Unhinged_FinalDraft
- 1. FADE IN: EXT. STREET - DAY LAURA crosses the street and walks to the entrance of her apartment. LAURA: (O.S.) Earth spins on its axis 465 meters per second. She looks behind her back several times. LAURA: (O.S.) Spinning against a force that wants nothing else but to hurl everything out into space. Over Laura’s shoulder, a VAGRANT walks in small circles talking to himself. CUT TO: INT. – HALLWAY – NIGHT Something unseen ascends steps in the small apartment hallway. LAURA: (O.S.) I can’t stop focusing…on the movement, the spinning. A bedroom door is open. The unseen assailant stands over a Laura, and her boyfriend BEN sleeping in their bed, watching them. LAURA: (O.S.) What happens when it stops?
- 2. 2 BACK TO: EXT. STREET – DAY The vagrant notices Laura staring and stumbles toward her outside her apartment building. JOHN TURNER: (O.S.) What do you think? Laura quickly pulls out her keys and enters her building, SLAMMING the door in the vagrant’s face as races behind her. INT. APARTMENT BUILDING HALLWAY – CONTINOUS Laura glances at an apartment door at the bottom of the steps. LAURA: (O.S.) I don’t know. I’m not an astrophysicist She quickly ascends the steps to her own unit. LAURA’S APARTMENT - CONTINOUS Laura steps into her living room and pulls out a bottle of pills and money from a dresser drawer. She doesn’t notice her boyfriend, BEN initially. BEN: Hey babe. You alright? LAURA: Why wouldn’t I be? BEN: You look like you’re on another planet. Laura wraps her arms around Ben.
- 3. 3 LAURA: So come join me. Laura laughs and kisses him on the neck. BEN: You don’t remember what you were doing last night? After we went to bed? LAURA: Huh? No. What was I doing? BEN: What are you doing home? Don’t you have a session? LAURA: I’m not home. I’m on another planet, remember? BEN: And what’s your home planet called? LAURA: You would be unable to enunciate it with your primitive human tongue. Laura leans in and bites his lip and kisses him. BEN: Keep talking dirty to me and I’m not going to let you walk back outside that door. LAURA: I should go. Laura gets up and heads to the door. BEN: Babe, do me a favor and try not to leave your meds at home again. Laura gives no indication she heard him and SLAMS the door behind her.
- 4. 4 BEN: Please! For me! INT. HALLWAY – CONTINOUS Laura suddenly stops at the door to the empty apartment downstairs. She hears something. She presses her ear against the door to the apartment. JOHN TURNER: (O.S.) Do you still hear noises? Laura is still as she strains to listen to what is on the other end of the door. There is a BEEPING sound. She steps back frightened, and then looks to her phone embarrassed. She listens to her message. It’s her best friend Annie. ANNIE: (O.S.) Laura, please start picking up your phone. I’m sorry I disappeared for a while. I really want to see you, soon. Call me back. INT. PSYCHATRIST OFFICE – LATER Laura is sitting in a chair in JOHN TURNER’S office. JOHN TURNER: Are you receiving enough support? That’s what I’ve really been concerned about lately. LAURA: I am. And thank you for being so concerned. JOHN TURNER: That doesn’t sound very convincing. LAURA: Does it seem like I’m here right now? I mean, does it seem like I’m not on this planet?
- 5. 5 JOHN TURNER: Where else would you be? LAURA: Outer space? Up in the stars? Floating like a dead astronaut. JOHN TURNER: You should be more worried about the inner space. Laura, I just want you to know, there is a light at the end. And you’re getting there. Trust me, we’ll get there. LAURA: That’s…great. INT. APARTMENT BUILDING HALLWAY – LATER JESSE, Laura’s landlord steps out of an empty apartment as Laura steps into the hallway. LAURA: Hey. Has a new tenant moved in 1B recently? JESSE: The middle-aged grad student still rents it, but he’s never in the country. Trust me, nobody’s in there. You been feeling better lately? LAURA: Just swell, Jesse. Thanks. Jesse walks away. Laura stops at the apartment adjacent to the stairwell. She puts her head to the door and listens silently for a moment. Laura turns and sees Jesse staring. She quickly runs up the stairs into her apartment. JESSE: Fucking psycho. INT. LAURA’S APARTMENT – CONTINOUS
- 6. 6 Ben is sitting on the couch next to Laura’s best friend ANNIE. Both Annie and Laura look surprised to see each other. BEN: You’re back a little early. ANNIE: Laura! Hi, how are you, baby? You look so…healthy. LAURA: Thanks. Sorry I didn’t return your calls. ANNIE: It’s fine, I’m just glad to see you! Annie gets up to hug Laura tightly. ANNIE: I missed you so much. Laura looks past Annie’s shoulder into her own reflection in the mirror behind them. LAURA: Yeah, me too. INT. LAURA’S BEDROOM – LATER Laura jumps out of bed. There is a CRASH from down below. She looks to the side of her bed. Ben is missing. LAURA: Ben? What are you doing? No answer. Another loud CRASH. She explores her apartment for the source of the sounds. Her apartment is empty. She goes back to her bed and sits up and puts her hands in her face. Another CRASH. LAURA: Ben!!
- 7. 7 INT. LAURA’S BEDROOM – MORING Laura wakes up. Ben’s side of the bed is still empty. She throws off her sheets and heads for the bathroom. BATHROOM – CONTINOUS Laura’s hand reaches for the nozzle. Water shoots out of the showerhead. She begins to undress. INT. NEXT DOOR APARTMENT – CONTINOUS The door slowly CREAKS open on its own. It opens only slightly. CUT TO: POV We pan across the hallway and slowly up the steps as something unseen stops outside Laura’s apartment. INT. LAURA’S LIVING ROOM – CONTINOUS The doorknob on her front door rattles. The door opens slightly ajar. BACK TO: BATHROOOM Laura is in the shower. Something approaches outside her shower curtain and watches her. Laura listens for a moment. LAURA: Ben? Where have you been? She sees a shadow right outside the shower curtain. She GASPS and pulls the curtain to the side. Nothing is there. Two BLOODY HANDPRINTS cover her bathroom sink. Her bathroom door is wide open. Laura drapes herself in a towel and storms downstairs to the front door. The front door is still slightly ajar. INT. APARTMENT BUILDING HALLWAY – CONTINOUS Laura rushes down the steps and stops outside the apartment door. It’s open slightly. She reaches for the knob.
- 8. 8 ANNIE: (O.S.) What are you doing? Laura is startled. Annie is standing in front of her. The door pulls itself shut. LAURA: Christ, Annie? You scared the hell out of me! How’d you get in? ANNIE: Ben buzzed me in. LAURA: What are you talking about? He’s not home. ANNIE: Let’s get upstairs and get some clothes on you weirdo. INT. LAURA’S LIVING ROOM – CONTINOUS Annie and Laura step in. Ben is lying on the couch holding POPPY CAT in his lap. LAURA: Where did you go in the middle of the night last night? BEN: I was right next to you, all night long. Relax and go get dressed, please. Laura heads for her bedroom. Annie looks to Ben and smiles. ANNIE: So, tell me, who are the ones who sleep? BEN: Me. And this guy.
- 9. 9 Ben rubs Poppy Cat’s head. BEN: We’re the ones who sleep. ANNIE: Well, buddy, you and Laura have a couple of ranting homeless guys circling your front door. BEN: I like to think of them as the scars of gentrification. Laura comes back downstairs fully dressed. ANNIE: Maybe Jesse should let some squat downstairs. It’s been empty, right? LAURA: The archeologist still rents it. He’s just never there. Annie steps closer to Laura. ANNIE: So, maybe you should stay away from it. Remember, you want to stay away from triggers and what not. Right? Annie looks to Ben. He shrugs. ANNIE: Did that come out right? Laura smiles and raises her index finger and thumb like a gun and points at Annie’s head. LAURA: Bang. You’re dead. INT. LAURA’S BEDROOM – LATER Laura and Ben are lying in bed trying to sleep. Laura is wide awake. Ben tosses and turns. He lifts his head and
- 10. 10 looks to her. BEN: Can’t sleep? LAURA: Can’t you hear that? Ben listens for a moment. BEN: What is it exactly that you hear? LAURA: A man screaming…something. And animal noises. BEN: Look - there is nothing going on down there. INT. DOWNSTAIRS APARTMENT – CONTINOUS Close in on the door to the unit. Behind the door we can hear the loud SQUEALING of rats. EXT – APARTMENT BUILDING ALLEY – MORNING Annie and Laura step into the narrow outside alleyway of the apartment building. ANNIE: What exactly are we looking for in an empty apartment? I can’t believe I’m letting you do this. LAURA: Because I said I’ll be your best friend. ANNIE: Oh, that’s why. Laura stops in the middle of the alleyway. LAURA: Can I ask you a dumb question?
- 11. 11 ANNIE: Better than anyone I know. LAURA: What did you mean when you said I looked healthy? ANNIE: Well, Laura, obviously I meant that you looked like a big, fat pig! Laura steps up to an empty window. LAURA: Oh. That’s a relief. Laura gets on her tippy-toes and looks inside the dark apartment. ANNIE: Whatever you’re looking for in there, it’s probably none of our business. LAURA: It’s fine. According to everyone else, no one’s living in there. ANNIE: Then why not take everyone’s word for it? Laura presses her ear against the window. LAURA: Annie, really? You can’t hear that? A BRIGHT red light FLASHES quickly on, and then off. Laura stumbles from the window into Annie’s shoulder. ANNIE: Okay, someone is in there. Time to go. Wait – now I hear it. There is a soft DRAGGING sound coming off the concrete in the alleyway. A vagrant appears behind Annie and Laura. He is DRAGGING a trash bag on the concrete.
- 12. 12 LAURA: This is private property. You’re not supposed to be here. The vagrant steps closer DRAGGING the bag behind him. Annie and Laura step back. LAURA: What’s in that bag? ANNIE: Oh, God. Why are you asking him that? The vagrant is silent but opens his bag to reveal only trash. LAURA: Okay. Guess that makes sense. Annie firmly grabs Laura’s wrist. ANNIE: Time to get inside and call the cops. Let’s go. The vagrant steps in front of Laura and Annie as they attempt to pass. VAGRANT: It doesn’t die. It just sleeps. INT. PSYCHATRIST OFFICE – DAY JOHN stares at Laura for a few moments. JOHN: So…it sounds like you feel you’ve taken a few steps back. Have you been keeping on the schedule with your Clozapine? LAURA: I am a votary for the schedule. My waking life is the schedule. I have never, and would never stray from the schedule.
- 13. 13 JOHN TURNER: That would be excellent. I just don’t buy it, Laura, to be completely honest. Why don’t you tell me a little more about the things that you’ve been hearing? LAURA: Screaming. Like someone’s in trouble. JOHN stares at Laura for a moment. LAURA: No, no. It’s not just all in my head. JOHN: Have you and Ben ever even met your neighbor? LAURA: No, he’s always…away. JOHN opens his mouth to speak, but words don’t come out. A rat SCREECHES as he opens his mouth and closes it again. Laura is incredibly startled. LAURA: I’m sorry? JOHN: Strange. I said that it was strange. LAURA: Indeed. INT – APARTMENT BUILDING – LATER Laura SLAMS the door and locks it tight. She looks down the hallway to the apartment door. She goes up a few steps and is startled as the door below opens slightly. She steps down from the stairs and it SLAMS shut. She waits for a moment and then reaches for the doorknob. She turns it. The door is open. Laura hesitates for one more moment and steps in.
- 14. 14 INT – HELL – CONTINOUS Camera shows us scary stuff that terrorizes poor Laura. INT. APARTMENT BUILDING HALLWAY – MOMENTS LATER Laura SCREAMS and runs from the apartment directly in Ben’s arms. Annie is standing behind him. ANNIE: My God! What are you doing in there? BEN: Laura, stop! You’re acting nuts! There’s nothing in there! Where are your meds? Laura tries to pull out of Ben’s arms. Annie wraps her arms around Laura. ANNIE: Ben, stop! You’re not helping! Laura, we love you! We just want to help you! Laura pushes Annie away. Ben tightens his grip around her waist. Laura whispers into Ben’s ear. LAURA: They why won’t you just believe me? INT – PSYCHATRIST’S OFFICE – LATER Laura wipes away tears as she sits silently across from JOHN. JOHN TURNER: Why are you crying, Laura? LAURA: I know how people see me. I don’t know how I see myself. This isn’t worth it. Not anymore. JOHN TURNER: Not worth it? Don't throw away your hard work. Your progress. It's a gift, you know. I need you to know, your recovery is about your life. And your life is a gift.
- 15. 15 LAURA: Oh? Well guess what, doctor. Life is NOT a fucking gift. Nothing was given to me but forced upon me. Maybe your life’s a gift. Mine is not. JOHN TURNER: Don’t give up on that light, Laura. LAURA: Fuck the light. INT. LAURA’S BEDROOM – AFTERNOON Ben lies awake in bed staring at the ceiling. Laura’s side of the bed is empty. He sits up and pulls off the blanket from the bed. There is a note from Laura: Doctor’s appointments all day today. I’ll be home late. Please stop worrying. Xoxxo Laura. Ben tosses the note aside and begins to get dressed. EXT. BAR – LATER Ben grabs a beer and sits down to eye a beautiful young girl in a short skit sitting by herself a few feet away. She notices him staring and smiles at him. He smiles back. The girl uncrosses her legs, and then crosses them again. Ben licks his lips. The girl laughs loudly to herself. She stands up and walks over to his table. INT. LAURA’S BEDROOM – CONTINOUS Ben pulls the girl into the bedroom madly kissing her neck. She kisses him back and then sits up on the bed. Ben grabs her leg and massages it. The girl moves back on the bed away from Ben and slowly peels off her pantyhose. Ben wrestles her for it and tosses it aside. The stocking falls beside the bed. He falls on top of her kissing her as she wraps her legs around him and pulls him in.
- 16. 16 INT. APARTMENT BUILDING – DAY The door to the empty unit slowly CREEKS open. UNKOWN POV – CONTINOUS We follow something slowly ascend the steps to Laura’s apartment. Her door opens. INT. LAURA’S APARTMENT – CONTINOUS Something stalks its way into Laura’s bedroom and watches her while she sits on her bed. The other end of the bed is empty. Ben is nowhere to be found. She turns and listens for a moment. Nothing is there. INT. APARTMENT BUDILING HALLWAY – CONTINOUS Laura stops at the top of the stairs and looks down terrified. The door CREEKS open. LAURA: Who’s down there? INT. LAURA’S APARTMENT – CONTINOUS Laura runs back into her apartment and up to her bedroom. Ben is lying on his side of the bed napping. There is a BEEPING. Laura has a message. She picks up her phone. ANNIE: (O.S.) Hey, it’s Annie. I’m on my way over to check on you guys. See you soon. And pick up your phone dammit! Ben wakes and lifts his head to look at Laura. BEN: You look like you’ve seen the boogeyman. LAURA: Not quite.
- 17. 17 INT – HALLWAY – LATER Annie is buzzed in and steps into the hallway. She stops of the bottom of the steps and looks to the door of the empty unit. It CREEKS open and then SLAMS shut again. Annie laughs. ANNIE: Who is that? The one who sleeps? Annie reaches for the doorknob. ANNIE: Or a homeless dude? Homeless ghost? Annie opens the door and looks inside. INT – LAURA’S APARTMENT – MOMENTS LATER Ben comes down from the bedroom. Laura is standing at the front door. BEN: Waiting for Annie? LAURA: Yes. I buzzed her in like five minutes ago. There is a BLOOD CURDLING SCREAM from downstairs. Ben and Laura look to each other terrified. Ben pushes past Laura. INT. APARTMENT BUILDING HALLWAY – CONTINOUS Ben looks down from the top of the stairs. Annie is lying on her back motionless half-way outside the apartment. Her eyes are wide open but she appears dead. Her body slides into the apartment and the door SLAMS. Laura SCREAMS from behind Ben. BEN: What the fuck? Call the police! Ben runs down to the empty apartment. The door has locked. He throws his shoulder again.
- 18. 18 LAURA: No! Don’t go in there! Ben smashes the door open. LAURA: Ben! Ben stops in the doorway and looks back up to Laura. BEN: Go back inside and lock the door now, Laura! Ben begins to choke. Someone has wrapped something around his neck. He GAGS. There is a STOCKING around his throat. He is pulled into the apartment and the door SLAMS behind him. Laura runs to the bottom of the steps and stops. LAURA: (screaming) Ben! Ben, answer me! Silence. INT – LAURA’S APARTMENT – CONTINOUS Laura runs in and grabs her cellphone from the couch and dials 911. LAURA: Hello! Hello! This is an emergency – There is STATIC. Laura listens for a moment and hears the SCREECHING of rats. She SCREAMS and throws the phone down. CUT TO: INT. APARTMENT BUILDING HALLWAY – CONTINOUS The door opens again. Something unseen moves up the stairs to the door of Laura’s apartment. INT. LAURA’S APARTMENT – CONTINOUS Someone BANGS loudly on Laura’s door.
- 19. 19 LAURA: Oh shit. Ben? Ben? Say something to me! It BANGS louder. LAURA: Fuck you! Can you hear me? Fuck you!! Laura pulls her door open. The panic in her face changes to confusion. Laura’s DOPPLEGANGER stands outside the door. She is silent. But she SMILES at Laura. Laura smiles back. INT – APARTMENT HALLWAY – DAY Jesse steps in with a potential RENTER. Jesse leads him up the stairs to Laura and Ben’s apartment and pulls out his keys. JESSE: Full disclosure here, toughguy. There was a suicide in this unit. The last occupant. RENTER: That’s so sad. Depression? Bi-polar disorder? JESSE: Dunno. Some archeologist writing a paper on some artifact he found on an expedition. Apparently it drove him nuts and he offed himself. The body was sitting in there for over a year. Nobody noticed anything. No smell. Nothing. Isn’t that weird shit? RENTER: I think I smell mold. JESSE: No, you don’t. RENTER:
- 20. 20 So are there always that many angry vagrants hanging outside on the corner? JESSE: Hey man, blame the fucking liberals, not me! Jesse puts the keys in the door and opens it. A door OPENS below them. Laura steps out of the empty unit and stops at the bottom of the stairwell. She waves to Jesse. JESSE: Hey Laura. How are you and the boyfriend? LAURA: It’s just me now. (to the Renter) You’ll like it here! Lots of peace and quiet. JESSE: How are you feeling lately, Laura? She smiles. LAURA: Never felt better. Laura steps back in to the apartment and CLOSES the door. FADE OUT