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- TEASER -
FADE IN:
EXT. SUBURBIA - NIGHT
A suburban street that'd put Wisteria Lane and Stepford to
shame: every house picturesque, every garden perfectly
cared for.
We PUSH IN on a window on a nearby house, a light shines
from within.
The curtains have stars and planets on them against a dark
blue backdrop. This is the FORD RESIDENCE.
CUT TO:
INT. FORD RESIDENCE - TOMMY'S ROOM
TOMMY FORD (5) is lying in his bed, tucked in tight while
SUSIE, his mother, sings him a a lullaby.
SUSIE
(singing)
And watch your boat from Hushabye
Mountain, sail far away from
lullaby bay.
She nearly whispers the last words as Tommy has drifted off
into a sleep, smiling happily in his dreams.
Susie gently leans in and KISSES him on the forehead, then
turns to leave. She can't help but stop and take one look
back at her sleeping son.
There's so much love here, it's almost too good to be true.
Having stared at him long enough, she reaches for the light
and switches it off before leaving, making sure the door
closes without a sound.
We're almost in total darkness now, so we move to where
there's a little light - the window. The moonlight shines
even through the curtains.
Something is there. A shadow, watching, waiting.
CUT TO:
INT. FORD RESIDENCE - PARENT'S BEDROOM
Susie walks in, still smiling broadly as she YAWNS. Her
husband, RICHARD, glances up from the book he's reading.
RICHARD
He get off okay?
SUSIE
As always. He's so cute when he's
asleep.
RICHARD
He gets that from his mom.
She slips into bed and rolls over to kiss her husband
softly.
Richard closes his book and places in on the bedside table.
He then kisses Susie again, this time it lingers a little
longer.
RICHARD (CONT'D)
I love you.
SUSIE
Love you too.
They both switch off their bedside lamps, and the room is
dark, silent. For a moment at least.
CRASH!
They don't take a second before switching on their lights.
Both of them are sat upright in bed, listening out for
anything.
SUSIE (CONT'D)
What was that?
RICHARD
I don't know.
Something hits him and he suddenly looks terrified.
RICHARD (CONT'D)
Oh God. Tommy.
He springs out of bed, running out of the room without
informing his wife, not that she needs any more
information. The very mention of her son's name has her up
just a second behind her husband.
CUT TO:
INT. TOMMY'S ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
The two parents sprint into the room, virtually breaking
the door off of its hinges as they do so.
REVERSE ANGLE
Tommy is sat bolt upright in bed, completely still. We
CLOSE UP on him, his eyes are fixed on one spot, he's not
even blinking.
ON SCENE
RICHARD
Where is it?
SUSIE
Where's what?
Right on cue, a FIGURE, clearly the owner of the silhouette
we saw earlier, standing BEHIND Susie and Richard!
Their only warning is Tommy as he quickly looks at them,
his eyes wide with fear. He opens his mouth to scream, but
there's nothing.
The Figure looks as though it's about to strike, but Susie
and Richard seem to take the hint from Tommy and turn
around, seeing it for themselves.
We get a good look at it, or rather, her, for ourselves
now. It's a woman, crooked and ancient, dressed in a long
dark cloak. Old fashioned as it may be, she's a
stereotypical WITCH!
RICHARD
(to Susie)
Stay back.
(to Witch, stern)
Get out.
The Witch takes a step forward, Susie and Richard hold
their ground.
RICHARD (CONT'D)
Susie, get him out of here.
His wife isn't listening. She's staring at the Witch,
clearly afraid, and yet, like her husband, not entirely
surprised.
The Witch raises her hand, and a soft blue GLOW comes from
the end of her fingernails (think ET, but creepier). The
glow is released in a beam of LIGHT heading towards Richard
and Susie but:
SUSIE
Haltem!
RICHARD
Excudo!
With those two words, the Witch's spell is stopped in its
tracks, and the witch herself is sent SOARING across the
landing, SMASHING into a wall at the other end.
SUSIE
What's happening?
RICHARD
I heard rumors... We have to get
Tommy -
He's cut off mid sentence. He looks down at his chest as a
pool of BLOOD starts to form there.
SUSIE
(shocked)
Richard?
He COUGHS blood and collapses. He's dead.
Susie WHIPS around and sees the witch standing there as if
nothing happened to her. She killed Richard.
Fury takes over Susie, her eyes turn RED and an unearthly
WIND starts to blow around the room, sending things flying
around.
SUSIE (CONT'D)
I cast you into oblivion, the
deepest depths of hell from which
you will never return.
She SCREAMS, the sound forming a WAVE in the air through
which her spell is carried. It hits the Witch head on, but
she doesn't move.
The wind dies down, Susie is completely drained. She PANTS,
falling to her knees. She takes a look at her unmoving son,
her dead husband. She knows she's beaten.
She raises her chin, stiff upper lip and all that, not
giving the Witch any satisfaction. Not that it matters. The
Witch raises her hand and we CUT AWAY:
To the wall as blood SPLATTERS up it. We slowly PAN AROUND
to see Susie lying on the ground, her throat cut and her
eyes vacant.
We move to Tommy's bed. It's empty. Finally we move to his
broken and we:
CUT TO:
EXT. LOS ANGELES STREETS - NIGHT
A far cry from the peaceful and picturesque suburbs we just
left, these streets are loud and foreboding.
Oh yes, and there's a fight going on nearby as ALEX BUTLER
sails into view SLAMMING into a wall with a GROAN.
ALEX
Alright, maybe not.
He gets to his feet and CHARGES in, his shortsword raised,
ready to attack his unseen assailant.
PAN AROUND to reveal he's joined by MARIA SUTHERLAND and
GWEN RAIDEN, also getting their arses handed to them by a
particularly nasty looked ARMORED DEMON.
Covered head to toe in a thick shell, it's a wonder this
thing can move at all, but move it does, and it's fast too.
Gwen focuses on her hand, a ball of electricity forming
quickly, she throws it at the demon and it hits it dead in
the chest. The demon stops dead.
GWEN
Yes!
ROAR!
GWEN (CONT'D)
(gulp)
Or no.
The roar came from deep within the demon's shell. Gwen
barely dodges out of the way in time to avoid it as it
races towards her.
It PLOUGHS into a wall, demolishing a fair chunk of it,
then shakes it off and tries again, this time aiming for
Maria, though she gracefully leaps over it.
ALEX
Great work. Now not only is thing
impossible to kill, but it's
pissed off as well.
His quip almost runs on too long as the demon goes for him
too, this time ending up in a nearby alleyway.
There's not quite enough room for the demon to turn around,
and as the great brute tries to in vain, quickly getting
frustrated. It seems as though it's getting claustrophobic.
Alex, Gwen and Maria advance on it, Maria and Alex with
their weapons held high, and Gwen with her gloves quite
literally off.
The demon has managed to turn around, but it is quickly
running out of room to back away into.
MARIA
This isn't exactly fair.
Alex stops advancing for a moment, casting a bewildered
look her way.
MARIA (CONT'D)
What? I'm just saying.
Gwen and Alex roll their eyes, and continue to advance on
the demon. There's a turn up ahead, no way out now. Then
the demon seems to change almost immediately.
It HUFFS, like the noise a rhino makes right before it's
about to charge. Alex is the first to figure it out.
ALEX
Oh.
(beat)
Bollocks.
The demon charges full speed, its trap working perfectly,
it can get to them before they can escape. Not that they
don't try of course.
Each does their best to get out of the way as quickly as
possible, with Maria racing ahead of the pack, and Alex
trailing at the rear.
The demon stops quite suddenly, letting out a small WHIMPER
as it COLLAPSES to the floor, an AXE embedded in its lower
back, a previously unnoticed and unguarded area along its
spine.
The gang stop running, a collective "PHEW" across all of
their faces.
They approach the demon, making sure to be quiet, just in
case its still alive. Gwen KICKS it, nothing.
GWEN
Well, it's dead. Or sleepy.
Either way I'm calling this a
win.
MARIA
Who did this?
Alex is just staring at the small unguarded section of the
creature's back where the axe now resides.
ALEX
(missing the point)
How did we miss that?
MAN (O.S.)
If I had to hazard a guess I'd
say you were too busy attacking
head on. Plus, it helps knowing
where to look.
The group look around for the source of the voice, when
someone steps out of the shadows.
He's mid forties with receding hair. He has eyes that could
look right through you, and give nothing away as to whether
he's friendly or not. This is BENJAMIN CRANE.
Maria recognises him, to say she looks stunned would be an
understatement.
BEN
Hello Maria.
ALEX
(to Maria)
Who is this?
She takes a moment to compose herself, not quite believing
that he's standing there.
MARIA
This is Ben. He's my watcher.
Off of everyone, including Maria's surprise, we:
BLACK OUT.
- END OF TEASER -
- ACT ONE -
FADE IN:
EXT. LONDON - DAY - FLASHBACK
A normal day in London; cars unmoving, BEEPING at each
other as the early morning traffic jam reaches the climax
of its first hour, signaled by the half hour chiming of Big
Ben.
People are walk around, going about their business, smartly
dressed men seemingly talking to themselves, their hands
free earpieces invisible.
Frantic mothers searching through their handbags while
absent mindedly pushing a pram, not looking to see who they
bump into on the way.
We PAN AROUND to see a large building, unnoticed by the
public, they walk on by, never acknowledging it being
there.
No one except for one girl approaches the ancient wooden
door, opening it and stepping through into:
EXT. COURTYARD - CONTINUOUS
We're in a massive open space, just beyond the cobbled
ground there is a large grass area, big enough for a sports
field, with more than a hundred students of all ages
around.
Many are girls dressed in an all manner of clothing,
obviously they're of different nationalities. These are the
slayers.
The men are, on average, a little older, and all wear
suits. Meet the watchers in training.
- "THE ACADEMY" -
- 2005 -
At the center of the field is a large bronze STATUE of a
stern looking man in his fifties, beneath it a plaque which
reads:
"These are the times that define us" - Quentin Travers
The girls chatter is interrupted by a loud bell RINGING.
Without a fuss, they get up, brushing themselves down and
heading off into the buildings which surround us.
INT. CLASSROOM - LATER
A class of twenty girls, all in their mid teens are
chatting loudly to each other, laughing, turning round.
In one corner of the room, sat all by herself, is a
beautiful blonde slayer who nobody seems to have any
interest in talking to.
The girls stop playing around as the door opens at the
front of the class, and every girl in the room does her
best to look innocent.
Ben, looking a little younger then that he does now, mostly
due to slightly darker hair and less baggage under his
eyes.
BEN
(cheery)
Good morning girls.
SLAYERS
(chorus, unenthusiastic)
Good morning sir.
BEN
(laughs)
I see you have already met the
stricter members of staff around
here, no need for that in here.
The girls all seem to loosen up, the tension lifted a
little. Ben walks over to the blackboard picking up a piece
of chalk and writing "Mr. Crane" on the board, before
crossing it out and writing "Ben" underneath.
BEN (CONT'D)
Twenty first century and we're
using chalk, brilliant.
(moving on)
Anyway, you can all call me Ben,
I will be your teacher. For some
of you, I'll be your watcher
also, which I'm sure you're
looking forward too.
Nobody reacts, their indifference is almost painful to see
and you can't help but feel sorry for him.
BEN (CONT'D)
(coughs, moving on...)
You girls are going to be out in
the field, on your own, in just a
few short years. You have to be
ready, that's my job.
He turns back to the board, picking up a thick, worn book,
opening it, and copying a passage from inside. The language
is made up of strange intricate symbols and patters, but he
writes as if he was fluent in the written language.
As he finishes the last symbol, he turns to the class, who
look baffled at best.
BEN (CONT'D)
Anyone have any idea what this
is?
Blank faces all over, total silence. The door opens once
more, and a girl wearing sweatshirt walks in, her face
disguised by the hood.
As she enters, the outcast blonde slayer in the corner
looks up, paying close attention to the newcomer as she
walks over and takes the seat right next to her.
HOODED SLAYER
Sorry I'm late I -
BEN
Yes, you.
The girl stops, not turning around.
HOODED SLAYER
Me what?
BEN
What does this mean?
The girl turns, her head bowed.
BEN (CONT'D)
And, take your hood down please,
it's summer and we're inside, I
think you're safe without it.
She does, and we see that its Maria! As she bites her lip
with uncertainty, scanning the board we:
EXT. LOS ANGELES STREETS - NIGHT
We rejoin our heroes and the mysterious newcomer Ben, who
hasn't taken his eyes off of Maria since she introduced
him. Nobody talks for a moment.
GWEN
Your watcher? Like a stalker?
BEN
Not quite, no.
ALEX
Vampire slayers don't get to just
run around, or at least they
never used to. Each slayer gets a
watcher assigned to her.
BEN
(curious)
You seem to know a lot.
Alex extends his hand, Ben shakes it.
ALEX
Alex Butler.
Ben raises an eyebrow, there's a vague hint of recognition
there for a moment and then it's gone.
BEN
Ben Crane.
The two brits SQUEEZE each other's hands tightly, neither
of them wanting to be the first to let go, but it's
eventually Ben who gives up first.
GWEN
So, what brings you to LA?
BEN
I have business here, and there's
something I believe you may be
able to help me with.
ALEX
Oh?
An unearthly ROAR unsettles them as a MUSCULAR DEMON, grey,
armored, complete with sharp teeth and huge arms appears.
BEN
(raising bow)
Perhaps now isn't the best time?
Taking the bow that hands over his shoulder, he places an
arrow into the weapon and FIRES, the arrow piercing the
demon's armor. No effect.
ALEX
Agreed.
They all back behind Gwen as she lunges forwards, placing
both hands on the demon's armor. The metal acts as a
conductor, spreading the deadly energy across its body.
The demon writhes in agony as it is slowly cooked by the
energy, its skin blackening until finally it COLLAPSES in a
smoking heap.
BEN
Impressive.
GWEN
(breathing heavily)
Thanks.
Another ROAR not too far away signals the approach of
another demon.
ALEX
Think you've got another one in
you?
GWEN
Doubt it.
MARIA
There's no way we can keep going.
We notice that the whole team is looking a little worse for
wares. It's been a long night.
BEN
I wasn't aware the demon problem
in Los Angeles was quite this
bad.
GWEN
It's not. We've been attracting
them ever since...
She trails off, opting not to tell him what's causing the
demons to track them down.
GWEN (CONT'D)
We're a little weaker than we'd
like just now, demons seem to
have taken notice.
BEN
Then perhaps we should retreat.
Is there somewhere?
Alex shoots Maria a look, can Ben be trusted? She thinks it
over and nods.
MARIA
Come on.
As another DEMON approaches from the shadows, the team
retreat into the night.
INT. CAVERN - NIGHT
A group of three DEMON MONKS converse around an alter. They
seem both excited and jittery at the same time.
DEMON MONK #1
If this is the one...
DEMON MONK #2
Then this will all be over.
DEMON MONK #3
Assuming everything goes to plan.
DEMON MONK #1
Nothing appears to have gone to
plan so far, I wouldn't get too
excited.
DEMON MONK #2
Forgive me, but a little hope
never harmed anyone.
He bows to the first demon, and this, accompanied by the
slight golden hem on his robe seems to indicate he's the
leader.
DEMON MONK #1
Noted.
(beat)
I suppose worrying won't help us,
it is time.
He takes out a knife, holding it before DM#2's neck, the
other demon whimpering, quickly regretting his earlier
comment.
Quick as a flash, the leader grabs DM#2's hand and slices
it open, then does the same to DM#3, and finally, himself.
As their blood trickles down onto the alter it fills
GROOVES. The blood runs through them until it forms a
PENTAGRAM.
WHISPERS are heard all around, coming from everywhere and
nowhere at once. Dark bolts rise up from the pentagram,
scattering like lightning across the air until:
The Witch from the teaser appears in the room, her head
bowed, a hood disguising her ancient, disfigured face.
Her breathes are raspy, laboured, and as she walks towards
the alter she visibly struggles with every step. This isn't
the incredibly powerful being we saw earlier.
She stops at the alter, the monks watching her with awe,
and a little fear.
After staring down for a moment, she reaches into the alter
revealing Tommy Ford, looking remarkably calm considering
the situation.
Eyes wide, he stares up at the witch, waiting to see what
she'll do as the monks take a step back.
The witch opens her mouth wide, and as she does a trail of
white light escapes from it, snaking its way towards Tommy.
As it touches him we:
CUT TO:
INT. WHISTLER'S HOUSE - STUDY - NIGHT
The study is as we remember it, rich reds and a warming fire
burning at one end as the team enter the room, Ben in tow.
BEN
Interesting place you have here.
GWEN
You have no idea.
They each take seats around the room, enjoying the chance to
relax for a moment before going back to business.
BEN
So, the extra demon attention?
GWEN
We were brought together by
someone, he's kinda like our
leader.
ALEX
And now he's gone missing.
Ben goes to ask the obvious question.
MARIA
(cutting him off)
It's a long story, you don't need
to know. We're looking out for
him but in the meantime we're
doing everything we can to help
the city, can't be focussed on
one little thread all the time.
ALEX
Especially when everything's a
dead end.
MARIA
(ignoring him,
insistent)
Why are you here Ben?
BEN
Business.
Maria looks suspicious.
BEN (CONT'D)
We've been getting rumors of
children going missing in LA. We
heard there were people here that
could help.
(smiles)
Here you are.
ALEX
Kidnappings aren't usually the
sorts of things the council gets
involved in, are they? Can't say
it's what I usually do either if
I'm honest.
Ben doesn't answer.
ALEX (CONT'D)
Besides, how did you know we'd be
able to help? We don't advertise.
Ben merely smiles, amused by Alex's naivety.
BEN
We know a lot more than you'd
realise. As for the council's
interest, that's none of your
concern.
ALEX
No.
(stands)
It isn't.
He starts to walk towards the door, putting his jacket on
as he goes.
GWEN
Where are you going?
ALEX
Things to do, people to see.
Problem?
He leaves before she gets a chance to answer. As the door
closes, the sound of the BANG forces us to:
SMASH CUT TO:
INT. BAR - LATER
An even louder BANG as Alex is thrown head first into a
table, which splits in half upon impact. He GROANS, pushing
himself up off the floor, slowly standing up.
He turns to face his opponent, a VAMPIRE, fully vamped out,
bouncing from side to side. This boy has some energy in him
alright.
The rest of the patrons, clearly without even a hint of
demon blood in their veins, look horrified at the
spectacle, and yet, they keep watching.
ALEX
Right, now I'm in a bad mood.
The vampire, unable to control his excitement, DIVES
towards Alex. His mistake turns out to be fatal as he lands
on top of the demon hunter, taking them both to the floor.
The vamp looks down, a shard of wood from the table is
nestled in his chest thanks to Alex who's holding tightly,
the sharp edge cutting into his palm.
The vamp looks somewhat disappointed before he dusts,
covering Alex with his remains.
His fight won, Alex stands again, dusting himself down. He
opens out a wallet that appears to have belonged to the
vampire, and hands a few notes to the bartender as he
leaves.
ALEX (CONT'D)
(dismissive)
For the table.
And with that, he discards his stake and walks out of the
doors, leaving behind a dumbstruck crowd of patrons.
In the corner, a young woman, around mid twenties dressed
in simple clothes, and holding an empty glass of water,
stares after Alex. She's not stunned at all.
She waits a moment before finishing her water and then
heads off after him.
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Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.