THE BLOODY MARY SHOW
EPISODE ONE
Written by
Darren Chadwick-Hussein
Darren Chadwick-Hussein
Fourth Floor North
2 Hare Court
Temple
London
EC4Y 7BH
07870 281241
[email protected]
www.bloodymaryshow.com
INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT
SOPHIE and GEMMA, both nine, the best of schoolgirl friends,
light the third of three candles with a match.
SOPHIE
Go on.
GEMMA
You first.
LIGHTNING flashes from outside the window. The girls are
momentarily startled but continue. They look into the
bathroom mirror, nudging each other for support.
SOPHIE AND GEMMA
Bloody Mary... Bloody Mary...
A RUMBLE OF THUNDER is heard, frightening Gemma.
SOPHIE
Bloody Mary.
Gemma looks alarmed by what her friend just uttered.
Nothing happens for a moment.
The girls stare into the mirror.
SUDDENLY - the window flies open - a wind WHOOSHES into the
room: extinguishing the candles and turning the room dark.
GEMMA
Light the candles! Light the
candles!
Sophie strikes a match - which temporarily illuminates the
room. But in the mirror, which now SEEPS WITH BLOOD, they see
SOMETHING ELSE in the room.
BLOODY MARY.
The girls are terrified as the figure behind them doesn’t
move. They slowly turn to face it, anguished TEARS streaming
from their pleading eyes.
In one LIGHTNING QUICK FLUID MOVEMENT, Bloody Mary switches
on the bathroom light and knocks the matches from Sophie’s
hands.
BLOODY MARY
Did your mothers never warn you,
you shouldn’t play with matches?
(sees blood on the mirror)
And what is that supposed to be?
The two girls are too stunned to respond.
2.
SLAM CUT TO SAME, MOMENTS LATER:
Sophie and Gemma, now a little calmer, frantically try and
scrub away the blood from the mirror.
BLOODY MARY (CONT’D)
I’m an extremely busy woman. I
haven’t got the time to be
pigballing about with your
shenanigans.
GEMMA
She made me-SOPHIE
Did not-BLOODY MARY
Button it! Why are you summoning
me? Don’t you have homework to do?
If you don’t study hard you’ll be
street-sweeping it for a living! Do
you understand?
SOPHIE
Yes.
BLOODY MARY
Do you understand?
GEMMA
Yes. Sorry.
Bloody Mary produces a NOTEBOOK from her pocket, thrusting it
in the girls direction.
BLOODY MARY
Right. Sign here, the both of you.
The two girls do as they are told.
BLOODY MARY (CONT’D)
Thank you for choosing Bloody Mary.
I hope you continue to be scared
straight.
Bloody Mary vanishes from the room, leaving the trembling
girls alone.
CAPTION OVER BLACK SCREEN: “THE BLOODY MARY SHOW”
INT. HEMINGWAYS - NIGHT
A dilapidated, almost Dickensian, pub. An inch of dust covers
the surfaces.
3.
Three stunningly beautiful sloaney women slurp cocktails. The
SUCCUBI. All very Jolly Hockeysticks. Their leader, SAMANTHA,
smooches and hangs from the arm of her male counterpart,
AMICUS, one of three polo-player handsome men, the INCUBI.
Upturned-collared-rugby-shirted Rah-Rah-Rah Bullingdon types.
Scowling at them from behind the bar is a pale, skeletal and
odd figure that looks like the bastard lovechild of Count
Orlok and Klaus Nomi. This is HERZOG, owner of the
establishment.
Bloody Mary patiently waits at the counter.
BLOODY MARY
(to Herzog about the
Succubi)
What are they doing here?
SAMANTHA
(shouting across)
We’re slumming it.
In their clique, Amicus leans over to Samantha.
AMICUS
What are we doing here anyway
Samantha? What’s the matter with
the usual haunt?
SAMANTHA
They started letting Wraiths in.
When you let one in, they all come
in and then it gets too dangerous.
AMICUS
Wraiths? I think you mean WRalphs.
NOTE: THE WORD WRAITH WILL BE USED THROUGHOUT THE SCRIPT
THOUGH AMICUS IS CORRECT IN HIS PRONUNCIATION.
SAMANTHA
What does careless talk cost,
Amicus, darling? That’s right, it
costs lives.
(sneering towards Bloody
Mary)
And there’s not much more that
literally turns my stomach than a
Wraith.
HERZOG
Enough! I happen to be a Wraith-Brief, nervous glances exchanged between the clientele.
HERZOG (CONT’D)
--and I won’t stand for such
behaviour. Drink up and leave.
4.
SAMANTHA
(waves cash at him)
By the look of the place you
literally need as much of this as
possible. So we’ll stay.
The other Succubi and Incubi join Samantha confidently waving
cash at him.
Herzog snorts derisively as he pours some wine into a plastic
cup, handing it towards Bloody Mary.
BLOODY MARY
Are you really a Wraith, Herzog?
HERZOG
Of a type.
BLOODY MARY
But you look - well, normal.
HERZOG
A facade I’m comfortable with.
BLOODY MARY
Should I be scared?
HERZOG
(of course not)
My dear, Wraiths plague those
sobering up or coming down into
drinking or getting high again. Me,
I merely serve drinks.
BLOODY MARY
Couldn’t I have it in a glass?
HERZOG
Take plastic. I have foreseen it.
(pauses, then pours drink
into a glass)
Very well. Your money.
Bloody Mary shoots him an odd look and heads towards a booth.
AT THE BOOTH
Sits Bloody Mary’s close friend: MALEVOLENT, a fragile yet
perky, naïve Banshee. She is mid-conversation with someone
currently unseen.
MALEVOLENT
--And I think tonight he’s going to
pop the question.
In a ‘Peekaboo Corpse’ fashion a gruesome figure GROANS into
shot. Eyes rolled, tongue lolling from the side of her mouth.
5.
It’s a quick scare for the audience to complement how the
genuinely unsettling figure, VISCERA - a cynical ‘Captain
Howdy’ ghoul - looks.
Hold on Viscera for a beat until we realise that she isn’t
groaning because she’s a corpse, she’s groaning because she
is bored of the conversation.
MALEVOLENT (CONT’D)
Are you even listening to me?
Bloody Mary joins them at the table, a fourth empty chair
next to her.
VISCERA
It’s only been six months. And he
has a history.
NOTE: When Viscera speaks, her voice has a slight echo, as if
someone else is mumbling the words she has just spoken. Noone seems to be bothered by this.
ABDABS (O.C.)
Who has a history?
In one of those neat camera tricks it reveals that the
previously empty chair next to Bloody Mary is now filled by
ABDABS, a catty Grim Reaper who wears a hoodie rather than
traditional robes.
His appearance triggers a quick DRAMATIC SCARE CHORD.
BLOODY MARY
Abdabs! Don’t do that! You’ll scare
the living death out of me!
ABDABS
I know. Don’t you just hate it that
I can do that?
MALEVOLENT
(continuing from her
conversation)
That was never proved, Viscera.
VISCERA
(to Abdabs)
They say he killed a Being.
MALEVOLENT
By accident!
Bloody Mary and Abdabs exchange sideways glances - this is
obviously a sore point.
6.
BLOODY MARY
(trying to change the
subject)
How is work going?
ABDABS
The usual souls, BM. You?
BLOODY MARY
Like every other day, the “why are
you doing this, isn’t life
wonderful” motivating speech-ABDABS
What would a demotivating speech
be?
VISCERA
(demonstrating how to
slash a wrist)
Down the road, not across the
street.
MALEVOLENT
(broody)
Don’t you ever want to settle down,
have kids?
ABDABS
That’d mean she’d have to have sex
first.
BLOODY MARY
I’m married to my job.
VISCERA
Hark at the career ghoul.
Across the room the Succubi LAUGH loudly at their own jokes,
disturbing our quartet.
VISCERA (CONT’D)
Bunch of M.T.A.T.S-es.
BLOODY MARY
(to a confused Malevolent)
Model Turned Actress Turned
Succubus.
VISCERA
This is our place, not theirs.
Think they’re so hot because they
have sex with Beings.
ABDABS
Can you imagine that?
7.
VISCERA
Curdles my girdle.
ABDABS
There’s a reason it’s illegal for
Beens like us.
BLOODY MARY
It’s just their job. Why are we
even having this conversation?
MALEVOLENT
I’m not ‘not against it.’
ABDABS
(shuddering)
I am. All that flesh, all those
organs.
BLOODY MARY
Come on. You of all people should
be a little more open-minded.
ABDABS
What does me of all people mean?
Awkward moment, interrupted by the solemn TOLL of a church
bell.
MALEVOLENT
Ooh, I’ve got a text.
She fishes in her pocket and pulls out what looks like an
iPad. It is a ‘wiiJa’. She folds it out onto the desk: a
miniature OUIJA BOARD. It springs to life, the PLANCHETTE
darting between letters unaided.
MALEVOLENT (CONT’D)
(reading)
It-isn’t-working-out-between-us.
BLOODY MARY
Oh, Mal, I’m sorry.
MALEVOLENT
And-I’ve-met-somebody-else.
ABDABS
Uh-oh.
VISCERA
(panicked)
Does it say who?
Malevolent folds away the wiiJa, her lips trembling slightly.
Viscera sees this and instinctively puts her fingers in her
ears. Bloody Mary and Abdabs hesitate, then do likewise.
8.
Malevolent WAILS. Blood curdling. Ear piercing.
At the bar Herzog tries to hold back the vibrating bottles.
The Succubi and Incubi react angrily but Amicus holds them
back.
At the table, Bloody Mary’s glass SHATTERS, spilling her
drink.
Viscera covers Malevolent's mouth with her hand.
The bar returns to normal.
Bloody Mary looks at her shattered glass, sighs and heads
BACK TO THE BAR
HERZOG
Next time, when I offer plastic,
you take plastic.
ABDABS (O.C.)
That’s why I don’t date.
Pull back to reveal Abdabs has joined her at the bar.
ABDABS (CONT’D)
I’m saving myself.
BLOODY MARY
For a rainy day?
Abdabs looks over towards the Incubi, specifically Amicus.
After checking no-one is looking, Amicus half-smiles back.
ABDABS
Words to that effect.
Samantha slinks over, glaring at Bloody Mary.
SAMANTHA
If that pikey banshee has done any
permanent damage to my hearing,
I’ll literally sue the ocarinas off
her.
She slinks away.
ABDABS
Ignore her. You can’t spell
succubus without ‘you suck’.
BLOODY MARY
Hang on, I’m being summoned.
ABDABS
Don’t you ever clock off?
9.
BLOODY MARY
Someone’s got to do it. Toodles.
(tapping the right side of
her chest a la Star Trek)
Enterprise. One to beam.
As she dematerialises she jokingly sticks her tongue out
towards Abdabs.
INT. CHRIS’S BEDROOM - NIGHT
CHRIS - human, early twenties, handsome, Gothic. Unbuttoned
white shirt revealing perfect body, topped off with a perfect
smile. He swigs a glass of scotch as he repeats the words in
the bedroom mirror.
CHRIS
--Bloody Mary.
Candlelight flickers as Bloody Mary appears.
Chris knocks back the rest of his glass and smiles at her we wonder, for a moment, how she will respond?
Chris nods toward a glass of wine which Bloody Mary takes a
small sip from.
They approach each other, slowly.
BLOODY MARY
You drink too much.
CHRIS
Can’t resist.
They embrace passionately.
FADE TO BLACK WITH CAPTION “TO BE CONTINUED”