Nightmare on Elm Street

REVERSE ON ROD — staring like a terrified child.

ROD Tina —

REVERSE IN HIS POV — as the body falls like a sack of rocks onto the devastated bed, in SLOW MOTION, striking with a huge splash

of blood. A sick, awful GIGGLE floats around the room, then ECHOES off into infinity. ROD staggers up, staring around as if hoping to see this phantom.

ROD You motherfucker! I’ll kill you for that!

32. INT. TINA’S BEDROOM. NIGHT. 32.

NANCY is sitting straight up in bed, terrified. The CRIES of ROD are ringing through the whole house. She forces herself to move — bolting from the bed despite her terror and sense of dread.

33. INT. HALLWAY. NIGHT. 33.

NANCY flies into the dark hall — crashing directly into SOMEONE who lurches out of the dark before her. She SCREAMS and jumps back —

GLEN What the hell’s going on!?

NANCY Oh — jeez — Glen! Rod’s gone ape!

ROD (OS) (sobbing)

I’ll kill you!

NANCY grabs the door; it’s locked; she pounds on it. BAM! BAM! BAM!

Things fall into sudden, awful silence on the other side. GLEN’s voice cracks with fear.

GLEN Rod? (silence) Rod, you better not hurt Tina…

ROD erupts into terrible HOARSE LAUGHTER AND SOBBING. Then they

hear BREAKING GLASS.

GLEN barrels into the door like the football player he is. The frame splinters and they’re in.

34. INT. TINA’S MOTHER’S BEDROOM. NIGHT. 34.

Just inside the door NANCY slips and goes down hard. GLEN finds

her in the dark more by touch than sight.

GLEN You okay?

NANCY Yeah. Something slippering all

over here… (feeling) Tina?

No answer. The room is quiet as a tomb. Except for a stead DRIPPING, from all over. Then GLEN finds a LIGHT SWITCH.

On the CLICK the devastation is revealed. There’s BLOOD everywhere: up the walls, over the clawed ceiling, soaking the killing floor of the bed, and pooling in the dark red puddle where NANCY has slipped and fallen.

GLEN Oh, shit…

NANCY wobbles up and sees TINA in the center of the ravaged bed. Unmistakeably and utterly dead. NANCY presses against the wall, then contorts and chokes.

GLEN (CONTD) (numb)

I…I’m gonna call the cops —

He bursts from the room.

35. TIGHT ON NANCY. She turns away from the body in repulsion, 35. sticking her head through the shattered window ROD LANE used for his escape, sucking in the cold night air and moaning.

FADE TO BLACK

36. EXT/INT. POLICE STATION. NIGHT. 36.

FADE UP ON RED LIGHTS and SIREN as an unmarked POLICE CAR speeds to the curb.

LT DON THOMPSON, a decent-looking man in his mid-40’s, exits and

punches a cigarette from his pack. His shaken aide, a uniformed patrolman named PARKER, greets him. (CAMERA FOLLOWS them from the car straight into the station and eventually to THOMPSON’S OFFICE.)

PARKER Lieutenant Thompson. Sorry to

wake you, but —

LT THOMPSON I’d’ve canned your ass if you hadn’t. What you got?

PARKER stumbles to open the door for THOMPSON as the man bulls

into the station at a furious pace.

PARKER Her name was Tina Gray. It was her home. Father abandoned ten years ago, mother’s in Vegas with a boyfriend. We’re

trying to reach her now.

LT THOMPSON grimaces as if he knows the story.

LT THOMPSON What’s the Coroner got to say?

PARKER

Something like a razor was the weapon, but nothing found on the scene.

THOMPSON is already to the desk officer SERGEANT GARCIA. The big MAN shoves him a sheaf of papers —

SERGEANT GARCIA (wary) Leautenant. You know who —

LT THOMPSON Where is she?

SERGEANT GARCIA I put her in your office…

PARKER scurries after.

PARKER Looks like her boyfriend did

it. Rod Lane. Musician type, arrests for brawling, dope —

LT THOMPSON Terrific. What the hell was she doing there?

PARKER She lived there.

LT THOMPSON OMIT 37. I don’t mean her — OMIT 37.

38. INT. INTERROGATION ROOM. NIGHT. 38.

THOMPSON enters his office and confronts NANCY and her mother,

MARGE SIMSON.

LT THOMPSON (CONTD) I mean you. (accusingly, to Marge) What the hell was she doing there?

MARGE SIMSON is in her middle thirties; a good-looking woman despite the hour and circumstances.

MARGE Hello to you, too, Donald.

THOMPSON stops, the steam suddenly out of him. The girl is a

wreck and he winces to see it.

LT THOMPSON Marge.

THOMPSON glances at PARKER and the other UNIFORMED COPS who are in the room. As a man they head for the door. There’s no

question who the boss is here. THOMPSON turns to NANCY. She fumbles a smile.

LT THOMPSON (CONTD) How you doing, pal?

NANCY

Okay. Hi, dad.

NANCY’s dress is dark with dried blood, her skin clammy and the color of paste. MARGE shoots her ex-husband a worried glance. THOMPSON pulls a chair close to NANCY.

LT THOMPSON

I don’t want to get into this now, god knows you need time. (hotter) But I’d sure would like to know what the hell you were doing shacked up with three other kids

in the middle of the night — especially a delinquent lunatic like Lane.

NANCY weaves.

NANCY

Rod’s not a lunatic.

LT THOMPSON You got a sane explanation for what he did?

The girl is shredding a Kleenex, staring off.

MARGE Apparantly he was crazy jealous. Nancy said they’d had a fight, Rod and Tina.

NANCY

(quietly) It wasn’t that serious…

MARGE Maybe you don’t think murder’s serious —

NANCY sits bolt upright in her chair, her eyes flashing.

NANCY She was my best friend! Don’t you dare say I don’t take her death seriously! (lower, near tears)