TERRIBLE FALLS

WRITTEN BY DAVID ROWELL WORKMAN

EXT. A DARK PATCH OF WOODS - NIGHT

Two young men are examining the ground. There is light from
PETE'S flashlight. He is medium in height and frail looking.
Next to him is an older young man JON, broad shoulders, long
hair. There is dim lights coming from a house just barely
visible in the distance.

JON
(Whispering)
Hand me the shovel. And stop moving
that flashlight around so much. I
can hardly see what I'm doing.

PETE
Sorry.

Peter hands over the shovel and concentrates the light to
where his older brother is digging. Jon's face, even in that
dim light is pale, lips pressed firmly together, eyes narrow
and concentrated.

PETE (CONT'D)
I think it's going to rain again. I
don't see a clear patch, anywhere.

JON
You aren't looking for a star to
wish on again, are you? Twenty-two
is a little old to be wishing for
magic.
(A beat)
Usually.

Jon continues to dig. He slices the razor sharp shovel into
the crisp earth.

PETE
(Mumbling to himself)
Careful or you'll dig all the way
to China. Just like Mom warned us
about when we were kids digging in
the old man's backyard. Only we
didn't crawl into the hole we dug,
did we, Johnny boy?

JON
What are you saying?

PETE
Just thinking out loud.

JON
Think later, I have to get this
done. Dammit, hold the light still!

Jon is sweating profusely. His body shakes in small, hard
tremors. His wet hands are slipping on the slick hardwood
handle. Peter stares down at the hole.

PETE
You're making good progress.

JON
Practice makes perfect.

PETE
Night crawlers!

JON
Look, you want to dig?

PETE
I'm not supposed to.

JON
Then just do your part. Forget the
worms - and the stars. This isn't
suppose it be fun, you know.

Through the dim haze of light Peter could see his brother
frowning.

EXT. THE TOWN OF DELANEY - DAY

A very small town. Population Five Hundred, read the large
green sign, Drive Carefully (somebody added in read paint
below it: We don't wanna lose anybody!)

CUT TO:

EXT. SERVICE STATION - DAY

J.R. SOOMES, a crusty, bearded sixty year old man in greasy
overalls sits next to a souvenir stand that is tucked next to
the gas station, and next to that a dingy cola machine.
Another man sits next to him. A leather faced dirt farmer
named DOOLEY.

J.R.
I wish they'd touch those coffee
mugs. I had 'em specially made, you
know.

DOOLEY
(Rolling a cigarette)
You've wished that for two months.
I'll tell you what you need to do,
J.R., you need a gimmick. Plain and
simple."

J.R.
You talkin' nonsense about using
that Indian legend again?

DOOLEY
Or Bigfoot. We could say he came
through here. Tear up that old barn
in the back and make fake
footprints.

J.R.
Couldn't let Norma find out about
it. An elderly wrinkled-faced woman
enters, wiping her hands off on her
stained apron.

NORMA
(Holding a tray of ice
teas)
Couldn't let Norma find out about
what?

J.R. shrinks down in his chair as if he'd been caught in a
some great deceit.

NORMA (CONT'D)
I said, couldn't let Norma find out
about what?

J.R. looks at Dooley. Dooley looks at his cigarette.

NORMA (CONT'D)
All right, just forget it. I see
you ain't going to confide in me
none."
(She turns to Dooley. )
And I know, whatever it is the two
are planning, it's your idea,
Dooley. You're always provoking
some kind of trouble.
I don't know why Pa puts up with
you. You're no better than a
juvenile delinquent.

DOOLEY
But --.

NORMA
No buts, I haven't got time to hear
your latest scheme. Do me this
much, run Pa over to the Landell's
cabin and take that sack full of
fuses I got ready on the counter.
Those boys over there have no idea
how a fuse box works so you'll have
to put 'em in for 'em too, I
should guess.

J.R.
What about my souvenirs? I just
can't leave 'em here unattended.

Norma stares down at her husband using her 'Don't even try
it' look.

NORMA
Go on. I'll sit right here until
you get back.

J.R.
Thanks, we'll hurry.

NORMA
And don't stop at the Red Rooster
Tavern, either. Or I'll sell all
this junk to the first car that
stops for gas. For a dollar!

J.R. winces.

INT. LANDELL'S CABIN - DAY

JON and PETE are messing with the fuse box

JON
Any luck?

PETE
Nope.

Peter jiggling wires and tightening fuses but the power is
still out.

JON
I've tried everything I could think
of but I'm no electrician."

PETE
They ought to be here soon. You
look tired. Get any sleep at all?
Jon begin unpacking a large white
box.

JON
Not much, no.

PETE
(He places his hand on
this brother's arm) )
We'll beat this thing, Jon. We'll
find her and everything --.

JON
I left a suitcase in the car, you
mind?

He shakes his head and moves through the maze of boxes to the
front door. He steps out into the sunlight and freezes. He
hears a sound . . . a voice mixes in with the breeze. A man's
voice is heard.

FATHER
Peter, boy. My boy.

The sunlight sprays though the trees and it is considerably
hard to see. An outline is moving through the dense bushes.

PETE
Dad?

The shadow moves closer. Through the filtered light of the
trees a man's face. Taunt, expressionless. Heavy lines form
around the eyes (hard steel cold eyes) and forehead. These
tough features display no emotion. The figure reaches out
toward him. Peter stands frozen. The man carries in his hand
a leather razor strap. The leather razor strap rises in the
threatening to strike.

FATHER
How could you boys do this? Always
causing your Ma and me grief. Stick
out your hands, son. Stick out your
hands and be punished!

Peter blindly obeys as if he was a young boy again. The strap
comes down hard striking PETE on the arms as he protects
himself. THWACK! THWACK! An old, slightly battered pickup
pulls up to the front of the cabin. Behind the wheel DOOLEY
quickly stomps on the brakes. J.R. smacks his head into the
glove box.

J.R.
Son of a bit--.

DOOLEY
Did'ja see that J.R., it's the
damnedest thing I ever saw!

J.R.
All I see is stars.

J.R. rubs the lump forming on his forehead and looks over to
where Dooley is pointing. A young man lies withering on the
ground, with both arms tucked around him as if he is hugging
himself. Another man, JON, comes running out of the cabin and
runs to his side. Jon pulls his brother to his feet.

JON
What the hell happened?

Peter is mumbling something and tears are streaming down his
face. Jon shakes his brother by the shoulders.

JON (CONT'D)
Snap out of it and tell me what's
wrong!

PETE
I saw Father. He was mad, Jon,
really mad. Just like he used to
get. He hit me!
(Jon sticks out his
hands.)
See, he hit me harder than he ever
did. He was mad, Jon.

Looking at his brother's hands JON sees thick welts across
his brother's knuckles. The old men jump out of the pickup
and hurry over to where the brothers are standing.

J.R.
Everything all right, young fellas?

JON
My brother's hurt himself, that's
all. Nothing serious, really."
(Jon starts to lead his
brother away from the old
men.)
You here to see about the power?

DOOLEY
That's right, son.

JON
It's in the back, I messed around
with it some but I don't know much
about wiring, stuff like that.

Dooley and J.R. start for the back of the house.

DOOLEY
Did'ja see his hands? Welts thicker
than my arm. Somebody beat that
boy."

J.R.
I saw 'em. Let's just mind our own
business, then get the hell out of
here.

INT. THE CABIN - THE KITCHEN - DAY

JON
Now tell me what's going on.

PETE
I've been having dreams --
nightmares. Only they been in the
daytime while I'm awake."

Peter stands over the sink and splashes his face with cool
running water. He wipes his face with a hand towel and stares
at his hands. The knuckles are still puffy and red.

PETE (CONT'D)
It's been happening since . . . I
would have told you but they didn't
seem all that important at the
time. You had better things to
worry about. And I've never been
hurt by the daymares before.

Jon rubs at his chin, then snaps his fingers.

JON
I know why, too! She's close by.
That was a warning to scare us
away. I did some research last
night on the internet. I think I
know what drew us here. This place
use to be nicknamed Terrible Falls
because of a murder that happened
on ceremonial Indian ground.

PETE
Murders happen everywhere.

JON
Not like this they don't. The heads
of the victims were torn clean off
. . .

PETE
An animal had done it! Yes! You
could be right big brother.

JON
I know I am.

Peter moves to the kitchen table and plunks himself down into
one of the yellow chairs.

PETE
But why am I having the dreams, it
was your --. I'm sorry, I didn't
mean it. JON gently patted his
brother on the arm.

JON
It's okay. I think she's doing this
to you because you're helping me.

PETE
What a bitch!

Jon bursts out laughing, seconds later they are both laughing
their heads off.

EXT. CABIN - OUTSIDE THE WINDOW OF THE KITCHEN

DOOLEY and J.R. are ease dropping on the brothers while
working on the outdoor fuse box.

DOOLEY
Jeez, now their laughin' their fool
heads off. Think they're crazy?

J.R.
Probably. Most city folks are.
Landell told me they rented the
place in a hurry. Planned on
staying long enough to look around.
He got the impression they were
huntin' for somebody.

J.R. starts screwing in the new fuses.

J.R. (CONT'D)
There, that ought to do it.

J.R. pulls down the breaker switch.

INT. KITCHEN

When the lights come on in the kitchen PETE and JON stop
laughing. Jon gets up from the table and turns all the lights
in the house on. When all the lights were on he returns to
the table and give his brother a wink.

PETE
Good deal. I hate being in the
dark. PETE and JON start laughing
again.

EXT. DELANEY GAS STATION - EVENING

Dooley and J.R. pull into the station, jump out of the pickup
and return to where they were before they left. J.R. counts
his inventory. Dooley stands by the cola machine. NORMA is
sitting behind the souvenir table looking very bored, fanning
herself with an old tattered magazine.

NORMA
No use countin', J.R. I haven't
seen a customer since you left.

DOOLEY
(Grinning)
We need to generate some customers.

NORMA
Like the days of Terrible Falls?

J.R.
(Snapping his head around
to face her)
What the devil made you think of
that, woman?

NORMA
I don't know. Just been on my mind
today. Must be the heat.

J.R.
(Frowning)
Must be. It's been at least four
years since that dead couple were
found. We still ain't heard
nothin'. All that FBI crawling
around, and the News caster filling
up the Landell's lawn with tent's
and garbage. After all of that they
never caught the killer.

Dooley suddenly stands up straight. And rubs his at the
whiskers on his face.

DOOLEY
That's right. We need another one
of those. That would bring in the
customers.

NORMA
(Scolding)
Bite your tongue, old man!

Norma gets up and stomps off to the inside of the store. The
screen slams shut -- hard -- and J.R. and Dooley both jump.

DOOLEY
A bit touchy, that woman of your's
J.R.

J.R.
Hates to talk about the murders.
They got gas here, you know.

DOOLEY
I remember. You made a little money
from that.

J.R.
Yeah, I didn't do to bad at that.
Then the novelty wore off and so
did the site seers.
(Spits to the ground)
Pity that. I got an idea. If your
up to it tonight.

EXT. LANDELL'S CABIN - NIGHT

Jon collapses in a rocking chair by a silent fireplace and
Pete sits at the kitchen table.

JON
I'm so fucking tired. We must have
searched this whole valley. Where
the hell is she hiding.

PETER
It's getting darker.

JON
You don't have to remind me. I just
hope we didn't forget the shovel.

PETE
No, I packed it myself. We're not
going to find her are we?

Jon wipes sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

JON
We'll find her -- or she'll find
us.

PETE
She knows we're here. When we went
by the falls I felt someone
watching us.

Pete moves to the refrigerator and pulls out a can of beer.

PETE (CONT'D)
Want a beer?"

Jon doesn't answer. Peter shuts the fridge door and turns to
see that Jon is asleep in the chair.

PETE (CONT'D)
Sleep well brother.

Jon swallows another mouthful of beer and plunks himself down
at the kitchen table.

CUT TO:

INT. LANDELL'S CABIN - DEAD OF NIGHT

The old woman walks right in. She is bent over like a twisted
ancient tree. She is wearing tattered black clothing and a
black shawl that is wrapped around her shoulders.
She sees Peter sitting at the kitchen table asleep and moving
further into the room there was Jon, snoring. She moves into
the kitchen and stands over the sleeping brother.

EXT. WOODS - A HAZY DAYLIGHT

In a dreamlike sequence Peter awakes to his father's strap,
slapping him on his back, his face . . . then arms when he
tries to protect himself. The man is relentless, chanting
something Peter doesn't understand as he is beating him.
Peter cries out for Jon who is peacefully sleeping in his
chair.

CUT TO:

EXT. OUTSIDE THE CABIN - NIGHT

Dooley and J.R. Are just a ways from the cabin with
binoculars and flashlights watching.

DOOLEY
Don't know if this was a good idea
or not? What did'ya think was gonna
happen tonight anyway?

J.R.
Another Terrible Falls. Let's get
closer.

DOOLEY
How close?

J.R.
Just enough to peek in one of the
windows. I want to see if they're
home.

DOOLEY
That's pretty damned close. And
were else would they be in the
middle of no where?

The old men move quietly toward the house. When J.R. reaches
one of the windows he hears someone . . . crying.

J.R.
You hear that?

DOOLEY
It sounds like it's coming from the
back of the house. I got a bright
idea.

J.R.
What's that?

DOOLEY
Let's get out of here.

J.R.
Good idea. Right after we see
what's going on out back.

J.R. drags Dooley by the arm to the back of the house. The
moon is full but because of the trees and the mountains it
doesn't do much in the way of shedding light on the cabin.
They walk slowly toward the crying sounds. JON is digging
into the ground with his bare hands, flinging dirt everywhere
behind him. He cries loudly as he digs. Standing over him was
a woman, or appeared to be a woman. Her body twisted like an
old bent tree. J.R. turns on his flashlight and the darkness
disappears enough to see what she really is. Her body is like
a giant worms. It shines with a slick, sticky residue. The
base of the worm slapped at the ground as the JON digs
deeper. The face of the worm is that of an old woman -- a
tormented face, withered and contorted in a large toothy
grin. J.R. turns and runs away leaving Dooley behind -- Jon
stopps digging, turns to her begging something in whispers. A
shot rings out. A spray of blood explods from the middle of
the witch-worm's giant belly, it teeters then angrily
slithers toward the two old men. Screaming at a high pitch
and it moves. J.R. stands next to DOOLEY with a shotgun in
his hands. He aims again and fires again. The shotgun spits
fire in the dark as the pellets tear into another section of
the witch-worm. This time it falls to the ground. J.R. rushes
to it swinging the butt of the shotgun down on the ancient
woman's face. Again and again he brings the gun down -- until
there is nothing left of the old woman's head but a bloody
mush. J.R. drops to the ground exhausted.

J.R. (CONT'D)
Sweet Jesus. What was it? Jon rocks
back and forth near the hole.

JON
My only salvation.

DOOLEY
Boy, what's going on here? What
have you been doing?

Jon begins to dig again.

JON
No time, please . . . help me dig.

FADE OUT.

EXT. DELANEY GAS STATION - DAY BREAK

Dooley is hammering the last of the signs. He had a pocketful
of nails and a big hammer. DOOLEY is several hundred feet
away doing the same thing.

J.R.
(Hollering toward Dooley)
You ain't done with that sign, yet?

DOOLEY
(waves him off)
I got it, hold your water, you old
coot.

J.R.
Hurry, it's almost dark. Bound to
be someone coming down that road
soon.

J.R. sits next to his new set of wares. Small plastic
canisters of dirt partly filled with slime. Jon sits
shivering next to him a small blanket covering his shoulders.

J.R. (CONT'D)
I'm sorry about your brother. There
was no call for her to tear him up
like that. Just like the Terrible
Falls murders.

JON
(Rocking back and forth)
I accidently ran over the witches
son. I swear it was a large wolf
but when I got out of the car and
reached the body it had turned into
a man. It wasn't Peter's fault. It
wasn't his fault.

J.R.
(Patting Jon gently on the
back)
That's what ya keep sayin' boy. I
believe ya. I really do. And I'm
sorry the curse has moved to you.
It'll be okay. Me and the misses'll
take good care of you now.

Norma comes out and hands the young man a large mug of hot
chocolate.

NORMA
This should help, young man. Take
the edge off that cold damp hole.

One of many signs scattered up and down the old highway near
Delaney reads:

SIDESHOW AT TERRIBLE FALLS, SEE THE MAN WHO BURIES
HIMSELF ALIVE, CURSED BY A VENGEFUL WITCH, TO A LIVING
DEATH . . . FOREVER

Dooley leans up against the soda machine.

DOOLEY
Now that's a hell of a gimmick.

FADE OUT /
CREDITS
THE END

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