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A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge A Screenplay By: David Chaskin BEGIN MAIN TITLE SEQUENCE EXT. SUBURBAN HOUSING DEVELOPMENT - DAY A big, yellow SCHOOL BUS pulls up to a corner and discharges a group of TEENAGERS. It's one of those fantastic spring afternoons and the kids take to their freedom like they were just sprung from Leavenworth. KIDS G'night, Joe...Have a good weekend, etc. The BUS DRIVER doesn't answer but nods and smiles as they deboard. He is a pleasant looking elderly man, wearing a khaki work shirt, a matching cap and chewing on an unlit, twenty-five cent stogie. The DOORS fold shut, the GEARS GRIND and the bus continues along its route. INT. SCHOOL BUS - DAY While there are only about a dozen kids on the bus, the noise level is deafening. GIRLS are yapping, GUYS are horsing around, someone is fiddling with a ghetto-blaster, trying to decide among several loud stations. EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - DAY The bus turns a corner, taking them out of the development and past some older, less identical looking residences spaced more widely apart. INT. SCHOOL BUS - DAY The Driver downshifts the old heap, pulls the wheel over to the curb and reaches over to push the door lever open. KIDS file out down he aisle, some of them wishing him well as they leave. ANOTHER ANGLE as the gears grind again and the bus pulls away. We see that there are only a few KIDS remaining: TWO GIRLS sit together toward the center and a lone, nerdy-looking BOY sits at the rear. The DRIVER is in front of an aluminum divider and, except for the top of his cap, cannot be seen. END MAIN TITLE SEQUENCE ON THE THREE KIDS The two girls are pretty, teen-fashionable and just a little immature. One of them turns back to look over her shoulder. CLOSER ANGLE - THE BOY Poor kid. About 17, four-eyes, bad skin, lousy posture and an obvious inferiority complex. He's sweating profussely and he stands slightly to unlatch and lower the window. He pulls down on it with all his strength but it is hopelessly stuck. He sits back down and sighs. Suddenly, he feels the girl's stare. he doesn't turn but sends his eyes over to see who's goggling at him. ON GIRLS - JESSE'S POV The first girl turns back to her friend to whisper something. The friend turns around to see for herself. INT. BUS The boy stares forward now and catches her glance directly. The girls shift quickly in their seats to face forard and let out with an uncontrollable rush of mean giggles. The boy is clearly embarrassed now and looks down at the books in his lap. We hear the engine REVVING - the bus seems to be picking up speed. One of the girls stands, ready to get off. GIRL'S POV OUT WINDOW: EXT. STREET A MOTHER, her PRE-SCHOOL CHILD on a TRICYCLE and their DOG wait for the bus to discharge the girl. EXT. STREET The bus speeds past the waiting group, to their amazement. INT. BUS The standind girl's jaw drops open as they shoot by a familiar looking intersection and continue to pick up speed. FIRST GIRL (to her friend) Hey! (calling to driver) Hey, that war our stop! The bus turns a sharp corner and the first girl almost falls. The second girl grips onto the seatback and lifts herself to her feet. SECOND GIRL (calling to the driver) Hey, Joe! Our stop! HER POV - THE FRONT OF THE BUS The unseen driver ignores the calls and continues picking up speed. We might notice that his hat has changed; in place of the cap, we can see the top of a BATTERED OLD FEDORA. SECOND GIRL (O.C.) Hey, let us off! EXT. TWO-LANE STREET - DAY The sky has suddenly turned; a wave of threatening clouds sweeps overhead and the WIND is churning a planting of roadside weeping willows into a tangled mess of yellow tendrils. The bus WHINES near the top end of third, all of its FLASHERS are going like the dashboard was having a major coronary. It passes the last house and heads into open terrain. IN THE BUS THE SECOND GIRL steps into the aisle and starts making her way toward the front of the coach. SECOND GIRL (under her breath) Deaf old fart... She stops suddenly and GASPS as she watches THE DRIVER'S ARM emerge to throw the floorshift into fourth. His hand is clad in a strange GLOVE that tip his fingers with a menacing set of RAZOR- SHARP, STEEL TALONS. His sleeve is charred and smoking. The bus SWERVES WILDLY as it skids around a corner, throwing its few passengers into collision courses with the walls and each other. A FLASH OF LIGHTNING crashes through the air. EXT. DESERT LANDSCAPE As the lightning subsides, the sky is dark. The BUS SCREAMS along, banging through rocks and ditches, CRASHING through a wall of overgrown brambles. Thick clouds of steam pour out from under he hood and stream back along toward the rear of the vehicle. ON THE BOY holding o to his seatback and watching out the window in terror as trees TEAR loose from the ground i the bus'wake. We hear a LOUD RUMBLING and the bus begins to shake as if the planet itself is splitting in two. ON THE BUS Skidding across the desert landscape, being THROWN to and fro laterally, at the mercy of the shuddering landscape. ON A FRONT WHEEL as the tire smacks into a jagged boulder, SNAPPING the wheel from its axle. ON THE FRONT END BOUNCING to a violent halt, the bumer digging a long trench into the earth. IN THE BUS THE KIDS pick themselves up from the floor. It is very hot and smoky inside. They have moved closer together now, sweating, scared. Frantically, the boy tries to open a window, but it will not budge. He looks out the window and gasps. EXT. POV FROM WINDOW THE GROUND below begins to SPLIT apart and tumble into a deep fissure that is encirling the bus. ON THE MOOR, THE BUS CENTER The land is IMPLODING all around it; huge chunks of the earth's crust are shearing themselves loose from the edges of the fissure and tumbling into oblivion. In moments, the bus is stranded on the narrow tip of a towering ridge of crumbling stone. The bus teeters precariously, tasting the smoky abyss in every direction. INSIDE THE SECOND GIRL is on al fours in the aisle. She looks up toward the driver's seat. SECOND GIRL (seeing something hideous) Jesus! She scrambles to her feet and begins backing off. The floor of the bus shifts dangerously, throwing the girl into the edge of one of the seats. ON THE DRIVER as he makes his way toward the back. We don'g see his face but he is dressed in a filthy green and red sweater. In the B.G., the dashboard instruments are sparking and sending thick black fumes toward the ceiling. SMOKE is rising off his body as if he just stepped out of some horrible fire. A small patch of skin on his hand sizzles and pops and drips a molten glob of flesh that burns a small hole in a seat cushion. His Razor-Talons sweep along the tops of the seat-backs CUTTING deep gashes into the green vinyl upholstery and SCRAPING horribly over the tubular steel support poles. ON THE BOY Terrified. Lookign first at the awful talons, then out the window at the DEADLY DROP and back at the bus driver. ON THE GIRLS Sweating, panicking. They back away, going from window to window, trying desperately to pull them down. They're all locked tight. One reaches for the emergence door leer at the rear of the bus. It comes off in her hand. The kids huddle together, petrified, screaming, as the driver is upon her. CU: DRIVER He lifts the awful, talonned glove in f.g. Behind, obscured by smoke, we see, for an instant, his fce -- the face of FREDDY. he raises his weapon arm higher and STRIKES. SMASH CUT TO: INT. WALSH HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING CLOSE on a steel blade cutting into red flesh. We PULL BACK and see that it is MOM, slicing a tomato at the kitchen counter. This is an all-American family; along with a MOM, there's a DAD and a kid sister named NGELA and they ll are having breakfast together. A moment later, there is a muffled, OFF-CAMERA SCREAM. Mom looks up. We can also make out the RINGING of an alarm clock in another part of the house. ANGELA jumps slightly at the scream. She's a pretty little eleven-year old, genuinely cute, not precocious. ANGELA (to Mom) Why can't Jesse wake up like every- body else? MOM (hushed) Shhh. He must've had another night- mare. CUT TO: INT. WALSH HOUSE - JESSE'S ROOM - MORNING ON JESSE'S BED. An alarm clock RINGS LOUDLY. JESSE WALSH (17) is sitting up in bed. He's sweaty and scared and disoriented as he slams his hand down on the alarm and tries to shake the nightmare out of his head. We see that he's the boy on the bus only he's not half-bad looking - far from nerdy. he has no skin problems and he doesn't wear glasses and his body's in good shape. As he gets out of bed, still shaky from the dream, and we see that his bedroom is littered with cardboard cartons - most of them open and half-empty. He trips over a carton on his way to his jeans. INT. WALSH HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING Mom is at the stove cooking eggs for her family. She looks up, worried, as Jesse comes in and heads for the refrigerator. JESSE (mumbles) 'Morning. MOM (putting on a smile) 'Morning, honey. Jesse pours himself a GLASS OF MILK from the fridge. He joins Dad and Angela family at the breakfast table. DAD You got your room straightened out yet? JESSE (yawns) It's getting there. DAD We've only been living here six weeks now. I want that room unpacked by tonight. MOM comes over with some eggs for Dad. MOM (to Jesse) Want some eggs...Angela, what are you doing? ON ANGELA She is struggling to put her hand deep into a box of FU-MAN CHEWS breakfast cereal. ANGELA (frustrated) I'm trying to get the Fu-Man Fingers! Printed on the box is a cartoon caricature of the Oriental doctor pointing to a bowl of his product with one of his long, sharp fingernails. there's a burst above the product name that reads: "FREE INSIDE - FU-MAN FINGERS" and shows a drawing of a hand wearing several extra-long, red plastic fingernails on its fingertips. Mom lets Angela go o with her search and turns back to Jesse, waiting for his answer. MOM Jess? JESSE Huh? MOM Eggs? Jesse rubs his temples. He was away for a minute but he's back now. JESSE Oh...uh, no, just some milk, Mom. MOM You okay? Dad eyes him suspicously. JESSE Yeah, I'm fine. Just really hot upstairs. MOM (nods) I know it's warm... (to Dad) I wish you'd call someone to check out the air conditioning, Ken. DAD (defensively) I know what's wrong with the air coditioning - just needs a shot of freon, is all. JESSE Dad's fixin' something again. Hit the deck! DAD Don't be a smart ass. A short silence as they all look back to their plates. MOM (to Jesse) So, school going alright? JESSE (shrugs) Okay, I guess. MOM Making friends? Jesse is looking around for some escape - this interrogation is getting a little too personal. JESSE Yeah, you know how it is... ON ANGELA She grabs onto the prize at the botto of the box and gives a yank. A bagful of Fu Man Fingers come out in her hand along with half the box of cereal. SOUND OVER: DOORBELL RINGING Mom turns to answer the door, but Jesse immediately jumps up and cuts her off. JESSE That's Lisa - I gotta get to school. DAD (calling after him) Who's Lisa? But Jesse is gone; just a kitchen door, swinging in his wake. INT. WALSH HOUSE - FOYER - DAY as JESSE opens the front door to LISA POLETTI (17). She is facing the street and she turns around when she hears the door open. Not a knock-out but real pretty, with an intelligence and sweetness about her -- she is truly lovely. LISA Hi. She smiles and Jesse's eyes light up. EXT. WALSH HOUSE - DAY They walk to JESSE'S CAR - a beat-up, blue Falcon parked curbside. JESSE (gratefully) your timing was perfect - I was getting the third degree in there. LISA How come? JESSE Ah, nothing. Jesse opens Lisa's car door for her. She steps in and sits down. IN THE CAR The interior is worse than the body. The upholstery is torn to shreds, the dashboard is cracked and peeling and there's a big hole where the radio used to be. A cheap, A.M. transistor radio hangs by its wrist strap from the rear-view mirror. Jesse hops in and shifts around to get comfortable, and reaches under the dash to pull out a couple of bare wires. Lisa watches him routinely twist the wires together, amused. LISA Aren't you afraid somebody could steal your car like that? JESSE (preposterously) Look at this car. Are you kidding? He sits up again and reaches for a toggle switch that has been crudely drilled into the dash. He flicks the switch. Jesse moves his finger to another alien button in the dash and pushes it. The STARTER turns over slowly, the engine BACKFIRES and the car starts noisily. Jesse gives her the "thumbs up" as if he were a World War I Ace and puts the car into gear. It BUCKS and FARTS and rumbles up the street. EXT. POOL - REAR, WALSH HOUSE - DAY DAD floats on a FOAM CHAIR in the middle of the rather run-down pool, sipping coffee from a MUG bearing the word "DAD". He looks over his domain with satisfaction and inhales a deep breath of fresh, suburban sir. MOM comes out the back door. She looks just a bit worried. MOM Ken, shouldn't you be getting to the office? It's almost nine. KEN As soon as i finish my coffee. I'm enjoying my pool right now. (sips his coffee) I love our new house. Don't you? MOM (sighs heavily) Of course I do, Ken. KEN What's the problem, Shirl? MOM (pointing behind her) It's just I'll be a lot happier when you finish taking down those bars. CAMERA PANS UP AND ZOOMS IN to reveal BARS ON THE UPPER WINDOWS -- this is the old Thompson house, replete with the security paraphernalia that kept Nancy Thompson prisoner five years prior. MOM (O.C.) People that lived here before must have been truly paranoid. EXT. HIGH SCHOOL - DAY Establishing shot of school, shot from parking lot with JESSE'S CAR in f.g. School is in session, so the only students we see are TWO CLASS-CUTTERS leaning against a car passing a JOINT. EXT. HIGHT SCHOOL PRACTICE FIELD - DAY An intramural SOFTBALL GAME is in progress. COACH SCHNEIDER, a nasty looking ex-Marine, stands behind home plate as an umpire. JESSE is covering second base. RONNY GRADY, a tough-looking wise-ass type, steps up to the plate. He knocks the mud off his sneakers with his bat and takes his stance. ON JESSE He glances over to the adjacent field. HIS POV The GIRLS are in the middle of archery instruction. LISA is there, mighty tempting looking in her little, powder blue gym suit, a quiver strapped to her shoulder and a longbow in her hand. KERRY, a dizzy, Bloomingdale's-punk, steps up alongside Lisa as the latter catches Jesse's stare. SCHNEIDER (O.C.) Strike! KERRY (to Lisa, re Jesse) He made any moves yet? Lisa smiles and waves to Jesse. LISA (aside to Kerry) I only know him a few weeks, Kerry. ON JESSE He waves back. BACK TO LISA AND KERRY KERRY I think he needs a push start. Lisa turns to face the target, slides an arrow into the nocking point, draws back the bowstring and lets the arrow go. ON THE TARGET It's a bull's-eye. CRACK! GRADY gets hold of a perfect pitch and sends it flying over the head of the PITCHER. BACK TO JESSE BOOM! The ball skids off the side of his head and the kid collapses. HIS TEAMMATES rush to his side and help Jesse to his feet. He's more embarrassed than hurt and he waves away any over-attention. COACH SHNEIDER joins the circle of bodies around him. SCHNEIDER You okay? JESSE Yeah, I'm fine. SCHNEIDER (walking away) Well, pay attention, next time! Jesse re-takes his position on the base. GRADY (O.C.) Maybe you oughta try something a little more your speed, Walsh. Like knitting. Jesse just now realizes that it was Grady who scored a double off his skull. He's standing just off the bag, harassing Jesse while waiting to be hit home. JESSE (flipping him the bird) Knit this, Grady. GRADY sneers and gives him the "JACK-OFF" sign. JESSE tosses an "ITALIAN SALUTE", slapping one hand into the crook of his arm and throwing up "THE FINGER" for good measure. GRADY grabs his own crotch and points to it obscenely. ON THE PITCHER He sends one over the plate, the BATTER catches it dead-center and POUNDS it back to left field. GRADY makes a break for third, only to be forced back by teh LEFT FIELDER tossing the ball to the THIRD BASEMAN. ON JESSE His glove up to receive the throw as Grady STEAMS towards him. The ball snaps into Jesse's mitt and Grady turns on his ankles to shoot back to third. Jesse and the third baseman toss the ball between, each time moving closer in toward Grady. Grady switches directions with the ball, trapped between them. GRADY dives into a HEAD-FIRST SLIDE, trying to sneak past Jesse. JESSE swoops down and tags him out. Thorougly aggravated, Grady rises to his feet by reaching out and grabbing onto Jesse's gym shorts and yanking them down to his ankles, revealing jesse's bare buns-in-a-jockstrap to the world. JESSE lunges for Grady, trips over his shorts and the two of them begin rolling around in the dirt, duking it out. ON THE GIRLS IN THE NEXT FIELD watching the wrestling match with ausement. ON LISA AND KERRY Lisa tries like hell to repress some laughter. KERRY Cut ass. ON SCNEIDER pushing his way through a crowd of laughing, cheering SPECTATORS and jumping in to break up the scuffle. He lifts both boys up by their necks. SCHNEIDER Okay boys, assume the position! INT. COACH'S OFFICE - DAY Schneider is at his desk. TWO BOYS carrying gym bags pass outside the Coach's office. They wave to him through the WIRE-GLASS WINDOWS. BOYS 'Night Coach. Schneider gives them a cold glance. He checks his watch, gets up and goes to a window to look outside. HIS POV - THE PRACTICE FIELD JESSE and GRADY, side by side in the center of the baseball diamond. They are in "front-leaning rest" position, the cruel and painful frozen pushup that ends halfway to the ground with elbows bent. We don't know how long they've been out there but it's probably hours. It seems just a little darker out and a lonely wind is blowing around their arms and legs. In the B.G., KIDS are filing out of the building - some sop to look out at the two boys, point and snicker. ANGLE: We see LISA among the kids. She stops for a moment and views the scene with concern. ON JESSE AND GRADY They are dirty, their shirts are ripped and Jesse has a tiny bruise over his cheek. And they're tired too. The muscles in their arms are twitching convulsively and they talk to each other between groans and through teeth clenched with pain. We hear the OFF-CAMERA SOUND of several busses pulling out. JESSE How much longer you figure he'll keep us out here? GRADY Could be all night. (nodding in the Coach's direction) Guy gets his rocks off like this. Hangs out in queer S & M joints downtown. Likes prettyboys like you. JESSE Get outa here. Grady doesn't pursue it. Instead, he looks around and tries to think of some small-talk. GRADY (finally) So, what about you and that Poletti girl? JESSE What about it? GRADY You two got a thing going, or what? JESSE She's a neighbor, I drive her to school. GRADY She giving you any carfare for the ride? JESSE You got a problem with me, Grady? GRADY (shrugs) Naw. Just killing time. SOUND OVER: A WHISTLE BLOWING ON THE COACH Dressed in his street clothes, crossing the field toward the faculty parking lot. He pulls the whistle from his mouth. SCHNEIDER (to the boys) Okay boys, hit the showers. INT. BOYS LOCKER ROOM - DAY JESSE and GRADY stand at opposite ends of a row of lockers and change into their street clothes. Their movements are slow and cumbersome - like a pair of creaky old men. GRADY (finally) So, you live around here. JESSE (sighs wearily) Not too far. My folks bought a place over on Elm Street. Grady stops buttoning his shirt and looks up at Jesse. GRADY Elm Street? You telling me you moved in to that big white house with the bars on the windows? JESSE Yeah, why? Grady shakes his head and tucks his shirtails in. GRADY Shit, you can tell your old man he's a real chump. JESSE What the hell are you talking about? GRADY They've only been trying to unload that dump for five years. That place is bad news. Some chick was locked in there by her mother and she went crazy. She watched her boyfriend get butchered by some maniac in the house across the street. Her poor drunken momma took her own life right inside your front door. Jesse stares dubiously at Grady. JESSE (with a nervous laugh) You're full of shit. Jesse pulls his knapsack from the locker shelf, slams the door shut and walks away. ON GRADY He smiles mischievously and shuts his own locker door. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - DAY JESSE'S CAR is parked among a handful of others. LISA leans against the front fender, waithing patiently. HER POV JESSE steps out of the building and spots her. he hurries across the lot. ON LISA as Jesse approaches. JESSE (surprised to see her) Hi! You didn't have to wait. LISA That's okay, I wanted to. He raises an eyebrow as he opens the door for her. He likes that. ANOTHER ANGLE as Jesse slides in beside her and STARTS the engine. She looks him over. He looks like he's been through the mill a couple of times. LISA You okay? JESSE Yeah, yeah, sure. LISA Let me look at your eye... Jesse lifts his chin to show off the tiny bruise over his cheekbone. He looks almost a little proud of it - like it's an old war wound. Lisa touches it tenderly. LISA You shouldn't be fighting with that jerk. JESSE Who, Grady? Grady's alright, he's just a hothead. LISA You mean a shithead. JESSE (laughs) Yeah. He guns the engine and they pull away. EXT. WALSH HOUSE - ESTABLISHING SHOT - NIGHT It's very late. The house is dark and even the crickets have hit the sack. INT. JESSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT JESSE's having trouble sleeping. He turns over on different sides and punches up his pillow a couple of times, stares into space and finally sits up. He gets out of bed, pulls on a pair of pants and exits. KITCHEN He enters. The room is lit only by the glow of a three quarter moon. He regains his composure and steps over to the sink to pull off an absurd length of paper toweling. We see it just when Jesse does; a GROTESQUE FACE has been peering into the window all this time. It disappears from view on Jesse's DOUBLE TAKE. Jesse stops for a moment to slow down his heart. He takes a deep breath and steps up to the back door. He opens the door. EXT. SIDE OF WALSH HOUSE - NIGHT Jesse opens the gate and enters. It is really quiet; not even night-sounds. He strains to see past the shrubbery that surrounds the house. JESSE (hoarse whisper) Grady? He looks around. JESSE It better be you, you son of a bitch! We hear an awful sound from somewhere - WOOD RIPPIGNG. Jesse makes his way cautiously along the side of the house. He notices a red-orange LIGHT is flickering from behind a cellar window. He gets down on his hands and knees to investigate. THE CELLAR - HIS POV An INTRUDER is bent over by the furnace, lit only by a raging fire in the fire-box. He puts his hand right into the flames and begins digging for something way in the back of the furnace. We can't see his face but he is dressed in a filthy green and red striped sweater and a battered hat. He pulls out a bundle of rags, sets it on top of the furnace and proceeds to unwrap it. ON JESSE JESSE (petrified) Holy shit... He stands up and looks around frantically. He doesn't know what to do. JESSE (near tears) Holy shit... He hurries out the gate that leads to the front of the house. INT. WALSH HOUSE - NIGHT Jesse enters the house and scans the foyer. He heads toward the cellar door. It is ajar -- the LOCKHAS BEEN SPLINTERED AS IF BY A HUGE WRECKING BAR -- and we can hear the ROAR of the furnace from below. He sticks his head inside the cellar door and peeks down. HIS POV The SHADOW OF A FIGURE; movement on the cellar walls. ON JESSE Breathing heavily. Brain whirring. SLAM! He pulls the basement door closed and holds it shut tight, practically hyper-ventilating. JESSE (screaming) Dad! He looks around frantically. JESSE DAD! Something inside starts to pull the cellar door open. Jesse tries to hold it shut, but the inexorable force continues to inch it open. Jesse lets go and bolts toward the foyer. FREDDY is standing in his path, a sick smile on his scarred face. He flashes his razor- knives at Jesse. FREDDY (sinisterly) Daddy can't help you now. Jesse tries to make a break for it but Freddy is too fast. His un-taloned hand gets an iron grip on Jesse's shirt collar. FREDDY I've been waiting five years for you, Jesse. We got special work to do, you and me. Things are really gonna heat up. Jesse struggles to get free. Freddy tightens his iron grip and fans his talons threateningly. Jesse's head stretches back from the chocking pain. FREDDY We'll do real good together, you and me. Freddy hurls Jesse against the wall. FREDDY You got the body... (doffs his hat) I got the brains. With that, Freddy removes his hat. There is no skull under there - just a pulsating mass of blody BRAIN MATTER. JESSE lets out an agonized SCREAM. CUT TO: INT. JESSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT ON JESSE, still in bed but his entire body arched backwards over the mattress. His scream continues until he collapses back down into the sheets. ON HIS DOOR It flies open and DAD crashes into the room, followed by MOM. They go to his bedside and stare at him as he pants and coughs his way back to consciousness. MOM (to Dad) Maybe we should call a doctor. JESSE No. I'm okay. He sits up to prove it. JESSE Really. Just a bad dream. INT. HIGH SCHOOL BIOLOGY CLASSROOM - DAY A rather bored looking group of STUDENTS is listening with little interest to the droning of their teacher, MR ABLE, who is lecturing them from the front of the room. MR. ABLE So, to review, the solid waste, those nutrients that are not absorbed in the lining of the stomach, the large intestine, the small intestine - the alimentary canal - are passed out through the colon... SOUND OVER: A FAKE FART LAUGHTER from the class. ABLE looks up crossly from his notes until the laughs trail off. MR. ABLE (O.C.) (continues) The liquid nutrients are then carried through an elaborate system of filtering, aided by the pancreas, liver and gall bladder... TWO GIRLS at the back of the room look at each other. One puts her finger in her mouth and pretends to gag. As Able DRONES on in the B.G., we're ON JESSE He's having a hell of a time keeping his eyes open. His head bobs intermittently as he starts to nod out. ON GRADY He nudges a CLASSMATE at the next desk to look over toward Jesse. They snicker. ON JESSE, THEIR POV nodding out BACK TO ABLE MR. ABLE Or collected in the bladder to be expelled at a later time. And this entire process is kept moving through "the circulatory system", the center of which is... (a beat) ...the heart. On the beat, he reaches under his lab table and plunks a BLOODY CALF'S HEART down right in the center of it. We hear DISGUSTED GROANS from the class. MR. ABLE ...Four chambers, just like the human heart, really. Able describes the path by sticking his index finger into each orifice. MR ABLE From the body, through the right auricle, to the right ventricle and out the pulmonary artery to the lungs. BACK TO JESSE, ASLEEP A particularly ugly and ferocious looking SNAKE is wrapping itself around his arm, making its way toward Jesse's face. CLOSE ON JESSE As he wakes up slowly and looks down groggily toward his arm. THE SNAKE opens wide and emitsa long demonic hiss. Jesse screams and hastily begins pulling the reptile away from him. ON ABLE Standing next to Jesse, he pulls the snake off his arm and drops it into a nearby tank. MR. ABLE If you want to play with animals, Mr. Walsh, join the circus. GUFFAWS from the class. JESSE looks around, bewildered and embarrassed. He spots GRADY, grinning widely. INT. THE WALSH HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - EARLY EVENING Comfortable and very suburban. A major color T.V. takes up the wall opposite a pair of His and Hers Barcaloungers. DAD is watching The Six O'clock News on the tube and fanning himself with a T.V. Guide. MOM sits on the couch with ANGELA, helping her with a jigsaw puzzle. TWO PARAKEETS are fluttering around inside a cage near the entry into the dining room. JESSE bounces down the stairway, a rolled towel tucked under his arm. DAD stares at him angrily then turns back to the game. JESSE CROSSES in front of the set on his way out of the room. DAD Where are you going? JESSE Just out for a while. DAD (shaking his head) I told you I want that room unpacked. JESSE (begging) Oh, come on Dad... DAD No. (pointing toward the stairway) Upstairs. Jesse's about to protest but Dad cuts him off. DAD (firmly) Now. Jesse turns around, mumbles something under his breath and stomps back upstairs. EXT. LISA'S HOUSE - POOLSIDE -EARLY EVENING A pair of glass sliders lead from the house onto a stretch of patio that surrounds a gorgeous built-in swimming pool. The patio is dotted with all the amenities of backyard recreation: a gas bar-b-que grill, a wet-bar, plenty of pipe furniture and even a pair of free-standing cabanas. The entire set-up is contained by a six-foot, chain link security fence. LISA steps out of the cabana, wearing a swim suit. She tosses her towel onto a nearby chair and crosses to the diving board. ON THE BOARD She bounces lightly and jumps off, cutting gracefully through the water and coming up in the center of the pool. MRS. POLETTI, a pleasant looking woman in her late 40's, slides open the patio doors and pokes her head out. MRS. POLETTI (calling) There's a Jesse on the phone. LISA (O.C.) Okay...thanks. LISA swims to the edge of the pool and hoists herself up. She throws the towel over her shoulders and picks up a wireless phone from a low table. LISA Jesse, hi... (a beat, diappointed) Oh...that's okay. Sorry you can't make it. (a beat) No, I understand. Parents can be real pains...I'll see you in the morning, then... She hangs up and frowns. INT. WALSH HOUSE - JESSE'S ROOM - NIGHT JESSE stands at the foot of the bed, surveying the job unhappily and trying to figure out where to start. Finally, he pulls a SHOE BOX from inside a larger carton, places it on his desk and lifts the lid. It's full of cassette tapes. He rifles through them, selecting one and popping it inot a PORTABLE CASSETTE PLAYER on the desk. He pushes the "play" button. The tape is ROCK AND ROLL. The music gets him moving a bit. He surveys the room, then goes to A CARTON NEAR THE BOOKSHELVES. He reaches deep into the near- empty carton and pulls out a stack of books which he plops on the shelves next to other books already unpacked. He tosses the carton aside. He's getting into the music now as he spins around to face the bureau. He opens a SMALL POX on the bureau while be-bopping along and pulls out a PAIR OF SUNGLASSES which he puts on, practically dancing. He dumps the contents of the box haphazardly into a bureau drawer. JESSE opens a large bureau drawer. He grbs a nearby box and dumps it into the large drawer, smoothing it over perfunctorily with his hands. A Stetson cowboy hat is on top. He drops it on his head and pulls it down low over his eyes. ON A FULL LENGTH MIRROR Jesse steps into frame to get a look at himself. He likes what he sees as he mimes a guitar riff along with the music. In one smooth move, in rhythm with the music, he seings around and moves to the desk. He dumps a SMALL BOX OF PENCILS AND SUPPLIES into the desk drawer. As an afterthought, he grabs a couple of pencils out of the drawer and drums a few beats on the desk with them. He shoves the pencils up his nostrils, tucks his thumbs under his armpits and waves his elbows like he's doing the "Funky Chicken". Silly stuff that one owuld only do behind closed doors. He spins around, throwing his arms out and stopping ddead in his tracks. HIS POV LISA and MOM are standing in his doorway. Mom looks horrified. Lisa represses a giggle. Mom reaches over and knocks timidly on the open door. Jesse hastily pulls the pencils out of his nose and dives for the stereo to turn it off. Beet-red, he tosses the hat and sun glasses onto the bed and tries to look nonchalant. JESSE (embarrassed) Hi. Jesse looks to Mom who takes the hint and turns to leave. Lisa takes a step into the room. LISA (when Mom is out of range) I told her you invited me over. I guess I should have called, huh? Behind the embarrassment, he's glad to see her. He puts the pencils in the desk drawer and shuts it. JESSE No, that's okay. I was just...unpacking. LISA I know. Lisa casually steps over to a carton and peeks in. LISA I figured you might like some help. JESSE (pleasantly surprised) Yeah? JESSE'S ROOM - LATER The room is shaping up nicely with only a few boxes remaining. Jesse pulls a bundle wrapped in newspapers from a carton. He tears away the paper, revealing a baseball trophy. He places it on a conspicuous corner of his dresser. Lisa reaches into the box, retrieves an aerosol can and looks at it. ON THE CAN A medicated spray for JOCK ITCH. LISA (O.C.) Where does this go? JESSE grabs the can from her hand and puts it down on the dresser behind the trophy. JESSE (mortified) There's a box of sweaters over there if you want to put them up in the closet. Lisa is anxious to pitch in. She nods good-naturedly and steps over to her assignment. CUT TO: INSIDE THE CLOSET As Lisa opens the door and pulls an overhead chain to switch on the light. ANOTHER ANGLE as she drags a chair over, lifts a pile of sweaters from an open box, steps up on the chair and stacks them on a shelf. She starts to step back down when something catches her attention in the back corner of the shelf. She reaches in and pulls out a small, red leatherbound book. LISA What's this? Jesse steps over to look at it. ON THE BOOK about two-thirds the size of an average paperback, it has a matching leather thong that snaps into a small latch on the front and opens the book. LISA (reading) "Nancy Thompson, 1428 Elm..." (looking up at him) Hey, this thing is five years old. Jesse steps over and looks over her shoulder. JESSE You know her? LISA (shaking her head) Uh-uh. Before my time. She turns a few pages. LISA (reading) "February 17th - My birtday. Daddy came by today with a big ol' stuffed bear for me. He took me to dinner and a movie and when we got back, he and Mother had another one of their fights. He left angry. I wish they would stop fighting..." Jesse waves the diary away, uninterested. He crosses back to continue unpacking. LISA I think it's sad... JESSE (cynically) Traumas of a ten-year old. Lisa leafs through a few more pages, stops and begins reading with widening eyes. She glances at Jesse and smiles impishly. LISA (reading) "March 7th - Glen asked me to sleep with him again. I can't yet - I like him, I want to make him happy but I'm not sure that I love him. I can't sleep with someone I don't love." JESSE That's typical. I hope she didn't expect to make the best seller list with this thing. Lisa ignores him and scans the page. LISA (finding something) Wow, listen to this! (reading) "Sometimes, when I'm lying here in bed, I can see Glen, in his window across the way, getting ready for bed. His body is slim and smooth and I know I shouldn't watch but that part of me that wants him forces me to. That's when I weaken. That's when I want to go to him..." Jesse is suddenly interested. He walks over and Lisa hands him the diary with the page open to that entry. He reads it and quickly turns the page. He frowns and turns another, then another. JESSE That's it? (another couple of pages) Wait, she skipped a week. (reading) "March 15 - he comes to me at night. Horrible. Ugly. Dirty. Under the sheets with me, tearing at my night- gown with his steel claw..." Jesse's voice trails off on "claw" and a chill of vague recognition goes through him. He checks the cover of te book and flips back a few pages. Lisa moves closer to read over his shoulder. Jesse composes himself and looks back at the book. JESSE (reading) "His name is Fred and he keeps taking me to the boiler room. He wants to kill me." Jesse almost shivers. He turns the page, and he freezes. LISA What is it? ON THE DIARY Jesse shows her the page. There is one sentence scrawled across the next entry. Lisa reads it. LISA "Tina is dead." ON JESSE AND LISA They look at each other, spooked. He turns the page. JESSE (reading) "Rod's been killed - he got Rod. Just Glen and me now. Can't fall asleep!" LISA Wow... Jesse's face turns ashen as he looks up at Lisa. LISA Are you okay. JESSE (nodding; covering) Something Grady told me today about the people that lived here last. Girl went crazy - saw her boyfriend killed in the house across the street... He is interrupted by Mom, poking her head into the room. MOM (cheerfully) How's it going? Jesse instinctively hides the diary behind his back. JESSE Okay... She looks over the room, impressed at the progress. MOM Looks great! Thought you might want to take a break - got some cold cider downstairs. Jesse looks at Lisa to see what she wants to do. Lisa looks over at Jese's alarm clock. THe time is 8 P.M. LISA (standing up) No...thanks. I better get back. (to Jesse) Got a major paper due the end of this week. MOM (ducking back out) Well, it's there if you change your mind. Jesse waits for her to leave. JESSE (to Lisa) Are you sure? LISA (nods sourly) World History. (brightening) But, I'll see you in the morning, right? Jesse nods. LISA (pointing to the diary) Hot stuff. Let me know how it turns out. Jesse opens the door for her. JESSE I'll walk you downstairs. INT. WALSH HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT MOM wraps the night-cover over the BIRD CAGE. She steps past ANGELA on the couch and crosses in front of DAD, in his recliver, vegetating in front of the tube. SHe sits and loosens her collar a bit. ON DAD He shifts uncomfortably and wipes some beaded sweat from his upper lip. MOM (to Dad) A little warm in here, huh? Dad gets up from his chair. His shirt is sticky with perspiration. Jesse steps in from the dining room, a glass of milk in his hand. ON ANGELA looking up at Jesse. She puts a finger to her lips. ANGELA Shhh...The birds are sleeping. Jesse notices the intense heat in the room immediately. His eyes widen portentiously. ON DAD at the thermostat. DAD (astounded) It's 97 degrees in here! He pulls off the coverplate and starts fiddling with the coil. Suddenly, a LOUD SQUAWK from the other side of the room makes everyone look up. Jesse puts his milk down on he T.V. and hurries over to the cage, ripping the cover away. ON THE BIRD CAGE Another series of HORRIBLE CRIES as one of the budgies proceeds to rip up the neck of the other one with his sharp beak. LONGER ANGLE: Jesse throws open the door and tries to pull the attacking bird off his victim. the vicious one continues the rabid attacks on Jesse's hand, drawing blood. As Jesse pulls his arm out, the bird flies out into the living room, roaring a repetitive WAR-CRY that is eerie and unnatural for something that size. MOM and DAD jump to their feet. ANGELA starts screaming at the top of her lungs. ON THE BIRD It circles around the ceiling and then DIVES for Dad, cutting a deep gash under his eye. It seems much larger than it was before - maybe twice its original size. DAD (screaming) Get a broom or something! ANGLE: LIVING ROOM Mom dashes out of the room. THE BIRD swoops down, heading for Angela but crashing into the shade of a table lamp, knocking it to the floor. It flutters to the ceiling and hovers near a light fixture. Its beak and most of its head is covered in blood and it opens its mouth to emit a gutteral growl. MOM returns with a broom and hands it to Dad. As Dad approaches and lifts the broom to his shoulder, the bird screams agai and dives for Jesse. Jesse throws his arm out to block the attack. The bird reverses direction and Dad swings in mid-air with the broom. He misses, demolishing the remaining table lamp instead. ON THE BIRD It hovers again in the air, seemingly without any means of support, PUFFING UP, GROWING ANGRIER, MORE DEMONIC. Then, just as it seems ready for a last lethal attack, there is a loud BANG and the bird literally EXPLODES into FLAMES in mid-air. The family looks at one another in horror and disbelief. The only sound in the room is ANGELA, attached to her mother's leg and whimpering quietly. INT. WALSH HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT CRASH! DAD dumps an odd assortment of home handyan tools on the kitchen table. He picks through them, selecting a pipe wrench and a screw driver. He crosses to the stove. We see Mom in the B.G., standing, not quite cowering, still in shock from the bird attack. Jesse is leaning on the counter, next to the range, watching his father's determined moves. Dad leans into the appliance and attempts to pull it away from the wall, probably tearing six or seven ligaments in the process. After several tries, he stops and looks up at his son. DAD Help me with this thing! JESSE It's not the gas, Dad! DAD (angrily) Don't tell me it's not the gas! He yanks on the stove with more vehemence. DAD Don't tell me it's not the gas! Your mother thought she smelled gas. MOM (timidly) I wasn't sure, Ken... DAD (to Mom) Alright then, what is it? Bird rabies? That cheap seed you've been buying? MOM (resenting that) Oh, please... DAD What is it then? There's got to be an explanation. Animals just don't burst into flames for no reason! JESSE Well it sure isn't leaky gas pipes. Dad stands up suddenly, CRACKING his head on the edge of the range hood. MOM (concerned) Ken! As he groans in pain, he's suddenly hit with a revelation. He points an accusatory finger at Jesse. DAD You set this all up, didn't you? One of your sick jokes? JESSE What are you talking about? DAD You know what I'm talking about. What did you use, a fire cracker? A cherry bomb? Jesse is angry now. JESSE I don't have to listen to this! He storms out of the kitchen. DAD Come back here! MOM (upset) Ken! Dad looks blankly at the wrench in his trembling hand. DAD I don't know...I don't know, Shirl. He used to be a good kid. CUT TO: EXT. JESSE'S HOUSE - NIGHT Dark again, sleeping soundly. INT. WALSH HOME - SECOND FLOOR HALLWAY - NIGHT Jesse emerges from his room and eases the door shut as quietly as possible. He stops to listen for any signs of his parents being awake. SOUND OVER: SNORES FROM BEHIND THEIR BEDROOM DOOR He steps lightly past their room adn toward the head of the stairs. WE FOLLOW Jesse as he descends the stairs into the darkened foyer. THE CELLAR DOOR Jesse stops there, momentarily losing his nerve. He finally turns the knob and opens the door. INT. WALSH HOME - CELLAR - NIGHT Jesse pulls an overhead chain, flooding the cellar with light. It's just as he saw it in his dream but devoid of any intruders. he steps up the the furnace, squats down and opens the firebox door. He reaches in. To his horror, he feels something and pulls out an object, wrapped in rags. ON THE OBJECT as he unwraps it. An old, beat leather glove with a row of rusty knife blades protruding from the fingers. Suddenly, the furnace switches on with a ROAR. FLAMES are leaping out of the firebox. FREDDY (O.C.) (laughingly) Hot enough for you? JESSE reels around. FREDDY is just across the room. FREDDY (re: the glove) Go ahead, Jesse. Try it on for size! Jesse looks at the glove. The blades are no longer rusted but gleaming and sharp. he throws the weapon to the floor. Freddy moves in closer. JESSE What do you want? FREDDY I need you to finish my work. Let me teach you, Jesse. We'll have fun. You like my little trick with the bird? Freddy advances. Jesse steps behind a stack of cartons. FREDDY Kill for me. (laughing) c'mon Jesse. Come to Freddy. Jesse pushes over a stack of cartons in his path and dives for the steps. Halfway up he misses his footing and slips, tumbling back down. ANOTHER ANGLE As Jesse comes to at the foot of the cellar steps. The furnace has stopped and Freddy is gone. As he gets to his feet, he notices. THE GLOVE on te floor, where he dropped it as shiny and new as the day it was made. INT. WALSH HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING MOM, DAD, and ANGELA are all at the breakfast table, picking at their food; none of them is particularly hungry this morning. JESSE enters and heads wordlessly to a coffee pot on the stove. he pours himself a cup and turns abound to face his family. Jesse and Dad are making an extra effort to avoid each other's eye contact. ON ANGELA She's still feeling bad, drawing little circles in a puddle of maple syrup with a corner of her waffle. JESSE (to Dad, suddenly) Why did it take them five years to sell this house, Dad? Dad shrugs his shoulders uncomfortably. DAD I don't know. COuldn't get the right price, I suppose. JESSE And you don't know anything about a murder across the street and a crazy girl who lived here - who saw the whole thing? Mom looks at Dad. This is all news to her. DAD (testily) I don't know. (a beat, coming clean) They told me something about it, yeah. What difference does it make? He feels Mom's stare and finally turns to her. DAD Oh, come on, Shirl, how'd you think we got such a good deal? (to Jesse) Listen - all old houses have stories. JESSE Did they tell you she went totally out of her mind - that they had to put her away? And that her mother killed herself in our living room? ON ANGELA She slides up to Mom. ANGELA Mommy, I'm scared. MOM (comforting her) Shhhhh. Jesse and Daddy are just making believe, sweetheart. (to Jesse) I don't think we should be talking about this now. Dad turns back to Jesse. DAD (indicating Angela) You see what you're doing? Now I don't want to hear another word about it. There's nothing wrong with this house! ON MOM he looks up from Angela and sniffs the air. MOM Something burning? Mom and Dad oth look toward the counter-top. THE TOASTER, THEIR POV GLOWING RED-HOT and then, not just smokey toast but FLAMES leaping out of the bread slots. Mom gasps and Dad jumps to his feet, grabs a dish-towel and begins beating out the fire. JESSE turns white as he watches the scene. Dad turns white as he watches the scene. DAD turns away from the smoldering toaster, tosses the towel aside and heads back toward the table. DAD Craziest damn thing I ever saw - wasn't even plugged in. Jesse puts his cut down hard on the counter and walks out. THe screen door slams behind him. Mom looks at Dad, horrified as Anglea clings to ehr side. EXT. MC DONALD'S PARKING LOT - DAY IN JESSE'S CAR As JESSE unrolls the bundle of rags he found the night before and lets the finger knives drop with a CLATTER on the seat between himself and LISA. On Lisa's side of the dashboard we see the remnants of a big, fast-food breakfast; Egg McMuffin, danish, orange juice and coffee. Jesse nurses a cup of joe as Lisa picks up the glove and examines it with interest. LISA This is amazing! Your dream told you where this was? JESSE (nods) Only it was more like, you know, sleep- walking. All I know is I woke up on the cellar floor next to it. He reaches into his knapsack and pulls out the diary. JESSE Forget about going back to sleep after that. I was up all night. (more intense) I finished reading this. It gets real crazy towards the end, after all the death stuff. But then she said some- thing really freaky - about her mother taking her down to the basement to show her the glove. ON LISA She's totally sucked in to the story, wide-eyes and waiting for more. She offers a french fry to Jesse. He shakes his head. She pops it into her mouth and nods for Jesse to go on. JESSE That's when she started talking about Fred Krueger. LISA Who? JESSE Fred Krueger. The guy in her dream who's coming to kill her. Seems he was a real guy, ten years before who went around kidnapping kids and killing them. ON LISA She emits a long, windy whistle. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR - DAY KIDS are at their lockers, taking off their jackets and getting together everything they'll need for the day. ON JESSE AND LISA As they walk down the hall together. LISA Maybe you were having a premonition or something. You know, like those guys who help the police solve crimes and find missing people. You ever had anything like this happen before? Jesse thinks about it. JESSE (finally) No. Never. (a beat) You think that's what it is? LISA (thoughtfully) I don't know. They stop in the middle of the corridor. LISA Can I look at that diary for a little while? Jesse raises his eyebrows vaguely, reaches in his bag and hands over the book. LISA (taking it) Thanks. Before she can go on, they are interrupted by a squeaky voice to their side. At the sound of it, Lisa displays annoyed recognition. KERRY (O.C.) Hi, guys. LONGER ANGLE: LISA Hi, Kerry. KERRY (to Lisa) I got your invitation yesterday. Thanks. (a beat) Any cute guys gonna be there? LISA (tired sigh) All of them. KERRY Yor dad picking the music again? LISA (smiles) Mom's trying to keep him upstairs. Jesse looks at Lisa quizzically. LISA (to Jesse) Last party I had, Dad insisted on playing nothing but Benny Goodman records all night. The class bell RINGS. Lisa leans over and kisses Jesse. LISA I'll see you later, okay? The kiss takes him by surprise as she walks off with Kerry. JESSE (calling after her) I may be late. Baseball practice! EXT. HIGH SCHOOL PRACTICE FIELD - DAY The school TEAM has been split up into two sides. There's an air of excitement about - like it's a close game, drawing to an end. GRADY is on third, waiting to be hit home. The PITCHER winds and throws. ON THE BATTER A swing and a miss. SCHNEIDER calls him out. He tosses the bat aside, disgustedly. JESSE is on deck. As he approaches the plate: A TEAMATE (O.C.) Last out. Up to you, Walsh. ON GRADY He sneers like they might as well just concede the game now and go home early. The PITCHER sends one right down the middle. JESSE lets it go and Schneider calls a strike. He chokes up a bit on the bat and takes his stance. Another perfect pitch and Jesse lets it go again. SCHNEIDER Strike! Grady slaps himself in the face and shakes his head pitifully. The PITCHER throws another. This time, Jese catches it perfectly, SLAMMING it down the middle for a solid hit. GRADY scores amid cheers and slaps on the back. JESSE holds up at first. INT. BOY'S LOCKER ROOM - DAY JESSE is at the end of a row of lockers. He pulls off his shirt and tosses it in the locker, takes down a towel and sets it down on the bench next to him. Several BOYS pass by on their way to their lockers or the showers, giving Jesse the thumbs-up. BOYS Good game, Walsh...Way to go, Walsh ...etc. GRADY approaches and goes to his own locker, down a few from Jesse's. Jesse plops down on the bench and slowly pulls off his sneakers. He stops to rub his aching shoulders. GRADY (finally) You hit that ball pretty good, Walsh. JESSE It was okay. GRADY Who told you to choke up that way? JESSE My Dad. He played in the minors for a while, when he got out of college. GRADY (impressed) No shit. They continue undressing in silence. As Jesse speaks, COACH SCHNEIDER steps up behind them. JESSE Schneider shouldn't have called you out on that double. GRADY Yeah, well, Schneider's got a stick up his ass today. JESSE (laughs) Schneider's always got a stick up his ass. Schneider smiles wickedly as he places his hands on the two boys' shoulders. EXT. ATHLETIC FIELD - DAY JESSE and GRADY trudge along at somewhere between a job and a stumble. They talk to each other with words that are punctuated by huffs, puffs and side-stitches. JESSE (cautiously) You remember your dreams, Grady? GRADY Only the wet ones. Jesse shoots him a condescending sneer and decides not to pursue it. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - DAY The lot is practically empty with most of the students on heir way home by now. Jesse's car is parked in the center. LISA is leaning on the car, waiting with a stack of books at her side. She looks up as Jesse approaches. JESSE Sorry. Schneider id it to me again. LISA I just got here myself. Went to the Public Library. (proudly) Cut four classes! He opens the door for her. She picks up the books and climbs in. Jesse runs around to the other side and slides in beside her. JESSE (indicating the books) What's all this. LISA Research. (she kisses him) Hi. (an intriguing wink) C'mon, let's go for a ride. EXT. HIGHWAY - DAY The blue Falcon rolls down the highway. INSIDE JESSE is driving as LISA re-stacks some of the books on her lap and begins leafing through one. LISA I'm convinced you've had a genuine psychic vision. Jesse looks over at her inquisitively. LISA At first I wasn't sure because you said that you never had anyting like last night happen before. But I found out that most people have the potential for tuning in to "the other world" and neve do. It has something to do with the environment - like they have to be in a place that's sending signals. JESSE Like a haunted house, right? I don't believe in ghosts. LISA You don't have to. You just have to believe in energy. She shifts in her seat to face him. LISA (intensely) Look, you got electricity in your body, right? JESSE Yeah, I know...synapses neurong... LISA And heat and chemical reactions. Where does it all go when you die? JESSE I don't know - into the air I suppose. LISA (pointing up ahead) Make a left at this corner. Jesse turns at the intersection. LISA What about "essential energy" the soul. Does that go into the air too? You think there's a good energy and a bab energy? JESSE (confussed) I don't know. (a beat) Where are we going? LISA (smiles mysteriously) It's a surprise. EXT. ABANDONED POWER PLANT - DAY An old generating plant, big enough to have served what was once a small town but rundown and obsolete now. the place is charred and the grounds are littered with rubble - as if there'd been a fire there long ago. The entrance to the plant is boarded up and plastered with "NO TRESPASSING" signs. Many of the boards are missing, providing easy access for the scores of vandals who had torn through there at one time or another. There are no windows at ground level but the top of the building is lined with many multi-paned frames; all of them are either cracked or missing. JESSE'S CAR pulls into frame and he and LISA get out and look the place over. JESSE What is this place? LISA (excidedly) Remember in the diary - Nancy said that she kept finding herself in a boiler room? Fred Krueger worked here. It's an old power- plant - a steam generator! She pulls out several papers and hands them to Jesse. LISA Here. JESSE What's this? ON THE PAPERS Xeroxes of newspaper articles. The HEADLINE reads: "SPRINGWOOD SLASHER ARRESTED!" LISA (O.C.) I did some reading up on our friend, Fred Krueger. Jesse leafs through the papers. Each one is a front page from a local newspaper. HEADLINE: "KRUEGER FREED ON TECHNICALITY! D.A. RESIGNS" HEADLINE: "JUSTICE DONE - KRUEGER KILLED BY MOB! SPRINGWOOD SLASHER DIES IN HELLISH INFERNO" Jesse sucks in his breath. INT. ENTRANCEWAY, ABANDONED POWERPLANT - DAY Jesse and Lisa climb between a pair of boards and step inside. ON LISA She walks toward the center of the plant, fascinated. INT. POWERPLANT We can see the remnants of a large boiler room. Big steel pipes jut out of the floor in a tangle of elbows and valves and a clutter of debris. A one-story holdig tank rises above a concrete pit and is met on top by a mze of catwalks, just under the windows. Although most of the ceiling has burned away, the interior is surprisingly intact for a derelict building and the overhead light distracts form any intrinsic creepiness the place would possess after dark. Jesse steps in behind her. LISA (solemnly) He kidnapped twenty kids and brought them all here to die. She gives herself a chill but shakes it off and turns to Jesse. LISA So, you feeling anything? JESSE What do you mean? LISA I thought you might be able to make a connection. Jesse shrugs his shoulders and puts his hands to the side of his mouth. JESSE (calling) Any ghosts in here? LISA C'mon, cut it out. JESSE Well, what am I supposed to do? LISA I don't know. Concentrate or some- thing. Jesse shifts his legs and stares up at the ceiling. He closes his eyes. JESSE (still concentrating) I feel like a jerk. LISA Shhh. Just concentrate. Jesse walks around in a small circle, keeping hsi head up and his eyes closed. LISA Anything? JESSE (shakes his head) Uh-uh. (a beat) Wait... He walks slowly across the room, almost in a trance, until he comes to a board leaning up against the foot of the mesh-iron stairway that leads up to the catwalks. ON THE BOARD As his hand reaches over to touch it. ON LISA stepping over next to Jesse. ANOTHER ANGLE He pulls the board away. A LARGE RAT, in her nest, WITH HER YOUNG, SNARLS at him. Jesse and Lisa jump into each other's arms. EXT. ABANDONED POWERPLANT - LATE AFTERNOON JESSE and LISA walk along the outskirts of the building to a pretty cluster of shade trees nearby. Lisa hoists herself up on a boulder and looks at the building. JESSE Disappointed? LISA About what? JESSE About not finding any bogey men? LISA (smiles) I'll get over it. She is disappointed - She wanted to find some bogey men. Jesse comes up close to her and they stare at each other. LISA (finally) You are sensitive. I mean you sensed that the rat was there. And I can feel something about you. Sometimes I feel like I know what you're thinking. Jesse moves in closer an puts his arms on her shoulders. JESSE (suggestively) Yeah? LISA (ignoring the suggestion) Maybe it only happens when you're sleeping - that's the way it was with Nancy, wasn't it? JESSE Now, there's an idea we can take off on. Maybe we should drive out to the beach tonight and lay out a couple of blankets and... (winks) Until I fall asleep. LISA (slyly) Maybe we can do that. Strictly scientific, of course. Jesse moves in until their lips are almost touching. JESSE Nancy went bonkers from this thing. You wouldn't be afraid of being out on the beach with a potential lunatic? LISA Ghostbusters are fearless. They kiss. Not little friendly pecks like before -- this is the real thing. Jesse drops his arms to her waist and she opens her legs so that he can get in real close. Suddenly, Jesse groans in pain and stands upright, tearing from their embrace. For the briefest instant, we can see protrusions grow and subside on his forehead and the side of his face. LISA What is it - What's wrong? JESSE (holding his stomach) Whoa! LISA What is it? JESSE I don't know - a sharp pain. Lisa watches his helplessly. Finally, the agony lifts from Jesse's face. He straightens up. JESSE It's gone now. LISA Oh, Jesse... Lisa puts her arms around him. LISA Jesse, this is no good. You've got to get some sleep, Jesse. You've got to get some sleep. INT. WALSH HOUSE - JESSE'S ROOM - NIGHT Jesse is in bed, tossing restlessly adn panting heavily. He is drenched with sweat and continues to perspire profusely as he sits up and turns on his bedside lamp. A thunderhead is RUMBLING somewhere nearby. The PLASTIC SHADE OF THE LAMP is melting. He scans the room picking out various indications of the intense heat that is surrounding him; A CANDLE on his bookshelf collapses into a puddle of wax, the LAMINATED TOP OF THE NIGHT-TABLE is bubbling, an UNSHEATHED RECORD ALBUM hangs over the corner of the desk, his PORTABLE STEREO has caved in the center - a Daliesque tableau. SOUND OVER: SCRAPING Jesse gets out of bed, crossing to the desk. The scraping sound intensifes. CLOSE ON THE DRAWER as Jesse opens it. Inside, THE GLOVE, fingers moving, independently, unattached, scraping little cuts in the bottom of the drawer. ON JESSE slamming the drawer shut. SOUND OVER: A SWISHING SOUND, FOLLOWED BY A THUMP, AGAIN AND AGAIN UPSTAIRS HALLWAY JESSE, barefoot and wearing only a pair of jeans and an unbuttoned shirt, steps up to the door to Angela's room. The sound is coming from inside. He opens the door. ANGELA is standing in the middle of the floor, in her nightgown, seemingly oblivious to the heat. She is jumping rope and chanting: ANGELA One, two, Freddy's coming for you. ON JESSE, PETRIFIED ANGELA (O.C.) Three, four, better lock your door. ON ANGELA She sees her brother staring at her. She doesn't stop jumping but smiles and continues her jingle: ANGELA Five, six, grab your crucifix... Jesse SLAMS the door shut. KITCHEN Jesse enters, looks out the windows. A huge bolt of LIGHTNING RIPS through the night sky; a multiple flash f blue light strobes through the kitchen followed by a CRACK of intense THUNDER. ANOTHER FLASH OF LIGHTNING cuts across the kitchen itself, SHATTERING SOME DISHES on the counter-top, leaving a plume of BLACK SMOKE. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET - NIGHT The rain continues to come down in buckets. Jesse enters shot and walks, unprotected in his drenched jeans and shirt and seemingly without any knowledge of where he is going. The streets are totally empty. EXT. DON'S PLACE - NIGHT A seedy tavern on a badly lit corner. JESSE steps into frame. He stares at the place before stepping up to he door. INT. DON'S PLACE - NIGHT The toughest looking bar in the entire city. The place is packed with PROSTITUTES, PIMPS, TRAVELING SALESMEN, a couple of TRANSVESTITES and a generous delegation of the leather and chain contingency. Jesse enters and crosses to the bar amid a few stares. He sits on a stool. The bartender draws a cold beer and presents it to Jesse. As the bartender turns away, Jesse reaches for the glass. A HAND slaps down on his wrist and holds it tightly. He looks up. COACH SCHNEIDER is standing over him. He's wearing a muscle shirt, a gold chain around his neck and he has a sick grin on his face. INT. GYMNASIUM - NIGHT JESSE is barefoot, jogging arund the outer edge of the gym floor and looking as if he's about to collapse from exhaustion. ON SCHNEIDER Leaning against a wall of the gym, watching Jesse run. As Jesse comes around for another lap, Schneider reaches out and grabs him, throwing him into a wall of folding wooden bleachers. Jesse is dazed, ready to drop. SCHNEIDER (barking) Hit the showers. INT. BOYS LOCKER ROOM - SHOWER ROOM - NIGHT Jesse turns on one of the faucets and lets the hot water hit him full on. INT. COACH'S OFFICE - NIGHT SCNEIDER turns to a huge, padlocked cabinet on the wall. He unlocks it and opens the doors. It is filled with a variety of athletic equipment: dumbbells, jump-ropes and volley balls, etc. Schneider selects a pair of jump-ropes from the cabinet and sets them down on his desk. A distinct PING makes him look up. He goes to the door and looks out into the hall. SHOWER ROOM Jesse continues showering. INT. COACH'S OFFICE Schneider turns back to his office. There is ANOTHER PING. A TENNIS RACQUET hanging on the wall has two broken strings. TWO MORE STRINGS SMOKE, THEN SNAP with a ping. A BASKETBALL leaps off a shelf of the equipmnt cabinet and bounce on the floor at Schneider's feet. Schneider bends down to pick it up and TWO MORE BALLS jump out onto the floor. A FOURTH BALL flies out and knocks over a TROPHY on his desk. Schneider hits the deck when a DUMBBELL streaks across the office and SLAMS into the window, cracking the thick wired glass. ON SCHNEIDER he makes his way to the cabinet by crawling along the floor as BASKETBALLS, VOLLEYBALLS, even a MEDICINE BALL fly over his head. He reaches up to close the cabinet doors. ANOTHER ANGLE A JUMP-ROPE on the desk unravels like a harpoon line and wraps an end of itself around Schneider's wrist. The other end pulls hard and yanks Schneider off balance. He reaches up to close the cabinet doors. ANOTHER ANGLE A JUMP-ROPE on the desk unravels like a harpoon line and wraps an end of itself around Schneider's wrist. The other end pulls hard and yanks Schneider off balance. As he reaches with his free arm to unwrap his wrist, the SECOND ROPE rockets off the desk top and secures itself to his other wrist. hThe office door opens by itself. The ropes drag Schneider screaming from the room. SHOWER ROOM JESSE turns as the shower head next to the one he is using, gurgles and suddenly comes on full. And suddenly, all the showers are on, spewing water and steam. We hear Schneider's screams as he is dragged into the room, through great puddles of water and against the tiled wall opposite Jesse. The showers on this side are OFF. The boy watches in horror as the ropes shoot up to two adjacent shower nozzles and hoist the Coach into a helpless spread-eagle, facing the wall. His clothes shear from his body like sheets of tissue paper. A STACK OF TOWELS Comes to life, snapping in mid-air at Schneider's butt and back. As they hit him, they draw blood. ON JESSE as the room fills with great clouds of steam until he is nearly obscured; just a dark human form in the corner of the shower room. ANOTHER ANGLE ON SCHNEIDER as a figure in a green and red sweater and a battered fedora, cuts through the clouds, CACKLING and throwing his weapon-arm back like a World Series pitcher about to lob a fast ball. Schneider screams painfully as the knives cut four long tears in him, starting at the top of his naked back, cutting through his flesh. The weapon arm STRIKES AGAIN. Schneider screams, goes limp. WIDE-ANGLE: SCHNEIDER BLOOD begins to flow out of all the shower heads on Schneider's side. Schneider hangs limply from the shower heads. ON THE MURDERER CAMERA DOLLIES IN FAST to reveal it is JESSE. He screams. Jesse lifts his hand into frame. He is wearing Freddy's bloodied glove. JESSE No...Oh God, no... He slowly drops to his knees, sloshing in a crimson puddle, and stares up to the heavens. JESSE (screaming) No!!! SMASH CUT TO: INT. WALSH HOUSE - FOYER - NIGHT We hear the DOORBELL RINGING repeatedly until the lights flick on and DAD hurries to the door, wrapping a robe over his pajamas. HIS POV AS HE OPENS THE DOOR TWO POLICEMEN in rain slickers stand on either side of Jesse. he is naked but is wrapped in a blanket. His hair is soaked and dripping over his face. 1st POLICEMAN This belong to you? Dad can't believe what he's looking at. He just nods his head. The 2nd Policeman gives Jesse a slight push across the threshold. He stumbles into the house. 1st POLICEMAN We found him wandering out on the Highway, naked. Keep a leash on him, will ya? CUT TO: KITCHEN - A TEA KETTLE WHISTLING MOM takes the kettle from the stove and pours it into a mug. She steeps the teabag as she crosses to the table and JESSE Wide awake, holding the blanket tightly around his neck, takes the cup from his mother. DAD paces the floor angrily. DAD Okay, we're gonna put our cards on the table, here and now. There's not going to be any retribution - no fire and brimstone. I only have two questions and you'll answer them and we'll all go to bed, okay? Jesse nods weakly. DAD Okay. What are you taking and who are you getting it from? Jesse snorts and shakes his head ironically. JESSE I'm not taking drugs, Dad. (to Mom) Can I go to bed now? MOM (touches his cheek tenderly) Sure...go ahead. Dad tries to burn a hole through him with his eyes as Jesse gets up from the table and leaves the room. As the double-hinged doors slap clsoed behind him, Dad turns to Mom without a change of expression. DAD (no question about it) He's on something. EXT. WALSH HOUSE - MORNING DAD is standing on a ladder, unbolting a set of security bars from the windows. He watches from above as JESSE runs out the door, followed by MOM. MOM Jesse, please, let's talk about this! JESSE (pleading) I'm okay. Just leave me alone. Jesse walks over to his car and climbs in. Mom turns to Dad who is watching the scene curiously. MOM He needs professional help. I think we should take him to a psychiatrist. DAD (incensed) Are you nuts or something? What the hell is that going to do? MOM I don't know! I just know he needs help and we don't know how to give it to him. Dad shifts on the ladder and begins to protest. MOM (squelching it) Don't fight me on this. She stomps back toward the house. DAD (calling after her) He needs a kick in the but, is what he needs. He needs a methodone clinic! She throws back a dirty look. MOM Oh, blow it out your ass, Ken. With that, Dad loses his footing on the ladder and drops down several rungs. EXT. ROAD - DAY Jesse's car travels slowly and turns onto a tree-lined street. INSIDE JESSE drives silently with LISA looking over at him, upset. LISA (upset) Will you stop and tell me what's wrong? JESSE (staring straight ahead) I'm fine. Nothing's wrong. LISA (undeterred) you didn't say more than two words to me the whole way here. You had another nightmare, didn't you? JESSE yeah, I had a bad night. LISA You want to talk about it? JESSE My Dad thinks I'm on drugs, my Mom thinks I'm crazy and I'm not sure I don't agree with her. EXT. HIGH SCHOOL - DAY as Jesse's car pulls into the lot. ANOTHER ANGLE as they turn a corner. Jesse jams on the brakes. THEIR POV - THE GYMNASIUM WING in the distance. A crowd of STUDENTS is gathered in a ring about three-deep outside the doors leading to the practice fields. IN THE CAR JESSE Oh God. He throws open the door, jumps out and runs toward the crowd. Bewildered, Lisa does likewise, running after him. As they get closer, they can see that the entire area is cordoned of with red plastic ribbons. SEVERAL POLICEMEN and OFFICIALS are coming in and out of the building. A TEACHER is trying to disperse the students, clapping his hands together and pushing through the rubber-neckers. TEACHER Okay gang, let's move along. Jesse stops at the edge of the barricade cranes his neck to see what's going on. GRADY spots Jesse and runs over to his side. Jesse is turning white as he watches the scene and listens to Grady's recap: GRADY Holy shit, man. Where have you been? Fuckin' Schneider got wasted last night. Jesse swallows hard to regain his composure. Lisa arrives at his side. JESSE Oh Jesus. I'm gonna be sick. GRADY (ignores him) He must've been working late and some fruitcake came in and sliced him up like a kielbasa. In the shower! Left bloody footprints all over the... Jesse clamps his hand over his mouth and breaks for some bushes against the building. Grady looks at a horrified Lisa and gives a puzzled shrug. INT. SCHOOL CAFETERIA - DAY ON THE FOOD LINE LISA and KERRY are on the lunch line, sliding their trays along the rails. Kerry is wearing a walkman with the volume truned way up - we can almost make out the song. KERRY That was something this morning, huh? About Schneider, I mean. Lisa nods and takes a plate of macaroni and cheese from one of the KITCHEN STAFF. She doesn't want to talk about it. KERRY Jesse sure took it bad, didn't he? Lisa shrugs and moves her tray away from Kerry's, toward the CASHIER. Kerry picks up a piece of cake from a shelf and slides ehr tray down until she's next to Lisa again. IN THE DINING ROOM JESSE is sitting at a table, a tray of food in front of him, untouched. He glances up at GRADY as he sits down next to him and starts digging in. GRADY (with his mouth full) Look, I'm sorry about Schneider, man. I didn't know you were so close. Jesse doesn't qualify that with a response. GRADY You want to go out to a movie or something tonight? Get your mind off things? Jesse shakes his head. Lisa comes over to the table with her tray and sits down next to Jesse. Kerry follows and sits next to Grady. KERRY Hi, guys. (to Grady, coquettishly) Hi, Ronny. You going to Lisa's party tomorrow night? GRADY (without looking up from his food) I can't. I'm grounded. KERRY How come? GRADY For throwin' my grandmother down a flight of stairs. Kerry, taking him seriously, nods gravely. Lisa looks at Jesse's tray of untouched food. LISA (to Jesse) You should eat something - you'll feel better. JESSE I'm not hungry. LISA I wish you'd talk to me. We can figure it out, you know. We can figure it out together. JESSE There's nothing to figure out. GRADY (to Lisa, disgustedly) You're wasting your time, the guy's a basket case. JESSE Shut up, Grady. Grady pushes his tray aside. GRADY You want me to shut up? Fine, I'll shut up, that's fine. See you around, buddy. Grady gets up and storms away from the table. Lisa, deeply pained, looks at Jesse. Jesse avoids her stare until he just drops his head into his hands and tries not to cry in front of his friends. He composes himself quickly and digs his fork into his lunch, choking down some macaroni. INT. LISA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT LISA, her MOTHER and FATHER are sitting, eating dinner. Lisa's mind is not at the table with her. MRS. POLETTI (to Lisa) Bought some nice strawberries at the farm today. We can have some short cake for your friends tomorrow. Lisa looks up an dsmiles blandly. MRS. POLETTI I also wangled a promise out of your father. ON MR. POLETTI He scowls slightly. LISA (politely) What's that? MRS. POLETTI We're gonna stay out of your way tomorrow night. LISA You're going out? MRS. POLETTI We're going to bed. She looks at her husband. MRS. POLETTI Early. EXT. WALSH HOUSE - NIGHT Quiet. The lights inside are all out. INT. WALSH HOUSE - BASEMENT - NIGHT We hear FOOTSTEPS and we TRAVEL with the sound along the floor to the foot of the basement steps. INTRUDER'S POV as he climbs the steps and approaches the door to the main part of the house. THE CAMERA is moving faster now, leaping the top steps and CRASHING through the doorway and onto the foyer floor. It crosses the FOYER adn begins climbing the stairs to the bedroom level. It stops at Angela's room and opens the door. ANGELA sleeps soundly, peacefully. It crosses over to the bed, a menacing SHADOW creeps over her form. The taloned glove pulls down on the blankets and she shifts position in the center of the bed, innocent and vulnerable. We see the SHADOW of the intruder on the wall...it moves in close to the sleeping child and emits a guttural, inhuman VOICE: INTRUDER (O.C.) Wake up, little girl... Her eyes flutter open. She looks up at the intruder and smiles. ANGELA (sleepily) What time is it? ANOTHER ANGLE We now see that it's JESSE standing over her. he's in his underpants, drenched with sweat and hunched over as if all the muscles in his body were twisted around each other. The sound of Angela's voice softens him. He slowly straghtens up and looks about the room as if wondering how he got there. JESSE (himself again) It's late...go back to sleep. She nods and closes her eyes. Jesse starts to pull the covers back over her and stops suddenly. HIS POV His right hand is wearing the GLOVE. INT. WALSH HOUSE - JESSE'S ROOM - NIGHT The desk lamp and a late movie on the T.V. are the only sources of light in the room. We see that the bed is rumpled and empty and we PAN across the room, to JESSE, sitting on the floor in front of the door, knees up against his chest, trying with all his strength to stay awake. He has a mug of black coffee in his hand and a pot of java at his side. He tops off his cup and reaches into the breast pocket of his shirt, withdrawing a small vial of pills. A BOTTLE OF NO-DOZ He rips the cap off with his teeth and dumps half the bottle into his coffee. EXT. WALSH HOUSE - MORNING A dark, dreary day. There are no morning sounds except for the SQUEAKING of an old rattle-trap bicycle as an overweight PAPER BOY swings by and lobs the morning edition over the lawn. The paper skids off the front steps and into the garden. INT. WALSH HOUSE - FOYER - MORNING JESSE walks down the steps. He looks ragged and exhausted and worse that ever. OUTSIDE THE KITCHEN He stops before going through the double-hinged door to push his hair back and forces a well rested, easy-going guise. IN THE KITCHEN DAD and ANGELA are sitting at the table. MOM is pouring some coffee into a couple of cups. JESSE enters. JESSE Morning. MOM How'd you sleep, honey, okay? JESSE Fine. Mom gives him a quick glance. MOM You're looking a little better today. DAD looks at Jesse's pale skin, the light stubble on his chin and his dark, bloodshot eyes and turns to Mom as if she's nuts. EXT. LISA'S HOUSE - POOLSIDE - NIGHT The entire pool area has been done up to the max. Japanese lanterns have been strung up above the fence, a long table, covered with festively arranged salads and condiments, stretches across the patio in front of the sliders and a Benny Goodman dance tune is blaring through some outdoor speakers. An all-too-bright underwater light makes the blue water shimmer crystal-clear. A score of nubile GIRLS in scanty swimsuits and athletic GUYS in cut-offs and trunks, scamper around, eating, swimming and horsing around. ON MR. POLETTI Standing over the gas grill, wearing a "Kiss the Cook" chefs hat and apron, cooking up a mess of hanburgers and hot dogs. ON MRS. POLETTI AND LISA stepping out of the house through the sliders, carrying more plates of food outside. A BOY bounces once on the diving board and CANNONBALLS into the center of the pool, SPLASHING everything within a fifteen foot radius including, MR. POLETTI who spins around from the grill, annoyed. MR. POLETTI Hey, watch it there! LISA turns to her mother, mortified. Mrs. Poletti hands her the platter she is holding and gives Lisa a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder before leaving her side and crossing toward her husband. Lisa turns her attention to JESSE, at the far corner of the patio, sitting in a lounger, alone. He looks worried and detached. She looks back toward the grill. MRS. POLETTI is pulling her husband away, against his will. He finally relents and beckons a BOY over. He turns his spatula over to him, surrenders his chef's hat and allows Lisa's mom to escort him back toward the house. JESSE, LISA'S POV He finally gets up and crosses toward the cabanas, going inside and shutting the door. BACK TO LISA as her mother and father approach. MRS. POLETTI We're going up to bed now. LISA (gratefully) Thanks, Mom. Mr. Poletti clearly doesn't like this arrangement. He looks behind him at all the horny young boys and turns back to Lisa. MR. POLETTI (sternly) Twelve-thiry, Miss. No later. LISA (nods agreeably) Twelve-thirty. I promise. Mrs. Poletti takes her husband by the arm again and leads him up to the sliders. He turns around before going through. MR. POLETTI And don't forget to lock the gate. LISA (nods) Goodnight, Daddy. Mr. Poletti is half-led, half-pushed through the doorway. mrs. Poletti pulls the slider closed behind them. INT. CABANA - NIGHT A roomy dressing area with an open shower stall at the back. There's a wide, wooden bench along one wall, covered with clothing and towels. JESSE stands in the center of the room, putting his pants on. He is shirtless and shoeless. SOUND OVER: A KNOCK ON THE DOOR LISA (O.S.) Jesse? Jesse hesitates, uncomfortable. JESSE Be out in a minute. EXT. CABANA Lisa waits for Jesse. Finally, he unlatches the door. his shirt is on, unbuttoned. Lisa steps into the cabana. INT. CABANA Lisa shuts the door behind her. The two look at each other a moment. Then Jesse looks away and continues buttoning his shirt. JESSE I think I better go. I'm just not into it tonight. I'm sorry. LISA Why won't you talk to me? JESSE Will you leave me alone? Please. Jesse crosses to the bench and sits to put on his shoes. LISA You're not being fair to me. I'm worried about you and I want to help you get through this thing. JESSE What are you gonna do? How are you gonna help? I'm losing my mind. (breaking down) I don't want to have you watch me fall apart. Lisa goes to Jesse. She puts a comforting arm on his shoulder. LISA It's okay, Jesse. Jesse takes her hand and holds it tight. She sits beside him. JESSE (choked) I'm afraid to go to sleep, I'm afraid to stay awake - I'm ruining your party. They're gonna put me away for sure. LISA We'll figure it out together. We'll stay up all night if we have to. I won't let anything happen to you. They look into each others eyes. Lisa kisses him ever so gently, then again. he kisses her. Their kisses grow hungrier. Love conquers fear and they embrace fully, kissing passionately. POOLSIDE THREE BOYS are huddled together, looking up at the Poletti's bedroom window. BOY ONE Any second, now... THE BEDROOM WINDOW, THEIR POV The lights FLICK OUT. BOY ONE (O.C.) (quietly) Party time. ON THE WET BAR Someone reaches over to the stereo, pops out the Benny Goodman cassette and flicks the radio on. Van Halen BLASTS out of the speakers. ON KERRY In the pool, up to her neck with a HUNK. They both look up as the music changes. The top of her bathing suit floats up to the surface. KERRY Oh, wow, Van Halen. INT. LISA'S HOUSE - THE POLETTI'S BEDROOM - NIGHT At the sound of the music, Mr. Poletti sits up in bed, angrily. Mrs. Poletti puts an arm on his shoulder. MRS. POLETTI (quietly) Let them have their fun, Honey. Mrs. poletti pulls out a pair of earplugs and hands them to Mr. Poletti, who grumbles, sticks them in his ear and drops back down into his pillow. EXT. LISA'S HOUSE - POOLSIDE - NIGHT Somebody switches off the lights to general applause. BACK TO KERRY AND THE HUNK They are in a steamy embrace when the underwater lights go out. The rest of her suit pops up out of the water. ON SOME BUSHES as a COUPLE pulls out a red wagon, stashed in the shrubbery and loaded with beer. INT. CABANA - NIGHT JESSE and LISA rolling around on the floor, a lot of heavy petting; not doing it but serious, heated stuff just the same. HIS HAND, wrapped around Lisa's wrist, pinning it gently to the floor. ON LISA Her eyes closed; feeling him - definitely feeling him. CLOSE TWO-SHOT, JESSE Jesse is about to take down Lisa's swimsuit top when an ungodly long iridescent serpent-like TONGUE flicks a foot out of his mouth, wiggles and flicks back in. Jesse moans lasciviously, not his own voice. ANOTHER ANGLE Jesse pushes himself away from Lisa and scrambles to his feet. Lisa, unaware of what happened, is puzzled and upset. ON LISA sitting up on the floor. LISA What's wrong? Jesse tucks in his shirt and buttons his pants. he is visibly shaken. JESSE I'll see you. Lisa just looks at him, helplessly. He slips out the cabana door and shuts it. ON LISA she gets up slowly. She's profoundly worried. INT. GRADY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Grady is sleeping on his back, dead to the world. Suddenly, a hand clamps down over his mouth. A light flicks on. LONGER ANGLE: GRADY'S BEDROOM It's JESSE. A window is open in the B.G., teh curtains in disarray. He lifts his hand from Grady's mouth and Grady scrambles out of bed. GRADY (hoarsely) Jesus Christ, you scared the shit out of me! JESSE I'm sorry... GRADY What are you doing here? JESSE You gotta let me stay here tonight, Grady. GRADY Are you nuts or something? JESSE Listen to me, Grady, this is serious. Something really weird is happening. It started out like just bad dreams but it's getting real bad. Grady is tired and cranky and he doesn't want ot hear this. GRADY Aw, will you get out of here! Go and take a sleeping pill or something... He flops back down on his bed and puts his arm over his eyes. GRADY In fact, take a whole bottle and do the world a favor. Jesse sits on the edge of the bed. JESSE I killed Schneider, Grady... Grady lifts his arm from his eyes and stares at Jesse preposterously. JESSE (nods) Only it wasn't me - I was there but it was like something inside of me, moving me around. Then last night it made me go into my sister's room and tonight, with Lisa in the cabana. We were...on the floor - I felt it happening again. He grabs Grady's arm. JESSE It wanted me to kill them, Grady! Grady continues his dumbfounded stare. GRADY (finally) You're fucked in the head. JESSE I'm scared, Grady. I know it sounds crazy. But, there's something trying to get into my body. GRADY (sneers) The only thing trying to get into your body is female and waiting for you on a cabana floor. And you want to sleep with me. Go figure. JESSE Look, I don't care if you believe me or not... GRADY I believe you. You had some scary dreams, okay? JESSE (frustrated) No! (shakes his head) I don't know - everything's all mixed up. (suddenly angry) What difference does it make? I'm in trouble here. I need your help. Grady lets that sink in. GRADY (softer) Okay, schmuck. What do you want me to do? JESSE Just watch me. If anything weird happens - like if I start dreaming weird or try to walk out of here, you gotta try to bring me out of it. his me over the head if you have to. Just don't let me leave. Grady looks down at the floor, sighs, and nods his head. JESSE And Grady... Grady looks up. JESSE Don't fall asleep! EXT. LISA'S HOUSE - POOLSIDE - NIGHT The underwater lights are still off, the music has calmed down a bit and most of the KIDS are more into necking than swimming. TWO BODIES are rolled up in a blanket together. From a short SQUEAL, we can deduce that it's KERRY and her HUNK. The BAR-B-QUE BOY has remained steadfast at his post although his GIRLFRIEND has joined him and he's paying more attention to her than the hotdogs on the grill. ON LISA She sitting on one of the lounges, her eyes are red from crying. She's being comforted by a girlfriend, PATTY. PATTY Why don't you just call him? LISA (tearfully) He won't talk to me. PATTY Well, you're not doing him or yourself any good sitting here and worrying. Lisa looks at her friend. LISA I shoud go see him, but...I don't know, the party and all... PATTY (encouragingly) Go ahead. I'll hold down the fort. LISA (getting up) Thanks, Patty. You're a pal. INT. GRADY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Grady is sitting up in bed, staring at the T.V. He turns to JESSE, slumped in a nearby chair, asleep. Grady switches off the TV with the remote. GRADY Sweet dreams, buddy. Grady turns off the READING LIGHT by the bed. He gives a final look at Jesse before he pushes the whole thing out of his mind with a disgusted wave of his arm and lays back down. ON JESSE Suddenly, his eyes open widely. JESSE Grady? Grady MUMBLES an obscenity and turns over on his side to face Jesse. GRADY What? JESSE It's happening again. Grady turns the reading light back on in time to see Jesse DOUBLE OVER and curl up in obviously incredible pain, falling to his knees. He flails out as if 1000 volts were going through his body and begins to choke on his tongue. Grady scrambles out of bed and dances around Jesse, not knowing what to do. ON JESSE'S HAND as he raises it and his fingers spread widely apart. Four steel RAZOR-KNIVES tear out from withing the tips of Jesse's fingers like long, bloody switchblades! GRADY stands by helplessly as Jesse WRITHES. And then it is like some crazed beast in Jesse's gut, tearing its way out of his skin like someone stepping through a thick, latex film. As his skin peels away, thousands of capillaries pull apart, spraying blood everywhere in a fine, almost powdery mist. The transformation is almost complete when FRED KRUEGER's body steps out of the red cloud. All that is left of Jesse is his SCREAMING FACE, plastered like a grisly ruber mask over Freddy's own disfigured features. Grady backs away toward the door. GRADY (screaming) No! No! No! ON FREDDY He stands up with an evil smile, all there now, and puts on his battered hat. ANGLE: GRADY'S BEDROOM Grady tries desperately to get out, but the door won't open. Freddy cackles evilly as he cuts off Grady's screams by grabbing his throat with his unarmed hand. he pushes Grady up against the door and lifts him off the floor like he was hanging a picture. We hear MUFFLED CALLS from outside the door - the off-camera cries of concerned PARENTS. THE DOORKNOB RATTLES as they try to get in the room to check on their son. BOOM, BOOM, BOOM! a fist, hammering against the door behind Grady's head - his father trying to get in. MR. GRADY (O.C.) What's going on? Open the door, Ronny! FREDDY draws back his knife-hand and prepares to plunge it into Grady's stomach like he was spearing a pot roast. OUTSIDE THE DOOR MR. and MRS. GRADY, in their nightclothes. Mrs. Grady stands with her hands over her mouth as Mr. Grady grabs the know again and BANGS his fist repeatedly against teh door. ON FREDDY Throwing force into his cutting arm. We CUT before impact to: OUTSIDE THE DOOR We hear Grady SCREAM as the steel blades cut through his body and poke out through the door like it was made of balsa. They wiggle slightly to pull free and are retracted with an ungodly SQUEAK. Mrs. Grady screams. MR. GRADY My God. Mr. Grady throws his shoulder with all his might against the door. A second excruciating SCREAM inside, and the knives cut through the door, inches from Mr. Grady's head. When they pull out, blood is soaking through the knife holes - it looks as if the door itself is bleeding. ON GRADY breathing his last few gasps. ON GRADY'S PARENTS They watch in stunned horror. ON GRADY He sinks slowly to the floor, dead. Freddy watches as his victim slides into a heap on the floor. Only we see now that it isn't Freddy anymore but Jesse again, panting exhaustedly and dripping Grady's blood from just under his elbow to the sharp points of the razor-tipped glove he wears on his hand. THE DOOR is budging open against Grady's body - a little more with each crash of Mr. Grady's shoulder against the other side. Jesse is coming to - himself again, and he views what he has done to his best friend with terror crazed eyes. is eye catches his own reflection in a full length mirror on the wall. The image reflected is of FREDDY. JESSE No! (backing away from the body) No! No! No! (screaming toward the mirror) You son of a bitch! You killed him! Jesse hurls the glove at the mirror, cracking it. Freddy's mocking image, however, remains. The last SOUND we hear is a demonic mix of Jesse's own screams and Freddy's cackling laugh. INT. LISA'S HOUSE - FOYER - NIGHT Lisa has changed into a white shirt and a pair of cut-offs. She hurries downstairs, buttoning up her shirt and crosses the foyer floor to the door. She opens the door and JESSE collapses in her arms. He is bloody, bruised and his clothes are torn and dirty. LISA (frenzied) Jesse, God - what happened? JESSE (hyperventilating) I killed him! I killed him! She draws him in close, trying to comfort him. She looks at his bloody arms. LISA Oh, Christ, you're hurt... JESSE (weeping now) I killed Grady. I killed Grady, Lisa. I killed Schneider. Oh my God, he's inside me... Lisa looks around, frantically as she holds Jesse tightly against her body. LISA Who, Jesse? JESSE he's just waiting to take me. When I sleep. LISA Who? Who's doing this to you? He looks at her as if she should know. JESSE Fred Krueger. (psychotically) He's been trying to get hold of me, to use me. He needs me to get out of his world into ours...He's gonna take me again. LISA No, Jesse. This isn't happening. It's gotta be everything you've taken in -- Schneider and the diary and the glove -- only it's all mixed up. He pushes away from her, frustrated. JESSE No! Christ, how can I make you understand? He tried to make me kill Angela last night! Look at the blood on my hands! He begins to sob. JESSE Oh, God. I did that to Grady... (suddenly coherent, realizing) He owns me. Lisa puts her arms around him. SHe strokes his head, trying to calm him. LISA I'm not gonna let anyone take you from me. There's got to be a reason. We'll figure it out together. Suddenly, something makes Lisa stop. LISA Wait a minute! She leads Jesse toward the study entryway and opens the door. LISA Wait in here for me. I'll be right back. Jesse goes into the study. Lisa hurries off. EXT. LISA'S HOUSE - POOLSIDE - NIGHT THE BAR-B-QUE BOY has left his post entirely. He is sitting on a nearby bench with his GIRLFRIEND on his lap and his chef's hat askew on the back of his head. Suddenly, the girl points toward the grill. GIRLFRIEND Hey, look! The kid looks over. HIS POV - THE GRILL A platter of hot dogs on an attached cutting board. The hot dogs are exploding, bursting into flames, one by one until the whole plate is engulfed. BAR-B-QUE Holy Shit! He jumps up, picks up the flaming platter with his hands and tosses it like a hot potato onto the cooking grid, slamming the lid down with a CRASH. Some of the WITNESSES hoot and laugh and there's a scattering of applause. Before Bar-b-que can take a bow for his bravery, his attention is drawn to the sound of rapid POPPING. HIS POV The WAGON OF BEER on the ground near some bushes. The pull tabs are popping off and geisers of brew are shooting up toward the sky. INT. LISA'S HOUSE - STUDY - NIGHT LISA opens up the DIARY. JESSE looks over her shoulder. LISA Something Nancy said - her last entry. (reading) "He is evil itself. I know now that I brought him into my world. We all did, gave him all the energy he needed. Our screams were all he needed. Now I will take it back - Deny him." She looks up at Jesse. LISA She wasn't crazy. (he holds up the book) All this really happened. (a beat) You can fight him. Jesse looks confussed. LISA Remember what I said? About good energy and bad energy? He thrives on bad energy. Hate, anger, fear. He is bad energy. (a beat) You've been afraid of him. Jesse suddenly winces in painand puts his hand to his stomach. JESSE (panicking) Oh, God, he's coming back! (to Lisa) Get out of here, Lisa! CUT TO: The window SLAMS shut and LOCKS. LISA frightened, looks behind her and back to Jesse, frantically. LISA Fight it, Jesse! FRONT DOOR, FOYER The deadbolt turns with a loud SNAP. INT. LISA'S HOUSE - THE POLETTI'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Their bedroom door LATCHES firmly. MR. POLETTI sits up with a start. MR. POLETTI What was that? EXT. GATE - LISA'S HOUSE - POOLSIDE - NIGHT A large padlock swings around and SNAPS shut. INT. LISA'S HOUSE - STUDY - NIGHT JESSE is doubled over in pain. Lisa has her hands on his shoulders, shaking him, trying to bring him out of it. The heat has become intense in teh room; they are both sweating profusely and their clothes cling to their wet bodies. LISA You created him - you can destroy him. He lives off your fear. Fight him, Jesse! JESSE (painfully) I can't! Tiny bubbles are rising to the top of the aquarium tank and the angelfish float on the surface of the water, poached. INT. LISA'S HOUSE - THE POLETTI'S BEDROOM - NIGHT MR. POLETTI is standing inside the door in an open robe, tugging on the knob as MRS POLETTI joins him at his side. He, too is drenched with sweat and the heat has steamed up all the interior windows. MRS. POLETTI What is it? MR. POLETTI The lock's jammed! Suddenly, there is a BLAST OF MUSIC as a bedside CLOCK RADIO comes to life an immediatly begins melting in the center. The music GROANS to a stop after less than a bar and the amber dial-lamp dies. EXT. LISA'S HOUSE - POOLSIDE - NIGHT KERRY and HUNK in the pool again. Steam is rising off the surface and the water seems a bit rough for a swimming pool. Kerry calls out to no one in particular. KERRY Hey, can somebody turn down the heater? INT. LISA'S HOUSE - STUDY - NIGHT JESSE is writhing on the floor as LISA jumps around him, helplessly. LISA You're not afraid of him! He doesn't even exist. ON THE T.V. as it, too, comes to life with a BLAST OF SOUND, SPARKS violently and dies. ON THE AQUARIUM as the water comes to a boil, the glass SHATTERS and the carpeting is flooded with a wave of steaming water and dead marine life. EXT. LISA'S HOUSE - POOLSIDE - NIGHT as the Japanese lanterns begin to brighten considerably - as if there's a power surge in the line. Each of the bulbs begin to burst, scattering a group of screaming TEENAGERS from beneath them. INT. STUDY ON LISA, JESSE'S POV Horrified. ON THE DESK FRONT as a hand comes up into frame - FREDDY'S hand. It scrapes up the wooden panel and grips the desktop, cutting four deep notches into the scrolled edge-molding. ON LISA She GASPS. FREDDY is standing in front of her. FREDDY (laughting hideously) He can't fight me. (raising his eyebrows) I'm him. Freddy approaches, flashing his razor-knives like a set of Tiffany rings. Lisa looks about the room for some escape. Freddy swings. Lisa counters by pulling an afghan from the back of one of the chairs and catching it in his blades. She reaches behind her for something to hit him with and comes up with a heavy brass lamp from the top of the desk. She SMASHES him over the head with it. The impact throws him back long enough for her to slip by him and run out of the study. She slams the door behind her. Freddy recovers quickly from the blow and, angry now, takes after her. INT. LISA'S HOUSE - THE POLETTI BEDROOM - NIGHT Mr. Poletti is banging on the door and wrenching the knob. MR. POLETTI Lisa! INT. LISA'S HOUSE - FOYER - NIGHT as LISA runs through the room, rounds the newel post of the stairway and skids across the parquet floor to the front door. She grabs the knob and pulls. Locked. LISA (screaming for help) Jesse! Panic-stricken, she turns to run. FREDDY LEAPS across the room at LISA. She tries to run past him but collides with him instead. They both go down on the waxed floor. LISA tries to scramble away. FREDDY grabs her foot and sinks his teeth into her bare calf. She SCREAMS in pain. LISA kicks him in the head with her other foot. FREDDY strikes at her leg with his talons, but she twists away and he wedges the blades deep into the oak floor. She squirms free as Freddy pull s and pulls on his weapon to un- stick it from the floor. She runs toward the kitchen. EXT. LISA'S HOUSE - POOLSIDE - NIGHT KERRY and HUNK in the middle of the pool. The surface is choked with steam and their bodies are lobster-red. They are trying to get to the stairway at the low end but the water has become even more turbulant and much hotter and randowm waves keep pushing them back, panting, toward the deep end. Kerry goes under and Hunk picks her up to hold her head up above the water. HUNK Help! ON THE PATIO several BOYS rush to the fence to pull down a life-hook hanging there on a bracket. Other TEENS stand around, wondering what's happening. INT. LISA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT LISA is devastatingly frightened as she crashes through the doors and quickly scans the room. She runs to the sliding glass doors leading out to the pool area and hurls aside the draperies. ON the other side of the glass, FIVE KIDS tug frantically or the door and bang on the glass, trying to get in. BACK TO LISA She turns toward the counter and spots A WOODEN KNIFE-BLOCK a good selection of gourmet cutlery. FREDDY crashes into the room. ON LISA jumping toward the knives. She grabs for the thickest handle and unsheathes it from the block. This is one hell of a KNIFE - a fourteen inch long blade of carbon steel - all it needs is a blood-gutter to move it from the kitchen to the battlefield. THE SLIDERS The FIVE KIDS outside the glass doors stare, aghast. KITCHEN Freddy stops in the center of the room as she swings around, holding the knife in her fist defensively. LISA Jesse, help! FREDDY I'm Jesse now, Lisa. He chuckles as he raises his own weapon and rhythmically clicks the blades together. he's up for a feisty victim. Lisa tries to get up the courage to send the knife home. ON FREDDY His expression changes suddenly. FREDDY (Jesse's voice, pleading) Kill me! Please kill me! ON LISA She is devastated by teh sound of Jesse's voice coming from within this monster. ON FREDDY himself again. FREDDY (mockingly) Go agead, Lisa. Kill him! Kill him! He steps toward her and she swings with the knife. He jumps back, inches from the blade. He laughs and moves for her again. This time she swings and hits her mark, driving the knife deep into Freddy's shoulder. She PLUNGES the blade in, again and again, pushing him back across the room. The knife cuts long gashes but they do not bleed and with each puncture of the blade, Freddy lets out a horrible laugh: FREDDY (Jesse's voice) Lisa...Lisa...I love you...I love you! Stunned, she steps back into the center of the room. She raises the knife again but she is crying hysterically and just doesn't have it in her. Freddy catches her wrist with his bare hand and squeezes it with all his strength. Lisa begins quaking and her knees weaken. She closes her eyes. LISA (tearfully) Please, God... She drops the knife: it sticks into the linoleum. ON FREDDY He starts to mouth a parting death-word but suddenly stops. TWO SHOT - LISA AND FREDDY Lisa opens her eyes. He is stell standing there, poised for the kill but he is staring at her with an odd expression - perhaps a glint of recognition. Lisa stares back, wondering why she isn't dead yet. CLOSE ON FREDDY A frown of confusion distorts his ugly face and his lower lip quivers slightly. Suddenly, he throws her aside like a fisherman tossing acks an undersized flounder. FREDDY (as Jesse) Nooo... ON LISA SMASHING into the wall with force. She slides down to the floor, semi-conscious. BACK TO FREDDY he emits an agonized SCREAM and LUNGES, not at her but DIVING through the glass doors to the pool area. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LISA'S HOUSE - POOLSIDE - NIGHT REVERSE ANGLE as the glass shatters into a million shimmering pieces and Freddy is gone - vanishing before our eyes. The pool has stopped swirling although it continues to simmer. KERRY, HUNK and LIFEHOOK BOY cough and shake as they are helped out of the water and wrapped in towels by some FRIENDS. Many of the TEENS are huddled in little groups. Some are crying, others just look at the remnants of the party in disbelief. TEENS What happened? Where'd he go. Etc. Several BRAVE BOYS approach the shattered sliders with cautious curiosity. INT. LISA'S HOUSE - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - NIGHT MR. and MRS. POLETTI listen to the uncomfortable silence. they look at the door as it UNLATCHES with a soft SNAP. Wary, they don't move. EXT. LISA'S HOUSE - POOLSIDE - NIGHT One BRAVE BOY in the group kneels down and touches his hand on the patio, looking or some explanation for the shattered glass. ON THE TAPE DECK as the cassette pops itself in and switches on GLENN MILLER. BACK TO PATIO Everyone looks around, spooked. Suddenly, there is a huge RIPPING sound and FREDDY violently CRASHES up through the concrete! ON THE KIDS Screaming at the sight of the monster. ON THE POOL as it begins to churn and boil. THE RAZOR-KNIVES fan open Brave Boy screams as Freddy swipes the knives toward his throat. Before contact, we CUT TO: INT. LISA'S HOUSE - FOYER - NIGHT as Mr. Poletti scrambles down the stairs with Mrs. poletti close behind. EXT. LISA'S HOUSE - POOLSIDE - NIGTH as FREDDY grabs another teen and throws him into the overheated pool. he SCREAMS as he hits the water. INT. LISA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT ON THE DOOR as MR. POLETTI bursts through, followed by his wife. She screams when she sees LISA (groggily) He couldn't do it, Momma. MR. POLETTI looks up at the sound of the OFF-SCREEN SCREAMING. He rushes across the room to the sliders. EXT. POOLSIDE Total CHAOS has taken over. KIDS are running in every direction, screaming as FREDDY lashes out indiscriminately. A SCREAMING GIRL is PUSHED INTO THE POOL by the stampeding kids and is SUCKED UNDER. TWO BOYS vault the WALL. One perches on top, holding a hand out to help HIS GIRL over. BOY Come on! FREDDY races at them and SLASHES THE GIRL. She drops. The BOY clambers over the wall. ON A FLEEING KID THE FLEEING KID runs toward camera (no othe rkids in shot). As he runs, he BEGINS TO SLOW DOWN, as if being held back by an invisible force. Suddenly, FREDDY APPEARS AND, AT NORMAL SPEED, SLASHES THE KID. EXT. CHAIN LINK FENCE - POOLSIDE SEVERAL KIDS breaks for the gate. The PADLOCK is secure. ONE KID grabs onto the chain-link fence to climb it. The links SMOKE AND SIZZLE, and the kid lets go with a scream. His HANDS are branded with the pattern of the steel links. INT. LISA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT Mr. Poletti turns whit, not believing his eyes. He backs away from the sliders. MR. POLETTI My God! He backs off some more only taking his eyes off the scene to glance at his wife and daughter. MR. POLETTI Get her out of here! MRS. POLETTI looks back at her husband, questioningly. MR. POLETTI (urgently) Get her out of here! She starts to help Lisa to her feet. MR. POLETTI turns on his heels and runs through the kitchen doors. EXT. LISA'S HOUSE - POOLSIDE - NIGHT Freddy stands in the center of the patio, swinging with his claw as a few DO-GOODERS circle him and try to calm him down like he was just some ordinary homicidal maniac. At Freddy's feet, another hapless VICTIM. ONE DO-GOODER who's watched too many police dramas on T.V. jockeys around Freddy and throws out some hostage control lines. DO-GOODER Now calm down - we want to help you. Freddy displays his blades like a rabid cat, ready to strike. FREDDY Help yourself, fucker. Behind them, a row of shrubs suddenly combusts. Freddy grabs him by the wrist, laughs and, swinging him around like he were throwing the Hammer, sends him with a bone-splitting CRASH into THE GAS GRILL The force of the impact shears the grill from its pedestal and causes a huge column of FIRE to shoot up into the heavens. INT. LISA'S HOUSE - STUDY - NIGHT MR. POLETTI swings one of the chairs into the gun case SHATTERING the glass door. EXT. LISA'S HOUSE - POOLSIDE - NIGHT The KIDS are trapped inside the pool area, frozen with fear, hysterical. With the gas-fire raging to one side, he screams out like an evangelist on angel dust. FREDDY You are all my children! SOUND OVER: A SHOT RINGS OUT BLOWING AWAY a dish of potato salad on a table at Freddy's side. Several teens dive for cover. ON MR. POLETTI standing in the frame of the shattered sliders. he is holding a pump-action shotgun. as he brings the gun down to give it a second pump. MR. POLETTI Shit! He raises the weapon again, but LISA rushes out and pushes the barrel of the gun down. MR. POLETTI FIRES into the patio. MR. POLETTI (furious) What are you doing? ON FREDDY he looks toward the doors and makes eye contact with Lisa. Suddenly, he turns on his hells and walks THROUGH THE BRICK WALL as if it weren't there. The very top of his head and his hat are higher than the top of the wall and remain solid as he moves through and out the other side. There is SMOKE AND SCORCH on the bricks where he passed. SILENCE and stunned faces. Frightened whimpers here and there. MR. POLETTI Where did he go? ON LISA She puts her hand to her mouth - she knows. MRS. POLETTI has come onto the patio now and joins her daughter and husband. Lisa turns and runs into the house. MRS. POLETTI Where are you going? Lisa is already gone. MR POLETTI (calling her back) Lisa! JESSE'S CAR - EXT. POLETTI HOUSE - NIGHT LISA opens the door and gets into the driver's seat. SOUND OVER: POLICE SIRENS APPROACHING INT. JESSE'S CAR She looks at the make-shift switches and tries to remember how Jesse. She flicks the toggle and pushes the starter button. Nothing. She remembers the two wires under the dash and twists them together. She pushes the starter button. The starter GROANS. It doesn't seem like it's going to start. ON LISA LISA (frantically) Please work, please. The car back-fires and starts. She puts it into gear and pulls out. EXT. DARK HIGHWAY - NIGHT as the old FALCON tears down the highway. INT. JESSE'S CAR LISA is at the wheel, squinting through the darkness, trying to hold the road. EXT. ABANDONED POWERHOUSE - NIGHT Lisa pulls up to the building and shuts the engine off. INSIDE She hastily tears a strip of cloth from her shirt and ties it around the wound on her leg. She gets out of the car. She steps up to the front of the building. HER POV The entrance is ringed by A PAIR OF MANGY WILD DOGS WITH EERIE, UNNATURAL FACES who growl threateningly as she approaches. She shows no fear as she steps right up to the enterance. THey snap at her hands but she doesn't pull them out of the way. They part, allowing her to pass through. INT. POWERHOUSE - NIGHT LISA walks in cautiously. The powerhouse looks fare different than it did in daylight -- mysterious, dangerous, brewing, almost alive. Steam is leaking from between rusty rivets and torn gaskets and we hear the POUNDING of ancient expansion tanks belching out rancid air. The interior is bathed in an electric blue light that intermittently washes pale as hot white arcs flash in distant corners of the building. She walks in deeper, carelessly touching her fingers to a large steam pipe and retracting her hand quickly from its blistering sting. She stops at the center of the room. Suddenly, a twinge of pain on her face and she looks down at ehr leg. now, serious pain as she bends over and frenziedly pulls up on the make-shift bandage. ON HER WOUND It is SWARMING with big, black, carpenter ants. She screams and brushes them away with her hands, quaking with disgust. As abruptly as they appeared, they are gone; the blood-soaked bandage is intact, covering the wound. She bhacks away from teh sump and begins climbing the rusted metal stairway up to the catwalk. SOUND OVER: SCRAPING METAL She stops midway and looks around, frightened. A few seconds to regain her courage and she steps onto the walkway. A RAT -- the one she met before -- scurries at her. It stops, stares at her evilly, hisses unnaturally. Lisa screams. Suddenly, a CAT pounces on the rat. The cat looks up at Lisa with ONLY THE TAIL OF THE RAT STICKING OUT OF ITS MOUTH. Its eyes are demonic, its teeth crooked yellow fangs. It growls like a beast five times its size. The cat takes another chomp on the rat, and the rat's tail disappears down its gullet. ANOTHER ANGLE LISA jumps down off the sairway onto the catwalk and starts to run. She CLANGS over the steel-mesh flooring. A section of the catwalk gives way beneath her feet and LISA plummets as if she were dropped through a trap door. Her arms flail over her head, but her hand manages to grab around a section of handrail that's still solid. ANOTHER ANGLE we see the catwalk is intact - it looks as if her knees just gave out but she continues to hold on to the railing for dear life. She tests the flooring by feeling it before attempting to rise ore release her grip. She rises and turns around. FREDDY is there. Lisa SCREAMS. FREDDY Had your chance. (raising his talons) Die now! He slashes at her. She ducks and runs back toward the stairway. The STAIRWAY IS RED HOT, SMOKING. FREDDY closes in. FREDDY Come to me, Lisa - I'm waiting for you. Lisa stops short, looks around desperately. There is nowhere to go. LISA Oh, God, Jesse - I know you're there! Stop him! FREDDY Jesse's dead, Lisa. Freddy's here. Freddy strikes, cutting Lisa's shoulder. LISA (screams) Jesse! Freddy closes in on her. She is trapped, finished. FREDDY (smiles perversely) Wanna join your little friend? LISA Where's Jesse? FREDDY There is no Jesse. I'm Jesse now. LISA I want him back. Jesse, talk to me. Jesse! Freddy raises his talons for the kill. The sharp oints are within an inch of her eyes. Lisa, terrified, summons up all her energy, all her might, and looks Freddy in the eye. LISA I love you, Jesse! Freddy stares at ehr, talons frozen in mid-air. The horrible hand quivers, as if against an unseen force. And then -- The wounds on Freddy's shoulder and chest rip open. He looks down at them, surprised. They bleed real, human blood. LONGER ANGLE Lisa breaks past him and starts to run but stops suddenly, a few paces from Freddy. She turns to look at him leaning weakly against the railing, with an expression of confusion on his face that is almost pathetic. he touches his wounds, surprised. Lisa is no longer afraid - she's angry now. She looks him straight in the eye. His razor-knives click together like they're running low on batteries. Freddy beckons her over with the knife on his index finger. FREDDY (Jesse's voice) Come and get me, Lisa. Freddy laughs wickedly. LISA moves a step toward Freddy. LISA I'm not afraid of you. You couldn't kill me...He's in there and I want him back. I'm gonna take him away from you and you're going straight back to hell, you son-of-a-bitch! FREDDY (getting angry) Jesse's dead! I sliced 'im real good! Lisa moves closer to Freddy. LISA Come back to me, Jesse. She locks her gaze on Freddy's eyes and looks right through him. LISA I love you, Jesse. Come back to me. FREDDY He's dead, you bitch. Freddy seems to be in a good deal of pain. He drops to one knee. Lisa moves closer. He tries to move away from her. FREDDY (threateningly) I'll kill you now. LISA (ignoring him) He can't hold you Jesse. He's losing his grip - you can get out. FREDDY He'll die with me! She kneels beside Freddy, takes off his hat and begins to lovingly stroke his head. he seems to be writhing a bit and emits several frightened moans. FREDDY He'll die with both of us! She gathers all her nerve and moves in closer. He lifts his deadly hand and presses it into her chest. She flinches in pain but continues to come in close until her mouth is almost touching his. he moves his blades onto her back, trying to push them into her flesh, but he is too weak to do much damage. TIGHTER ANGLE Locked in this strange embrace, she presses her lips against his with as much passion as she can muster and KISSES HIM. LONGER ANGLE: FREDDY & LISA There is a moment of quiet. Then smoke starts to rise off of Freddy. He pushes her away with an excruciating SCREAM. The sound of the POUNDING machinery is becoming deafening. The electric FLASHES are firing more rapidly and arcing across the Power Plant. The room is RAPIDLY HEATING UP. A SMALL FLAME shoots along the railing. SMALL FIRES begin to break out on the catwalk around Freddy. ANGLE: PAINTED SURFACE The PAINT BEGINS TO SMOKE AND BUBBLE with the heat. As the heat increases it INTO FLAME. ON PIPES STEAM begins shooting up from every pipe joint. ANOTHER ANGLE: PIPES STEAM shoots out of the valves. heavy iron VALVE WHEELS SPIN OFF THEIR STEMS and roll down the FLAMING CATWALKS. ON LISA Surrounded by flames and smoke, she watches it all with fear and amazement. CLOSE ON FREDDY His flesh is starting to melt. LONGER ANGLE: FREDDY He bursts into DENSE, ALL-ENGULFING FLAME. The power plant is going crazy: the steaming, smoking, and flaming all reach their high peak. Pipes are bursting with steam: valve wheels flying off. Andthen everything begins to slow down, ease off. The flames are dying down around the charred corpse, and we can see it is no longer moving. The little fires around him are also dying down. And the smoke, the steam, and the deafening noise abate. ON FREDDY'S CORPSE The fires are out now. there is only some smoke. And the terrible heat has turned to COOL BLUE LIGHT. The still smoldering corpse, with its back to us, begins to stir. LONGER ANGLE: CATWALK Lisa backs away, terrified. The corpse turns to her -- it is Jesse, his clothes smoldering, his body singed and blackened with soot. But alive, coming around as if it were all just a bad dream. LISA moves to him and cradles him in her arms. FADE OUT FADE IN: EXT. WALSH HOUSE - DAY A SHINY NEW SCHOOL BUS rolls down the street. It pulls up by the curb near the Walsh House. JESSE, his RIGHT ARM IN A SLING but otherwise fresh and happy, kisses MOM goodbye at the FRONT DOOR. He hurries down to the bus, gets in. The DOORS fold shut, the GEARS GRIND and the bus continues along its route. INT. SCHOOL BUS - DAY There are about a DOZEN KIDS in the bus, playing radios, having a good time, etc. LISA, in the back, waves to Jesse and smiles. She wears a BANDAGE on her shoulder where Freddy slashed her. Jesse, in the front smiles and waves back. Jesse makes his way down the aisle to Lisa, greeting a few kids, slapping a hand or two. ON JESSE & LISA Jesse plops down next to her, gives her a quick kiss, puts his good arm around her. JESSE Hi. LISA Hi. Lisa chuckles. JESSE What's so funny? LISA We must look like a couple of escapees from a veterans' hospital. Jesse smiles and shakes his head. JESSE I can't believe we actually -- Lisa puts a finger to her mouth to cut him off -- no need to tell about unpleasant things. Jesse smiles again -- she's right. he kisses her. Jesse moves his head away from hers for the big kiss. Lisa's eyes are closed, ready to receive it. She opens her eyes. They are pupil-less, blood-streaked, demonic. With an EVIL ROAR, a huge SERPENT TONGUE FLICKS OUT of her mouth and attacks Jesse who screams. EXT. DESERT LANDSCAPE - DAY The bus WHINES near the top end of third, all of its FLASHERS firing wildly. It races away through the desert in a cloud of dust. FADE OUT