Ouija

DARKNESS. A low wind stirs from far away...

EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE - NIGHT

No cars in the driveway. A single light on in an upstairs

window. We hear A TEENAGE GIRL’S VOICE.

TEENAGE GIRL (O.S.)

I wanted to talk. I felt like last

night... I don’t know. Things were

starting to get kinda weird between

us.

EASE IN on that upstairs window...

INT. BEDROOM -NIGHT

Glimpse a sliver of A BEDROOM... because we’re looking out

from inside the bedroom closet. The slightly open closet

door keeps us from seeing more.

We stay exactly in this spot throughout...

A teen girl sits on the floor. This is DEBBIE (17). She’s

talking to someone in her room.

DEBBIE:

It was fun for a while, when we

first started playing. But... I

feel like you’ve changed.

EASE OVER SLIGHTLY... able to see a little more of Debbie.

There’s something in front of her on the floor. A GAME

BOARD. Debbie’s fingers touching a heart-shaped wooden piece

on the board.

She’s playing OUIJA with someone. But from where we are

inside the closet, we can’t see who it is.

WE DRIFT UP AWAY FROM THE BOARD now so that we’re just on

Debbie’s face.

DEBBIE (CONT’D)

I mean, you’re still my friend,

right?

Debbie sits there waiting.

DEBBIE (CONT’D)

C’mon. Answer me.

Suddenly, Debbie’s expression shifts. Fear in her eyes.

DEBBIE (CONT’D)

You know what? This is our last

game. I’m not playing ever again.

I want you to leave. Just get out.

2.

MOVEMENT. A DARK SHAPE steps past the crack in the closet.

We hear a THUD and now we are -

IN THE BEDROOM WITH DEBBIE

She sits there alone on the floor, glancing over to the wide

open bedroom door as it comes to a rest against the wall. As

if someone just left the room.

The night wind creaks outside...

Debbie gathers up the Ouija board and planchette and moves

quickly to her closet. She opens the double doors, about to

put the board away when -

--there’s a noise. SCRAPE. Debbie glances over her

shoulder. The room is still empty.

She turns back. Reaching to place the Ouija up on a shelf as

behind her -

-- there’s MOVEMENT in a mirror. Unseen by Debbie, because

she’s still reaching up to put the board away.

The wooden planchette slips and falls, landing at Debbie’s

feet. She picks it up when suddenly --

-- BAM! A loud sound in her room. Debbie spins to see that

her bedside table lamp has fallen... now slowly rolling on

the floor.

Debbie stands there totally still. Staring. Her panicked

eyes scan the room. All we hear is her BREATHING and the

WIND outside. She turns slightly... and a SHADOW falls

across her face. We don’t see what she sees -- but someone’s

standing right there.

Debbie stares. Absolutely terrified. Her lips tremble,

about to say something when -

-- she’s PUSHED HARD into her closet! It’s a blur. She

falls back into her hanging clothes. Getting twisted up in a

plastic dry cleaning bag.

VERY CLOSE on Debbie -- and right before she can scream, a

clear plastic dry cleaning bag suddenly PRESSES TIGHT AGAINST

HER FACE! A split second shock and we instantly go -

INT. DEBBIE’S BEDROOM - NIGHT

-- back into the bedroom. The closet doors, out of focus in

the background. We catch the tail end of them closing shut

with a slight creak. No sound comes from the closet. Just

the wind outside.

CHILLING MUSIC rises, taking us to -

3.

TITLE CREDITS. A vintage turn of the century black and white

photograph of a parlor SEANCE GATHERING. People in formal

attire at a table with a OUIJA BOARD at the center. We hear

a WOMAN’S VOICE speak via a scratchy cylinder recording --

WOMAN’S VOICE

As friends we’ve gathered, hearts

are true. Spirits near, we call to

you.

More PHOTOS. STOCK FILM FOOTAGE. Moving through the

decades. Groups of people playing the Ouija. Even though

the times and styles change, the Ouija board continues to

look the same. We hear that familiar calling, different

VOICES -

VARIOUS VOICES:

As friends we’ve gathered, hearts

are true. Spirits near, we call to

you.

Polaroid shots. Video footage. Each Ouija game feels more

recent than the last. The final image is TWO GIRLS (12).

Sitting on a floor with a Ouija board between them. Dressed

for a sleepover. It’s just a photo, but we hear their

innocent young voices as they say the words -

TWO GIRLS:

As friends we’ve gathered, hearts

are true. Spirits near, we call to

you.

From the photo of the two girls we DRIP TO BLACK. LARGE BOLD

LETTERS appear one by one out of the darkness... as if

conjured from the ether. Spelling out a single mysterious

word in a familiar vintage font:

O U I J A:

SOUND rises. !A hard SCRATCHING. CLOSE ON -

A PENCIL ON PAPER. Cursive handwriting spills across the

page. Beat.

Suddenly the paper is ripped from a notebook and crumpled up.

INT. HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM - DAY

ELENA “LAINE” MORENO, 17, tosses the paper into the

wastebasket near her desk. !A few other crumpled notes

already in there..

It's early. Laine sits alone in the classroom. !Outside the

commotion of students arriving for the school day. !Laughing

distant voices. Slamming of lockers out in the hallway.

4.

Laine regards another blank piece of paper. She takes a

breath. Writes out another note. Her final words are the

only ones we see: “Friends forever xoxo Laine”

Laine folds the paper into an origami note. !She sets it on a

far desk near the window as the bell rings and students start

filtering into the classroom.

A MOMENT LATER. Laine’s back in her desk. ISABELLE (17)

takes the seat next to her and starts right in -

ISABELLE:

What are we feeling this weekend?

LAINE:

It’s only Tuesday.

ISABELLE:

I know. But I like to get a jump.

(scrolling through her

phone)

Got multiple party options here.

Small selective gathering or that

blow-out everyone’s going to?

A GUY swoops in and gives Laine a kiss before taking the desk

behind her. This is TREVOR (17).

TREVOR:

She trying to steal my time again?

Iz, we don’t always have to tag

along. You can fly solo.

ISABELLE:

Yeah. Me showing up to a party

alone wouldn’t look pathetic at

all. Not everyone has your perfect

couple situation.

LAINE:

Look at her... acting like she's

not the one who breaks up with

every guy she goes out with.

ISABELLE:

I’m a picky b*tch. Can’t help it.

A TEACHER, MR. SATLOF, enters and starts passing out an exam.

MR. SATLOF

Okay. Settle. Books away. I’m

putting thirty minutes on the

clock. Please dazzle me with your

knowledge of all things John

Milton.

Trevor leans in toward Laine, whispering -

5.

TREVOR:

Yo. You ready to throw down on

this iambic pentameter -

But Laine’s not paying attention. She’s glancing back at the

desk where she put the note... and it’s still empty. The

note just sitting there.

TREVOR (CONT’D)

Laine? This is the part where you

laugh.

Laine snaps out of it. Gives Trevor a smile.

MR. SATLOF

Eyes front. No talking.

DISSOLVE TO:

LAINE TAKING HER TEST. She hears whispering and looks up to

see her TEACHER out in the hall talking with someone.

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