CONSTANTINE - Ep 114 - "Final Girl" 1.

TEASER

FADE IN:

1 EXT. TAVERN - NIGHT 1

HIGH AND WIDE on a desolate, clapboard tavern, surrounded by woods. This is the last stop outside a nondescript town whose name bears no relevance to this tale. The neon sign outside the tavern reads: “THE FAR REACHES.”

The door flies open and JACKERS (early 20s), a likable runt, storms out. We’re high up, he’s way down, so we can’t quite hear him but he’s cursing, ranting, as he tucks in his shirt.

The door opens once more and ARTIE (early 20s), hipster vibe, jogs out. ARTIE puts a hand on his friend’s shoulder to calm him, but Jackers pulls away angrily and continues ranting.

We’re wondering what he’s saying, so we CUT CLOSE to hear --

JACKERS ...Why me! Why’s it always me!

ARTIE It’s not. He does it to all of us.

JACKERS Really, Artie? I don’t remember him pantsing you in a crowded bar and... dammit, where the hell are my keys? He took my keys, didn’t he?

The door opens again and BECCA (early 20s), the kind of girl who thinks happiness makes you pretty, hurries to join them. Sauntering behind her is VANIA (early 20s), lost in the high altitude of her soaring beauty.

BECCA Come on Jackers, don’t let him ruin your night. It’s your birthday. We could all drive to my place.

JACKERS (checking his pockets) I can’t. He took my damn keys... and my wallet. Where the hell’s my wallet?

VANIA Do you want me to check your pants again, Jackers? I was planning to frisk you as part of your birthday present anyway.

(CONTINUED)

CONSTANTINE - Ep 114 - "Final Girl" 2. 1 CONTINUED: 1

JACKERS It’s all so juvenile. He’s like an inbred monkey. We’re not in school anymore. When’s it going to end?

BECCA Maybe it’s time we call the cops. That was robbery and assault, sort of. We’ll back you up.

The entrance door bursts open again --

REGGIE Where’s the birthday boy?!

-- and out steps REGGIE (early 20s). Tall. Burly. Drunk. With the kind of face that will never be invaded by thought. He holds up Jackers’ keys, dangling from a finger.

REGGIE (CONT’D) Drinks were on you. I maxed out your card, dude. Let’s go for a ride.

ARTIE Give him his keys, Reggie. It’s his birthday, man.

REGGIE What’s the matter, Artie? You feeling left out?

Artie’s too cool to be scared, but Reggie’s too big a dick to respect it. Reggie grabs Artie in a painful FRONT HEADLOCK.

BECCA Stop it!

REGGIE Let him stop it. He’s the one who called me out.

Reggie tightens his grip. Artie, face red, can’t breathe.

VANIA Getting off on that, Reggie? You like to play with the boys?

Reggie lets go of Artie, who gasps for breath. Becca rushes to his side. Reggie turns to Vania in her tight skirt and heels, wearing so much makeup she’s practically pearlescent.

REGGIE Is that a challenge, Vania?

(CONTINUED)

CONSTANTINE - Ep 114 - "Final Girl" 3. 1 CONTINUED: (2) 1

VANIA You’re not up for it. From what I hear, you can’t get it up for much.

REGGIE Oh yeah...?

Suddenly, drunkenly, Reggie forces her hand to his crotch and kisses her. Vania irately pulls back and SLAPS HIM. Without thinking, Reggie SLAPS HER BACK, sending Vania tumbling.

BECCA What’s wrong with you?!

When Reggie turns to look -- a SHOVEL meets his face. Swung hard by Jackers, who we’ve hopefully forgotten about by now.

Reggie looks around at them for a confused beat, then falls like a pine. Head, meet concrete. Reggie’s skull CRACKS against the pavement. Silence. Becca leans over to check.

BECCA (CONT’D) He’s not breathing.

VANIA I hope he’s dead.

ARTIE He’s not dead.

BECCA I think he is. You guys...

And then the reality hits -- fear, panic, tears from Becca.

JACKERS What do we do?

2 EXT. WELL - NIGHT 2

CLOSE on Reggie’s head, face up, dragging along a path through the woods. WIDEN TO REVEAL Artie and Jackers each holding a heel, pulling him forward. The girls follow.

VANIA It’s just ahead.

The path leads to an open area in the trees with a raised FRESH WATER WELL, complete with a cross beam and bucket.

ARTIE A little help here...

They each grab a limb. Struggling with the weight, they lift the body and awkwardly tumble it down into the well.

(CONTINUED)

CONSTANTINE - Ep 114 - "Final Girl" 4. 2 CONTINUED: 2

We hear SCRAPING on the wall as it falls, then a final SPLASH. The friends look at each other, the complicity in their crime setting in -- but it’s about to get a lot worse.

REGGIE (O.S.) Ahhhoww... hey! What’s going on? Somebody, help me! I’m bleedin’ down here!

Horror befalls the friends, as they hear SPLASHING below.

ARTIE How can he be alive?

BECCA We got to get him out.

VANIA We’ll go to jail. You know that.

JACKERS We’ll never make it to jail. He’ll kill us first.

REGGIE (O.S.) Jackers? I hear you! Lower the bucket. We’re good, man.

(beat, scary) Lower the bucket or you’re dead!

The friends stare at each other, frozen in panic. After a beat, Vania makes a decision. She lifts a HEAVY ROCK, turns to the well, and DROPS IT DOWN the dark shaft in the earth.

SICKENING CRUNCH. Silence.

POV from deep in the well, looking up. All we hear is gentle lapping of water. The FOUR HEADS of the friends peer over the edge and look down. Off their fear and guilt --

3 EXT. CAMPGROUND - PARKING LOT - MORNING 3

Zed’s car pulls to a stop in front of a forested CONFERENCE CENTER, small but warm and inviting. The ideal spot for a weekend of communing with nature.

4 INT. ZED’S CAR - MORNING 4

ZED parks. JOHN opens his eyes and looks around groggily.

CONSTANTINE We there already?

ZED I’ve been driving for five hours.

(CONTINUED)

CONSTANTINE - Ep 114 - "Final Girl" 5. 4 CONTINUED: 4

As they exit the car, John grabs his LEATHER BAG.

5 EXT. CAMPGROUND - MORNING 5

John and Zed cut through the forested grounds of the camp, nicely maintained, searching for signs of activity.

CONSTANTINE Peaceful. Quiet. You must have made a wrong turn. Hard to navigate without a scry map.

ZED Hard to navigate with you snoring. I don’t need the map. Manny said there was a developing situation here that we should look into.

CONSTANTINE Manny torched our map. Your new angel friend is more trouble than he’s worth.

ZED He’s your friend, too, John.

CONSTANTINE When he wants to be. The rest of the time he’s worth bugger-all squared. Working his angles and earth-bound agendas.

ZED (reading TRAIL SIGNS) Leadership Summit. Vision Trail. What kind of camp is this?

CONSTANTINE Sounds like a corporate retreat. Big shots and blowhards getting touchy-feely. Improving workplace effectiveness through ropes courses and group hugs. Maybe Manny meant it for us. All our troubles solved with a trust fall.

ZED What’s a trust fall?

CONSTANTINE Not one for party games, are we? Come on. Up on the stump. Back to me.

John stops walking and points to a STUMP. Zed steps up.

(CONTINUED)

CONSTANTINE - Ep 114 - "Final Girl" 6. 5 CONTINUED: 5

CONSTANTINE (CONT’D) Close your eyes.

(once Zed does) Now... fall into my arms.

ZED Nice try.

CONSTANTINE And that’s why you’ve lasted this long. You’ve got the good sense not to trust me.

ZED I trust you. I trust you all the time.

(closes her eyes tight) Stay there.

CONSTANTINE You got nothing to prove to me.

ZED Shut up and catch me.

With that, Zed falls backward. FOLLOW HER DOWN. Into JOHN’S ARMS. Her eyes still closed. She smiles proudly.

ZED (CONT’D) I did it!

For one curious beat, John holds Zed in his arms and looks down on her, smiling, and we get the sense there’s mutual enjoyment here. Then Zed opens her eyes -- and SCREAMS.

ZED’S POV: She’s staring straight up at a HACKED AND BLOODIED BODY, dangling from a ZIP LINE in the tree directly overhead.

John looks up at the body, sets down Zed, and speaks softly.

CONSTANTINE Keep shtum.

John waves her forward. They silently follow the zip line.

FURTHER AHEAD

The zip line leads John and Zed to a ROPES COURSE. Once they reach it, they stop and stare, gaping up.

The BODIES OF YOUNG EXECUTIVES are brutally slashed and hung in a macabre installation of death and dismemberment.

CONSTANTINE (CONT’D) Yeah. We’re in the right place.

(CONTINUED)

CONSTANTINE - Ep 114 - "Final Girl" 7. 5 CONTINUED: (2) 5

Zed grabs John’s shoulder and holds a finger to her lips. Shhh. She mouths the word “Listen.” John does and hears... a distant METALLIC CLANGING. They move toward the sound.

6 EXT. MESS HALL - DAY 6

John and Zed approach the front entrance. Another round of CLANGING, louder, emanates from inside. John, pulling the FOLDING SCYTH from his bag, cautiously enters the mess hall first, followed by Zed.

7 INT. MESS HALL - DAY 7

Inside, John finds BLOOD EVERYWHERE, smeared on walls, pooled on the floor. The CLANGING resumes. FULL VOLUME now. From the very room in which they stand. John points at --

A large WALL VENT. Something inside the wall is BANGING on the vent, trying to get out. John and Zed move close. Zed picks up a butter knife, and John raises his scythe. He quietly nods, ready, and Zed uses the knife to pry off the vent grill, which CLATTERS to the ground to REVEAL --

AMY, a young account executive, wedged deep inside the vent, hiding. Her face is streaked with dirt, tears, and blood.

AMY Help me... please. I, I can barely move.

CONSTANTINE Steady on. We got you. What’s your name, luv?

AMY Amy.

John and Zed try to extricate her, but she’s jammed in good.

ZED Who put you in here, Amy?

AMY Nobody. I was hiding. You have to get me out! Please!

CONSTANTINE Breathe deeply. We’re here now. From what manner of beast were you hiding?

RACK FOCUS from John and Zed to a SLASHER entering the mess hall behind them. CREEPY BURLAP MASK over its head. Blood- drenched, long-handled MATTOCK dangling by its side. Our gang doesn’t see the thing slowly walk straight for them.

(CONTINUED)

CONSTANTINE - Ep 114 - "Final Girl" 8. 7 CONTINUED: 7

John and Zed pull. Amy starts sliding, slowly.

AMY His name’s Brad Howard. He was fired from our company last week. We heard he shot himself. I thought he was dead...

(tears start flowing) ...but he trapped us in this room and started killing us... I’m the only one left.

Sensing movement, John glances behind him to see the Slasher marching their way. Zed and Amy haven’t clocked the threat. Not wanting to alarm them, John remains calm.

CONSTANTINE Almost there. Keep pulling.

He reaches into his jacket, pulls out his FLASK, and removes the lid with one hand. Zed shoots him a look. Over their shoulders, we see the Slasher almost on them.

ZED You really need that now?

CONSTANTINE I really do. Zed? No matter what happens... Don’t. Stop. Pulling.

Zed frowns. Huh? John takes a deep slug from the flask. Behind him, the Slasher closes and raises its mattock high.

In one motion, John WHIRLS to face the Slasher, while pulling out his lighter, flicking it on, and raising the flame to his mouth. He breathes a stream of his nasty hooch, spraying a magnificent PLUME OF FIRE at the Slasher.

In SLOW MOTION, the Slasher blindly SWINGS ITS MATTOCK into the ball of fire licking its body, missing John completely. As Zed turns to look, she sees John LAUNCHES HIMSELF inside the Slasher’s defense and TACKLE THE THING to the ground.

Zed turns back to Amy, who can’t see from inside the vent.

AMY What’s going on?!

ZED Stay with me, Amy. Exhale. Let out your air. All of it.

What follows is a heart-stopping INTERCUT between Zed and John. When the young woman exhales, Zed starts moving her body out of the vent.

(CONTINUED)

CONSTANTINE - Ep 114 - "Final Girl" 9. 7 CONTINUED: (2) 7

Meanwhile, the Slasher THROWS JOHN CLEAR. With deliberate intent, it rises, retrieves its mattock, and turns to face the women. John jumps onto a table to draw its attention.

CONSTANTINE Hey! Over here you bloody pillock!

The Slasher changes directions, heading for John. It loads to swing, drawing the mattock back. John looks overhead at a CEILING FAN hanging from a metal downrod. As the Slasher swings, John leaps, grabs the fan, and raises his legs.

The sharp point of the mattock passes harmlessly under John -- then his weight PULLS DOWN the ceiling fan. John LANDS HARD on his back atop the table.

The Slasher steps forward to finish off John, but John snaps off the metal downrod still in his hands and lunges forward, DRIVING IT THROUGH the Slasher’s eye, straight in its brain.

The Slasher starts violently PIN-WHEELING IN PAIN, before slamming into a wall and falling to the ground, motionless. John steps close and looks down to see THICK DARK BLOOD ooze from the eye opening in its mask.

CONSTANTINE (CONT’D) Not so vicious now, are we? All foam and no lager.

Zed has her arm around the now freed Amy.

ZED You okay, John?

CONSTANTINE I believe my vitals are intact. Take Amy outside for a spot of fresh air. I need to figure out what form of evil came over her workmate here.

As Zed helps Amy outside, John takes his magic kit and kneels beside the Slasher. He begins a TBD MAGICAL TEST to determine what manner of creature this might be when --

-- the Slasher RESURRECTS. It raises one giant hand, grabs John by the hair, and SLAMS HIS HEAD against the wall. John slumps over woozily.

The Slasher stands, picks up his mattock, and turns to finish off John, dazed and helpless on the ground. When suddenly --

-- a side door BANGS OPEN, letting in a STREAM OF LIGHT.

(CONTINUED)

CONSTANTINE - Ep 114 - "Final Girl" 10. CONTINUED: (3) 7 7

Through the light strides JUDITH (early 30s) -- punk rock, bottle blonde, goth lipstick -- dressed in form-fitting leather pants and clutching a KATANA in her hand.

JUDITH Sorry I’m late.

The Slasher turns and Judith ATTACKS. She takes the battle to the Slasher in a blur of STRIKES AND THRUSTS, backing up the brute with stunning style points, before knocking the mattock from its hands and finishing the kill with a CLEAN DECAPITATION.

Sheathing her katana she stares down at the masked head.

JUDITH (CONT’D) Burlap. This season’s trending fashion.

CONSTANTINE Nice blade work.

Judith turns to recognize John with shock.

JUDITH John Constantine?

CONSTANTINE Judith. Can’t seem to keep away, can we?

At the front entrance, Zed runs back inside, alerted by the commotion. She stops short to see --

John and Judith stand in the blood-streaked mess hall, arms around each other intimately, locked in a deep kiss.

TILT DOWN to the MASKED HEAD on the ground. PUSH INTO the uninjured eye, which remains open, looking around. Slowly, the EYE CLOSES, and we MATCH CUT TO --

INT. WELL - MORNING 8 8

CLOSE on a CLOSED EYE UNDERWATER. It SNAPS OPEN WIDE.

ABOVE THE WATER

We’re looking straight down into the well now. The still dark surface. Abruptly, the bloated REGGIE JOLTS UP OUT OF THE WATER, one arm raised, straight into camera, and we --

CUT TO BLACK.

END OF TEASER