Script

The Coffin

A Mickey M. Bonura & Daniel H. Ingraham film

Script

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03 EXT. A DENSELY FORESTED SWAMPY AREA-NIGHT 03

Moonlight shines sparsely through the dense

trees. The chirping of crickets is the only sound.

MAD JAKE

(V/O)

They went lookin’ fer the grave of Clairesse

LaVay. Townsfolk said she was a witch,

an’ in the days followin’ the war of

northern aggression that’s all it took

ta git ya arrested.

In the distance, through the trees, five beams

of light from flashlights bounce and bob through

the darkness. Suddenly, one of the beams of light

flails wildly before falling to the ground. The

other four beams converge on the fallen one. The

fallen beam struggles for a moment and then

regains its former position. all five flashlight

beams continue to move closer.

MAD JAKE

(V/O)

The one man who coulda stopped what happened

next, didn’t. Eli McCrae. There weren’t no

trial, the townsfolk put poor ol’

Clairesse ta death fer consortin’ with

the devil… fer bein’ a witch. They buried

her alive in a lonely patch of earth in

the corner of the church yard cemetery.

She died in agony.

BOBBIE SUE

(V/O)

Was she really a witch?

MAD JAKE

(V/O)

No one knows fer sure. One thing I do know,

she came back mighty pissed!

Out of the darkness appears five people

in their twenties.

04 EXT. AN OLD ABONDON CEMETARY-NIGHT 04

Standing at the edge of the cemetery is: Eddie,

an aspiring filmmaker; Daniel, an Anthropology

grad student; Greg, the cameraman; Ginger, the

“talent”; and her best friend Allison.

From the edge of the cemetery they observe the

old over grown, moss covered and broken headstones.

The ruins of an old, burned out church stands nearby

The beam of light from Eddie’s flashlight has

come to rest on an old large headstone.

BOBBIE SUE

(V/O)

Whada ya mean by “came back”?

MAD JAKE

(V/O)

I’m gettin’ ta that little lady, I’m gettin’

ta it.

EDDIE

This is fan-fucking-tastic! These old

Tombstones are gonna look great… and that

old ruin… Wow! WOW!

Eddie walks around the overgrown graveyard,

using his hands to “frame” his shots.

GREG

Yeah! Great! It would be even greater if

Boobjob Barbie here hadn’t almost shoved me

and my camera into the swamp.

15 EXT. HIGHWAY OVERPASS-DAY 15

It is a bright sunny day and the traffic on the

highway is heavy, but moving at a steady pace.

There are five kids, with bicycles, on the

overpass bridge. They all appear to be between

ten to twelve years of age. The kids are

throwing small stone, empty soda and beer cans

over the railing of the overpass into the traffic.

Each one of the kids tries to out do the others,

by throwing higher and/or further than the

last try. One of the kids, Danny, picks up a

large hunk of concrete and holds it up.

DANNY

Hey Joey… I betcha can’t throw this

Further than me!

Joey appears a little shocked.

JOEY

I wouldn’t wanna!

DANNY

What are ya… chicken.

JOEY

No! It’s too big ta be throwin’ out there.

DANNY

You’re chicken! Ya can’t do it. Can ya?

Joey’s a chicken, Joey’s a chicken,

chicken, chicken.

The other boys chime in with Danny.

ALL

(except Joey)

Chicken, chicken…Joey’s a chicken.

It finally takes its toll on Joey.

JOEY

I’m not chicken!

DANNY

Then prove it.

Danny holds the hunk of concrete out to Joey.

JOEY

No!

DANNY

Chicken!

Joey reluctantly takes the piece of concrete.

He begins to heave it back and forth. The other

kids begin to chant his name.

ALL

(except Joey)

Joey, Joey, Joey, Joey…

Joey swings the concrete in a high arc and lets

it go. The block of stone soars high into the

sky, then it begins its downward plummet towards

the ground. The block falls from the sky, over

the side of the overpass railing and out of sight.

The boys all look over the side, as best as they

can. The sound of the block smashing into a cars

windshield, followed by the screeching of brakes

and cars colliding can be heard. All five of the

boys gasp at once.

30 EXT. CLEARING IN THE WOODS-EVENING 30

They are all now standing in a clearing in the woods.

MITZI

Here we go. This is just the place.

NATALIE

This is just the place for what Mitzi?

MITZI

The other night when all hell broke loose at

my house, I came out for a walk.

STEVE

Ya came out here? Why didn’t ya come ta my window?

NATALIE

Why didn’t ya go ta any of us? Why come here?

DAVID

Have ya been feelin’ alright? You’ve been

actin’ real strange lately. Can any of us

help with anythin’?

MITZI

I came here because I was drawn ta this.

Mitzi walks over to what appears to be a bush.

When she gets to it, she grabs and pulls it away.

Under what looks like a bush is a coffin. Steve,

Natalie, and David jump back and fall to the ground.

STEVE

Baby, come away from that thing.

MITZI

No, ya’ll don’t be afraid. I was scared

at first but then…

Mitzi walks to the coffin and it starts to glow

from the inside. Mitzi turns to her friends in

a trance speaking in a strange voice.

MITZI

I found this. When I got here I found the

answers I was lookin’ for. That’s right.

An’ it will be right for ya’ll. I wanted ta

bring ya’ll here so we all can be

together forever.

DAVID

Whacha ya talkin’ ‘bout? What’s goin’ on here?

NATALIE

Mitzi, what’s this?

STEVE

Come on baby, this is creepin’ me out. Please

tell me this is just some sick joke.

Mitzi stands there and raises her hands into

the air. As she does this the wind starts

blowing. Steve, Natalie, and David slowly try

to crawl away. Mitzi sees this and she points

at a tree. Branches fall out of the trees and

fall around Natalie.

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Below are excerpts form the script.

All characters, scenes, etc. are protected under the seal of the Copyright Office in accordance with title 17, United States code; registration # PAu2-946-108; effective on March 30,2005 and will stay in force until March 30, 2032. The script, in which these excerpts are from, is also registered with the Writers Guild of America- East (WGAE); registration number: 125520, and will stay in force until January 17, 2015.