The Cell Page #3

CATHERINE:

Yes mother.

MIRIAM:

I don't want you up all night reading

Edward's case file of the nine millionth

time. Balance, dear girl, is the key.

Leave the work here.

She taps Catherine's head.

MIRIAM (CONT'D)

Don't bring it home in this.

CATHERINE:

Okay.

Miriam gathers her belongings.

MIRIAM:

Henry wants me to try this Vietnamese

place he's wild about. Want to come?

CATHERINE:

(declining)

I've got to feed my cat. Besides, I

want to get to bed early.

MIRIAM:

That's my girl.

Miriam exits, but Catherine remains, still curious what could

happen if things were reversed.

INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - HALLWAY - DAY

The corridors are dark and most everyone has gone home. At

the NURSES STATION, a staff member observes the child on a

closed-circuit monitor. Further down the hall, Miriam and

Henry exit. Wearing a (chic) thrift store coat and lugging a

worn book bag, Catherine stands outside Edward's room,

watching him sleep.

CATHERINE:

Pleasant dreams, Mister E.

EXT. RURAL HIGHWAY - DAY

A GREEN FORD PICK-UP TRUCK cruises down this deserted stretch

of two-lane blacktop, the driver carefully maintaining the

speed limit. He signals and exits...

EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - DAY

The truck rumbles along a stretch of bumpy, unpaved road.

The area is desolate, depressing, and deserted. It feels

like no one's been anywhere near here for years. The pick-up

stops at a RUSTED GATE and the DRIVER, a tall, lean, sinewy

fellow undoes a combination lock-and-chain. We do not yet

see his face.

EXT. ABANDONED FARM HOUSE - DAY

The truck parks inside a charred barn, now hidden from view,

and the driver steps out, followed by his DOG.

A magnificent WHITE GERMAN SHEPHERD. We notice a GLINT in

its BLUE EYES - the animal's an albino. The driver points

and whistles. Well-trained, the Shepard sprints to the gate

and waits, keeping a watchful eye on the road.

INT. THE CELL - OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY

From the outside, a passerby would never know this sanctuary

existed. Within the foundation of a farm building never

completed, we find a small room in the center of a much

larger space. The cell. We hear the WHIR of ELECTRONIC

EQUIPMENT and notice VIDEO CAMERAS mounted on tripods pointed

at the two-way glass. We follow CABLES to a massive VIDEO

RECORDER - the type used in surveillance, able to record for

days without maintenance, and an elaborate TIMING DEVICE

connected to a series of VALVES and SWITCHES.

As if in a beatific trance, the driver moves to the window

and gently rests his palm on the glass. ANNE MOVES! Arms

flailing, mouth gasping, eyes filled with dread. The last

spark of life... The driver JUMPS, startled and frightened.

Almost shamefully, he turns and hides, unable to look at her.

Suddenly, his body tenses and writhes, as if seized by

torturous pain. He opens his mouth in a silent scream.

And then, quickly as it came, the pain subsides. Hidden in

shadow, he breathes deeply, regaining self-control. He

waits, then moves back to the glass. Anne's dead face floats

past him. Almost angelic. He watches her and leans his head

against the window, closer. And the driver catches his own

reflection in the mirror.

Meet CARL STARGHER.

EXT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE - NIGHT

Small and isolated, the nearest neighbor a block away.

INT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE - NIGHT

The place is a mess. Computer print-outs, dirty dishes,

unopened mail, videotapes, and notepads cover tables, chairs

and floor. On the crammed bookshelves, psychology texts sit

next to volumes on mythology, religion, and the occult.

Totems, figurines and artifacts (Central and South American

in origin) adorn the walls and tables.

As Portishead plays on the stereo, we find Catherine

suffering from insomnia, wearing goofy-yet-hip eyeglasses,

sweatpants and a UCSD T-shirt, sharing a late-night snack

with her pet CAT. She shuts the refrigerator door and we

linger on an odd POSTCARD taped to the surface. A kitschy

postcard of a warrior/goddess.

INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT

We MOVE out of shadow, toward a bright focused light,

following the albino German Shepherd - VALENTINE - as it

enters a VAST SUBTERRANEAN ROOM. Most of the walls have been

knocked down, leaving only thick support posts. Valentine

finds Stargher in a DUGOUT PIT - about five feet deeper than

the rest of the room - polishing a stainless steel table. A

bright tungsten work light hangs above, and near it is the

chain, cables and hooks of a customized MECHANICAL HOIST.

The dog picks up an unpleasant scent and follows it to a far

corner where there are empty jugs of BLEACH sitting next to a

long, deep cast iron TUB. Stargher WHISTLES and Valentine

obediently retreats to a KENNEL CAGE. Stargher gives him a

chew toy and locks the dog inside before moving to the tub.

Soaking in the bleach is the nude corpse of Anne Vicksey.

The interior of the tub is glazed with gleaming porcelain and

the whiteness of her flesh makes it appear as though she is

floating in nothingness, but what hypnotizes and appalls are

her eyes. Wide open, transformed by the chlorine into

something ghostly, they are unforgettable.

As the bleach gurgles down the drain, Stargher lifts Anne

from the tub and carries her to the table. He places her

face up and dries her with a clean white towel. He moves her

limbs, lips, hips, and hands into desired positions then

retreats into shadow. In the harsh light, against the shiny

table, the bleached body has the quality of an apparition and

we almost expect her to move...

We HEAR Stargher remove his clothes and he steps into the

pool of light. Nude, we see that his lean, muscular frame is

laced with some rough tatoos. When he turns his back to us,

we find EIGHT METAL RINGS, thick and strong, PIERCED through

his flesh. Two columns of four on either side of the spine,

running from shoulder blade to just below the waist. What in

God's name are they for?

Stargher shuts off the work light and moves to an area where

he keeps TELEVISION MONITORS and VCRs. He inserts a

videocassette taken from the surveillance deck and watches

the screen.

In BLACK AND WHITE, we see Anne awaken in the cell. Her

first moments inside. Disoriented, terrified, trapped, she

examines her surroundings.

Stargher is mesmerized by her fear. Fast-forwarding to her

death, he presses a remote and we get SOUND. Anne screaming,

begging for her life. Aroused, stimulated, Stargher drinks

it in like a symphony. Valentine cowers in the back of his

cage, hating this.

INT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT

Lying on her bed (a waterbed), Catherine sleepily stares at

the ceiling, rolls onto her side, and feels herself drawn

into the comforter. The folds of the fabric become ripples.

Ripples become dunes.

EXT. EDWARD'S WORLD - DAY

And we find ourselves in the DESERT of EDWARD'S WORLD.

We fly over dunes and come up behind Catherine as she

struggles through waves of sand. The tree trunk is up ahead

and we glimpse someone hiding inside.

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