A BLACK SCREEN As the MAIN TITLES begin, two sounds are heard. The first is the low, moaning WIND. The second is a slow SCREECHING. It's the kind of noise that makes you grit your teeth. FADE IN: EXT. ELM STREET - DAY GRAY SURFACE FILLS THE SCREEN. At first it's hard to recognize this rough, indistinct surface. But when a CHILD'S HAND drags a piece of colored chalk ACROSS THE FRAME, we realize that we're seeing a very close view of a CONCRETE WALKWAY. EXT. ELM STREET - DAY A SERIES OF CLOSE SHOTS FOLLOW THE MOVEMENTS of the tiny hand as it proceeds to lay out an intricate CHALK DRAWING on the walkway. For a while, we are too close to identify the image that is being created. But as THE CAMERA PULLS BACK, we see a youthful artist's representation of a two story HOUSE. The CAMERA TILTS UP, revealing a LITTLE GIRL in white dress. She's holding a handful of colored chalk. Behind her sits the ELM STREET HOUSE. As the TITLES END, we... EXT. ELM STREET - DAY The trees lining this residential street are bare, and they sway in the breeze that's blowing their dead leaves across the sidewalk. KRISTEN, a beautiful, but pensive-looking blonde teenager, is walking slowly towards the ominous house. Although her face shows signs of fear, she is moving with resolve. EXT. ELM STREET HOUSE - DAY Kristen stops and looks down at the angelic little girl who has been creating the childish drawing of Freddy's house. Kneeling down beside her, Kristen takes a closer look at the colorful chalk sketch. It has an almost exaggerated cheerfulness. And although awkwardly rendered, it makes the house look new, and the yard well-tended. The idyllic sidewalk illustration looks nothing like its subject, which has peeling paint, boarded-up windows, and is horribly run-down. LITTLE GIRL (looking up) Hello... KRISTEN Do you live here? LITTLE GIRL (sadly) Nobody lives here. KRISTEN Where's Freddy? LITTLE GIRL (giggles strangely) He's not home. Just then, the child lifts her hand away from the picture. What Kristen sees makes her gasp. A crudely drawn, but easily recognizable image of FREDDY KRUEGER is visible behind one of the windows. There is a CRACK of LIGHTNING, and drops of rain start to sprinkle down on to the girl and her drawing. EXT. ELM STREET HOUSE - NIGHT Kristen glances up at the sky. Rain trickles onto her face. Then after a second, she looks back down at the sidewalk. THE LITTLE GIRL IS GONE. Kristen scans the area, but the child is nowhere to be seen. Rain is splashing down on the chalk illustration. Not only is the image washing away, but as the colors blend together, they form a liquid that looks just like BLOOD. Kristen hears a CREAKING NOISE coming from the direction of the house. She turns and stares at the menacing structure. The front door is SLOWLY OPENING. Somehow Kristen seems unsurprised by this. And as though drawn by an uncontrollable urge, she turns toward the house. With thunder and lightning crashing above her, she walks deliberately toward the open door. INT. ENTRANCE HALLWAY - NIGHT As soon as Kristen enters the house, she hears VOICES behind her. It's CHILDREN SINGING a strange nursery rhyme. CHILDREN'S VOICES (O.S.) One two, Freddy's coming for you... Kristen spins around and looks back through the open door. EXT. FRONT YARD - NIGHT - KRISTEN'S POV standing out in the yard that was empty a moment before are a dozen very young CHILDREN. Dressed in their Sunday best, they are staring at Kristen as they continue to sing: CHILDREN Three four, better lock the door... INT. ENTRANCE HALLWAY - NIGHT The front door SLAMS SHUT with a bang. Kristen's determined expression dissolves, and she reaches back for the doorknob. It turns without resistance and the door opens with ease. Kristen rushes through the doorway, but instead of finding herself outside, she is in... INT. A DUPLICATE ENTRANCE HALLWAY - NIGHT Kristen's eyes widen as she compares her surroundings with the dusty, decaying room that is visible on the other side of the still-open door. They are exactly the same. Before she can take another step, the door slams shut again. And this time when she tries to open it, it's locked solid. KRISTEN (muttering) Calm and cool, I'm calm and cool... She moves down the hall, finds an open door, steps through INT. DARK ELM STREET LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kristen walks in, the old floorboards creaking under her feet. She looks at the walls. They are lined with eerie paintings of children playing in graveyards. Rainwater drips down from the ceiling. When FLASHES OF LIGHTNING illuminate the room, Kristen catches sights of an old and dusty couch in one corner. A couch with a distinctive RED AND GREEN STRIPED LINING. Another bolt FLASHES. Kristen is horrified to see, silhouetted on one of the walls, the shadow of a hand with long, knife-like fingers. So frightened that she can barely breathe, Kristen turns to the LARGE WINDOW across the room. ANOTHER FLASH lights up the dark room, and Kristen relaxes. It isn't Freddy outside the window. It's only a tree branch. Relieved, Kristen starts over toward the window. But before she reaches it, there is a sudden, massive CLAP OF THUNDER, and the entire window EXPLODES into the room. A huge gust of WIND roars in through the shattered window, and blows Kristen off her feet. INT. FREDDY'S BOILER ROOM - NIGHT Kristen tumbles down a set of heavy metal chute that has just appeared out of nowhere, and lands on the concrete floor of a very large, dark Boiler Room. She scrambles to her feet and looks around, terrified like a trapped animal. KRISTEN (under her breath) He's not here, he's dead. He's not here, he's dead. He's... Just then, Kristen hears the unmistakable SOUND of Freddy's knives scraping against a nearby metal surface. KRISTEN (cont'd) (crying out) No!! Kincaide! Joey! Help me!! INT. KINCAID'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Kincaid is sitting at his desk, his head drooped down over an open copy of an illustrated sports magazine. A harmless- looking MONGREL is sleeping at his feet. Suddenly, Kincaid's chair BEGINS TO SHAKE. He lifts his head in surprise just as he suddenly flies from the chair and sails through the air, straight towards a wall in his room. But instead of piling into the solid surface, Kincaid sails right through it and DISAPPEARS into the void. INT. BOILER ROOM - NIGHT Kincaid falls into the Boiler Room, crashing through a pile of rusty pipes and boilers. As soon as he catches his breath, he looks up and sees Kristen. He quickly jumps to his feet and starts to yell at his friend. KINCAID Awww shit, Kristen, not again.... Kristen motions for Kincaid to LISTEN as the SCREECHING continues. Kincaid, unimpressed, shows Kristen that it's merely the metal arature of a boiler attachment SCRAPING against a railing. KINCAID (cont'd) You are one spooked chick... Before Kincaid can say another word, Kristen holds up her hand. FOOTSTEPS are echoing out of the shadows behind them. KRISTEN Shh... They both spin around just as a FIGURE lurches toward them. Kincaid gasps, and Kristen screams. But a moment later thy each let out big sighs. It's JOEY. Kincaid covers his fear with cool nonchalance. KRISTEN (cont'd) Joey, thank God!! I thought... JOEY Thought what? Of dragging us in here? KINCAID Yeah, cut it out. You're puttin' a dent in my beauty sleep. They both glare at Kristen. They're pissed. KRISTEN (in a halting voice) It's Freddy... He's here. I heard him. KINCAID Chill out, Kristen...Freddy's dead, buried, and consecrated. We won, remember? KRISTEN (shaking her head) He's back... to get us. JOEY Now way, Kincaid's right, Fred Krueger is history, c'mere... He leads her around the Boiler Room. He makes her touch pipes, and then positions her in front of the large furnace. JOEY (cont'd) Look... The pipes are cold, the boiler is cold... see for yourself. He swings open the iron door on the furnace. Kristen moves close to look in the black void. There isn't even the glow of an ember inside. She turns away. KRISTEN I don't know... ALL AT ONCE, a howling BEAST leaps out of the furnace. It's Kincaid's dog. Kristen has managed to pull it into her dream with its master. The terrified animal clamps its jaws around Kristen's arm, and knocks the screaming girl down to the floor. INT. JOEY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Joey wakes up with a start, and tries to re-orient himself. His sudden movements cause his waterbed to slosh back and forth like crazy. INT. KINCAID'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Kincaid jerks his head up off his desk, and glances around his room with an expression of relief. Then he hears a WHIMPERING sound and looks down. His dog is staring up at him with uncomprehending eyes. There is BLOOD around the animal's mouth. INT. KRISTEN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Kristen throws her covers off and jumps up out of bed. She's breathing hard and her arm is BLEEDING. Grabbing a T-shirt off a chair, Kristen wraps it around the wound. She sits back down on her bed. She looks really scared. FADE OUT. FADE IN: EXT. ALICE'S HOUSE - DAY The morning sun is rising behind the broad-limbed trees that shade a collection of unassuming homes. It's a peaceful neighborhood. Just the kind that Freddy used to like. A girl pulls up in front of one house. She's driving a VW Rabbit Convertible. It's Kristen. She wears a long sleeve shirt, but a bulge reveals where her arm is bandaged. EXT. ALICE AND RICK'S HOUSE - DAY Kristen quickly walks to the side door of a modest house. After ringing the bell, she glances out at the sidewalk. When Kristen turns back, a STERN-LOOKING MAN is standing in the open doorway. Although probably not much over forty, DENNIS JOHNSON'S face shows a lot of wear; too much scotch, too much work. He's dressed for work and is preparing to leave, but his hangover is self-evident. KRISTEN How are you, Mr. Johnson? Johnson ignores her. KRISTEN (cont'd) That's nice. Johnson turns away. His daughter ALICE shows up at the door, slinking warily by her father. In a definite contrast to Kristen's easy beauty, Alice is not especially well put together. And yet there's something about this shy-looking girl that suggests that she might be incredibly attractive if she had any confidence. ALICE (low) Hi, Kristen...Rick'll be out any second. Kristen looks in the doorway at Johnson who is holding a tomato-juice and spices hangover delight. Kristen makes a face. Alice turns as Johnson looks up. JOHNSON (to Alice) You going out dressed like that? ALICE (defensive) What's wrong with me this time? KRISTEN (embarrassed) Uhh, I'll just wait outside. JOHNSON No, it's okay. Maybe you can help her. Johnson pours a shot of Vodka into his morning concoction and SLAMS the door shut, leaving the two girls alone on the front porch. Kristen is about to console Alice when they HEAR a RUSTLING sound above them. RICK, Alice's brother, is shimmying out of an upper floor window. He reaches for a nearby tree, and with surprising grace he maneuvers to the ground and lands smiling in front of the girls. He gives Kristen a quick kiss. KRISTEN Something wrong with the stairs? RICK Avoid-all-contact-day. KRISTEN What? RICK When dad's popping aspiring like popcorn, it's avoid-all-contact-day. Johnson suddenly reopens the door and reaches for the morning newspaper. He stares at the kids. JOHNSON Waiting for a limo? Rick grabs his father's face and gives him a big, noisy kiss on the cheek. RICK (mock Ricky Ricardo) Okay, honey. I'm off to the club! The girls chuckle as Johnson becomes embarrassed and SLAMS the door on the kids. EXT. SPRINGWOOD HIGH SCHOOL - DAY Springwood High doesn't look particularly inviting, but how many high schools do? STUDENTS are arriving on foot, on bikes, and in a variety of motor vehicles. Kristen, Rick and Alice pull up in Kristen's VW Rabbit Convertible and park. They step onto the sidewalk and cross along beside the STUDENT PARKING LOT. They stop beside an ATTRACTIVE GIRL who is leaning against a car, listening to the blasting radio inside. The girl, DEBBIE STEVENS, is one well put together item. A tough but smart girl from the wrong side of the tracks, trying to compensate for her roots with defensive spunk, sexy, and she knows it. DEBBIE Alright, anybody have trig this semester? Alice, Rick and Kristen shake their heads 'no'. RICK What happened? DEBBIE I had a conflict. Homework or Dynasty. Dynasty won. RICK A sad story. Those soaps'll kill ya. Alice's attention drifts to a tough PICK-UP that is pulling up not far from them. A handsome, dark-haired TEENAGER, DAN, climbs out of the car. Debbie eyes him too. DEBBIE (appreciative) There's Dan Jordan. Mmmmm, we're talkin' major league fox. EXT. SCHOOL -DAY (DAYDREAM) Begin DAYDREAM. JUMP CUT to Dan standing directly in front of Alice. She's in a more confident, seductive pose. She looks him up and down and flashes a Lauren Bacall smile. ALICE Mmmmmm, you know, you are one major league fox. She puts a hand on Dan's waist. He grows nervous and awkward, as if he's the shy one now. DAN (stammers) T-T-Thanks Alice... EXT. SCHOOL - DAY (BACK TO REALITY) RICK (O.S.) Earth to Alice... Alice snaps out of it. Dan is suddenly back where he was, walking away with a group of his friends. RICK (cont'd) You spacing again? ALICE (hush-hush) Rick, please. DEBBIE Alright, I think I see salvation... A battered and sputtering VESPA SCOOTER is zipping towards them through the parking lot. The BLACK GIRL riding the scooter looks a bit nerdy, with thick glasses and short hair, but makes up for it with a hip sense of style. Her scooter has been souped up with a few home-made gadgets and attachments. As soon as SHEILA KOPECKY reaches them, she hops off her bike, and unstraps the pile of books and papers from the back. Tons of SMOKE pour out the back of it. DEBBIE (cont'd) (bats smoke away) How can you ride that health hazard? It's no wonder you have asthma. SHEILA Asthma is an inherited condition. If you read a book now and then, you might know something. DEBBIE Speaking of books, isn't trig your favorite? Sheila stares at Debbie a beat. SHEILA Dynasty again, huh? Girl, get a VCR. Sheila pulls out her asthma inhaler and sticks it in her mouth. She takes a few puffs. A cocky, obnoxious BLACK JOCK walks by and comments to Sheila. JOCK Yo, baby, you're sucking on the wrong nozzle. Sheila is embarrassed and falls short of managing a retort, Debbie steps in between Sheila and the jock and does it for her. DEBBIE Hey, needledick. I bet you're the only male in this school suffering from penis envy. The jock stares in confusion, not quite understanding the insult. Our group cracks up and pats Debbie on the shoulders as the jock walks off. SHEILA Alright, I owe you one. Debbie suddenly stops laughing and lets out a disgusted GASP. A huge ROACH is crawling around her books. She shakes the book until the bug falls off, then grinds it under her foot, a little too enthusiastically. RICK Supergirl, I think it's dead. The group gets their stuff together and heads for class. INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - DAY STUDENTS are moving through the hallway that cuts through the center of Springwood High. Kristen is standing against one wall, spinning the dial on her locker. Rick can be seen a dozen lockers down from her. Kristen gets the locker open, grabs a couple of her books, then slams it shut. But as the locker door swings away, it SUDDENLY REVEALS the faces of Kincaid and Joey just inches from Kristen. They startle the hell out of her. KRISTEN Hi...guys. KINCAID Hi guys?!? Hi guys?!?! That's all you got to say after last night? Kristen studies her two angry friends for a moment, then speaks up in a firm voice. KRISTEN I'm telling you, he's coming back! He tries to move around, but bumps his head on something low. KINCAID Yo open this sucker up!! He pounds on the metal above. It moves just enough to reveal a thin crack of blue light. He continues to mutter to himself in confusion. He pounds a few more times, starting to panic, when the metal above his head finally pops open. EXT. JUNKYARD - NIGHT Kincaid sticks his head out of the trunk of a wrecked car and looks around. He's in an ominous auto graveyard. KINCAID This ain't my dreamland. KRISTEN. IF YOU HERE I'M GONNA POUND YOUR ASS!! Kincaid looks around. No one's to be seen. KINCAID (cont'd) (calling) Kristen!! Hey, Kristen!! (beat, then sheepishly) Kristen? He collects himself and puts on a badass walking gait. When he hears a low GROWLING, Kincaid looks down. A few feet away from him is his dog. It has an odd expression on its face. KINCAID (cont'd) Jason? (relaxes, becomes sympathetic) Listen little sister, we know you got this talent for bringing folks into your dreams, but we don't need it anymore. Time to live like regular people. JOEY Let it rest. 'Sides, who knows, you might stir him back up if you keep going in. Kincaid and I'll help, we're still a team, and we ALL have better things to dream about. KINCAID You got that right, signed and sealed. Kristen wants to believe, but she can't, because: KRISTEN Then what about this? Kristen pulls up her sleeve, and reveals the blood-stained bandage on her forearm. KINCAID That don't mean dick. My dog's like me. Drag him into a crazy dream and he gets wild. The guys see Rick approaching. KINCAID (cont'd) (jokingly, trying to change the subject) Here comes your boyfriend. Can't he give you a good night's sleep? Rick arrives in time to hear Kincaid's comment. RICK We don't kiss and tell. How 'bout you guys? Kincaide starts to mount a comeback, but Joey pulls him away. Kristen watches them disappear into the crowd. RICK (cont'd) Those guys are kind of spooky. KRISTEN Then you must think I'm a total freak. Rick ponders this. RICK I go back and forth. Kristen is not amused. RICK (cont'd) Lighten up. No one died. Rick strokes her cheek. Kristen forces a weak smile. INT. KINCAID'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Kincaid is getting into bed. His night time attire consists of a T-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. As the sleepy young man settles between the sheets, a FORCE begins to slowly open the door behind him. It SQUEAKS as it inches open. Kincaid is on alert. After a few moments of suspense, Kincaid's mangy dog shoves the door the rest of the way open, and trots into the room. The mutt hops up onto the bed and circles a couple of times. When it finally lies down, Kincaid shoves it over a bit. KINCAID Come on, Jason, move over. The dog and his master adjust their positions, then Kincaid reaches over and turns off the light. CLOSE ON KINCAID His eyes slowly shut. The room is still. But suddenly a SCREECHING SOUND wakes him. INT. CAR TRUNK - NIGHT Kincaid opens his eyes. It's too dark for him to see much, so he reaches for the light on his bedstand. But instead of finding a lamp, his hand slams against a metal surface. EXT. CAR BOX CANYON - NIGHT The dog is furiously digging below the back of an imposing- looking OLD CADILLAC. Some strange instinct seems to have overpowered the animal. The boy rushes forward and tries to stop his dog. But it's no longer acting like a friendly pet, and it turns and snarls at him viciously. Kincaid stops and stares in disbelief as the dog lifts its leg and PISSES FIRE onto the spot where it's been digging. A FLAMING STREAM runs along the ground, and a moment later, the earth RUMBLES and starts to CRACK OPEN along this line of fire. Shafts of light erupt out of the crack. Its job complete, the dog howls and runs off into the night. Kincaid watches it disappear between the stacks of cars, then steps forward and looks down into the SMOLDERING PIT. EXT. FREDDY'S GRAVE - NIGHT Down at the bottom of this freshly formed crevice, a pile of BONES is forming itself into a HUMAN SKELETON. They click together like a machine gun put together by an experienced soldier. And as if that isn't creepy enough, a body is quickly REGENERATING. FLESH appears on the bones. Cartilage knits the joints, and muscle swells within the OOZING TISSUE that is forming all over the body. It's the antithesis of decomposition. When BURNED SKIN forms over the flesh, and clothes reverse their rot and cover the skin, there is no longer any doubt who's rebirth we are witnessing. EXT. CAR BOX CANYON - NIGHT Kincaid watches in horror as the sinister figure rises from the grave. FREDDY'S BACK. Freddy raises his right hand, and with a flick of his wrist, extends the long shiny BLADES at the ends of the fingers (like switch blades.). FREDDY You shouldn't've buried me...I'm not dead. Kincaid doesn't hesitate for another second. Before Freddy even starts to move toward him, the terrified dreamer turns and runs. He finds the opening where he entered, and madly squeezes himself back through it. EXT. LABYRINTH OF CARS - NIGHT Kincaid starts to weave his way through the maze of piled-up cars. He turns a corner and pauses to catch his breath. He looks around. There's no sign of Freddy. Breathing hard, he turns around at the piles of cars around him. The expression on his face tells us he's got an idea. ON FREDDY He round the corner and stops, there's no Kincaid. He looks around, confused. He HEARS the SQUEAK of metal. ON KINCAID Who's on top of a pile of cars. He's straining with his super dream-strength to push the top car off the pile. He succeeds. The car topples down onto Freddy, squashing him flat. A victorious Kincaid jumps down onto the roof, then hood of the car. KINCAID Take that, mutha-fucker! Kincaide jumps to the ground. As soon as he lands, the cars around him go wild. HORNS HONK, lights flash, windshield wipers wipe. Suddenly before Kincaid can react, cars start to pile in around him. He spins around to watch as he is quickly boxed in by piles of cars which come crashing in. Kincaid is boxed in like a trapped mouse. The HORNS on the cars around him HONK and headlights flash at him. There is no way out. He's completely trapped in a space not much larger than a single car. Suddenly, Kincaid hears a SCRAPING NOISE right behind him. Freddy's claws are SCRAPING a windshield. He spins around, and finds FREDDY standing just inches away, with his knives raised. Freddy brings his blades down and jams them into Kincaid's chest. KINCAID (cont'd) (gurgling) Kiss my ass, I'll see you in hell... FREDDY (smiling) Tell them Freddy sent ya!! HAHAHAHA! Freddy pushes the knives farther and farther into Kincaid. The tips of the sharp blades POP out of the center of Kincaid's back. ONE AT A TIME, ACCENTED BY CRUEL SOUND FX. FREDDY (cont'd) One down...two to go...hahahah! INT. KINCAID'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Kincaid's eyes shoot open and he clutches his chest in agony. His dog wakes and nuzzles up to his dying master, but the boy is oblivious to the dog's tender attention. With his final breath, Kincaid tries unsuccessfully to call out Kristen's name. INT. KRISTEN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Kristen is sitting in bed with her knees drawn to her chest. Holding her breath, she's listening. The room is silent. It must have been the wind tickling the chimes outside her window that drew her attention. She sighs, and reaches for the can of hi-caf Cola that's sitting beside her. She takes a final swig, then tosses the can in the waste basket, where it joins a number of other empties. Kristen rummages through the drawer in her nightstand, and grabs some cigarettes and matches. She gets out of bed, crosses to the window, and slides it open. She slumps into the chair beside the window, and lights a match by striking it against her thumbnail. Very cool. She lights the cigarette and takes a deep drag. EXT. ALICE'S HOUSE - NIGHT Alice can be seen by the kitchen window. A sliver of light creeps out of the garage, along with a THUMPING NOISE. INT. GARAGE - NIGHT Rick is involved in a series of interesting exercises. He's kicking and sparring with a suspended bodybag, doing martial arts spins between returns. He wears an oriental bandana around his forehead. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Alice is standing at the sink in front of the kitchen window, finishing up a stack of dishes. She looks up when headlights sweep across her face. EXT. ALICE'S HOUSE - NIGHT ALICE'S POV A car is swerving into the driveway. It makes an awkward approach, and knocks over a garbage can that's positioned well off to one side. INT. GARAGE - NIGHT Rick stops his exercises and steps away from the opening electric door. The car jerks into the garage, and Johnson climbs out. As he walks uneasily to the house, he takes a quick nip from the bottle he's brought home. Johnson becomes self conscious when he sees his sone watching him. JOHNSON First one of the day, scout's honor. He shuffles by Rick. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Johnson comes in and crosses to Alice. Rick follows as far as the doorway but holds his position there. JOHNSON I'm late, I know, damn contracts...Let's eat. ALICE We waited a long time. RICK But we gave up. As usual. Alice takes a salad bowl out of the fridge and places it in front of her father as he sits down at the table. Johnson stares at the salad in disbelief. JOHNSON (disgusted) You call this vegetation a meal after a ten hour work day? What the hell am I? A rabbit? Christ, Alice, can't you try to think a little more?! INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT (DAYDREAM) Begin daydream. Alice suddenly SMASHES the salad off the table. She turns angrily on her father. ALICE Yeah, I can think! I can think of how sick I am watching you drink your life away and taking it out on me! INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT (BACK TO REALITY) End daydream. Alice's father is staring at her. The salad is back on the table. All is as it was. JOHNSON Do I speak in foreign tongues? Alice, I'm talking to you. Are you awake or what? Alice doesn't answer. RICK Dad, don't start. JOHNSON Start what? Telling the little daydreamer to wake up? It's long overdue. Johnson gets up and heads out. JOHNSON (cont'd) Hell with this. JOHNSON (cont'd) Aggravation I don't need. INT. ALICE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Alice stands before a mirror that is virtually covered with photos. She seems lost in though and doesn't see Rick step into the room. RICK Don't you think it kind of defeats the purpose? ALICE What? RICK The mirror. You can't see yourself in it. ALICE I don't want to. Alice takes a picture from the mirror, an old black and white of two little children, herself and Rick much younger with a woman. A picture of happier times. Crossing to sit on her bed... ALICE (cont'd) Do you ever wonder how things would be if Mom were alive? RICK (teasing) Yeah. She'd be half as strict as you. ALICE But she wouldn't let Dad treat me like that. RICK Look, you gotta stand up for yourself. Learn to fight back. Rick does a spin and karate kicks high into the air. RICK (cont'd) It's all in here. (tapping his head) See yourself fighting. And your body obeys. Kicking high again. RICK (cont'd) Come here. He pulls her up. ALICE Rick...I can't. RICK Never say can't. Just do what I do. He spins, stops. She spins - sort of. He kicks. She kicks. Suddenly her shoe flies off, she hits the floor as her shoe lands in the fish tank. They both die laughing. RICK (cont'd) Alice-son, you must have balance! EXT. JOEY'S HOUSE - NIGHT Establishing shot of house. INT. JOEY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Posters of rock groups and girls line the walls. The camera pans them slowly, tilting down past a particularly provocative poster of a sexy bikinied babe. CAMERA reaches the LED display of a stereo's VU meter, which is hitting all the red peaks. But we can barely hear any music. The CAMERA FOLLOWS a headphone cord away from the stereo, passes some gorgeous pin-up POSTERS on the wall, and then finally reveals Joey stretched out on his waterbed. He has his TV hooked up to his stereo and is watching MTV, which he HEARS through the headphones. They're rocking out to a tune that spills out of his headphones. He's also flipping through the latest issue of Rolling Stone. His eyes slowly shut. The magazine drops to his chest. ALL AT ONCE, a rocking motion starts to make Joey rock back and forth. Something is causing waves within the waterbed. Joey snaps to. He notices that the girl in the slutty poster has vanished, leaving only her photographed background. Joey has no time to be puzzled, however as he rolls over and pulls back the sheets on the bed... To Joey's surprise and delight, a beautiful NAKED GIRL is staring up at him from INSIDE HIS WATERBED. Not just any girl, but the GIRL FROM THE POSTER. Her hair is floating around her face, and she's pressing her body up against the inside of the clear plastic. Her voice can't be heard, but it looks like she's mouthing Joey's name. JOEY What a great bed!! Entranced, Joey spreads his arms out over the girl and tires to hug her. He's in heaven. She starts to slowly drift away from him, DROPPING DOWN into the water until her features are no longer clear. SUDDENLY, the swimming figure bobs back up to the surface of the bed. But it's no longer a beautiful girl. IT'S FREDDY. Our old pal smiles up at Joey and the blades of his knives push against the surface of the vinyl mattress. Joey cries out, but before he has time to react, Freddy's arms rip up through the plastic and grab a hold of the boy. As water gushes all over, Freddy's demonic face pops up behind him. FREDDY How's this for a wet dream? JOEY Noooo!!!! Kristen! Help! Freddy pulls Joey back down beneath the surface of the bed and holds him under. Joey thrashes, but its hopeless. FREDDY (O.S.) Two down. One to go. Hahahaha! CAMERA moves back around the room to the LED meter, watching as it dies down to nothing. INT. KRISTEN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Kristen is sitting on her window seat, finishing off another cigarette. She blows smoke out the window, then uses the butt to light a fresh cigarette. INT. JOEY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Joey's MOTHER comes in to say goodnight. MOM Joey, are you asleep already? Joey? She gets to the bed. MOM (cont'd) C'mon, give your mother a kiss. She pulls down the covers to reveal Joey in the bed. She screams. Joey is floating motionless INSIDE THE WATERBED. His face pressed up against the unbroken vinyl surface, his hair is billowing back in the still-swirling current, and his eyes are open in an eerie death stare. INT. KRISTEN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT A gentle breeze is blowing in the window and Kristen closes her eyes for a few seconds as she lets the fresh air wash across her tired face. Suddenly the wind dies away and the soft sound of the tinkling chime ABRUPTLY STOPS. Kristen opens her eyes and stares out the window. The night air is absolutely still. The leaves have stopped fluttering and the wind chime hangs motionless in the tree. She hears someone calling her, so she gets up and goes out. EXT. FRONT DOOR - NIGHT Kristen comes out and starts to walk slowly away from the door. She is listening to the FAINT SOUND that is wafting through the air, but she isn't really sure just what it is. As Kristen steps away from the house, the CAMERA MOVES with her in a CONTINUOUS SHOT. So when she turns and heads back, the CAMERA is still following her. And what Kristen sees makes her scream. EXT. ELM STREET HOUSE - NIGHT Her home is now gone. Standing in its place is the decaying ELM STREET HOUSE. Kristen spins around. INT. WEIRD THIN SPACE BETWEEN WALLS WITH CHAIN CURTAIN She's in a long, weird, thin space between the walls. She passes through a chain curtain and moves further in, the corridor is filled with WAILING and STRANGE SOUNDS. INT. WEIRD THIN SPACE BETWEEN WALLS WITH CHAIN CURTAIN Kristen tries to navigate through the thin space. She SCREAMS and starts running as arms begin bursting out of the sides of the corridor. She ducks as they grab for her. They're Freddy-arms, each one weilding his deadly claw. The arms force her down the next segment of the corridor. As she looks ahead she sees she's been led straight to Freddy. He LAUGHS. KRISTEN I knew you'd be back. FREDDY And then there were none... Freddy charges towards her. She turns and runs, but suddenly Freddy is right in front of her. She stops cold and concentrates. KRISTEN Kincaid! Joey! There's no answer. No response. FREDDY Elm Street's last brat. Freddy steps forward and raises his blades. He's about to strike. Trapped, Kristen raises her hands in a final futile attempt at self-defense. But before Freddy can swing his deadly blades down at her, Kristen's outstretched arm suddenly BURSTS INTO FLAME. She screams and then we CUT TO INT. KRISTEN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Freddy's "last brat" line ECHOES a few times before FADING out as Kristen comes awake. Kristen jumps out of the chair as FLAMES shoot out of her wastebasket. Her cigarette has started a small fire. She grabs her can of soda and pours the rest out onto the fire, putting it out. She nurtures a small burn on her hand. She turns to the window and cries out under her breath: KRISTEN Joey! Kincaid! EXT. SCHOOL STEPS - MORNING It's right before school starts, the grounds are deserted save for Kristen. She sits alone on the steps, rocking herself slightly. She's looked better. She's nervous and agitated. She reaches into her pocket and withdraws a cigarette. She takes out a match, ignites it by striking it against her thumbnail, and lights the cig. After a deep inhale she blows smoke into the morning air. Alice appears. ALICE Here you are. Where were you this morning? Rick's looking all over for you. KRISTEN (very anxious) Have you seen Joey and Kincaid! God, I can't find them. I can't find them anywhere. ALICE I'm sure they're around. KRISTEN (afraid) Yeah, I'm not so sure. Alice sits beside Kristen. Kristen looks at her. Each girl has bags under their eyes. KRISTEN (cont'd) We have matching luggage again. Alice looks at Kristen, puzzled. She doesn't get it. Kristen smiles and puts her finger on the bags under one of Alice's eyes. KRISTEN (cont'd) The bags under your eyes. Nightmares? Alice nods "yes". KRISTEN (cont'd) God I hate dreaming. ALICE I love to dream, I just hate ones about my dad. KRISTEN You could do worse. Kristen stamps out her cigarette. KRISTEN (cont'd) How do you deal with your nightmares? ALICE My mom taught me when I was little. Did you ever hear of the dream master? KRISTEN Sounds like a game show host to me. ALICE No really, it's a fable. The 'guardian of good' dreams. It was like my teddy bear when I was growing up. KRISTEN Great, you wouldn't happen to know his phone number? Alice laughs. KRISTEN (cont'd) So what do you do now? ALICE I daydream. you have to dream about some place fun. Remember you're in control. KRISTEN How'd you learn so much about dreams? ALICE When they're all you have, you kinda become an expert. Kristen gives Alice a sympathetic look. The two girls sit in silence for a moment. KRISTEN I used to bring people into my dreams. Alice doesn't know what to make of this. ALICE You what? KRISTEN When I used to have nightmares. I brought my friends in to help me. Until they all started dying. Kristen notices that Alice isn't getting what she's talking about. KRISTEN (cont'd) Never mind. It's too complicated. Let's get in before your brother starts a search party. INT. BRYSON'S CLASSROOM - DAY A teacher, a young hip man named BRYSON writes on the board as the final stragglers come in. Kristen and Alice enter, meeting Rick who's there already. Kristen takes on look at the roomful of STUDENTS and all the blood drains from her face. She isn't looking at the students who are there. She is staring at TWO EMPTY SEATS. Kristen starts to tremble a MURMURING begins deep inside her and builds to a tortured CRY as she shakes her head "no". Kristen starts to back away. Her knees are getting weak. The other students are mesmerized by the outburst. Some of them are glancing over at the empty seats. RICK What is it? KRISTEN (screaming) Oh God! He killed them! Rick takes hold of her arm, but she's really losing it now, and she pulls herself away from him with all her strength. The momentum of this violent move throws her off balance and she falls back, slamming against the door. She strikes her head, slumps to the floor, knocked out. INT. SCHOOL NURSE'S OFFICE - DAY A SCHOOL NURSE is passing an ampule of smelling salts under Kristen's nose. She shakes her head, then opens her eyes. The Nurse leans down over her and smiles. NURSE Feeling better now? KRISTEN (groggy) Yeah. I guess so... What happened? NURSE You had a nasty bump. As Kristen's sense of focus returns, she looks up at the Nurse with an expression of extreme urgency. KRISTEN I gotta get out of here. NURSE You just stay put. You need rest. KRISTEN You don't get it, he's after me... NURSE Don't worry, honey The woman turns and sets down the smelling salts. Her back begins to bleed, blood soaks through her white uniform, saturating the fabric, Kristen's eyes widen in horror. When she turns back an instant later, she's no longer the Nurse. Now standing above Kristen is FREDDY. FREDDY I need to draw some blood... Kristen lets out a scream. INT. SCHOOL NURSE'S OFFICE - DAY Kristen's eyes suddenly SNAP OPEN. The Nurse is passing an ampule of smelling salts under the girl's nose. The woman leans down over her and smiles. NURSE Feeling better now? Kristen doesn't say a word. ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC builds on the soundtrack as we... EXT. DINER - DAY MUSIC is blasting as CARS pull up and KIDS make their way into the CRAVE INN. INT. CRAVE INN - DAY CU of jukebox. PULL BACK as Dan and his buddy walk fro the jukebox to their table. Dan passes by the counter and glances at Alice. DAN Hi, you seen Rick around? Alice is surprised and almost drops an order. She shakes her head. ALICE No... DAN You're his sister, right? ALICE (smiles) Rick stayed later after school with Kristen. She wasn't feeling very well. DAN Tell him I was looking for him, okay? (his eyes smile) I'm Dan. ALICE (looking down) I know. Uh...Alice. Dan is already walking away toward his table. Alice picks up an order and watches Dan walk away. Debbie, who is also a waitress, steps in. DEBBIE Sorry, Alice. You're shift's over. My table now. Debbie walks to Dan's table. Sheila catches Alice off-guard. (They both watch Debbie talking to Dan.) SHEILA (mimicking Debbie) Hi, handsome. Care for some buns? Alice turns to see Sheila in front of her with a check. They both laugh. ALICE You in a hurry? SHEILA I gotta get to the library before it closes. Killer physics test. ALICE I know. I hardly have any time to study. SHEILA Maybe you shouldn't be working here so much. You don't want to get stuck waiting tables for the rest of your life. ALICE I know. Debbie returns from Dan's table. DEBBIE He's so cute. I wonder where he works out. SHEILA Please save us, Deb. There IS life after exercise. DEBBIE One of these days I'll fix you up with a real guy. Teach you to get your priorities straight. ALICE I think Sheila's more interested in dissecting bodies than just admiring them. DEBBIE Give her time. Beauty is skin deep. SHEILA Deb, you're hopeless. Later in life you'll appreciate my motto: mind over matter. Sheila gathers her books. Alice starts cleaning the table nearby as Rick and Kristen walk in. They startle Alice. RICK (urgently) Alice, you think you can leave? ALICE What's wrong? RICK Kincaid and Joey died last night. ALICE What? Over at the next table, Dan sees Rick. DAN (yells) Hey, Rick! RICK (to the girls) Excuse me, ladies. I'll just be a moment. Rick takes off for the table. Alice and Kristen huddle closer. ALICE Kristen, what happened? KRISTEN You'll hear all kinds of stories. They'll tell you it was murder, but it wasn't. Alice tries to comfort Kristen who is now crying. KRISTEN (cont'd) How could I let him get them? Kincaid, the badass motherfucker with the heart of gold. And Joey, shy, sweet Joey. So shy and so oversexed. Kristen smiles through her tears. Good memories. KRISTEN (cont'd) We were a team. Alice is speechless. Suddenly Kristen turns hard. KRISTEN (cont'd) (steely) I'm gonna get that sonofabitch. ALICE Who? Kristen doesn't seem to hear her. KRISTEN (yelling) Rick! C'mon! We gotta go now! Rick comes over with Dan who looks concerned. KRISTEN (cont'd) Before it's too late. INT. RICK'S CAR - DAY Dan's seated in the backseat. He looks slightly silly sitting next to the shy Alice, who's desperately trying not to make eye contact with him. She sneaks little peeks. Debbie is seated in back on the other side of Dan. She's trying very hard to make eye contact with Dan. Rick's in front with Kristen. A conversation is in progress. Kristen is finishing up a story. KRISTEN Now you know who and what Freddy really is. RICK I though Freddy was just an old town story. KRISTEN It's no story. It happened. Freddy's real and he's back. DAN Hey, c'mon! Everybody has nightmares. KRISTEN You don't know what nightmares are. You play by Freddy's rules. Wake up or die. DAN Nice neighborhood. Everyone in the car has been leaning in towards Kristen, engrossed in her story. Rick grows uncomfortable with the crowding, as if he had a strong aversion to tight spaces which we would like to telegraph for later exploitation. RICK Hey, c'mon! Give me some room! I hate tight spaces. Those in the back seat back off. Kristen speaks up. KRISTEN We're here. EXT. ELM STREET HOUSE - LATE AFTERNOON Rick's car and Dan's truck pull up in front of the boarded up, run down house. They get out of their respective cars and meet on the front of the walkway, surrounded by a weed infested front lawn. DAN So, why the haunted house? KRISTEN Kids died there. DAN Huh? RICK (whispers to Dan) I'll tell you later. KRISTEN It's no just a house. It's his home. He's waiting there for me...to dream. RICK It's okay, babe. We're with you. KRISTEN I told you you can't help. This isn't a normal nightmare. I'm doomed. DAN I don't get it. RICK (whispers pulling him aside) Let me talk to you. Alice takes Kristen aside. Continue scene with Dan and Rick. DAN So what's up? What'd I miss? RICK She told us the story of Freddy. It's a town legend. He was a child killer who was freed on a technicality. DAN So? RICK It pissed off a lot of parents. According to Kristen, they hunted him down; roasted him alive. DAN Nice neighborhood. RICK Now it gets weird. She says he comes back in dreams. If he kills you there, you're dead for real. On Kristen and Alice. KRISTEN I'm beginning to feel like an endangered species. Alice is staring at the house. She suddenly speaks, almost to herself. ALICE "Now I lay me down to sleep..." Kristen glances over at Alice who notices Kristen's attention. ALICE (cont'd) The dream master. I think I remember the rhyme. "The master of dreams, my soul I'll keep..." She falters, stops. ALICE (cont'd) Sorry, I forgot the rest. KRISTEN It's okay. It's only a prayer, no good to Freddy's realm. A car's HONKING commands the kids' attention. ELAINE, Kristen's mom, pulls up. She shouts at Kristen from the car. ELAINE Kristen! Get the hell away form that house and get in this car. Andele! Rick, Debbie and Dan walk over to Kristen and Alice. Kristen starts to head for the car. Rick puts a hand on her shoulder. RICK Don't go if you don't want to. I can take care of you. Elaine impatiently HONKS the HORN again. KRISTEN I better go. Rick leans in and gently kisses her. RICK I'll call you tonight. We'll get through this. They are near the curb, Alice stops as something on the walkway catches her attention. There are traces of a chalk drawing on the concrete. Alice bends down and runs a finger across its surface. RICK (O.S. cont'd) Alice? She looks up to Dan and Rick. She starts to join them. Before she goes, she turns and looks back down. The drawing is gone. She stares at the walkway a beat before joining Dan, Rick and Debbie. INT. KRISTEN'S DINING ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON Elaine is silently watching her daughter eat. You could cut the tension with a knife. Finally, Elaine speaks up. ELAINE Something the matter with the cuisine? KRISTEN Well Mom, I'll tell ya, when two of your friends die the same day, you let me know what it does to your appetite. ELAINE You're just tired. Don't think I haven't noticed your not sleeping. That has to stop, honey. Kristen quickly stands, but she's dizzy. She grabs a hold of the table to steady herself, then sits back down again. KRISTEN (concerned) What's wrong with me? ELAINE Your distraught. It'll help... There's a straightened tone in her mother's voice that is making Kristen's eyes open wide. She's starting to understand what's happening. KRISTEN Oh, God...No...What'd you do? Kristen grabs her glass, and pours the last of her milk out onto the table. There's a grainy sediment remaining in the bottom of the glass. When Kristen stands again, she's unsteady on her feet. She tries to brace herself on the back of her chair with one hand, and when she does this, she loses her grip on the empty milk glass and it falls and shatters on the floor. With a wobbling gait, Kristen lurches away from the table. Kristen stumbles around, grabs her mother's purse and dumps its contents on the counter. Fumbling around, she finds a half-full container of prescription capsules. She turns and throws it at Elaine. Pills fly everywhere. ELAINE I'm sorry honey, but... KRISTEN (screaming) Sorry!! Sorry that you and your tennis pals torched this guy who's now after me. In case you haven't been keeping score, it's his fucking banquet, and I'm the LAST COURSE!! ELAINE Honey, we went over this in therapy. KRISTEN Mother, you've just murdered me. Take that to your goddamn therapy... ON DESERTED BEACH Wearing club med beach wear, Kristen is lying on a towel on a beach that runs along the edge of a broad lake. The sun is high and the sky is blue. KRISTEN (cont'd) (softly to herself) Thanks, Alice. She slowly glances around the beach. Down near the water, a LITTLE GIRL is building a SAND CASTLE. When the child turns and looks at her, Kirsten sees that it's the same little girl that she saw drawing a picture on the sidewalk. JUST OFF THE SHORE The glassy surface of the water is unexpectedly broken by FIN- LIKE OBJECTS that rise up and slice through the surf. At first it looks like a shark, but as it gets closer, we can clearly see that it is FOUR BLADES in ascending height. ON THE BEACH Kristen looks back at the Sand Castle, but the little girl is gone. She does not notice the fins. MOVING WITH THE FINS They turn and head straight for shore, directly in line with the Sand Castle and Kristen beyond it. When they reach the shore, they continue straight on, cutting THROUGH THE SAND now instead of the water. ON THE BEACH The knife-like fins move through the sand and enter the front of the Elm Street Sand Castle. At this point, the sand castle CHANGES INTO A SAND CASTLE OF THE ELM STREET HOUSE, then EXPLODES, revealing: Freddy, squinting against the harsh sunlight. Freddy pops on a pair of Ray-Bans. He smiles as he steps forward and stands over Kristen, his backlit form is towering above her. FREDDY Time to turn, or else you'll burn! Kristen is sunken halfway into the sand, preventing escape. Freddy raises his claw as if to attack Kristen and the shadow of the claw BURNS BLISTERS onto her otherwise pale skin. Freddy saunters over, unaffected by the quicksand. He watches the girl struggle and laughs when her screaming mouth fills with sand as she SINKS BELOW THE SURFACE INT. ELM STREET HOUSE - UPSIDE DOWN DINING ROOM - NIGHT Kristen appears, hanging upside down on all fours on the ceiling of the room. She's disoriented. She starts to get some kind of bearing and starts crawling towards a wall. She makes it and struggles to reach a door. She crawls down the wall and manages to open the door. She flings herself through it. Kristen is horrified to discover that she is back in the boiler room. The place is really strange now. There's a fire and steam all around She realizes she's standing on a catwalk high above the room. She looks around and sees that Freddy is standing in front of a furnace, watching her with a grin on his face. With a defiant cry, Kristen runs at Freddy. She does a series of cartwheels and throws herself at her tormentor, crashing into him. Caught off guard, Freddy stumbles backwards and falls onto the grating. FREDDY Do it til ya dizzy...hahahahaha! KRISTEN We beat you before! FREDDY But you're all alone! Freddy advances on the terrified girl. FREDDY (cont'd) Hey, Kristen! Why don't you call in some help? Freddy closes in. Kristen struggles not to drag anyone in. KRISTEN Never...I'm the last. Freddy's almost on top of her. FREDDY Reach out and touch someone. Freddy raises his claw to slash Kristen. She panics and on a reflex, calls for: KRISTEN ALICE!! Suddenly, Alice comes crashing down ON TOP of them. Kristen is enraged. But Freddy is happy. FREDDY How sweet! Fresh meat! Kristen suddenly SLAPS Alice HARD across the face. KRISTEN Come on!! Wake up and get OUT!! It was a mistake, oh God I'm sorry. Nothing happens, Kristen starts to back up, taking Alice with her. Freddy pulls open his shirt and reveals the TORTURED FACES of the souls of his previous victims. KRISTEN (cont'd) (stepping forward) Leave her alone!!! Freddy grabs Kristen, and as Alice reacts in utter horror, he throws her into a nearby wall in which appears a burning sea of flames. Kristen writhes as she burns. As the flames finish off the doomed girl, a BLAST OF ENERGY shoots out of the steaming furnace and slams into Freddy. His body crackles, he arches his back and seems to grow as he CONTORTS and PULSATES. FREDDY NOW, NO ONE SLEEPS! AHHHH! He starts to advance on the terrified Alice. As Kristen roasts to a fiery death, she calls out to Alice. KRISTEN (pained) You'll need my power... A second bolt of energy flies from Kristen's body inside the furnace and SLAMS into Alice, causing her to glow and shake. Freddy closes in for the kill and is about to slice into Alice. KRISTEN'S SMOLDERING FACE pushes out and emerges onto Freddy's chest. INT. ALICE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Alice sits bolt upright in bed, screaming. She takes a few breathes, gets her bearings then walks towards her vanity. She stares at the mirror. One of the pictures on it is new. It's a snapshot of a beaming Freddy and a terrified Kristen down in the boiler room. Freddy smiles for the camera. Alice stares at it. She turns it over. There's an inscription on the back. It reads FREDDY AND KRISTEN, HELL, 1988. The picture suddenly BURSTS into flames and disintegrates, startling Alice. She looks back at the mirror. The hole the picture has left on the reflective surface allows Alice to see a portion of her face. Her reflection is subtly altered, more enhanced. Rick bursts in. RICK You alright? ALICE (barely a whisper) Kristen... She grabs him and pulls him out of the room. EXT. KRISTEN'S HOUSE - STREET - NIGHT Rick and Alice pull up to Kristen's house and get out of Rick's car. EXT. KRISTIN'S HOUSE - NIGHT The dancing orange of flames can be seen in Kristen's upstairs bedroom window. Rick and Alice charge into the house. RICK (calling out) Kristen! INT. KRISTEN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Rick, Alice and Elaine enter the room. The bed is in a blaze of FLAMES. The last of Kristen is just a CHARRED ARM. EXT. SCHOOL - DAY Rick is sitting on a bench wearing dark sunglasses. The oriental bandana ties tightly around his forehead. He's in mourning. Seated around him are Alice, who's dressed a bit like Kristen, Debbie and Dan. Silence surrounds them. Each is respectful of Rick's mood. DAN Hey man, we're all sorry... RICK She knew she was gonna die. DEBBIE You mean it was like, suicide? Dan cuts in, not letting Debbie finish her sentence. DAN I thought it was an accident. Smoking in bed. ALICE It was no suicide. It was not an accident. It was Freddy, and he's coming back for seconds, thirds, and fourths. DEBBIE Come on, Freddy's not real. She couldn't have been serious? DAN I mean, you can't really believe that. ALICE I was there in the dream. He took her. It was awful. It was awful... DAN "In her dream"? Alice gets up and abruptly walks away from the bench. Rick takes off his glasses and watches his sister go. RICK Something's very wrong here. DEBBIE What? RICK For a minute she...well, reminded me of Kristen. DAN Weren't they close? A beat. RICK Not that close. INT. GIRL'S RESTROOM - DAY Alice stares at her reflection for a few moments. She studies it. She leans in real close to the mirror's surface. She takes out a cigarette, sticks it in her mouth and lights it by striking a match against her thumbnail, eerily reminiscent of Kristen. She takes a drag and COUGHS violently. She quickly stamps it out. She looks into the mirror. ALICE I don't smoke. (beat) Kristen, what did you do to me? Sheila enters the restroom, heads for a faucet next to Alice, and immediately splashes her face with cold water. Alice watches her. She gets a look at Sheila's tired face. SHEILA Ohhhhbaby, I am dead on my feet. ALICE We have matching luggage. SHEILA What? Again, reminiscent of Kristen, Alice points to a spot under Sheila's eye. ALICE You've been up all night? SHEILA That obvious, huh? ALICE Then you saw him, too? SHEILA Saw who? I was up all night cramming for this physics test, and I was putting this little baby together. Look... Sheila reaches into her purse and withdraws a small, neat looking gadget, not unlike a joy buzzer, only this means business. She squeezes it and it emits a HIGH-PITCHED WHINE. SHEILA (cont'd) You know how Debbie's afraid of bugs? I made this for her. Ultra high sound waves. Makes 'em run screaming their antenna off. Sheila collects herself and starts to leave. SHEILA (cont'd) See ya in class. She exits, leaving Alice alone in the rest room. INT. PHYSICS CLASSROOM - DAY The STUDENTS are sitting at their desks, waiting for the dreaded exam. Sheila starts to wheeze a little, but she takes a hit off of her aspirator, and that settles her down. She looks exhausted. While the TEACHER places test papers face down in front of each of the students, Sheila checks out her CLASSMATES. Alice and Rick are there, and so is Dan. When the teacher finally gets to Sheila, he drops the test in front of her, giving her a little slap on the back. The teacher glances up at the clock above the blackboard, then turns to the students. TEACHER Alright...you have forty minutes. Good luck and go to it. Test papers are turned over. The examination has begun. Concentration, scribbling, thinking, cheating, satisfaction, and despair. It's all there. Sheila is staring at her paper. She holds her eyes open wide. They slowly shut, for a second. She recovers and opens her eyes wide again. She stares back at the paper. INT. PHYSICS CLASSROOM - DAY (DREAM BEGINS) ON THE TEST The equations dance about on the page like acrobats. Sheila blinks in confusion, yet they still move. She takes a look around. All the other students are working, including Alice. Sheila's pen is poised over her paper, her eyes get heavy, her head droops forward, but she again snaps to with a start. She shakes her head and looks down at her test. Sheila puts her pencil to paper and tries to fill in an answer, but no writing appears on the paper. Blinking again, the equations on the page start to dance. Slowly the letters start to form words again. They spell out LEARNING IS FUN WITH FREDDY. Sheila shakes her head and looks around. Then she looks down at her page where a drop of blood splatters. Her pen is leaking blood. Alice, awake, turns and notices Sheila's troubles. No one else in the classroom reacts. Sheila tries to clean the blood with her hand, making an even bigger mess. Then HER HAND PUSHES RIGHT INTO THE DESK. She struggles to free it, but she's pulled even further. Suddenly she pulls it free, looks around, relieved. The tension mounts, then suddenly a mechanical beastie type claw- thing jumps out of the desk and grabs hold of Sheila's arm. She yells. Alice turns and sees Sheila struggling. Alice starts to rise when a bar shoots out across her lap and straps her in. She struggles to help Sheila. But all the other students are calmly involved in the test. Sheila looks forward at the teacher's desk. Freddy sits at the table, peeling an apple with a claw. FREDDY School's out. Finally Sheila pulls her arm free, but the bar slips around her waist, entrapping her. Freddy heads down the aisle. Sheila's breathing all but stops. She tries to scream, but can only choke and wheeze. FREDDY (cont'd) Suck me sideways...Save your breath. Freddy yanks Sheila to him and kisses her hard on the mouth and begins to suck, literally drawing the air from her lungs. The Freddy-created-vacuum is intense. Sheila's ribs are drawn into themselves and CRACK IN HALF. Her body is imploding as her insides, life essence, is sucked completely dry. Young skin now cracked and peeling brown. The rind you throw away. Freddy lets go of Sheila's shell and it drops to the desk with a dusty THUD. FREDDY (cont'd) Sorry, you fail. Freddy turns to the terrified Alice. He walks over, screeching his talons on the blackboard. INT. PHYSICS CLASSROOM - DAY (BACK TO REALITY) Suddenly, Freddy is gone and Sheila is lying across her desk, choking for air, while the teacher and students gather around. Alice fumbles with Sheila's inhalator, forcing it into her mouth, but Sheila's head just droops to one side. Dead. Alice is suddenly hit by a JOLT. She recovers after a shaky moment. Sheila's home-made zapper falls out of one pocket and falls on the floor. Alice quickly scoops it up. Rick, Dan and Debbie surround her. Alice starts to freak. ALICE Didn't you see it? He was here. They all stare at her strangely. Rick leads her carefully from the classroom, supporting her exhausted body. The other students file out. STUDENT The test wasn't that bad... EXT. SCHOOL - DAY School's been let out for the day and dozens of STUDENTS are standing around the parking lot, watching the paramedics lift a nylon sheet-covered body into a waiting ambulance. Sheila's friends watch in silence as the vehicle pulls away. A BURP OF SIREN to part the crowd of teens. DEBBIE (fighting tears) Asthma attack...what 17-year old has a fatal asthma attack? She was gonna be a doctor. ALICE It was Freddy. DEBBIE Enough of that crap. ALICE I saw it. It was my dream. I brought Sheila in... A horrible realization dawns on Alice. ALICE (cont'd) Oh God, I brought her in, like Kristen did with me... Rick tries to help, touches. RICK C'mon... Alice breaks free, leaves. ALICE No, don't! I gave Sheila to him and now she's dead! DAN Kristen's story really got to her. RICK I'm not so sure it's a story. I mean, look around, we're dropping off like flies here. INT. ALICE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Alice empties her pockets on her vanity table. She comes up with Sheila's gadget. She begins to tinker with it, she hefts it, sizes it up. She sets it down and looks up at the mirror. She hesitantly reaches out and pulls another photo off the mirror, revealing more of her reflection. It's a picture of her and Sheila, she puts it down. Alice's image is prettier, stronger. She HEARS A NOISE from downstairs and leaves her room to investigate. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT (DREAM) Alice enters the kitchen. ALICE Rick? Alice flicks on the lights. She gasps. Her father is sitting at the table. He looks up at her, smiles warmly. JOHNSON Hi. I heard about what happened at the school. I guess I haven't been very much of a father through this. Alice shrugs. ALICE It's not your fault. JOHNSON Nah, I've been using that excuse since your mother died. He crosses to the fridge, opens the door, and bends down to take a look. The door blocks Alice's and our view of him. JOHNSON (cont'd) But I promise honey, I'll make things better for you... The fridge door SLAMS shut, revealing Johnson. JOHNSON (cont'd) Now if I could only kick the habit. He's holding an oversized martini glass. His face looks like the worst case of alcoholic deterioration. Blood seeps from burst blood vessels in his eyes, his nose is red and lined and warped. He's wearing Freddy's sweater. He takes a swig off the huge Vodka bottle. He vomits up blood as he speaks. JOHNSON (cont'd) (Freddy's voice) Where's dinner? INT. ALICE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Alice bolts awake in bed, sweaty and short of breath. Rick bursts in and hits the light. RICK I heard you screaming. Was it a bad one? ALICE It was bad. RICK Doesn't the dream master work for you anymore? ALICE I can't find him. Rick notices Sheila's gadget on the vanity. It looks like it's been taken apart and modified. It looks nastier. He picks it up. RICK Hey, since when do you play Thomas Edison? This looks like Sheila's. ALICE It is...was. It's a zapper, it might help me stay awake. RICK Yeah, or turn you into toast. Alice goes and takes it from him. She hangs it on the mirror frame by its wires. ALICE I can't go back to sleep again. RICK I haven't slept much either. Since Kristen... Alice looks sympathetically at her brother. ALICE I miss her, too. She gave me her ability but I don't know how to use it. I can bring people into my dream, but I can't protect them. Alice looks straight at her brother. ALICE (cont'd) Freddy lives in my dreams, Rick. Like he did with Kristen. My dreams, the one thing I had to myself. RICK We'll figure it out. ALICE Figure it out?!?! I'll be insane before I figure it out. The only thing I'm sure of is that I can't go to sleep. Not while he's using me. RICK Then we'll stay up together. INT. CRAVE INN - NIGHT Alice is standing behind the diner's counter. Adding up the night's receipts near the cash register. Her waitress uniform is spotted with stains, evidence of a hard day. She finishes up the receipts and closes the cash register. She then pours coffee grounds into a cup of black coffee as if it were sugar. She stirs it halfheartedly and drinks it down. Dan suddenly walks in and heads for the counter, about to place an order to go. He sees that it's Alice behind the counter, and is surprised. DAN Hey, how ya doin'? Alice looks up. From the look of her, she's not doing that well. Dan is taken a bit aback by her appearance. DAN (cont'd) Haven't seen you around lately. ALICE I've been working double shifts. DAN Extra money, huh? ALICE Look, you know why, you just don't believe me. Dan looks around and leans in to her. DAN No offense, or anything, but it's kind of hard to swallow. ALICE The story is, the deaths you can't argue with. Alice's eyes well up. She begins to come unraveled. ALICE (cont'd) I don't know what to do. I can't stop it. Why doesn't he just kill me? DAN How long have you been awake? ALICE Three days. Dan lets this sink in. Alice becomes embarrassed and self- conscious under Dan's scrutiny. ALICE (cont'd) Don't you understand? Every time I sleep, someone might die. DAN Alright, let's assume this whole thing is true. Why does Freddy all of a sudden need you? ALICE Kristen was the last child left of the people who killed Freddy. Maybe Freddy can't get to new kids without someone like me. Someone to bring them to him. Dan and Alice are both silent for a moment. They look at each other. Dan reads the mix of emotions on Alice's face: guilt, shame, anger, exhaustion. He's about to say something when a sudden voice calls out. Dan's date, a pretty and polished CHEERLEADER TYPE, appears at the door. GIRL Danny, we're going to be late for the drive-in! Dan is embarrassed, so is Alice, who's also jealous. ALICE I have to get back. Alice hurries off to the kitchen as Dan watches in frustration. INT. BOYS' LOCKER ROOM - DAY Dan and a BUDDY are suiting up for practice. BUDDY Ninety-three days until summer. DAN What's the matter man, getting tired? BUDDY No, I'm getting worried. Let's see if we survive until summer. It's been open season this semester. Pretty weird stuff. Dan and his buddy spot Rick entering and sit down on one of the benches. BUDDY (cont'd) Speaking of weird, you gotta feel for that guy. Dead girlfriend and a basket case sister. Dan angrily reacts to this. He shoves the buddy up against the lockers. DAN Hey! Learn to shut up, asshole! Dan heads for Rick. He sits down next to him. DAN (cont'd) You look wasted. RICK Been up with Alice. DAN How she doing? I ran into her last night. RICK She's blaming herself for Sheila. I know how it feels. I've been thinking about Kristen. Maybe I could've stopped it, if I'd listened. DAN About Freddy? RICK What else? You ever look over this town's history? Not a safe place to be a teenager. Anyway, if I'm next, watch your back. Dan smiles at the gallows humor. The coach bellows into the locker room. COACH (O.S.) Hey you bozos, up and out! NOW!! As Dan and the other boys head out to PE class, Rick detours to... INT. LOCKER ROOM TOILET AREA - DAY Rick heads to a stall. INT. LECTURER'S CLASSROOM - DAY Alice is struggling to stay awake in a back row of the class. At the front, a typical high school lecturer drones on in boring monotone. We hear the words from Alice's point of view as they distort as she gets closer and closer to falling asleep. LECTURER Every society, dating back to the ancients, has had theories regarding dreams, what they mean, how to control them. Aristotle believed that during sleep you soul roams free. What it sees are dreams. Skilled dreamers control what they see. There is a theory that there are two gates your soul can enter, one a positive gate, the other a negative. The dreammaster guards the positive gate and protects its sleeping host. There are fewer theories about the negative gate... INT. TOILET STALL - DAY Rick sits on the toilet. He looks up in surprise when the door begins to rattle. A bunch of girls in cheerleading costume suddenly barge in. They look down at Rick and laugh as he struggles to pull up his trousers. Suddenly the room begins to shake. Rick looks around and sees the room transform into an elevator. Buttons push out of the walls and the doors change. INT. ELEVATOR - DAY One of the girls pushes button #13. The elevator shoots up. Rick is astonished. The doors open and the girls shove out. Rick can see Alice among the girls. She is pushing forward, trying to go help him. She disappears in the crowd. Rick looks around at: INT. HELLISH BATHROOM - NIGHT Rick looks ahead into the hellish bathroom. In front of him he sees the familiar back of Kristen. She leans over the sink, looking in the mirror. The mirror image speaks to him. KRISTEN C'mon, Rick. Make me laugh. Rick steps forward to go to Kristen. She turns, revealing her face is a burned horrific mess. Kristen laughs evilly. Rick reels back into the elevator. INT. ELEVATOR - DAY The doors slam shut in Rick's face. Suddenly the elevator is rocketed downward. Rick holds on for his life. The buttons sequence faster and faster until they are a blurry glow. Through the elevator speaker comes Freddy's voice. FREDDY (V.O.) Going down. Women's wear, lingerie, cutlery, butcher knives. China... The elevator comes to sudden halt, Rick is thrown to the ground by the impact. He gets up and looks around as the door opens into: INT. CHINESE LIVING AREA - DAY A pristine clean Chinese room (a la living quarters in Chinese Ghost Story) - tatami mattes, white and colored screens, open, light and airy. Rick steps out tentatively. He scans the room suspiciously, then more calmly. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Rick is hurtled backward as if kicked by an invisible opponent. RICK What the... Freddy's voice is heard. FREDDY (O.S.) A true warrior, Rick-san, needs no eyes. Rick is kicked again and floored. He stands, now angry. He flails around at the air, then is hit again. RICK Come out and fight me, you chicken shit. Freddy's laugh is heard. FREDDY (O.S.) Ninja warriors have calm. Find your balance, Rick. Rick is hit again and thrown back against a screen which breaks. He stands up slowly, with ultimate concentration. He turns quickly as if with radar. Suddenly he kicks back at the air and connects. A resounding thump is heard. He progresses forward in a series of karate moves all of which connect soundly and quickly with the invisible force. RICK Too wimpy to show yourself, Krueger? Well, how's this for balance? With extra strength, Rick kicks out in the air. He connects hard and suddenly Freddy's glove appears out of thin air and lands on the floor as if kicked off by Rick's power. Rick stops and stares at the glove on the ground. He laughs victoriously. RICK (cont'd) Hahaha. You superhero. How you gonna get me without your weapon? You're dead meat. Rick looks down as Freddy's laugh resounds through the room. Suddenly the glove jumps up in the air and goes straight for Rick, reaming him in the stomach. Rick falls over - dead. FREDDY Hari-kari to you and your balance, boy. Sayonara, Rick-san. INT. LECTURER'S CLASSROOM - DAY Alice wakes up with a jolt. She's HIT by an incredible force and her entire seat shakes off its bolts. Students next to her back away. She SMASHES her desk top with her fist, sending bits of wood and metal flying. She lets out a soul-crushing CRY. ALICE Nooooo!!!! The windows in the hall SHATTER. Alice runs out of the hall. INT. LOCKER ROOM TOILET AREA - DAY The coach ENTERS the room and calls out. COACH Hey, Johnson! Let's go!! THE CAMERA TRACKS past the Coach to the empty stalls, stopping as we see Rick's twisted hand lifeless on the tile floor. EXT. ON THE ELM STREET GRAVES - DAY Dan is walking by a series of graves. They bear the names of NANCY THOMPSON, DONALD THOMPSON, ROLAND KINCAID, JOSEPH PETERSON and finally, KRISTEN PARKER. Dan stands before the graves of Freddy's victims. A wind RUSTLES the leaves in the trees above his head. DAN And then there were none. EXT. ELM STREET CEMETERY - DAY Yet another funeral is taking place in Springwood. Mourners gather around the grave site. Johnson stands before the grave, disheveled, unshaven, a wreck. There are a few teens, classmates of Rick. Alice and Debbie stand off to the side. Alice is clutching Rick's oriental bandana tightly in one hand. Debbie is sobbing softly. Alice is cold blue steel. She's wearing Rick's dark sunglasses. EXT. RICK'S GRAVE - DAY (DAYDREAM) Begin Daydream. Rick hops out of his coffin with athletic ease. He's dressed in his best suit. He looks very happy. He strolls over to Alice, who takes off her sunglasses and stares at him. No one else notices. RICK Great goof, huh? They think I'm dead. I love it! Alice starts to gently cry. Rick reaches out and wipes a tear away. RICK (cont'd) Hey, you know I wouldn't leave you all alone. This was just to fool Freddy. I'm here. Alice stares at him, longingly. Finally she shakes her head 'no'. DAN (O.S.) Alice...Alice? The sound of Dan's VOICE BREAKS THE DAYDREAM. Alice blinks twice before she realizes that Dan is really talking to her. DAN (cont'd) Are you okay? ALICE Not really. DAN Is there something we can do? ALICE I don't think so. I guess this is my own war. DEBBIE No it isn't. We all gotta survive. She pumps up. DEBBIE (cont'd) I don't spend hours working out to let some damn nightstalker beat me. ALICE You don't really get it. He's not a nightstalker. It'll take more than bench presses to beat him. DAN Why can't we just talk to the authorities? ALICE Yeah, right. Let's trade death by Freddy for life in a rubber room. Adults won't see it. They can't. DAN Then what else can we do? ALICE Try what other kids did. Keep each other awake. We'll meet at Debbie's tonight. At least if we don't sleep he can't get us. DAN Who? DEBBIE I know just the guy. Dan shrugs and leaves with her. INT. ALICE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Alice hangs Rick's oriental bandana on the mirror, next to Sheila's gadget. She places Debbie's studded bracelet on the vanity table. Alice looks at herself in the mirror. Something catches her eye. She takes another picture off the mirror's surface. It's a picture of her and Rick. She looks up, she can see more of herself. She's quite beautiful now, and there's a surety and strength in her eyes. She stares at her reflection. She's brought Rick's nun-chucks up from the garage. She begins to go through some moves with them. Slowly at first, she builds to a blinding speed. She watches herself in the mirror. Alice GASPS and drops the sticks. She walks to the mirror, and places a hand on it. ALICE (scared) What's happening to me? INT. DEN - NIGHT Johnson is slumped in a chair watching a soundless TV. As Alice ENTERS, dressed to leave, he rises to stop her. JOHNSON No, you're not leaving this house. He stands in front of her, slightly menacing. ALICE Get out of my way you pathetic lush. JOHNSON Honey, I may be a drunk, but I want you here. We're all we have... Alice softens. ALICE Dad, please... Johnson lapses into a drunken monologue. JOHNSON Nope, gonna watch you, didn't watch him, lost him, won't lose you...you're stayin' in... Alice waits a moment, then reaches out and puts a hand on her father's face. She holds it there a second. JOHNSON (cont'd) You're becoming beautiful, I never noticed before... Johnson clumsily backs up and pours another drink. Alice heads back upstairs. EXT. STREET CORNER - NIGHT (STREET #2) Dan waits for Alice, he's leaning up against a street lamp. DAN All the towns in America, I had to move to the Bermuda triangle. INT. DEBBIE'S ATTIC - NIGHT The room has been outfitted to serve as her gym. It is equipped with free weights, and a weight bench. Debbie greets, dressed in sweats, yawns. Looks at her watch. She looks tired. INT. ALICE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Alice is seated on her bed, she's staring at her mirror. She gets up and crosses to the window. She opens it and climbs out. EXT. ALICE'S HOUSE - NIGHT Alice climbs out of the window and maneuvers down to the street in a duplication of the moves we saw earlier from Rick. EXT. STREET CORNER - NIGHT Alice reaches Dan's corner, he's gone. She looks around, no one in sight. Frustrated, she walks off and turns a corner. EXT. MOVIE THEATER - NIGHT Alice turns the corner and in an abrupt, sudden change of setting she finds herself in the middle of a run down, seedy urban street. It's empty, just blackened store fronts. Alice spies the glowing marquee of a movie theater at the end of the street. EXT. BOX OFFICE - NIGHT Alice reaches the B.O. She takes a ticket from the attendant and wanders in. INT. BALCONY - NIGHT Alice takes a seat in the fifth row. She has a box of popcorn and a soda. There are other patrons scattered about the balcony. We can't see their faces. Alice settles in. She starts to watch the movie. She scoops a mouthful of popcorn. INT. ON THE MOVIE SCREEN - NIGHT (STOCK FOOTAGE OF REEFER MADNESS) Stoned patrons campily cavort and dance to the diner's jukebox in a scene from REEFER MADNESS. INT. MOVIE THEATER - BALCONY - NIGHT Alice sips her drink, adjusts herself. Something about the film is making her uncomfortable. INT. ON THE MOVIE SCREEN - NIGHT But it's not as we know it from earlier scenes. It's the CRAVE-INN of the future. A beaten-down forgotten mutt of a place. All peeling paint and flapping canvas awning. We watch as the lights in the diner SWITCH ON and a wind kicks up, blowing tumbleweeds and newspapers across the front of the diner. Suddenly, the front doors are blown off their hinges and wind picks up. It whistles as the air becomes thick with dust and debris. INT. MOVIE THEATER - NIGHT As the wind whips over Alice, her popcorn scatters like a white rain. Her drink is pulled out of her hand by the wind's force. INT. ON THE MOVIE SCREEN - NIGHT Now hurricanes speeds are pounding the diner, the wind getting stronger and stronger as... INT. MOVIE THEATER - BALCONY - NIGHT Alice is standing, fighting the wind that's pulling her to the edge of the balcony. She tries to grab her seat, clawing fingers ripping into seatbacks, only to slip away. Alice is lifted off her feet and sucked right over the balcony by the wind. She just manages to grab the balcony's edge and hold on, legs swinging free, trying to crawl back up... The wind beating her back. ALICE (screaming) Noooooo! suddenly, one of Alice's shoes is pulled right off her foot and FLIES ACROSS THE AUDITORIUM into INT. ON THE MOVIE SCREEN - NIGHT As Alice's shoe hits the movie screen and PASSES THROUGH. We see it roll across the floor of the diner. INT. MOVIE THEATER - BALCONY - NIGHT The wind is stronger still and Alice is struggling to maintain her grip on the balcony. The other patrons just sit in their seats, watching. Alice manages to hoist herself up just a bit in order to see the faces of the others in the theater. They're all blank looking pasty-faced people with death-like visages. Alice SCREAMS as a gust of wind rips her from the balcony and sends her FLYING ACROSS THE AUDITORIUM, passing through the movie screen. EXT. CRAVE INN - DAY Alice tumbles into the shot, landing in front of the diner's exterior. Wind and debris blow, boards fly off the structure as she struggles to her face. INT. CRAVE INN - DAY (DREAM) ALICE'S POV OF INT. MOVIE THEATRE - NIGHT Alice makes her way into the diner. She looks back. The movie screen is behind her and beyond it is the auditorium. INT. CRAVE INN DINER - DAY (DREAM) ALICE'S POV OF INT. MOVIE THEATER - BALCONY - NIGHT She sees her zombie-like theater PATRONS, their death-like faces displaying emotionless vacuums as they clap. INT. CRAVE INN DINER - DAY Alice turns and looks around the diner. It's in just as bad shape inside as it was out. It may be open for business, but there are no customers to be seen. A single WAITRESS is standing behind the barren counter. Alice walks across to the counter, and settles onto a stool. The waitress steps over, and slides a tattered menu in front of her. Alice studies the woman for a moment. Something about her is familiar. It makes the girl uneasy. In her sixties, the waitress looks like she's worked every day of her life. Her hair is streaked with gray, and there are deep pockets under her eyes. She seems to be the kind of person whose life has passed her completely by. WAITRESS What'll it be? Alice doesn't answer. WAITRESS (cont'd) (impatiently) C'mon, honey. I don't want to be here forever. Alice notes the waitress' name badge: ALICE The waitress turns and heads down to the end of the counter. As the woman walks away, Alice swivels on her stool to watch her go. Alice is startled to discover that another PATRON is now sitting next to her. IT'S FREDDY. FREDDY If the food don't kill ya, the service will, hahaha! The waitress brings over a piping hot pizza. She places it in front of Freddy. INT. CRAVE INN DINER - DAY ON THE PIZZA It has large pepperonis, only they're not pepperonis, they're faces. Screaming miniature faces. The faces of Kristen, Sheila and Rick. FREDDY Ahhhh! The usual! Alice reacts in horror to the death-pizza. The faces cry out to her. Their voices are high and squeaky, as you'd expect miniature voices to be. The effect would be comical if it wasn't so torturous. FACES Free us, Alice! Free us!! Freddy tears the Rick face off the pizza and pops it in his mouth. Alice gets up to run but Freddy grabs her by the throat. FREDDY I love SOUL FOOD! Bring me more!! Alice tries not to, but a WHOOSH tells us that she's dragged someone in. Alice looks back towards the movie theater. It's gone. What we see is Debbie's attic. INT. CRAVE INN DINER - DAY (DREAM) ALICE'S POV Debbie's attic. Debbie is dozing on her weight bench. INT. CRAVE INN - DAY Freddy CACKLES triumphantly. He turns to Alice. FREDDY Your shift is over. INT. ALICE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The sudden HONKING of a passing car HORN awakens Alice. She sits for a moment in confusion before clearing her head. She rushes out, using the window as before. INT. ATTIC - NIGHT Debbie opens her eyes. She rubs them tiredly then looks around and reaches for the bar bell. EXT. STREET CORNER - NIGHT Dan's waiting with his truck on the corner. Alice comes running up. ALICE C'mon, we have to hurry. I'm driving. She hops into the driver's seat and starts it up. Dan has no time to object. He hops in and they SCREECH off. INT. ATTIC - NIGHT Debbie's working up a real sweat, pressing a good sized bar bell. Up and down, several repetitions. She's listening to a portable stereo, which is plugged into the wall. Her hands almost slip. But Debbie catches herself and continues to press. INT. DAN'S TRUCK - NIGHT Alice is driving like a demon. Dan straps on the seatbelt. ALICE He's going after Debbie, I gotta stop him. DAN Hey, you're not alone. We have to stop him, I'm with you. ALICE You just feel sorry for me. DAN Cut that shit out. Maybe before, but not now. I want to help you. I'm on your side. EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET - NIGHT The truck barrels down the street, shaking with the speed. INT. DAN'S TRUCK - NIGHT DAN As long as your driving doesn't kill us. ALICE It's okay, we're just about there. INT. ATTIC - NIGHT As Debbie extends the weights we can SEE FREDDY KRUEGER'S REFLECTION in the steel barbells. Debbie brings the weights down and up again and Freddy is gone. Debbie slips the barbell into the resting place so she can catch her breath. She cracks her knuckles. Suddenly, we see one of Freddy's claws out the stereo box. Debbie reacts with puzzlement. INT. DAN'S TRUCK - NIGHT Alice turns a corner, heading for the house. ALICE Here we are. EXT. DEBBIE'S HOUSE - NIGHT The truck is about to pull into Debbie's driveway. Before it can, we SMASH CUT TO: EXT. STREET CORNER - NIGHT Alice and Dan are right back where they started from. Dan waits by the truck, Alice runs up. ALICE C'mon, we have to hurry. I'm driving. Dan hops in and they take off. They don't know they're experiencing special Freddy-deja vu. INT. ATTIC - NIGHT Debbie CRACKS the knuckles on the other hand and goes to grab the weight. AS she reaches up, FREDDY'S HANDS are already there. Freddy starts to force the bell down on Debbie's throat and she begins to struggle against it. DEBBIE (straining) I don't believe in you... FREDDY I believe in you... Straining hard to keep the weight from crushing her... Freddy laughs as he exerts more pressure and Debbie can only close her eyes and SCREAM in pain as her ELBOWS SNAP in two. Cracked in half, bone tearing through the flesh and muscle. FREDDY (cont'd) (laughing) No pain, no gain! INT. DAN'S TRUCK - NIGHT Alice is driving like a lunatic. All is as it was before. ALICE He's going after Debbie. I gotta stop him. INT. ATTIC - NIGHT Debbie forces herself to her feet, broken arms hanging limp at her side. Insect like claws emerge out of the breaks in her arms. Her human flesh flops to the floor. She ducks as Freddy heaves the barbell into the mirrors in the attic. He starts advancing on her, claws CLICKING. Debbie looks up to Freddy with a pathetic DEBBIE Give me back my BODY!!! INT. DAN'S TRUCK - NIGHT Alice turns a corner, heading for a house. ALICE Here we are... EXT. DEBBIE'S HOUSE - NIGHT Once again, as she's about to pull into Debbie's driveway, we suddenly SMASH CUT TO EXT. STREET CORNER - NIGHT Once again, Dan waits by his truck, Alice runs up. ALICE C'mon, we have to hurry. I'm driving. Dan hops in, as before. They SCREECH OFF. INT. ATTIC - NIGHT Debbie, now even more insect-like, runs toward a small door at the other side of the attic. INT. GROWING ATTIC - NIGHT But the door SEEMS TO GROW LARGER AND LARGER the closer Debbie gets to it! As we see Debbie, she's tiny. INT. DAN'S TRUCK - NIGHT Alice drives like a lunatic. ALICE He's going after Debbie. I gotta stop him. DAN You know, I get the weirdest feeling we've been through this before. Alice throws him a puzzled, confused look. It may be dawning on them. INT. ROACH MOTEL - NIGHT The room is now a strange white space, flat and dull. Debbie tries to make her way across but her feet start sticking to the gooey floor. Like the thickest glue. Debbie struggles to free herself, but as she pulls, she falls over, her face sticking to the goo. It RIPS her flesh to reveal an insect face. A roach trapped. INT. DAN'S TRUCK - NIGHT For the third time, Alice is turning the corner headed towards Debbie's driveway. ALICE Here we are. DAN Something's wrong here. It feels like... EXT. DEBBIE'S HOUSE - NIGHT Alice is about to pull in, then BAM, SMASH CUT TO: EXT. STREET CORNER - NIGHT You guessed it. Dan waits as Alice comes running up. ALICE AND DAN (simultaneously) C'mon, we have to hurry. I'm driving. Alice stares at Dan. ALICE Oh God, I'm still asleep. He's got us going in circles. They hop in and take off. INT. ROACH MOTEL -NIGHT Debbie, now more roach than girl, sees another struggling roach in the corner. Debbie painfully turns towards the doorway and sees FREDDY'S HUGE EYE PEERING IN. INT. ROACH MOTEL -NIGHT Debbie SCREAMS at the huge FREDDY eye. Freddy stands, laughing, a "roach motel" bug trap in his hand. FREDDY You can check in, but you can't check out! Freddy crushes the trap with a disgusting sound. EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET - NIGHT Dan's pickup truck is racing along. INT. DAN'S TRUCK - NIGHT Alice is suddenly hit with a violent shock. DAN What the hell was that? ALICE (barely whisper) Debbie. She's gone. I've...collected her, like the others. A sudden, blinding brightness hits the truck. There are a pair of incredibly bright headlights coming straight at them. The lights grow brighter still until they are impossibly bright. They burn off to reveal. EXT. ROAD - NIGHT ALICE'S POV Freddy standing defiantly in the middle of the road, laughing maniacally at Dan's on-coming truck. INT. DAN'S TRUCK - NIGHT Alice SLAMS the gas to the floor, murder on her mind. ALICE Alright, asleep or awake, I'm gonna punch his ticket in. EXT. ROAD - NIGHT In the dream, the truck bears down on Freddy, smoke drifts off the tires. We see Alice sneer as the truck passes right through Freddy and SMASHES into a void, an invisible brick wall. The truck's front end gets totaled. Bits of metal and glass fly through the air as the truck crumples, as if it has hit solid stone. EXT. ROAD, REAL WORLD - NIGHT Dan's truck is wrapped around a large tree. Axles and grill work twisted out of place. A spurt of red smears the inside windshield. Alice manages to force open her door and just step out of the truck... ALICE Oh Dan, I'm sorry. GOD, I'M SORRY!!! INT. AMBULANCE - NIGHT The doors swing open and two young PARAMEDICS lift Dan inside on a stretcher. His leg has been bandaged with gauze, but it's bleeding badly. His MOANING tells us he's conscious. Alice climbs in and notices one of the paramedics filling the hypo. He checks it for air bubbles. ALICE What's that do? The paramedic turns toward Dan. PARAMEDIC Relaxes your boyfriend. Alice jerks the paramedic's arm away. ALICE Put the needle down. PARAMEDIC (sarcastic) Sorry doctor, rules is rules. Alice smacks the hypo out of the paramedic's hands. It SHATTERS against the wall of the ambulance. ALICE (pure Dirty Harry) He stays awake, those are my rules, understand? The paramedic backs off a bit. He looks at Alice with suspicion. Alice relents a bit. ALICE (cont'd) He's allergic, okay? PARAMEDIC Shoulda said so in the first place. Alice leans in close to Dan, brushes his hair back with her fingers. ALICE (whispers) Don't let them put you to sleep. INT. EMERGENCY ROOM WAITING AREA - NIGHT An intern and a nurse are trying to put Dan to sleep, but he's fighting them back. At least making it difficult. Alice stands by watching as THE DOCTOR, JOHNSON and DAN'S PARENTS run into the ER. Alice charges the doctor. ALICE When do you operate? When does he hit surgery? DOCTOR From the looks of him, probably 15 minutes. The doctor turns his attention to Dan, who's strapped to a gurney. They start to wheel him away. Alice checks her watch. It's a quarter to 10. She has 15 minutes before Dan is forced to sleep. Alice starts after Dan, but Johnson grabs her by the arms and holds her back. JOHNSON Let it be, Alice. They'll help him. Johnson reaches in his pocket for his car keys. ALICE They're gonna kill him. Alice snatches the keys from her father and runs for the swinging EXIT doors. JOHNSON Alice, dammit, get back here. EXT. HOSPITAL - NIGHT Alice jumps in her father's car and cranks it over; burning rubber to back out of the parking lot. Alice drops the car in gear and takes off at top speed, but she SIDESWIPES ANOTHER CAR which is parked next to her. Sparks, metal against metal. Alice BLASTS through the hospital lift-gate before SKIDDING into traffic and screaming away into the darkness. INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY - NIGHT Dan is being wheeled on a gurney. He's struggling to stay awake. EXT. INTERSECTION - NIGHT Alice barrels through a light and fishtails around a corner. INT. CAR - NIGHT Alice grips the wheel. The speedometer is straining. She looks at the dashboard clock. ON THE CLOCK Eight minutes to 10. She has eight minutes left to do something. INT. OPERATING ROOM - NIGHT A NURSE and an ORDERLY lift Dan onto the operating table. The room is being quickly prepped; checking instruments. Doctors scrubbing up. Activity all around. EXT. ALICE'S HOUSE - NIGHT Alice SCREECHES to a halt in front of her house. She bursts out of the car and runs into the house. INT. OPERATING ROOM - NIGHT As the nurses lay out the instruments, Dan is still groggy. The operating room clock tells us Alice has 5 minutes left. INT. DEN - NIGHT As Alice runs through, she passes a gun rack mounted on the wall. She doubles back to it. She regards it. ALICE Couldn't hurt. She opens it and grabs a mean looking mother of a pump- shotgun and a box of shells. INT. OPERATING ROOM - NIGHT We see the oxygen and anesthesia hoses put into place and the gauges register pressure. The ANESTHESIOLOGIST preps the mask for Dan's face. Dan watches, protesting weakly. DAN I'll take the pain...no gas...no gas...have to stay up. He fades out. INT. ALICE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Alice throws the gun and the shells on the bed. She opens a bottle of sleeping pills and pops more than enough for a trip on Freddy express. She starts to load the gun, inserting each shell with vicious precision. She cocks it. ALICE This ends. Now. She walks over to the mirror on the vanity table. Her eyes travel over the tokens she's collected form her friends. She starts to power up. She takes Sheila's gadget, which she's improved, and hangs it around her neck. She takes Debbie's studded bracelet and SNAPS it around her wrist. Lastly, she takes Rick's oriental bandana and ties it like Amazonian around her forearm. She hoists the gun. She likes her reflection in the mirror. Something's very different. The pills are starting to take effect. Alice grabs her forehead. She looks back at the mirror. She's strong, confidant, ready to accept her destiny. With forceful determination, she tears the rest of the pictures off her mirror. What she sees makes her GASP. INT. ALICE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT ON THE REFLECTION It's Alice alright, but everything's turbo-charged. She's leaner, meaner, her clothes are tighter, more battle-like. Everything's accented. The gadget around her neck is now a super high-tech amulet. The bracelet has spikes instead of studs and seems to be made of shining titanium. This is no high school girl. This is no dream warrior. This is the dream master, ancient guardian of the gate of good dreams. Alice speaks to her reflection. ALICE Now I lay me down to sleep. The reflection speaks back. ALICE'S REFLECTION The master of dreams, my soul I'll keep. ALICE In the reflection of my mind's eye. ALICE'S REFLECTION Evil sees itself and it shall DIE!!! ALICE Fuckin' A. Alice looks at the shotgun, which remains the same in the reflection. Next to her supernatural image, it doesn't seem an impressive weapon. ALICE (cont'd) Save it for Rambo. She tosses the gun aside and notices the clock on her vanity table. It's 15 seconds to ten. INT. OPERATING ROOM - NIGHT Suddenly, Dan starts to choke He opens his eyes and sees the doctor standing over him. It's FREDDY in surgical greens, razor-fingers at the ready. Dan pulls the mask from his face and cries out. DAN Freddy!!! FREDDY It ain't Dr. Seuss! Hahahaha! DAN No, Alice! Alice!!! INT. ALICE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Alice HEARS Dan's distant cry. DAN (O.S.) Alice!!! The reflection of the Alice as the dream master has been replaced by the image of the operating room. Alice can see Freddy menacing Dan. ALICE (screaming) Get away from him you SONOFABITCH!!! Alice goes diving headfirst into the mirror. It sucks her in. INT. OPERATION ROOM - NIGHT Alice rolls onto the floor. She now has the image of the DREAM MASTER from her mirror, complete with all the regalia. She's one pissed superhero. She looks around. Freddy's gone. Alice helps Dan off the table, since we're in the dream, his injury is healed. He gets an eyeful of Alice's spectacular new appearance. DAN (astonished) You look great! ALICE Save it for later. Come on! Alice and Dan turn around and run for the doors. Just as they get to them, Freddy throws them open from the other side. On instinct, Dan leaps in front of Alice to confront Freddy. He grabs Dan's fist, holds his arms out and slashes Dan. Once, twice, across the chest. Blood spurts but it's only superficial damage. Alice grabs the sharper of the the surgical instruments and turns on Freddy. ALICE (cont'd) I'll mail your guts back to hell!!! Alice starts to hurl the instruments at Freddy Kung Fu style, with blurring speed and accuracy. Rick would be proud. Alice nails Freddy once, a dozen times in the space of a few seconds. Freddy doubles over, sharp instruments sticking out of every part of him. Alice advances on him and delivers a massive, sharp kick to Freddy's balls. Freddy makes a SOUND that banshees would flee from. Alice grabs Dan and the two plunge through the doors. INT. KALEIDOSCOPE HALLWAY - NIGHT Dan and Alice run into the hallway. But it's no hallway, it's a huge, rotating cylinder. It looks like a hallway, but it's spinning. Dan and Alice immediately become dizzy. At the end of the hallway, there's a large, wall-to-wall sheet of colorful lights. It gives the impression that Dan and Alice are trapped within a huge kaleidoscope. They careen down the hallway and go crashing through the colorful lights, which turn out to be stained glass. Dan and Alice CRASH through a stained glass window without the gurney and land with such tremendous force that even after hitting the floor they don't stop. They skid along the floor, out of control. Keeping Dan's hand in one hand, Alice reaches out and SLAMS her spiked bracelet into the floor. The spikes dig in and serve as her break. They SCREECH across the floor, smoke rises from the grooves they make. Alice digs in deeper and they manage to come to a stop in a pile of broken stained glass. They stand up, just as Freddy appears. FREDDY Welcome to wonderland, Alice! Hahahaha! Dan leaps at Freddy. Freddy slashes him across the chest, superficially, but there's plenty of blood. ALICE Nooo!!! INT. OPERATING ROOM - NIGHT The doctors are working on Dan. Suddenly, blood starts to spurt wildly from his chest. DOCTOR Christ, he's hemorrhaging badly! Close it off and bring him out of it! Hurry! INT. CHURCH - NIGHT Suddenly, the familiar VOICES of the Elm Street CHILDREN begin to chant. They're standing in the choir box. CHILDREN One two, Freddy's coming for you. Three four, better lock your door... Alice rushes to Dan's side. He starts to flicker, like a BAD TV, then he starts to fade. DAN No! Dammit, Alicceeeee..... She reaches for him, but he's gone, his echo remains for a moment. INT. RECOVERY ROOM - NIGHT Dan's beginning to regain consciousness. The doctor stands over him. DOCTOR Relax, son. It was rough, but we pulled you out. DAN (urgent) Put me back under. Please! Put me back! DOCTOR What the hell?? Just a while ago you were screaming not to be put under. DAN Well I changed my mind!!! INT. CHURCH - NIGHT Alice crouches into a fighting position (a la Rick) as Krueger advances, finger-blades flashing. Alice leaps and delivers a perfect kick to Freddy's face, knocking him back. Alice lands on her feet as Freddy lunges for her! Alice jumps over a church pew as Freddy slashes at the air! Alice whirls and kicks Freddy again and again and again. Just pounding him. But Freddy laughs at the blows. FREDDY (contemptuous) You think you got what it takes, I been guarding my gate forever, hahaha! Freddy grabs Alice by the ankle and whirls her around like a rag doll and tosses her away. Alice is thrown the length of the church and CRASHES into the confessional booth; splintered wood and cracking bones. Alice sinks heavy among the debris. She doesn't move. Freddy advances on her. Going in for the kill. Just when he's close enough, Alice springs up. She was playing possum. She reaches out and PUNCHES a hole in the wall behind the debris of the confessional. She pulls out several crackling electric cables. She looks bizarre and powerful framed for a moment in the blue light of the sparkling electricity. She rips off the gadget from around her neck and aims it at Freddy. Freddy LAUGHS at her and it. Alice shoves on of the electric cables into the center of the gadget. It HUMS and BUILDS and GLOWS until a LOUD, incredibly powerful LASER BOLT shoots out of it and hits Freddy square in the chest. A stunned Freddy looks at his mid-section. Quite frankly, it's missing. There's only a gaping, smoking hole through which Alice can see the rest of the church. Alice throws the smoking gadget and cable to the floor. She has no time to savor her temporary victory however. Freddy's playing fill in the blanks with himself. The charred hole in his mid-section begins to fill in. In a matter of seconds, he's whole again. He laughs and starts to advance on Alice. Frustrated, she grabs a huge cross which she handles easily, then charges him. Freddy raises the cross. On one pass, she tears open Freddy's sweater, revealing the faces of the souls trapped within Freddy. She gags at the sight. Freddy seizes the moment and grabs the cross. He tosses it away. Freddy SMACKS Alice across the face. He grabs the back of her head and throws her over him, across the church and into the altar. He advances on her. FREDDY (cont'd) I am eternal... Alice is looking pretty bloody. She tries to fend off Freddy but he smashes her into the opposite wall. She crumples in pain beneath the broken stained glass window she came in through. Freddy's coming for her. His tongue wiggling like a demented Wile E. Coyote about to grab the Road Runner. The kids in the choirs SING OUT. CHILDREN For in the reflection of my mind's eye... The sun rises behind the window the children are standing in front of. The light hits the wall and works it's way to Alice and the floor. Freddy steps into it as he advances. ALICE (remembering) Let evil see itself... Alice looks down and sees a large piece of stained glass. She sees her reflection in it, unbruised, pretty, the true her. She scoops it up and holds it in front of Freddy. The chorus of ghostly kids complete the rhyme with Alice. ALICE AND KIDS And it SHALL DIE! Freddy's about to slice into Alice, he raises his arm. Light hits Freddy off the glass, like a BLAST. He looks at Alice and sees himself, reflected in the glass. He SCREAMS. We PUSH IN on Freddy's SCREAMING reflection, right into his mouth. INT. FREDDY'S BODY - NIGHT We ZOOM down into Freddy's innards which are made up of struggling dead kids. The souls, all trapped and hanging inside Freddy's body, start to break free as they SCREAM and CRY. INT. CHURCH - NIGHT We travel through, then emerge out of FREDDY'S EYE. We PULL BACK to reveal that Freddy's entire body is pulsing and ripping from within. ALICE LET THEM OUT!!!! The trapped souls begin TEARING THROUGH FREDDY'S BODY; flesh and blood erupting in all directions. Freddy's sweater stretches and rips apart. Freddy doubles over as his HEAD BULGES. All the tiny bodies inside him surge upwards. A tiny hand smashes through one eye. Finally, Freddy's head EXPLODES and the freed souls pour out. The force SHATTERS the glass in Alice's hands. She straightens up and watches as the souls swoop around her before ZOOMING out the broken window. ALICE (cont'd) You're dead... All's quiet except for a steady wind that blows the shell of Freddy Krueger and his hat down the church aisle. And out the door. The double doors SLAM SHUT. INT. CHURCH - NIGHT Alice stands alone. She's no longer dressed like dream master. Having fulfilled her mission, she's now just normal Alice again, but retains the newfound beauty and confidence. Alice stands frozen for a moment, then regards her quiet surroundings. ALICE Rest in hell. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. PARK - DAY Dan and Alice are walking through the park, arms around each other. From the look of their healing bruises, it's some weeks later... FADE TO BLACK.