The Grudge Page #8

MATTHEW (PHONE)

It’s me.

Revisions (Blue) -- 1/26/04 36A.

There’s something strange about his voice: it’s oddly flat,

without inflection.

Revisions (Blue) -- 1/26/04 37.

SUSAN (INTO PHONE)

Matthew! Are you alright?

MATTHEW (PHONE)

I’m downstairs. What number are

you again?

SUSAN (INTO PHONE)

702. I’ll buzz you in.

She presses a button on the phone, and is about to hang up -Almost

immediately there’s a LOUD KNOCK at her door. She

gets to her feet, surprised. How did he get up so fast?

Susan goes to the door and looks through the peephole.

HER POV:
Matthew’s face, distorted by the fish-eye glass.

He’s looking into the peephole, with a sneer on his face.

Susan opens the door.

SUSAN:

I don’t know what you’re up to, but

this is not cool -She

catches her breath. THERE’S NO ONE THERE.

Then the phone emits the THROATY CROAKING sound. Quickly

growing louder and LOUDER...

Susan cries out and drops the phone. It BREAKS OPEN on the

hallway floor as Susan slams her apartment door.

61 INT. SUSAN’S APARTMENT - NIGHT 61

Susan quickly draws the chain lock. Then she builds the

courage to step forward, and look through the peephole -HER

POV:
the phone lies broken in the middle of the floor.

Otherwise, the hallway is empty.

Susan backs away from the door, shaking in fright.

Breathing hard, she backs into -

Revisions (Blue) -- 1/26/04 38.

62 INT. SUSAN’S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - NIGHT 62

Susan enters, turning off her cell phone and unplugging the

bedroom phone from the wall.

Then she retreats to the safety of her bed, eyes on -

THE APARTMENT DOOR, next to the kitchen. Silence.

Susan’s breathing slows. But she looks around the room,

still anxious -- it’s too quiet in here. Her panic builds.

But she’s alone in the room, isn’t she?

As we MOVE IN on Susan, the room starts to become quieter.

The SOUND OF TRAFFIC from outside, the HUMMING REFRIGERATOR

in the kitchen... everything fades to a stifling silence.

And Susan notices, all right. Her breath, now suddenly loud,

catches in her throat.

A long moment of silence. Then ---

DRIP. DRIP.

It’s coming from the KITCHEN SINK.

Susan stares at it. She finally stands, and -

62a INT. SUSAN’S APARTMENT - NIGHT 62a

-- slowly walks into THE KITCHEN. She reaches out and turns

the faucet handle. Tightens it. The dripping stops.

Relieved, Susan turns away -

-- DRIP. DRIP. It begins again. Louder, more intense.

Scared, Susan turns back to the sink. Water is now GUSHING

OUT from the faucet, filling up a bowl in the sink.

She slowly reaches out a hand and turns the faucet, as

tightly as she can manage ---

tighter... tighter... straining with the effort..

Until the water stops. Only then does she let go ---

just then, a CHILD’S PALE HAND quietly rises to the

surface from water in the bowl, and starts VIOLENTLY

SPLASHING the surface.

Revisions (Blue) -- 1/26/04 38A.

She lies down, shivering, pulling the quilt to her chin. A

final retreat.

SUSAN:

Please... stop it...

The SPLASHING SOUNDS in the kitchen continue for a while.

Then, it suddenly stops.

Susan is so terrified that she almost faints.

Then her breathing stops. Her eyes widen.

Her hand reaches up under her pillow, feeling around ---

and she comes out with HER LUCKY RABBIT’S FOOT.

The one she left behind in the stairwell.

Susan suddenly CRIES OUT, her head tilting back, her body

abruptly going stiff. We soon see why:

A LUMP begins to rise at the foot of the bed. A big one.

Moving slowly up Susan’s body. Reaching the edge of the

quilt, which slowly rises ---

revealing a QUICK FLASH of the PALE FACE OF THE JAPANESE

WOMAN WITH LONG DARK HAIR on top of her!

Susan SCREAMS, and is abruptly pulled under the covers -CUT

TO BLACK.

Susan screams and runs back to her bedroom -62b

INT. SUSAN’S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - NIGHT 62b

Revisions (Blue) -- 1/26/04 39.

63 INT. THE HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 63

Dark and still. Lying in wait. Completely silent, except ---

someone’s KNOCKING on the front door.

64 INT. THE HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR HALLWAY - NIGHT 64

They’re still KNOCKING.

65 INT. THE HOUSE - ENTRANCE - NIGHT 65

Apparently, whoever’s KNOCKING isn’t going to give up ---

the DOOR HANDLE jiggles. But it’s locked.

66 EXT. THE HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT 66

Karen’s CELL PHONE lays on the table in the foreground.

Beyond is the hallway, and the front door.

Revisions (Blue) -- 1/26/04 40.

The knocking has stopped. Silence.

Then Karen’s cell phone suddenly LIGHTS UP, ringing.

It rings four times, then goes to voice mail.

67 INT. THE HOUSE - BATHROOM - NIGHT 67

A new SOUND breaks the silence: movement outside. Crunching

footsteps on gravel, someone brushing past tree limbs.

A SHADOW falls over the window. A face looks inside ---

it’s ALEX, Karen’s boss. He walks away from the window

and continues down the side of the house -

-- we TRACK down the hallway, past the bathroom, through the

kitchen, following his progress into -THE

BACK ROOM:
Alex is visible through the sliding door

leading to the back porch. He peers inside.

HIS POV:
A FIGURE covered head-to-toe in a white sheet lies

on the mattress. Unmoving.

Alex tries the sliding door -- it’s open. He steps inside.

ALEX:

Karen?

Silence greets him. He stares down at the figure in the bed.

Alex licks his lips, nervous. Finally walks to the mattress,

kneeling down next to it.

Raises a hand and grabs the sheet. Raises it over the head -

-- it’s Emma. As we last saw her, eyes on the ceiling, mouth

and eyes wide open in fear.

But now it’s clear, from the tache noire in the eyes, the

blanched skin, the rigidity of her body: she’s dead.

Alex falls back onto his butt, staring at Emma. He pulls

himself away from the corpse ---

and freezes. There’s something right behind him.

He whirls around ---

it’s KAREN. In the corner, looking pale and dazed.

Revisions (Blue) -- 1/26/04 41.

68 EXT. THE HOUSE - NIGHT 68

Two POLICE CARS and an AMBULANCE are parked out front.

An UNMARKED CAR pulls up, and DETECTIVE NAKAGAWA (40s) exits

the passenger side. He looks up at The House with dread.

The driver, DETECTIVE IGARASHI (30s), moves next to him.

IGARASHI (IN JAPANESE)

I can handle this myself, you know.

It’s just a routine call. I don’t

know why you wanted to come.

He turns to Nakagawa, awaiting a response. He doesn’t get

one. Nakagawa just stares up at The House.

69 INT. THE HOUSE - LATER 69

The house feels completely different: all the interior

lights are on, a few POLICE OFFICERS mill about, two EMTs

wheel EMMA’S BODY out the front door on a gurney.

Alex sits at the kitchen table, frazzled. He turns to -

-- KAREN. She’s sitting in the living room, wrapped in a

blanket, being attended to by a FEMALE NURSE and speaking

with Nakagawa and Igarashi, who is taking notes on a pad.

Karen says something and the Detective looks over at Alex.

Then he speaks to the Nurse, who helps Karen to her feet.

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