behind her, grabbing her and pulling her close --
hoarsely flirting into her ear:
FREDDY
I’m your boyfriend now, Nancy.
Nancy elbows him and stomps to get free -- Freddy hits her hard enough to
launch her into the chair -- She topples the chair, Quentin’s body spilling
out beside her and his phone clattering nearby.
FREDDY
Let’s play like we used to play.
Nancy gets up again, and rushes him when --
QUENTIN’S PHONE lights up. It plays her favorite track from his playlist.
Justice. Freddy charges back at Nancy, their collision sending them both to
the floor with Freddy on top. The music-alarm keeps playing. Freddy gets up
and SMASHES the phone, silencing it. He looms over her.
FREDDY
Can’t have you waking up, can we. Not until I’ve had my fun.
Nancy coughs, tries to get up again, but the best she can manage is her
hands and knees. Something dangling from Nancy’s neck catches her eyes. A
glimmer in the dark: The crucifix necklace. Nancy’s hand finds the wood
shaft of the shovel. Grips it. She musters the strength to stand up.
NANCY
Too late. You’re in my world now.
The phone alarm was real, and in that moment of collision Nancy pulled
Freddy into reality.
INT. BOILER ROOM - NIGHT (REALITY)
Freddy’s smile suddenly vanishes as -- Nancy CRACKS him with the shovel --
Freddy loses teeth and stumbles back -- Nancy advances, swinging again --
Freddy holds up an arm to protect himself -- But the shovel just breaks his
arm, such is Nancy’s rage -- Freddy staggers backward against the open
heating oven -- Nancy advances, cracking the shovel on his knee -- Freddy
WAILS --
NANCY
That was for Dean!
WHAM another hit --
NANCY
Kris!
(wham)
Jesse!
(wham)
Marcus!
(wham)
Quentin!
Freddy is a mess now, clutching the door to the heater. The shovel comes
in for another swing but this time Freddy swipes it, SLICING the shovel in
half. Freddy then TRIPS Nancy, rearing his glove at her face -- Nancy grabs
it with both hands, it’s a fight of pure muscle now, the blades venturing
close to her eyes --
FREDDY
You can’t -- kill -- me --
But she starts to overpower him, turning the glove’s points back at Freddy
until --
NANCY
Watch me.
She JAMS the knives into his chest, and Freddy collapses backward into the
wood-burning oven -- Instantly catching fire -- Freddy’s WAILING turns
more and more inhuman, his whole head quickly engulfed -- Nancy steps back,
grabs a container of some cleaning solution on a shelf. She pops the lid
and throws it on Freddy (ironically, like he tossed the jar of spiders on
Quentin). Instantly, the fire spreads across his body, consuming him and
the rug in flames.
Nancy turns and goes to Quentin’s body. Quentin’s eyes shift -- he’s still
barely alive, somehow. She picks him up as the fire spreads near her.
EXT. PRESCHOOL BUILDING - MOMENTS LATER
Nancy walks out of the school carrying Quentin. The fire has spread to the
ground floor, licking out the windows behind her. Freddy’s DEATH-WAIL
echoes into the night. She keeps marching, never looking back.
EXT. ELM STREET - NIGHT
Fire engines and emergency vehicles crowd this dead end. An ambulance heads
off, sirens clearing the way ahead of it.
INT. AMBULANCE - CONTINUOUS ACTION
PARAMEDICS manage Quentin in the stretcher. Nancy sits wrapped in a
blanket on the bench beside him. Her head wound and arm have been
professionally bandaged. She’s holding Quentin’s hand. Quentin manages to
open his eyes and look at Nancy. His voice cracks. He’s barely hanging on
to life.
QUENTIN
Did you get him?
Nancy nods.
Quentin smiles.
PARAMEDIC
Don’t try to speak, please. Just lie still. Get some rest.
Quentin’s smile is contagious. Nancy grins back at him.
NANCY
Yeah. Get some rest.
They know what value those words hold. Quentin closes his eyes again. Beat.
Nancy lets out a long sigh. It’s finally over. Quentin’s vitals suddenly
spike -- Paramedics start scrambling when -- FOUR GASHES APPEAR across
Quentin’s chest -- Nancy opens her mouth to scream and we --
SMASH TO BLACK.
THE END
THIS SCRIPT WAS PREPARED
BY WARNER BROS. PICTURES
SCRIPT PROCESSING DEPARTMENT
(818) 954-4632
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