Nightmare on Elm Street
He stops. Outside, visible through the glass, NANCY twists around. Eyes still closed, she’s nevertheless holding her head in the attitude of prey listening to the first faint sound of the predator’s approach.
MARGE looks from her daughter to the DOCTOR, color draining from her face.
MARGE What the hell’s this? She awake or asleep?
The needle of the graph gives a jagged pitch up, plunges, then surges well above the eight mark. A strange MUSIC CUE — disonant and threatening, creeps in — the NIGHTMARE THEME slurred into awful minors and weird disonance. KING stares at the gauge in disbelief, rapping his finger on its glass.
DR KING Can’t be. It never gets this high…
The needle swings even higher, benind.
DR KING (CONTD)
Jesus H. Christ.
He’s cut off by the high-pitched KEENING of the girl, the SOUND cutting through the double thickness of the glass like a lasar. A warning BEEPER has begun, the instruments light up like a Christmas tree — and outside in the sleeping room, NANCY is contorting as if shot through with a thousand volts. KING knocks
over his chair in his sprint for the door.
117. INT. SLEEPING ROOM. 117.
The DOCTOR and MARGE come in on the run — NANCY’s flailing and screaming as if the devil himself were after her. KING grabs her to shake her awake;
ANGLE ON NANCY (eyes open) — looking in terror — SOUND ECHOED
STRANGELY.
IN HER POV — dressed in KING’S clothes — the horribly scarred MAN reaches out.
WIDER — (NANCY’S eyes closed in sleep) as the girl’s fist shoots
out with incredible force and knocks DR KING flying!
The NURSE and MARGE both descend on her —
and again in her SLEEPING POV we see the MAN stagger for her.
WIDER ON NANCY — (still in her nightmare) — fighting like a
tiger with both MARGE and the NURSE — sending the NURSE
sprawling — leaving MARGE hanging on for dear life.
ANGLE on the stunned DOCTOR fumbling with a hyperdermic needle,
spilling most of the stuff on himself with his shaking hands — the SCREAMS AND CURSES of NANCY are deafening and worthy of a stevador fighting off his worst enemy. Stranger still, her hair is electrified, standing on end and greying before their very
eyes!
MARGE screams at the top of her lungs.
MARGE NANCY!!! IT’S MOM — NANCY!!!!
Some deep bolt of psychic power smacks through the girl, and her
eyes flap open — they’re glazed with terror and fury, but open. NANCY’s awake.
She stares around like a cornered animal in the middle of the bed, her purple face gasping out gut-wrenching SOBS. The NURSE and MARGE dare to go back in and hold the sweat-drenched girl as DR KING comes for her with the needle.
DR KING Now, this is just going to let you relax and sleep, Nan —
With incredible swiftness, NANCY backhands the hypodermic into a far wall, shattering it into a million pieces.
NANCY No. That’s enough sleep.
Her eyes are windows straight into white fire as she locks into KING’S face. He dabs his split lip, swallowing painfully.
DR KING
Okay, kid. Okay. Fair enough.
He holds out his hand. NANCY at last takes it, and sags back into her pillow, exhausted. Then KING comes up with blood on his hand.
He stares at it, dumbfounded, then at the girl. Across her left
forearm, a deep gash is bleeding freely, as if made by a very sharp instrument.
MARGE Oh my god, oh my god…
DR KING
(to the NURSE) Get the kit!
The NURSE scrambles away as the DOCTOR claps his hand over the wounds. He looks into NANCY’s face. What he sees frightens him even more: NANCY’S haunted, ghost-like eyes turn from him to her mother, and a terrible, chilling smile opens across NANCY’s white
lips.
NANCY You believe this?
She pulls her free arm from beneath the sheets and reveals a strange hat, filthy and worn — the KILLER’S hat. The sight of
it frightens MARGE more than anything that’s come before.
MARGE (deathly pale) Where the hell did you get that?
NANCY fixes her with Xray eyes.
NANCY I grabbed it off his head.
MARGE stares at the hat as if it held her whole future, and her future was a horror.
FADE TO BLACK
118. EXT. NANCY’S HOUSE. DAY. 118.
BURN ON
THE SIXTH DAY
FADE UP ON NANCY’S HOUSE, early morning.
119. INT. NANCY’S KITCHEN. DAY. 119.
MARGE is on the telephone, the dirty hat in her hand. Nearby is a nearly empty bottle of gin.
MARGE She said she snatched it off
his head in a dream. (listens) No, I’m not crazy, I’ve got the damn thing in my hand! (listens) I know we did, we all…
(hears NANCY approaching) Gotta go.
She hangs up and stuffs the hat and bottle into a drawer, screening the action with her body. NANCY enters.
By now the girl has an extraordinary look. Her hair is ashen, her skin transluscent, and eyes dark-ringed. Her right forearm is heavily bandaged over the slashes. In short, instead of the girl next door, we now could be looking at the lunatic from the next cell. MARGE, though she does her best to hide it, is downright frightened of her.
MARGE (CONTD) You didn’t sleep, did you? The doctor says you have to sleep or you’ll —
NANCY pours herself a cup of black coffee.
NANCY Go even crazier?
MARGE I don’t think you’re going crazy — and stop drinking
that damn coffee!
NANCY Did you ask Daddy to have the hat examined?
MARGE
I threw that filthy thing away — I don’t know what you’re trying to prove with it, but —
NANCY comes closer, her eyes shining with a new sureness.
NANCY
What I learned at the dream clinic, that’s what I’m trying to prove. Rod didn’t kill Tina, and he didn’t hang himself. It’s this guy — he’s after us in our dreams.
MARGE But that’s just not reality, Nancy!
120. Furious, NANCY janks open the drawer before MARGE can stop her 120. and spills the bottle and hat onto the counter.
MARGE grabs away the bottle protectively — but it’s the hat NANCY goes for. She waves it triumphantly — demonically.
NANCY It’s real, Mamma. Feel it.
MARGE
(horrified) Put that damned thing down!
MARGE lunges for it — NANCY leaps out of reach —
NANCY His name is even in it — written
right in here — Fred Krueger — Fred Krueger! You know who that is, Mamma? You better tell me, cause now he’s after me!
MARGE swallows, then persists in the lie.
MARGE Nancy, trust your mother for once — you’ll feel better as soon as you sleep!
NANCY shoots a hard humorless laugh, holding up her slashed arm.
NANCY You call this feeling better? Or should I grab a bottle and veg out with you — avoid everything happening to me by just getting good and loaded —
MARGE slaps her hard.
MARGE (losing it) Fred Krueger can’t be after you, Nancy — he’s dead!
The room falls silent, both women staring at the other.
