Paranormal Activity Page #5

CAL:

I’m not really into knocking.

BARBARA:

And from now on you will not bring

Danni home after her curfew and you

will not make her skip school.

25.

CAL:

Yeah, well, here’s the thing, Barb.

(beat) Danni’s s my b*tch now and

there’s nothing you can do about

it.

Barbara’s jaw drops. Cal takes his keys back as Danni gets

in the car.

DANNI:

Let’s go already.

Cal cackles and peels out of the driveway.

INT. KITCHEN/JOSH’S HOUSE --MOMENTS LATER

Barbara enters, furious, beside herself.

BARBARA:

Danni’s my b*tch?! Danni’s my

b*tch?!!

She tries to calm down but can’t. Impulsively, she grabs a

chip off the perfect platter, takes a big scoop of sour cream

dip and shoves it in her mouth.

INT. PCI --SAME DAY

Collin working with chemicals, muttering to himself.

ATHENA (O.S.)

Collin?

Angle on Athena looking into the industrial fridge. She holds

up two empty PETRI DISHES, tiny holes chewed through them.

ATHENA:

What happened to the worms?

INT. STUDY/JOSH’S HOUSE --SAME DAY

Josh on the phone.

JOSH:

What do you mean the worms escaped?

INTERCUT:

INT. PCI --CONTINUOUS

Collin and Athena on the speakerphone with Josh.

COLLIN:

I mean they chewed through the

polystyrene petri dishes.

FLASHBACK --A SERIES OF SHOTS

26.

We’re inside the industrial fridge, the worms squiggling out

of holes they’ve made in the petri dishes. They crawl on to

the fridge rack...

COLLIN (V.O.)

Their reaction to the cold was to

seek a warmer temperature but once

they escaped the dishes they still

had to get out of the fridge.

The worms traveling along the bars of the rack. They’re so

tiny the distances from their perspective are enormous.

JOSH (V.O.)

Long way to go if you’re a worm.

COLLIN (V.O.)

Exactly. And that’s why they

decided to generate their own heat.

JOSH (V.O.)

How?

COLLIN (V.O.)

Sex, of course. But they needed

the proper environment, the

chemical equivalent of soft

lighting and a Luther VanDross CD.

..the worms stop, raise their heads, look around...

COLLIN (V.O.)

In their case it was free glucose,

acid triglycerides, casein

proteins, lactose and --

JOSH (V.O.)

Collin --

RESUME COLLIN AND ATHENA

looking into the open industrial fridge. A CARTON OF COTTAGE

CHEESE, A BOX OF YOGURT AND A QUART OF MILK are all bubbling

over with froth and worms.

COLLIN:

Anything made with milk. Cottage

cheese, yogurt, ice cream.

ATHENA:

Josh, didn’t you take some worms

home with you? And weren’t they in

petri dishes?

RESUME JOSH:

27.

JOSH:

Yeah, but the dishes were in a

cooler. (realizes) Also made of

polystyrene.

Just then, Josh catches a momentary glimpse of Barbara

crossing the hall. She’s walking backwards.

JOSH:

I’ll call you back.

INT. KITCHEN/JOSH’S HOUSE --MOMENTS LATER

Josh rushes in, starts to open the fridge but sees the

platter of chips on the counter, chips missing, scoop marks

in the sour cream dip. He takes a closer look. The dip is

moving.

JOSH:

Oh no!

The doorbell RINGS.

EXT. JOSH’S HOUSE --A MOMENT LATER.

Ted and LaSandra are there, Ted with a bottle of wine.

LASANDRA:

Remember, behave yourself.

TED:

It’s not me you need to worry

about.

The door opens, Josh frazzled but covering.

JOSH:

Ted! LaSandra! Nice to see you!

What’s going on?

LASANDRA:

Barbara invited us for lunch?

JOSH:

(beat) Right, yes, lunch! (then)

Why don’t you guys go on in the

living room and make yourselves

comfortable. I’ll see what’s

keeping Barb.

INT. BEDROOM/JOSH’S HOUSE --MOMENTS LATER

Josh enters, sees Barbara, sitting at the dressing table in

her slip. She’s unnervingly still.

28.

JOSH:

Honey? (no response) Honey, are

you okay?

Josh moves closer, sees Barbara’s reflection in the mirror, a

blank, bovine expression on her face. She’s looking at her

MAKEUP ITEMS like she’s never seen them before.

BARBARA:

Have to..get ready...

JOSH:

Why don’t you just stay put for

now? I’ll be back in a second.

INT. LIVING ROOM/JOSH’S HOUSE --SAME DAY

Adam is serving the platter of chips and dip to Ted and

LaSandra.

ADAM:

Help yourself. It’s Mom’s famous

onion sour cream dip.

TED:

Why thank you, young man. Don’t

mind if I do.

Ted takes a chip, starts to scoop up some dip when the whole

platter is snatched away!

New angle:
Josh with the platter.

JOSH:

This is not for you! I mean, this

is not for anybody...people I mean.

These are, um, doggie treats.

ADAM:

We have a dog?

JOSH:

I’ll get the real snacks.

ADAM:

When did we get a dog?

Josh turns, stops short. Barbara standing in the doorway,

dress on backwards, hair half-combed, make-up smeared.

JOSH:

Barb! Honey! Gosh!

`TED

Is she okay?

29.

JOSH:

Yeah, yeah, she’s fine.

On Josh, covering his alarm...

INT. (FLASHBACK) WOODS --SAME EVENING

Young Josh, apprehensive, following a narrow trail.

JOSH (V.O.)

I took a shortcut to the cemetery

but it was still a long walk.

Young Josh comes out of the trees and on to the crest of a

hill. There’s a sweeping view of the CEMETERY; row upon row

of headstones, crypts and mausoleums. The sun is going down.

JOSH (V.O.)

I wasn’t scared. Well, not a lot.

I mean let’s suppose I saw a ghost?

What was it going to do, eat me?

INT. DINING ROOM/JOSH’S HOUSE --SAME DAY

Back to the present. Josh, Barbra, LaSandra and Ted having

lunch, everyone trying not to notice Barbara. She’s sniffing

her pasta salad.

JOSH:

So how did you two meet?

TED:

On the job. I’m a detective,

LaSandra’s a psychologist. I

consulted her on a case and it was

love at first sight.

LASANDRA:

(teasing) For him, anyway.

TED:

She tries to play it off but she

was all over me.

Barbara picks up her fork, sniffs that too.

JOSH:

(covering) Are you guys planning a

family?

LASANDRA:

That’s one of the reasons we moved

here. Seemed like the ideal place.

TED:

Quiet, peaceful, the people are

just ordinary folks.

30.

Barbara reaches over to LaSandra’s plate, takes the PARSLEY

GARNISH, puts it in her mouth, chews languidly.

JOSH:

(covering) Barb’s a vegetarian.

Loves anything green.

TED:

I’m a meat man myself. Yeah, gimme

a big ol’ bloody hunk of beefsteak

anytime.

Offended, Barbara looks at him and bellows:

BARBARA:

MOOOOOOOOO!!

EXT. JOSH’S HOUSE --MOMENTS LATER

Ted comes storming out, LaSandra following.

LASANDRA:

Where are you going?!

TED:

I’m going to get my badge and my

gun and then I’m going back in

there and haul those two nutcases

to jail!

She grabs him, turns him around.

LASANDRA:

Stop it, Ted! You can’t arrest

them for being nut --you can’t

arrest them!

TED:

Well I am not living next door to

people that serve doggie treats,

and make animal noises!

LASANDRA:

Yes, I know, it was strange.

TED:

Did you see Barbara? She had her

dress on backwards! That’s not

strange, that’s crazy!

LASANDRA:

I think they’re having some kind of

family crisis. If we just give

them some time to work through it

I’m sure they’ll be fine.

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