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Barker, Clive
HellRraiser (1987)
Clive Barker's directing debut follows the tale of a couple (Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins) who move into an old house and discovers a hideous creature (Oliver Smith) -- the man's half-brother (and his wife's former lover) -- hiding upstairs. Having lost his earthly body to three demons, the man's been brought back to life by a drop of blood on the floor. Soon, he's forcing his former mistress to bring him human sacrifices to complete his body.
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Barker, Clive. HellRraiser
Hellraiser Script
1 TITLE SEQUENCE
In darkness, a blood-curdling cacophony: the squeal
of unoiled winches, the rasp of hooks and razors
being sharpened; and worse, the howl of tormented
souls. Above this din one particular victim yells
for mercy - a mixture of tears and roars of rage.
By degrees his incoherent pleas are drowned out by
the surrounding tumult, until without warning his
voice pierces the confusion afresh - this time
reduced to naked scream.
And with the sound, an image.
A house: NUMBER 55, LODOVICO STREET, an old, three
storey, late Victorian house, with gaunt trees lining
its overgrown garden. Its curtains are drawn, there
is newspaper over its top window. The titles begin
to run, as we approach the house down the driveway.
We move inside, to the hallway. The cries are
louder now.
Room by room, we explore the empty house, while the
titles continue to run. It has been left empty for
many years, though much of its furniture remains,
covered in dust-sheets. On the mantelpiece of one room,
a plaster saint. In the kitchen, evidence of life
here. Opened tins; bread; bottles of spirits; a
glass.
We move upstairs, gliding along the corridor of the
lower landing. The din is furious now. On the
floor of one room, a makeshift bed: blankets strewn;
an open suitcase; more liquor.
We move up a flight and approach a room off the upper
landing, the door of which is ajar. The light
within swings backwards and forwards, spilling into
the passageway.
As we reach the door, the screams from within halt
abruptly.
We can hear a bell now, which has been pealing
steadily throughout this opening sequence.
As we move through the door, the titles end.
2 INT. TORTURE ROOM NIGHT
The bare bulbs in the room we’ve entered swing violently,
disorienting us. There are chains - dozens of them -
disappearing with the darkness of the ceiling: all
are swinging back and forth. Some end in hooks, with
pieces of skin and sinew adhering; some are serrated,
others simply drip blood.
The bell tolls on.
On the blood-spattered floor, a box, some six inches
square, which resembles an elaborate Chinese puzzle
box. Later, we’ll learn its name and function.
It’s called the Lament Configuration, and it’s a
way to raise Hell. LITERALLY. For now, it remains
an enigma.
A hand, its flesh systematically pierced with needles,
reaches down and picks the box up.
In close up we see just what an elaborate construction
it is, made up of sliding panels and mysterious
chambers. It is open at present, its polished
innards exposed. Out of it, a banal melody, played
on a hidden mechanism. The hands, which belong to
one of the demons - a CENOBITE - move over the box.
CENOBITE
(unseen)
It’s over ...
Delicately, the hands begin to reconstruct the box,
sliding the well-oiled parts back into place, the
tune simplifying with each manoeuvre.
The room is getting darker. The chains are disappearing
into the gloom.
We see tantalizing glimpses of other figures, turning
from the light and fading into the darkness. We catch
sight of monstrous faces, but only for the briefest
of moments. Then they’re gone.
The box is almost returned to its unopened condition.
The last sounds to fade are the tune from the box,
and the bell.
It tolls on as the final panel of the box is slid
into place.
The light stops swinging. The panel clicks. The tune
stops.
At last, a long shot of the room. At the far end the
window is covered with yellowed newspapers. There is
dust settling through the air.
Otherwise it is empty.
The bell fades.
It’s as if nothing ever happened here.
Except ...
Somewhere, very quietly, a creaking that could be
the sound of floorboards, or the low, agonized gasp
of a thing barely alive.
3 INT. HALLWAY DAY
The wind is blaring as we watch the door of Number
55. From the doorstep, voices. One is that of
LARRY COTTON, the other his wife JULIA. Clearly
LARRY is attempting to get inside. We hear the
sound of keys tried in the lock.
LARRY
It’s one of these.
JULIA
We’re going to freeze to death.
LARRY
0.K. 0.K.
The sound of another key tried in the lock.
JULIA
Maybe somebody changed the lock.
LARRY
(slightly irritated)
Like who?
JULIA
Just a thought -
LARRY
Ah!
The key is turned.
LARRY
Success.
The door swings open.
Voila!
We see the pair on the doorstep. LARRY is an American
in his early forties, an attractive man who has lost
his edge in recent years. He looks harassed; he smirks
too much. A little, but significant, corner of him
is utterly defeated. JULIA, his wife, is English:
and looks perhaps ten years his junior. She is
beautiful, but her face betrays a barely buried
unhappiness. Life has disappointed her too, of
late: and LARRY has been a major part of their
disappointment.
LARRY
Well. This is it.
They step over the threshold.
4 INT. UPPER LANDING DAY
The door of the Torture Room creaks, as the wind blows
it opens an inch. From downstairs, we hear JULIA’s
voice.
JULIA
It smells damp.
LARRY
It’s just been empty a while.
5 INT. HALLWAY DAY
LARRY slams the front door.
6 INT. UPPER LANDING DAY
The Torture Room door creaks closed again.
LARRY
(from below)
Besides, it’s an old house.
7 INT. HALLWAY DAY
He stands in the hallway, not certain which way to
go from here.
JULIA
How long since you were here?
LARRY
The best part of ten years.
LARRY picks up some mail - circulars mostly - from
behind the door, then leads JULIA through from the
hallway to explore the ground floor.
LARRY
I wanted to sell it off at
one point, after the old Lady
died, but I couldn’t get Frank
to agree.
He opens one of the doors, and looks inside.
LARRY
(with pleasure)
Christ. It’s not been touched.
He continues along the passageway. He opens another
door, and steps into a large room. He opens one of
the curtains. Light pours in, dust-laden shafts falling
on the sheeted furniture.
LARRY
Look at this.
JULIA lingers in the doorway.
JULIA
Why didn’t he want to sell it?
LARRY
(dismissively)
I don’t know. Probably wanted
a hideaway.
He pulls a sheet off a chair.
Look at this stuff.
The chair is ugly; old fashioned. JULIA is unimpressed.
JULIA
Not exactly modern.
LARRY
(shrugs)
We’ll sell it. Sell everything.
JULIA
I thought half of it was your
brother’s?
LARRY
He won’t complain. He can pay
off some of his creditors.
LARRY is getting more enthusiastic about the place by
the moment. He leaves the room, moving past JULIA
to explore further.
LARRY
You know we have to let Kirsty
see this place, before we do
anything to it. She’ll love it.
JULIA
You mean we’re moving in?
LARRY pauses. Looks at her.
LARRY
You don’t like it?
JULIA shrugs.
JULIA
It’s better than Brooklyn.
She turns back down the hallway. He watches her, then
follows.
LARRY
You’re still blaming me.
JULIA
No. I’m not.
LARRY
You wanted to come back to
London. We came back.
We are hearing the tip of a debate they’ve had dozens
of times, which immediately annoys them both.
JULIA
All right.
LARRY
So what’s the argument?
JULIA
(cold)
No argument.
LARRY
Oh Christ. Julia ...
JULIA wanders back to the bottom of the stairs. Then
starts to climb.
LARRY
(exasperated, to
himself)
Shit.
8 INT. LANDING DAY
JULIA climbs the stairs, her face charged with suppressed
feeling. She’s sick of LARRY; his enthusiasm depresses
her, his compromises anger her. What’s between them
is stale, like this house.
9 INT. TORTURE ROOM DAY
The door opens a fraction.
10 INT. KITCHEN DAY
LARRY has stepped into the kitchen, to find the remains
of the food we briefly glimpsed in the titles sequence,
now rotted and fungal. It smells, to judge the
expression on his face. It also puzzles him. Then,
from above:
JULIA
Larry!
He leaves the kitchen and retraces his steps to the
bottom of the stairs.
Larry!
LARRY
I hear you.
He starts up the stairs.
11 INT. LOWER LANDING DAY
LARRY reaches the top of the stairs.
LARRY
Where are you?
JULIA
(out of sight)
In here.
LARRY follows JULIA’s voice to the end of the corridor.
JULIA is standing in a doorway. Beyond, the ’bedroom’
we saw in the titles sequence, untouched since then.
JULIA
Squatters?
LARRY steps past her, and throws back the blankets.
Wood-lice scurry away. He goes to the suitcase, and
starts looking through it. Besides clothes there’s a
lot else that speaks of its owner: bric-a-brac picked
up in a lifetime of adventuring; handful of bullets;
Fragments of an erotic statue; coins and notes from
a dozen countries. Amongst the stuff, some photographs.
LARRY peers at them. One pictures a good-looking
intense man in his mid to late thirties, in bed
with a naked Chinese girl.
LARRY
Frank.
At the door, we see JULIA almost flinch at the name.
JULIA
He’s here?
LARRY
He’s been here. There’s stuff
in the kitchen. He must have
made a hasty exit.
The ’phone rings downstairs. JULIA jumps.
That’ll be Kirsty.
LARRY stands up and leaves the room, moving past JULIA
in the doorway, who is left to stare down at the
bed FRANK has slept in, and the suitcase of belongings.
As we hear LARRY clatter downstairs it seems JULIA’s
face is close to tears.
12 INT. DOWNSTAIRS ROOM DAY
The ’phone continues to ring. LARRY steps through
and picks up the receiver.
LARRY
Hello ...?
There’s no answer.
Hello ...?
13 INT. FRANK’S ’BEDROOM’ DAY
JULIA goes to the open suitcase, and looks at the
photographs.
14 INT. DOWNSTAIRS ROOM DAY
LARRY
(on’phone)
Is there anybody there?
He puts down the ’phone. He goes back out into the
hall.
15 INT. FRANK’S ’BEDROOM’ DAY
Nervous that LARRY will return and see what she’s
doing, JULIA is going through the photographs.
LARRY
(from below)
There’s nobody there -
The sound of his foot on the stairs. Hurriedly, she
selects a photograph of Frank without the girl, and
pockets it.
16 INT. STAIRS DAY
LARRY is climbing the stairs.
LARRY
I’m surprised it’s even connected ...
The ’phone rings again.
Shit.
17 INT. FRANK’S BEDROOM DAY
Mission accomplished, JULIA leaves the bedroom, taking
one last glance at the sweat-stained sheet and the
indented pillar where Frank lay. A lone wood-louse
crawls over the sheet, navigating the folds. She
closes the door on the sight. Downstairs, the
’phone stops ringing.
18 INT. DOWNSTAIRS ROOM DAY
LARRY has picked up the ’phone.
LARRY
Who’s there?
KIRSTY
(barely audible)
Daddy?
CUT TO
19 INT. KIRSTY’S ROOM DAY
KIRSTY, the daughter of Larry’s first marriage, and
his only child, on the ’phone. She is barely twenty,
beautiful in an unpretensious way: a dream of a girl-
next-door. We can’t see much of the room she’s in at
the moment, the shot is too tight.
LARRY (V.0.)
Kirsty?
KIRSTY
I got through.
LARRY (V.O.)
Where are you?
KIRSTY
I found a room.
20 INT. DOWNSTAIRS ROOM DAY
LARRY
(on ’phone)
What did you say?
21 INT. KIRSTY’S ROOM DAY
KIRSTY
I said: I found a room.
We begin to draw back from KIRSTY now, as she continues to
speak to her father. She’s sitting on a battered chair
by the door. The room she’s in is cramped and dirty.
From outside, the sound of trains going by.
LARRY (V.0.)
I thought you were going to
stay with us for awhile?
KIRSTY
(pained)
No Dad.
LARRY (V.0.)
You’d like the house.
KIRSTY
YOU’D like my room.
LARRY (V.0.)
Do you want me to come over?
KIRSTY
(hastily)
No, no. Not just yet. It
needs ... er ... some work.
That it does. The place, now we’ve got a good view
of it, is a total dump.
LARRY (V.0.)
Well I want you to see the
house.
KIRSTY
I’m not going to change my
mind, Dad.
As she speaks she reaches forward to pull a picture,
tacked to the wall, of a ourangoutang, with breasts
collaged onto it, down. She succeeds. Beneath there’s
a large hole in the wall, which the picture was there
to conceal. Plaster falls from it.
KIRSTY
(mouths the word)
Great.
LARRY (V.0.)
Well come over, will you?
See the place?
KIRSTY
Maybe tomorrow. I got to go
look for a job.
LARRY (V.0.)
O.K. Honey. Well you take care.
I love you.
KIRSTY
I love you too.
She puts the receiver down. As she does so the small
table on which the ’phone is sitting collapses. She
covers her face with her hand.
22 INT. HALLWAY OF LODOVICO STREET DAY
JULIA is three steps from the bottom of the stairs.
LARRY
Well?
JULIA
(resigned)
Why not?
LARRY
(smiles; he’s pleased)
We’ll move in Sunday.
23 INT. DOWNSTAIRS ROOM DAY
A church bell rings. Off-screen, we hear voices:
two men are attempting to move a bed into the house
with LARRY masterminding the manoeuvres. We HEAR
their efforts, but we don’t yet see them. Our
interest is in JULIA, who is unpacking a tea-chest
in a room which is still full of draped furniture.
1ST MAN (O.S.)
We’re not going to get it in.
2ND MAN (O.S.)
Tip it! Tip it!
LARRY (O.S.)
Wait! Wait! Watch the fucking
paint work.
1ST MAN (O.S.)
Look, do you want the bed in or
not?
LARRY (0.S.)
Just take it slowly.
1ST MAN (O.S.)
Oh, sod you.
2ND MAN (O.S.)
Eh, Chas, slow it down like
the man says.
LARRY (O.S.)
It’ll go in.
1ST MAN
Famous last fucking words.
JULIA’s face through this has been almost devoid of
expression. She’s holding so many feelings inside;
deep inside. Now she moves from one box to another,
and opens it to find it full of bathroom bric-a-brac.
She picks it up and goes through into the hallway.
The bell continues to ring.
24 INT. HALLWAY DAY
The three sweating men have the bed wedged in the
door.
LARRY
(not seeing Julia)
Alright, let’s give it another
try.
2ND MAN
(sees Julia)
Do you really need this bed, lady?
LARRY turns. Sees JULIA.
LARRY
How are you doing through
there?
JULIA
It looks like a bomb’s dropped.
2ND MAN
Got any beer?
JULIA
There’s some in the ’fridge.
Nobody moves to get it. Certainly JULIA has no
intention of being waitress. She goes to the bottom
of the stairs.
LARRY
I’ll get it.
LARRY disappears through into the kitchen. JULIA
starts up the stairs, watched appreciatively by the
two men in the doorway. One leans over and whispers
to the other, who laughs. JULIA glances back at
them. The whisperer licks his lips; the meaning
of the gesture perfectly apparent. JULIA heads
upstairs.
25 EXT. NUMBER 55 DAY
KIRSTY arrives at the head of the drive. The two
men are drinking beers. The bed has not been moved.
She wanders down the drive towards the house.
26 EXT. DOORSTEP DAY
2ND MAN
(seeing Kirsty)
It’s my lucky day.
KIRSTY
Hi.
2ND MAN
Want to buy a bed?
KIRSTY
Not much.
She moves past them, attempting to insinuate herself
between the bed and the door-jamb. They watch,
enjoying her efforts.
27 INT. HALLWAY DAY
KIRSTY
Dad?
LARRY emerges from one of the rooms, looking harassed.
His face lightens as he sees his daughter.
LARRY
Honey!
They hug each other.
KIRSTY
Big house.
LARRY
You like?
KIRSTY
Me like.
Another hug.
LARRY
I’ll show you around when we’ve
got this damn bed moved.
KIRSTY
Is Julia here?
LARRY
Upstairs.
(his voice lowers)
Treat her gently, huh? She
hates moving.
KIRSTY
(dryly)
Suprise.
LARRY
(a gently chiding
voice)
Kirsty.
KIRSTY
O.K. I’ll be nice. You get
on with the muscle work. I’ll
make myself some coffee.
LARRY
Kitchen’s through on your left
KIRSTY kisses LARRY, and goes through to the kitchen.
LARRY turns back to the door. The men have been
watching KIRSTY. LARRY clearly dislikes the scrutiny.
1ST MAN, out-stared by LARRY, looks away. The 2ND
MAN is unperturbed.
2ND MAN
That your daughter?
LARRY
Uh-huh.
2ND MAN
(grins oafishly)
Got her mother’s looks.
LARRY
Her mother’s dead.
2ND MAN’s grin fades.
2ND MAN
Oh.
LARRY
Julia’s my second wife.
2ND MAN
(weakly)
Lucky man.
LARRY
Damn right. Now are we going
to move the bed or not?
28 INT. KITCHEN DAY
The kitchen is chaotic. Cutlery, crockery, utensils,
pans and foodstuffs have been heaped on every
available surface. KIRSTY has found the kettle,
but is having difficulty turning on the tap. She
struggles with it. No joy. Just a rattling sound
in the pipes as the system lurches into action.
29 INT. LOWER LANDING DAY
The pipes rattle and chug behind the plaster. The
CAMERA moves along the corridor, hugging the wall.
At the end of the corridor stands JULIA, in a
patch of sunlight. She has the photograph of FRANK
in her hands.
She looks intently at it.
A CLOSE-UP of the photograph. Then FRANK’s voice.
FRANK
Can I come in?
JULIA looks up from the photograph.
30 INT. JULIA’S FLASHBACK DAY
A front door opens. On the step of another house
stands FRANK, with two suitcases. It’s raining
outside; HARD. The rain has plastered his hair to
his scalp, which only emphasizes his raw good looks.
He’s unshaven; his eyes are dark, and intense.
Again, the line she remembers:
FRANK
Can I come in?
The splash of rain on the step becomes a spurt of
water, as we
CUT BACK TO
the present day.
31 INT. KITCHEN DAY
The tap has come on suddenly, spraying KIRSTY with
water. She jumps back, soaked.
KIRSTY
Shit! Shit!
She reaches to turn the pressure down.
32 INT. HALLWAY DAY
The men are struggling with the bed again.
LARRY
(calls through)
Are you O.K.?
KIRSTY
(from kitchen)
Sure.
33 INT. LOWER LANDING DAY
Again, JULIA returns her gaze to the photograph.
34 INT. JULIA’S FLASHBACK DAY
The same scene: FRANK in the doorstep. Now we
CUT TO
the person who opened the door. It’s JULIA; a younger
JULIA, her hair arranged differently, her clothes
brighter. It is two weeks before her marriage to
LARRY. She looks at the man on the doorstep without
a trace of recognition on her face.
FRANK
You’re Julia, right?
JULIA
That’s right. Who are you?
FRANK
(a dazzling smile)
I’m brother Frank.
JULIA
(smiles)
Oh.
FRANK
I came for the wedding.
He looks at her, eyes glittering. His hold on her
is almost mesmeric.
There is going to BE a wedding?
JULIA
Oh. Oh yes.
FRANK
Well can I come in or not?
JULIA
I’m sorry. Of course. You’re
very welcome.
He steps inside. Now he is close to her, rain running
down his face. We can hear his breath; sense the
almost intimidating intimacy of his presence.
FRANK
That’s nice to know.
(pause)
Have you got a towel?
35 INT. LOWER LANDING DAY
JULIA stares down at the photograph. Off scrren,
KIRSTY’s voice:
KIRSTY (O.S.)
Have you got a towel?
JULIA looks up. At the top of the stairs, KIRSTY
soaked from the tap. JULIA looks up, and hurriedly
pockets the photograph.
JULIA
Kirsty.
KIRSTY
Hi. I got soaked.
JULIA
There’s a towel in the bath-
room.
KIRSTY
Which is where?
JULIA
Just to your left.
KIRSTY ducks into the bathroom. We
CUT BACK TO
JULIA. It’s clear the memory of her first meeting
with FRANK has affected her deeply. The tears that
threatened earlier are close.
36 INT. BATHROOM DAY
KIRSTY has unbuttoned her blouse and is drying herself.
KIRSTY
Did Dad tell you I got a room,
by the way? Waterloo. Centre
of the known universe.
Silence from outside.
Julia?
(she puts her head
out of the bathroom)
37 INT. LOWER LANDING DAY
JULIA has gone.
38 INT. UPPER LANDING DAY
The door of the Torture Room is pushed open. JULIA
steps inside.
39 INT. LOWER LANDING DAY
KIRSTY hears the creak of footsteps on the boards
above. JULIA’s behaviour puzzles her, but she’s
not about to waste time thinking too hard about it.
She starts downstairs again.
40 INT. TORTURE ROOM DAY
We have an odd, hovering point of view of JULIA,
as she steps inside the room. Something about the
atmosphere distresses her.
There is a scratching sound. She looks down. A
wood-louse, recalling Frank’s foresaken bed, crawls
along the edge of the skirting board. She crosses
to the window, and tears away a little spy-hole
in the aged newspaper.
From downstairs, the voices of the bed-movers.
1ST MAN
Have you got it?
2ND MAN
I’ve got it. I told you -
LARRY
Wait! Wait!
The light through the window falls on her eye.
The screen becomes a white-out, from which emerges:
41 INT. JULIA’S FLASHBACK DAY
A bedroom, with afternoon sunlight pouring between
the slats of bamboo blinds. Outside we can hear
children playing summer games. Inside, a fly buzzes.
JULIA, the younger self, is holding her wedding
dress in front of her, displaying it.
JULIA
Well?
FRANK (0.S.)
I don’t want to see the dress.
JULIA
But you said -
FRANK
I don’t want to see the dress.
JULIA lets the dress drop a few inches in front
of her. She stares at FRANK.
FRANK
You know what I want.
Still she doesn’t let the ’defence’ that the dress
offers - a reminder of her imminent marriage - fall.
She stares though, and there’s an invitation in her
eyes.
FRANK
I want you.
Now we
CUT TO
FRANK. He is not so beraggled as in the first scene,
but the heat of the day has brought a sheen of sweat
to his face. Standing half in shadow he looks almost
dangerous.
Now JULIA lets the dress drop, putting it on the
bed behind her.
FRANK
That’s better
FRANK steps towards her.
JULIA
What about Larry -
FRANK
Forget him.
FRANK takes hold of her. She doesn’t resist him,
though there is barely disguised fear on her face.
He puts his hand inside her blouse.
42 INT. TORTURE ROOM DAY
In extreme CLOSE UP, JULIA blinks into the light
through the window, as LARRY’s voice from downstairs
calls her from her reverie.
LARRY
Slowly, will you? Slowly!
Again, a white-CUT, from which emerges:
43 INT. JULIA’S FLASHBACK DAY
The two are naked on the bed, both sweating now.
Beneath them, the wedding dress, crushed under their
weight.
Their love-making is not straight-forward: there is
an element of erotic perversity in the way FRANK
licks at her face, almost like an animal, his hold
on her too tight to be loving. The sequence
escalates into a series of strange details from
their locked bodies. Nails digging into palms;
sweat rivulets running down their torsoes. And
once in a while we see their faces. JULIA watching
FRANK, mesmerized and amused by his intensity;
FRANK almost pained by his desire to push the
experience TO THE LIMIT. Their passion is rendered
stranger still by the way the light through the window
falls on their bodies, making striped creatures of them.
At last, as their urgency increases, we move up
until we’re looking directly down on the bed.
From here it is JULIA’s face we can see, and the
ecstasy of the moment has seized her. Her arms
are flung up over her head; her eyes are closed
as she murmurs:
JULIA
Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh
my God.
The scene whites out.
44 INT. TORTURE ROOM DAY
JULIA is still staring into the light. She sobs, very
quietly.
JULIA
(a whisper)
Oh Frank ...
45 INT. HALLWAY DAY
Downstairs, LARRY and the men have moved the bed
across the hall to the bottom of the stairs.
All three are weary now, and getting careless.
As they start up the stairs we see trouble ahead
for LARRY, whose hand is moving closer and closer
to a nail proturbing from the woodwork of the
bannister.
LARRY
(to Movers)
Will you take the weight while
I take a step up?
He backs towards the stairs - and the nail.
Damn it, will you take the -
The side of his hand is impaled bythe nail. He cries
out. The weight of the bed, which he cannot relinquish,
drives the nail deeper, and gouges a long cut from
the ball of his thumb to his wrist. Blood pours out.
LARRY
Christ!
1ST MAN
What’s the problem?
LARRY
My fucking hand!
He drops his edge of the bed, and disengages his hand
from the nail upon which he’s injured himself. He
lifts his hand, from which blood is pouring.
LARRY
You fucking ass-holes.
1ST MAN
Who are you calling a fucking
ass-hole? It’s this bastard
bed that’s your fucking problem!
LARRY isn’t listening. He’s looking at the wound
in his hand. He hates the sight of his own blood.
Any moment, he may faint.
LARRY
... Oh Christ ...
But not in front of these bastards. He turns and
starts up the stairs, groggier by the moment.
LARRY
... oh ... Christ ...
46 INT. TORTURE ROOM DAY
JULIA is standing in the middle of the room. A single
dart of light, through the hole she tore in the
newspaper, strikes her face. Softly on the soundtrack,
the scrabbling noise of the woodlice.
47 INT. HALLWAY DAY
The bed has been put down. 1ST MAN and 2ND MAN are
putting on their coats. KIRSTY comes through from
the kitchen.
KIRSTY
What’s happening?
2ND MAN
We’re leaving.
KIRSTY
Where’s my father?
1ST MAN
He’s fucked off.
2ND MAN
(mock chiding)
Eh ... LANGUAGE.
1ST MAN
Sorry. He’s gone upstairs. So
we’re fucking off too.
2ND MAN takes a sheet of paper from his jacket.
2ND MAN
Will you sign for the bed?
KIRSTY
Sure.
48 INT. STAIRS DAY
LARRY, his hand running with blood, climbs the last
flight of stairs.
LARRY
(weakly)
... Julia ...
49 INT. TORTURE ROOM DAY
JULIA hears him, and turns from her silent communing with
the room. She crosses towards the door. Too late.
It opens. LARRY steps inside, blood pouring from
his right hand, which he attempts to staunch with his
left hand.
JULIA
What have you done?
LARRY
I cut myself.
Blood has started to drip, unnoticed by either of them,
onto the bare boards. Heavy splashes.
LARRY looks sick; his face clammy with sweat. She stares
at him without a trace of feeling for him on her face.
JULIA
Is it deep?
LARRY
I don’t know, I haven’t looked.
You know me and blood.
JULIA
You’re NOT going to faint.
LARRY
(he leans againts
the wall)
Shit.
JULIA
Let me see.
She goes to him. He looks away as she unglues one hand
from the other, and looks at the wound. Blood comes faster,
hitting the floor between them.
JULIA
It’s probably going to need
stitches.
LARRY
I’m going to throw up.
JULIA
No, you’re not.
The blood keeps hitting the floor. Slap; slap; slap.
We’ll get you out into the
fresh air.
He is again clamping his hand over the wound, as JULIA
helps him to the door. They leave the Torture Room.
We hear their voices receding down the passageway,
as we again assume that hovering view point. The
floor, is heavily spattered with blood.
JULIA
Take it slowly.
LARRY
So damn stupid.
JULIA
You’re done worse.
LARRY
I’ll be scarred for life.
JULIA
No you won’t.
50 INT. HALLWAY DAY
KIRSTY is half way up the stairs, as JULIA and LARRY
head down.
KIRSTY
What happened?
JULIA
Just an accident. He’s all
right. Will you drive? He
needs stitches.
KIRSTY
Sure.
JULIA
The keys are in the kitchen.
KIRSTY heads back to the kitchen. JULIA helps LARRY
towards the front door.
The CAMERA swings away from them, upstairs, and
begins to track ...
LAP-DISSOLVE TO:
INT. UPPER LANDING DAY
... we continue to track, towards the Torture Room.
Downstairs, the front door slams.
LAP-DISSOLVE TO:
INT. TORTURE ROOM DAY
From outside, the sound of a car door slamming. An
engine starts. The car drives away.
We move towards the blood on the floor. As we watch,
it begins to disappear, as if being absorbed by the
room. We pan up to the wall. The plaster is not
quite smooth; indeed, it now begins to grow restless,
and cracks. Something begins to move in the wall ...
51 INT. DINING ROOM NIGHT
An explosion of laughter. We
CUT TO
the remains of a rack of lamb, its gravy now congealed,
scraps of meat adhering to the bone here and there.
This is the centre-piece of a table reduced to a
battlefield by the guests who are laughing off-screen.
We pass along the table, taking in dirty plates and
cutlery, napkins, glasses and emptied wine bottles.
Finally, we reach JULIA, who is still sitting at the
table, while the others have retired to more comfortable
seats. She looks utterly miserable, and a little
drunk.
The room has been spruced up for the party. Candles
are burning on tables and mantelpiece, there are
pictures on the walls. But this is essentially
cosmetic. The place has not been refurnished or re-
decorated.
We move to the party guests. Two, we recognize:
KIRSTY, and LARRY - who is presently entertaining
the gathering with an account of his accident. The
others are new faces. An American couple: BILL
UNDERWOOD and his wife EVELYN, who are of an age with
LARRY, and a younger, bespectacled man - a work
colleague of LARRY’s - STEVE O’DONNELL. All are drunk.
A brandy bottle sits on the table between them, and
half a dozen other liquer bottles besides. STEVE,
it soon becomes apparent, has his eyes on KIRSTY.
LARRY is half-way through his hospital story,
gesticulating wildly as he goes through the tale,
much to the pleasure of the rest. His hand and
lower arm are heavily bandaged.
LARRY
- always hated the sight of my
own blood. I go out like a light.
Anybody else’s? no problem. But
mine ... you know ... goes straight
to my head. Anyhow, this damn
doctor’s poking around and I’m
saying: I’m going to pass out,
and he’s saying, no you’re not, no
you’re not. Next thing I know -
We
CUT BACK TO
JULIA, who watches her husband, unamused.
LARRY
- I wake up On the floor.
Gales of laughter at this.
And it was HIM who was looking
sick.
BILL
Probably thought you’d sue.
LARRY
I should do it!
EVELYN
Doctors -
LARRY
I know. And he’s saying: I’m
sorry. I’m sorry.
BILL
HE’S sorry.
LARRY
Right ...
(he has picked up
the brandy bottle)
Anyone for more?
EVELYN
(protests)
No ... no ... I ...
LARRY
Come on, you’re only young once -
LARRY fills up her glass.
LARRY
(to Kirsty)
What are you drinking, love?
KIRSTY
(giggles)
I’ve forgotten.
LARRY
Steve?
STEVE
We’re on the Cointreau.
KIRSTY
That’s right. Cointreau.
STEVE picks up the bottle.
STEVE
I’ll do it.
He fills up KIRSTY’s glass.
KIRSTY
I won’t be able to stand.
STEVE
So lie down.
She casts him a sly glance. He smiles. She smiles.
JULIA now stands up.
JULIA
Would you excuse me? I think
I’m going to go to bed.
& |
