Page 6
INT. FORT DETMERRING -- SINGLE OFFICERS' QUARTERS --
NIGHT
Stantz is in a painstakingly restored period room with a four poster bed,
writing table and wardrobe hung with uniforms. His own jumpsuit and
backpack lie in a heap beside the bed. He fingers an officer's uniform
then
tries it on. He steps to a full-length mirror and models it, striking a
few heroic
poses. He shrugs, sits on the bed, bouncing the mattress and squeezing
it. He
then lies down full length and tests it, hands behind his head.
STANTZ
He yawns. His eyes droop, blink and finally close. His head lolls sideways,
his
mouth drops open slightly and he drops off to sleep, exhausted.
INT. WARDROBE -- NIGHT
A uniform sleeve moves slightly. A sabre in its
sheath begins to tap lightly against the open
doorsash. A phosphorescent light streaks out
in between gaps in the clothing, casting
patterns over the room.
STANTZ' PACK AND WANDS
A panel light winks on. The needle on his PKE
meter jumps into the red.
STANTZ
He rolls over. From inside the wardrobe a
shimmering pink mist rises up and begins to
take form on the ceiling.
MIST
The vaguest remnants of a human form take
shape. It hovers and shifts as if appraising Stantz,
STANTZ
He tosses and rolls onto his back, still deeply asleep.
BED CANOPY
The mist slithers in through the curtains and takes a position above him.
It
begins to descend slowly.
STANTZ
The mist widens and elongates and sprawls in suspension over his body.
He
wakes. The apparition is inches above his face. He gasps but can't move,
totally transfixed with fear.
STANTZ' POV
He is face-to-face with a lost soul. It is a beautiful feminine face. It
presses in
closer. He sucks in his breath. Is he being smothered? The gaunt figure
then
slides slowly away from his face and down to a spot below his waist.
STANTZ
He props himself up on his elbows and looks down. Suddenly the apparition
vanishes. Then his belt comes undone as if pulled by an invisible hand
and his
zipper slowly opens.
CLOSE-UP -- STANTZ' FACE
His look changes from fear to confusion to pleasure. He closes his eyes
and
submits.
INT. BARRACKS CORRIDOR -- NIGHT
Winston is smoking a cigarette, ambling down the barracks corridor. He
hears
voices and walks to the door of the barracks.
WINSTON
Stantz? You okay in there?
STANTZ (from inside)
LATER, MAN!!
Winston shrugs and slinks out.
INT. FIREHALL -- MORNING
Two cars pull up out front, a New York City Police car and a lime green
K-car with U.S. Government plates. They are followed by a Con Edison
utilities van and a County Sheriff's car. Peck gets out of the government
car.
Two COPS step out and flank him. A POLICE CAPTAIN joins them and
they all enter the firehall.
INT. FIREHALL -- RECEPTION AREA
Janine is at her desk when the law enters and walks right past her.
PECK (heading for the basement)
This way, Captain.
JANINE (rushes over to block their way)
I beg your pardon! Just where do you think you're going?
PECK
Step aside, Miss, or I'll have you arrested for interfering with a police
officer.
JANINE (not moving)
Who do you think you're talking to, Mister? Do I look like a child? You
can't
come in here without some kind of warrant or writ or something.
Peck hands her the court orders.
PECK (naming them)
Cease and desist all commerce order, seizure of premises and chattels,
ban on
the use of public utilities for non-licensed waste handlers and a Federal
Entry
and Inspection Order.
JANINE (steps aside)
This is just like Poland. Peck brushes past her and leads his cohorts toward
the basement.
INT. BASEMENT -- LATER
Spengler is arguing with Peck. Louis is sitting quietly in the corner,
watching
the argument with interest.
PECK (high-handed)
I want to see what's in there. Now either you shut off those "beams" or
we'll
shut them off for you.
SPENGLER (calmly)
You can see what's inside through the monitor if you wish.
He switches it on.
PECK (ignores it)
I'm not interested in TV right now.
INT. FIREHALL
Venkman arrives in a taxi, sees the police cars parked outside and dashes
in.
INT. BASEMENT
The argument is still going on when Venkman enters and asserts himself.
VENKMAN (to Policemen)
At ease, Officers. I'm Peter Venkman. I think there's been some kind of
misunderstanding here and I want to cooperate in every way I can.
PECK (turns on him immediately)
Forget it, Venkman. You had your chance to cooperate but you thought it
was
more fun to insult me. Now it's my turn, smart-ass.
SPENGLER (excited)
He wants to shut down the storage grid.
VENKMAN
If you turn that thing off we won't be responsible for the consequences.
PECK
On the contrary! You will be held completely responsible. (to the Con-Ed
Man) Turn it off.
The CON-ED MAN steps to the control panel and looks at the switches,
meters and chasing lights.
VENKMAN (to the Con-Ed Man)
Don't do it! I'm warning you.
THE CON-ED MAN
He looks nervously at the Police Captain.
CON-ED MAN
I've never seen anything like this before. I don't know ...
PECK (enraged)
Just do it, fella. Nobody asked for your opinion.
The Con-Ed Man reaches for a switch but Venkman grabs him from behind.
VENKMAN (to the Con-Ed Man)
Don't be a jerk!
The Cops grab Venkman and drag him off the Con-Ed Man.
PECK
If he tries that again, shoot him.
The Captain looks at Peck with contempt.
CAPTAIN (to Peck)
You do your job, pencil-neck. Don't tell us how to do ours.
VENKMAN
Thank you, Officer.
PECK (to Con-Ed Man)
Now turn it off.
The Cops slacken their hold on Venkman. He looks at Spengler, worried.
SPENGLER
He mimes an explosion with his hands.
VENKMAN
He nods and backs towards the door. Spengler gets the same thought.
LOUIS
He sees Spengler backing away and starts to do the same.
CONTROL PANEL
The Con-Ed Man turns all the switches to the OFF position. The panel lights
go out.
POWER METER
The needle indicator drops to zero.
PECK
He feels the floor start to shake.
VENKMAN, SPENGLER AND LOUIS
They run like crazy for the stairs. Spengler grabs Janine on the way out.
THE STORAGE FACILITY
A strange light starts to leak through the cracks between the concrete
blocks.
Suddenly one of the blocks is blown across the room.
INT. THE FIREHALL
Everyone comes running out as the storage facility explodes. A powerful
geyser of irridescent energy shoots out the top of the building like a
phenomenal Roman Candle reaching a hundred feet in the air.
INT. DANA'S BEDROOM -- THAT INSTANT
As the explosion rumbles in the distance, Dana's eyes pop open as if cued
by
the blast.
INT. FIREHALL -- SAME TIME
Venkman, Spengler and the others are dodging and ducking a shower of
debris.
LOUIS
He stands there oblivious to the danger, looking up at the glowing geyser
of
energy. Janine is beside him.
LOUIS
It is time. This is the sign.
JANINE
It's a sign, all right ... "Going Out Of Business."
Louis walks off down the street as if in the grip of some powerful psychic
compulsion. The others are too busy to notice his departure.
INT. LOWER MANHATTAN
A wide shot of the island shows the glistening geyser spurting high into
the air.
The irridescent cloud, generated by the geyser starts moving across Manhattan
toward Dana's building. Sirens are screaming all over town as police cars,
fire
trucks and emergency vehicles race to the scene.
INT. FIREHALL -- LATER
Firetrucks, police cars, Con-Ed trucks and a general mob are assembled,
watching the roof of the building which is spurting a translucent blue
substance.
It looks like a massive natural gas flame. Bits of ecto material rain down
on the
on-lookers.
SPENGLER
Flanked by police, he tries to answer questions from fire department officials
and a hazardous chemical EXPERT in a bulky decontamination suit.
GUY IN SUIT
... does it contain TCE, PCB or tailings from styrene esters or any polyfluoric
groups...?
FIRE CAPTAIN
What are the pink particles? What will happen if we use water?
Spengler just shakes his head.
SPENGLER
No ... no water. There's nothing you can do.
FIRE CAPTAIN
Did you have any kind of solvents or any concentrated sulphurs of any kind?
Ecto One pulls up. Winston and Stantz jump out. Stantz finds Venkman and
Spengler.
STANTZ
What happened??!!!?
SPENGLER
The storage facility blew. This one ... (indicates Peck) ... shut off the
protection grid.
VENKMAN
Suddenly remembers another problem.
VENKMAN (to Spengler)
Where's the Keymaster?
SPENGLER (looks for Louis)
Oh, shit!
STANTZ (at a loss)
Who's the Keymaster?
Spengler looks at Venkman. They both tear off to find Louis but Peck
intervenes.
PECK (to a Cop)
Stop them! I want them arrested, Captain. These men have been acting in
criminal violation of the Environmental Protection Act and this explosion
was a
direct result.
The Police Captain restrains Venkman from leaving.
VENKMAN (shouts at Peck)
You turned off the power! (to Captain) Look, there was another man here
...
You have to find him and bring him back. A short determined-looking guy
with the eyes of a happy zombie.
PECK (to the Cop)
See! They are using drugs.
Spengler turns on Peck with uncharacteristic fury.
SPENGLER
If you don't shut up I'm going to rip out your septum.
Peck backs off.
POLICE CAPTAIN (exasperated)
I don't know what's going on here but I'm going to have to arrest you all.
You
can discuss it with the judge. I'm going to read you your rights now, so
please
listen carefully ...
INT. THE BOWERY
Louis walks briskly and purposefully uptown, gazing at the symmetrical
lights
in the sky.
SUBWAY ENTRANCE
As Louis walks by, a huge crowd of people descends the stairs into the
subway. The last of them disappears around the corner. Then echoing screams
are heard and the whole crowd comes charging back up the stairs pursued
by
a strange apparition.
INT. DANA'S APARTMENT
She is standing at the open bedroom window gazing down into the streets
below.
INT. SEDGEWICK HOTEL -- SAME TIME
A Sabrett HOT DOG VENDOR is dispensing pretzels and hot dogs from his
pushcart.
THE VENDOR
He opens the top of the bin and reaches in to get a bun. He feels around
inside, knowing the cart should be loaded with food. Then he peers inside
and
yanks his arm out with a shout. He falls back in fear.
THE CART
The gluttonous Onion-Headed Vapor rises out of the pushcart stuffed with
hot
dogs, buns and pretzels. It belches loudly at the gaping spectators, then
flits
down the street with the pushcart following under its own power.
INT. EXXON BUILDING -- SAME TIME
A well-dressed BUSINESSMAN comes rushing out and jumps into a cab
parked at the curb.
INT.. THE BACK SEAT
The Businessman leans close to the safety partition and shouts his destination.
BUSINESSMAN
Gulf and Western Building! And I'm in a hurry so let's not dawdle.
THE FRONT SEAT
Through the windshield we see that the driver is a badly decomposed corpse
in a leather jacket and snap-brim cap.
THE PASSENGER
Through the partition he sees a skeletal hand reach out and start the meter.
INT. THE STREET
The cab peels away from the curb at tremendous speed and turns the wrong
way up a one-way street.
INT. AN OFFICE - SAME TIME
It's the accounts department of a major corporation. Young men and women
are working at typewriters and computer terminals in the sterile, modern
office.
A PROGRAMMER
She bends over at the file cabinets and something gooses her. She looks
around, miffed, but sees no one. She goes back to her desk. Her skirt hikes
up suddenly. She yanks it back down. Then she feels a strange, not unpleasant
tickling under her. She squirms. Her skirt goes up again. The tickling
gets
unbearable, forcing her to stand. She walks briskly between the rows of
desks, trying to get to the ladies room, fighting to keep her skirt down.
Her
co-workers begin to notice and laugh.
A TYPIST
She stands up to look and her blouse pops open.
THE OFFICE
All the women begin to scream and squirm as the invisible molester runs
wild
in the office.
INT. CENTRAL PARK -- SAME TIME
Louis enters a long dark pedestrian tunnel.
INSIDE THE TUNNEL
A gang of MUGGERS is smoking something
in a weird pipelike device. One of them sees
the approaching silhouette of Louis and hisses
to his cohorts. The others all look and slowly
begin to fan out across the width of the tunnel.
LOUIS
He is staring straight ahead and entirely
focused on his destination as the muggers
approach and confront him. He stops. They
are deliberately blocking his path.
MUGGER (to Louis)
Okay ... give me.
Louis blinks stupidly.
LOUIS
Are you the Gatekeeper?
MUGGER
Come on. You want me to stick you? Come on.
VINZ
I am Vinz Clortho. I am the Keymaster. Do you bar my way?
MUGGER #2
Are you crazy, man? You don't give, Jino's gonna rip you, man. Nobody gets
by Jino.
LOUIS (repeats)
Do you bar my way?
MUGGER
Yeah. We bar your way.
LOUIS
His eyes widen, he inhales deeply, then opens his mouth and roars. Irridescent
lights pour out of his mouth.
THE MUGGERS
They scream and run, horrified and disgusted by Louis' unearthly display.
INT. STREET
The cab driven by the corpse weaves through traffic at breakneck speed.
Cars are forced up on the curb. Pedestrians run for safety.
INT. THE BACK SEAT
The Businessman is reading the Wall Street Journal, oblivious to the whole
situation.
INT. ST. MARKS PLAYHOUSE -- DAY
A worn, graffiti-spattered $1.99 triple bill movie house in the New Wave
district near Second Avenue. The bill reads:
ALL NIGHT ALL DAY HORROR SHOW IN 3-D
INT. THEATER
The house is packed with hooting, jeering, beer-drinking potsmoking
downtowners, all wearing cardboard 3-D glasses. They are wildly razzing
and
throwing things at the screen on which is running a bad sixties British
horror
indie pic. The film breaks. The sound crackles off and the lights come
on.
There is a storm of protest and abuse hurled at the projectionist. Then
from all
around them there starts a thin whistling whine. It builds above the shouts
and
jeers in the theater until everyone stops to hear what it is. It is like
no other
sound ever heard -- a piercing, all-permeating shrill whistle like the
fan blades
of some massive unseen turbine beginning to rotate.
The lights in the theater flicker. The musty ancient curtains on either
side of the
screen are picked up in an unseen wind which lifts them, spreading dust
and
ripped old fabric about the house. There are shouts and sounds and noises
from deep beyond the recesses of the backstage. The curtains are now flying
in a serious wind. All the lights in the theater go out except that from
the
projection booth. From a point in the center of the screen, a searing bolt
of
phosphorescent light rips back along the projection beam into the booth.
The
beam evolves into an etheric strand of unified glistening particles. The
wind
dies down. People in the house are hushed. They gaze transfixed as a
procession of phantasms emerge in single file through the illuminated screen.
As if suspended on a clothesline, they weave and bounce along the length
of
the pulsating beam, and pass through the hole in the projection booth.
The
apparition is gone. All is quiet. Then the audience bursts into wildly
enthusiastic
applause.
