A Quiet Place Page #3

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A NEWBORN BABY BEGINS TO CRY -

EXT. WOODS, PATH - AFTERNOON

-- April gets very still. She turns up the VOLUME on her

hearing aid.

Just faintly, through the high frequency static, we hear the

baby CRYING in the distance.

April stifles her breathing.

The sound of SOMETHING else continues breathing behind her.

OUT OF FOCUS, JUST TEN FEET AWAY, WE SEE IT MOVE SLOWLY

TOWARDS THE SOUNDS.

INT. FARMHOUSE, UPSTAIRS - AFTERNOON

Mia takes the crying baby in her arms. She covers it with a

FLEECE BLANKET, trying to dampen the cries.

John looks out the window at the shed. Wondering how to get

there safely.

AND THAT’S WHEN THEY HEAR THE FLOORBOARDS CREAKING

DOWNSTAIRS. SOMETHING IS INSIDE THE HOUSE WITH THEM.

Tears stream down Mia’s face. A look that says, “It’s too

late. We’re already dead.”

EXT. WOODS, TRACTOR - AFTERNOON

Will arrives at his destination. Out of breath and sweating.

He reaches under a RUSTED-OUT TRACTOR, searching for

something. His hand sweeps back and forth...

...we see a BLACK FUSE just barely out of reach. His fingers

getting

closer

closer

CLOSER!

13.

INT. FARMHOUSE, UPSTAIRS - AFTERNOON

The FOOTSTEPS creep up the stairs. Nails scrape and click

against the wood. They don’t sound human.

EXT. WOODS, TRACTOR - AFTERNOON

Will reaches as far as he possibly can...

...grabs the FUSE and LIGHTS IT. It takes. The spark

disappears under the tractor.

Will immediately starts running back to the house.

INT. FARMHOUSE, UPSTAIRS - AFTERNOON

The FOOTSTEPS stop at the top of the stairs. We can hear the

creature BREATHING now. Wheezy and hollow, like air slowly

being sucked through a straw.

Mia and John stand frozen, too afraid to move. They are

staring at THE SILHOUETTE OF A NIGHTMARE...

IT STANDS ON FOUR LEGS, HUNCHED LOW, PREDATORY AND DANGEROUS.

ITS SKIN DEEP DARK RED - THE COLOR OF DRIED BLOOD.

THERE ARE NO EYES ON THE MONSTER’S FACE. AND AS IT SAUNTERS

TOWARD JOHN AND MIA, WE REALIZE IT CANNOT SEE THEM. IT SIMPLY

HEARS THE BABY’S MUFFLED CRIES.

THE CREATURE’S JAW UNHINGES, AND THEN -

--BA-BOOM!!

EXT. CORN FIELD - AFTERNOON

FIREWORKS EXPLODE over the crops.

April looks up, startled at first. Then smiles, Will pulled

it off!

INT. FARMHOUSE, UPSTAIRS - AFTERNOON

The creature retreats downstairs, pursuing the loud noises

outside.

14.

EXT. WOODS, PATH - AFTERNOON

Will races back towards the farmhouse. Fireworks igniting in

the background as he runs. It would be beautiful if it

weren’t so terrifying.

EXT. CORN FIELD, WEATHER VANE - AFTERNOON

Deep in the corn field, April kneels at the base of an iron

WEATHER VANE that points back toward the farmhouse.

She plugs a RED CABLE into the back of a SPEAKER BOX and...

BOOM! A small electrical explosion knocks her unconscious.

EXT. PORCH - AFTERNOON

Mia and John sneak the newborn out the back.

Mia moves in slow, pained steps. She struggles to stand on

two legs, but musters all her courage to continue.

John motions for Mia to make a run for the shed. He signals a

silent countdown with his fingers...

...three

...two

...one

MIA RUNS FOR IT.

EXT. GRASS FIELD - AFTERNOON

Will peels away a patch of TALL GRASS, revealing a GREY BOX.

He flips a switch on the box.

A RED LIGHT turns on and -

INT. SHED - AFTERNOON

-- a series of MEDICAL MACHINES roar to life inside the shed.

Mia attaches a BREATHING MASK to the infant’s face and places

it in the crib, carefully draping blankets over the baby.

15.

INT. FARMHOUSE, DEN - AFTERNOON

John sneaks through the den. Grabs his MP3 PLAYER. Unplugs

the HEADPHONES.

INT. SHED - AFTERNOON

Will slips into the shed and DEAD BOLTS one door. Leaves the

second open...

EXT. FARMHOUSE - AFTERNOON

John comes out the front door -THE

MONSTER STANDS BETWEEN HIM AND THE SHED.

BETWEEN HIM AND HIS FAMILY.

John looks to his NEWBORN BABY.

His eyes well with joy and fear.

Mia tries to muffle the weeping infant.

The monster senses their presence, but can’t quite place

their exact location.

John walks slowly but urgently to the shed, as -THE

WIND STARTS BLOWING.

THE LEAVES OF THE TREES BEND AND RATTLE.

IT DISGUISES THE SOUNDS OF JOHN’S FOOTSTEPS.

JOHN CLOSES HIS EYES.

FOCUSING ALL OF HIS ENERGY.

DOING HIS BEST TO NOT MAKE A SINGLE SOUND.

THIS IS THE LONGEST WALK OF HIS LIFE.

16.

John is 30 feet away from the shed...

17.

20 feet away...

18.

10 feet...

19.

5...

20.

...SNAP.

21.

John looks down in horror. A BROKEN TWIG under his foot.

The creature whips around. Rears up.

JOHN RUNS FOR IT -THE

MONSTER SCREAMS -

INT. SHED - AFTERNOON

MIA PULLS JOHN INSIDE. JUST BEFORE THE MONSTER LUNGES, WILL

SLAMS THE DOOR CLOSED. DEAD BOLTS THE LOCK.

JOHN RUNS TO THE BACK OF THE SHED, PLUGS THE MP3 PLAYER INTO

THE WALL, FLIPS A SWITCH -

EXT. GRASS FIELD - AFTERNOON

The light on the GREY BOX turns GREEN, and then we hear...

MUSIC:

EXT. CORN FIELD, WEATHER VANE - AFTERNOON

...coming from the SPEAKER BOX at the base of the weather

vane.

EXT. SHED - AFTERNOON

The creature retreats from the shed toward the sounds.

EXT. HILLTOP - AFTERNOON

High above rolling hills under day-blue sky. The farmhouse

just a dot on the horizon.

MUSIC reverberates off the walls of the empty valley.

We hear a HORRIFYING ROAR, and then just as soon as it

started, the music goes SILENT.

...

...

...

Now just wind.

22.

Wind pulsing through dry corn stalks.

The rustles and whispers of dead silence.

INT. SHED - AFTERNOON

The FAMILY holds each other. Emotional and raw.

John pulls away from their tight embrace, slowly realizing...

HIS DAUGHTER IS NOT WITH THEM.

John runs to the door but it’s JAMMED.

He pushes as hard as he can. LOUDLY shoving the padded frame.

Just when the door is about to BURST, Mia grabs John. She

pulls him back as the MONSTROUS FORM returns outside...

LISTENING AND WAITING

FOR EVEN THE:

FAINTEST:

LITTLE:

SOUND:

FADE TO:

DARKNESS:

A bird CHIRPS. Benign at first, growing louder. A single

WARBLE. Then many. We see -

THOUSANDS OF CROWS. Filling the screen with their dimension

and sound. Billowing like an OMINOUS BLACK CLOUD over -

Recently planted CROPS. The crows descend upon fresh SEEDS.

Annihilating the soil. Lightening quick glimpses of -

A Young April. Before she had a HEARING AID. She smiles -

Her father John places a SCARECROW in the field. He wipes

sweat from his forehead. We see -

The TEENAGE GIRL FROM THE POLAROID. She picks April up into

her arms -

23.

APRIL (V.O.)

How come you and daddy don’t talk

anymore?

We’re not sure if this is DREAM, or MEMORY, or SOMETHING ELSE

entirely, and before we can comprehend -

A HUGE CONCUSSIVE BLAST!!!

SECOND ACT:

EXT. CORN FIELD, WEATHER VANE - NIGHT

April’s eyes snap open.

She climbs out from under a pile of dead corn husks.

She is alone. Long deep shadows fall in the maze of corn that

surrounds her. Every direction looks exactly the same. An

eerie chill permeates the cold night air.

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