INT. TATUM'S ROOM – NIGHT.
SIDNEY: Your room hasn't changed a bit.
TATUM: Well, I haven't set foot in it for two years, so …
SIDNEY: Thanks for this, Tatum. I'm sorry for the things I said to you earlier.
TATUM: No. You were right. I'm sorry I hurt you Sid. It's just …
She sits on the bed. Sidney sits across from her.
TATUM: (cont'd) … I haven't been a good friend to you, Sid. A lousy one in fact.
SIDNEY: I can forgive. I need friends. Now more than ever.
TATUM: (sighs) Sid, there's a reason I left mid-year. There's a reason I haven't had the guts to call you or anything. I … well …
SIDNEY: Whatever it is, it can't be that bad.
TATUM: Trust me, you may never speak to me again. Sid, I -.
DEWEY BURSTS INTO THE ROOM, LOCKED AND LOADED.
DEWEY: Are you guys okay?!
TATUM: Wow Dewey, you still don't believe in knocking?
DEWEY: ARE YOU OKAY?!
SIDNEY: Dewey … what's going on?
DEWEY: There's been another murder …
INT. WOODSBORO HIGH – CAFETERIA – MORNING
Tears flow freely. Pictures of Jenna are now added to a wall memorial to Megan and Jake. People hug and place flowers. Cops patrol the halls with metal detectors and German Shepherds.
At a table in the cafeteria, Casey Becker sits there. Steven Orth and others try to comfort her. She shrugs them off.
Sidney and Tatum watch her sitting there, staring off into space.
SIDNEY: Never thought there'd come a day when I felt bad for Casey Becker.
TATUM: Jenna wasn't all bad either. She was just Casey's lackey.
SIDNEY: Still … I feel I should go talk to her.
TATUM: Well if you want to get insulted and screamed at, be my guest. I'll be having lunch with Randy and Stu.
Sidney stands there, holding her tray. She hesitates. Then, with firm resolution, she marches over to Casey's table and sets her tray down.
SIDNEY: Casey.
CASEY: And what do you want?
SIDNEY: Look … you and I aren't friends. We hate each other's guts. And right now, we need each other.
CASEY: I don't need -.
SIDNEY: I know what it's like to lose someone. Please … Casey … don't shut people out that can help you.
CASEY: I don't need your help.
SIDNEY: I get it. You don't want to talk. If you ever do … please …
She presses a piece of paper towards her nemesis and walks away. Casey takes a look at the piece of paper and sees Sidney's phone number. She crumples it up … but places it in her purse all the same. She takes out a cell phone and begins texting. I need you …
A moment's pause.
A text back.
Meet me after school. Same time. Same place. This time, I'm driving you home.
EXT. SCHOOL – AFTERNOON
Gale is arguing with Kenny her cameraman.
KENNY: This is getting a little too real!
GALE: Kenny, do not pussy out on me! I am warning you!
KENNY: Or what? I'm union!
Gale rubs her sinuses. She looks up and sees a group of kids out on the high school quad enjoying their lunch. She spots Randy with a group of nerds. She marches forward.
Behind her, Kenny yells.
KENNY: Hey! You heard the sheriff. You're not allowed on school property!
Gale flips him off.
Randy is laughing, enjoying his lunch with other nerds including Karen Kolchek when a shadow falls over him. He looks up.
RANDY: M-miss Weathers?
GALE: You! Kid!
RANDY: I have a name –.
GALE: No you don't!
RANDY: I – okay …
GALE: You're the one who runs that weird, murder podcast thingy …?
RANDY: The Skeleton Crew, yes.
GALE: Yeah, whatever. How would you like to work with a professional journalist doing some professional sleuthing?
RANDY: (rubbing his chin) I dunno …
GALE: Look, besides me, you're the local authority on Woodsboro and all the horrific happenings here. Are you or are you not an authority on the death of Maureen Prescott?
RANDY: Well, yeah, I studied it …
GALE: And what are your conclusions?
RANDY: I … well, I'm not going to make Sid look crazy if that's what you're asking.
GALE: Ah. There's your answer. You don't believe the official story either.
RANDY: (sighing) Like I said, I'm not going against Sid. No matter what I really think -.
GALE: Even if the real killer is still at large?
RANDY: I -?
GALE: Or better yet – even if Sidney is his prime target?
RANDY: The final girl …
GALE: If you help me, you may just save Sidney's life …
RANDY: What do you want me to do?
EXT. RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD - AFTERNOON
Sidney and Tatum are walking down the street towards Tatum's house.
SIDNEY: … and then he just reappeared. Right after the guy hung out.
TATUM: I think you're making too much of this. It could have been a prank call … besides, there's no proof it was Billy.
BILLY (OFFSCREEN): Sid!
TATUM: Speak of the devil.
Billy is running up behind them.
BILLY: I've been calling you all day. You okay?
He moves to hug her. She freezes.
BILLY: Sid …
SIDNEY: I'm sorry, Billy. I'm just freaked out. The guy on the phone, Megan and Jake and now Jenna.
BILLY: I know, I know … Look, I'm here, Sidney. If you need to talk …
SIDNEY: I think I need some alone time, Billy.
BILLY: You don't still think it was me on the phone?
SIDNEY: You just vanish into the kitchen and then I get a phone call … and then after Jenna's death … (realizing) you were late to my house last night …
BILLY: Yeah. I told you I had some errands to run for my Dad.
SIDNEY: No. That's … that's not what you said. You said that you were at your job. That you had a lot of work splashed on you …
She's looking up at Billy with horror. Tatum is standing there, biting her lip.
BILLY: Are you suggesting I killed Jenna?
SIDNEY: I -.
BILLY: (anger rising) What next, are you gonna blame me for killing your mother like Cotton Weary?
TATUM: Billy!
BILLY: I – I'm sorry … look, I didn't mean that, Sid.
SIDNEY: Don't talk to me. I'm done … that was below the belt.
She turns and begins walking away.
BILLY: Sid – I didn't mean it –
Tatum slaps him on the shoulder.
TATUM: Nice going, Romeo. C'mon, if I remember one thing from two years ago, it's that Sidney needs alone time to cool off. Come on – I'll buy you dinner. We can catch up.
Billy stares down at Sidney.
BILLY: I didn't mean it …
EXT. COTTON WEARY FARMHOUSE – THE MURDER HOUSE – EVENING
A TV van pulls up to the farmhouse, parking in the spot where Jake's Corvette once sat. Gale Weathers and Randy jump out from the side. Kenny sits in the van, munching on Cheetos.
KENNY: We are so getting arrested.
GALE: Not if you keep watch!
Kenny sighs as he shuts the van door, sitting alone watching television monitors, watching the driveway. He munches on his snacks.
Gale and Randy look up at the mansion. Gale motions forward.
GALE: After you …
INT. MURDER HOUSE – EVENING
The two walk through the house, using their cellphones as flashlights.
RANDY: The police were right about one thing – Cotton Weary was the last person Maureen Prescott was seen with. But eyewitnesses saw her visiting him in his apartment in town – over the movie theater. Not here.
GALE: Could he have brought her here?
RANDY: It's possible … the original coroner believed she was killed offsite and brought here … but Cotton and Maureen were not seen to have left his apartment. That's what doesn't make sense. The storefront across the street had a 24-hour security camera. I go to school with the storeowner's daughter, Karen Kolchek. She told me that he reviewed the footage from that night. He never saw Maureen or Cotton leave.
GALE: Interesting. Did the cops review the footage?
RANDY: No. Karen told me that her dad tried to give it to them, but by then they already arrested Cotton. Sheriff Burke said there was no need for further evidence – they already had their guy.
GALE: Then Randy – if Cotton murdered her in the apartment, how did he get her to the basement here without being seen?
RANDY: How indeed? You see, I've had this theory …
He opens the cellar doors.
RANDY: After you …
Gale stands there, unsure. She swallows tightly and steps down the stairs into the cellar.
INT. RESTAURANT – NIGHT
A packed burger joint. Loud music. There's even a dance floor. This was once an old fashioned disco before turning into a popular burger restaurant.
Billy and Tatum are sitting at a table, waiting for their waiter.
TATUM: I'm really glad you came out with me … we haven't really had a chance to talk since I came back.
BILLY: I'm worried about Sidney.
TATUM: She's a big girl. She doesn't need a protector, Billy. She's been through so much already … she's a survivor … like me …
BILLY: I would have been there, you know. When you left – had you asked -.
TATUM: I know …
BILLY: I get why you left. But to not stay in touch. To not even call me …
TATUM: Billy -.
BILLY: No! I would have been there for you! For our child!
Tatum shushes him.
TATUM: Billy – I loved you … really I did. That's why I left … you had a future. Me … pfft, kicked out of school after school. I couldn't tie you down to us … and then I lost the baby, and it was just … I couldn't face you guys … and then you started dating Sidney, so you obviously moved on -.
BILLY: That's not fair. You wouldn't return my phone calls or texts.
TATUM: (looking away) If you had really wanted to, you would have found a way to find me …
BILLY: Maybe I didn't want to. Maybe I was so hurt …
TATUM: It's in the past now. You're with Sidney. You guys are happy … no harm, no foul.
BILLY: You're not going to tell Sidney, are you?
TATUM: I have to … she has the right to know that her ex-best friend used to date her boyfriend.
BILLY: No. Let me tell her. It should come from me.
TATUM: She's already pretty pissed at you -.
BILLY: Like you said – she's a survivor.
They're interrupted as their waitress approaches. It's JUDY HICKS!
JUDY: Hey guys – can I take your drink order?
The soundtrack thuds.
BILLY: Ugh … just a coke, thanks.
TATUM: Water, please.
JUDY: You got it … I'll be back.
Judy scribbles down their orders. She turns and heads behind a counter. She waits a moment to make sure no one is looking her way. She subtly takes out her phone and snaps a few photos of Billy and Tatum together …
The soundtrack thuds again as she backs into a storage room off the counter area. She's alone. She presses a PLAY button on her phone.
It's a video. The audio isn't great, but it's of Billy and Tatum's conversation. "I would have been there for you! For our child!"
She looks up, a grin spreading wide on her face.
CUT TO:
INT. MURDER HOUSE – CELLAR – NIGHT
RANDY: Boy, the police really scrubbed this place clean.
GALE: Not so much.
She points to blood splatters from Megan on the floor. And the daunting message WRONG GUY written on the wall.
GALE: More to the point, Randy – why are we here? You said you had a theory about this place.
Randy is rubbing his chin, observing the room. He walks over to a table filled with tools. Picks up a saw.
RANDY: Do you know what the great thing about being the nerdy, geeky fall guy who can't even do a pull-up is?
He turns, holding the hacksaw up. His eyes are wide, a demented grin on his face.
The soundtrack thuds.
RANDY: No one suspects you …
Gale backs away. She fumbles in her purse for pepper spray.
GALE: Randy … I'm just gonna say this once …
Randy doubles over laughing.
RANDY: You should see the look on your face! Wow, you are too easy!
Laughing at his prank, he places the saw back on the table. Gale rolls her eyes.
GALE: You are such an ass! I mean, all teens are asses, but you – you are the king!
RANDY: And who's the bigger asshole? The ass or the ass who believes him? Anyhoo –
His eyes fall on a door in the cellar. The very one Megan had heard a thump from behind just before meeting her fate. Randy shoves some small furniture and tools out of the way and begins trying to force the door open.
RANDY: Wanna give me a hand?
Gale rolls her eyes. She walks over and kicks the wooden door right of its hinges.
RANDY: Or a foot.
They peer in. There's a long, dark underground tunnel.
RANDY: Just as I thought …
GALE: Go on …
RANDY: During Prohibition, many moonshiners created underground tunnels to transport alcohol. Cotton's grandfather was arrested for bootlegging, didn't you know that?
GALE: No … no I didn't …
RANDY: Yeah, might want to follow public records better. Little thing called Freedom of Information Act.
GALE: What does this have to do with anything, Randy?
RANDY: Don't you think a tunnel like this would be the perfect way for the killer to transport Maureen's body without being seen?
Gale stands there, fuming that Randy was several steps ahead of her in this investigation.
RANDY: After you.
Cell phones flashing, the two enter the tunnel.
INT. VAN – NIGHT
Kenny is sitting in his van, nodding off. He stares up stupidly at one of the cameras and blinks. He sees a car sitting further up the driveway near the edge of the woods. But that car wasn't there before …
He dials Gale.
CUT TO:
INT. TUNNEL – NIGHT
GALE: Shit – I'm not getting any service.
RANDY: Yeah genius, we're underground.
GALE: Kenny's bloated ass better not need me for anything.
CUT TO:
INT. VAN – NIGHT
Kenny's call drops.
KENNY: Shit.
He grabs a thing of pepper spray and an I-Pad and slugs the van door open.
EXT. MURDER HOUSE – NIGHT
Kenny slowly approaches the car at the edge of the woods. All is silent … except for the sound of crickets.
He reaches the edge of the car. He blinks, then takes out his I-Pad and takes pictures of the license plate. He pulls up an app on his I-Pad. Old photos sent to him and Gale during Gale's coverage of the Cotton Weary trial. Cotton Weary's address. Maureen Prescott's pictures. Pictures of Sidney Prescott and Neil Prescott … he stops.
A photo of Sidney, Maureen and Neil, standing outside their driveway. Their car behind them. And the license plate … it's an exact match.
His eyes widen as he realizes that this is Neil Prescott's car parked at the edge of the woods.
KENNY: Shit!
He turns –
- THERE'S A FLASH OF SILVER AND A JET OF RED!
Kenny's hands go to his throat, which has been completely slashed open. Blood gushes through is fingers.
Ghostface watches, cocking his masked head.
Kenny staggers forward, limping towards the van, gagging.
Ghostface slowly comes up behind him, raises his arm, and slugs his knife straight down into Kenny's spine.
CUT TO:
INT. TUNNEL
GALE: How much further Randy?
RANDY: Who knows? These tunnels could go for miles …
GALE: I should not have worn heels.
Randy holds out a hand to stop her and she stops short.
RANDY: Wait -.
GALE: What?
Randy points above them. There is a rope dangling above them from the tunnel's ceiling. Gale reaches out a manicured hand pulls. A ladder drops from above.
GALE: After you.
Grumbling, Randy begins climbing while Gale takes a picture of the ladder with her phone. Behind her, a figure in black darts into the shadows as she grabs a rung and follows Randy up.
INT. ANTEROOM – NIGHT
A trapdoor slides open and Randy pops out. He offers a hand to help Gale who shrugs it off. They look around.
Shelves of popcorn and fountain soda machines greet them. Randy's eyes brighten.
RANDY: I know where we are … the old movie theater! Woodsboro Cinema One! Oh I have so many memories here … worked here for a time too …
A theater manager, BUZZ appears around a corner, holding a clipboard. He stops short when he sees Randy and Gale.
RANDY: Buzz! How's the theater since I quit? Haven't burned it down, yet have you?
BUZZ: What? Randy? What's going on?
RANDY: Long story – quick question. Does the theater still own the entire building? Do they still have landlord rights to the apartments up top?
BUZZ: Er … well yeah.
GALE: Randy …
INT. THEATER MANAGER'S OFFICE – NIGHT
Buzz is sifting through records while Gale paces and Randy sits in a spinning chair.
BUZZ: You do realize we're breaking the law?
RANDY: Hey, you owe me. And another thing – you guys didn't know there was a secret tunnel in your stock room leading to the Murder House?
BUZZ: You worked here for a full year and you never figured it out. Here … all the apartment leases signed over the past five years.
Gale snatches them up and thumbs through the leases.
GALE: Which apartment number was Cotton Weary's?
BUZZ: 1408.
GALE: Here it is …
Her eyes scan the contents of the lease, then widen.
GALE: Shit …
RANDY: What?
GALE: There's an amendment to the lease. During his last year living here, just before his arrest, Cotton signed a sublease. He wasn't living here … someone else was.
RANDY: Who? Who was the sublessee?
She shows him the signature and his mouth drops.
RANDY: Neil Prescott? What?
GALE: Do you know if this sublease is still in effect?
BUZZ: Nah, they cleaned out the apartment after Cotton's arrest. Signed a lease to a new guy.
GALE: Do you know who?
BUZZ: Beats me. Never crossed my mind to ask the landlord about the residents upstairs.
GALE: (thumbing through all the lease documents) Is there a current copy of the lease to the new tenant?
BUZZ: Nah … the new guy wouldn't sign a lease. Insisted on a month-to-month agreement. Offered to pay a higher rent in exchange.
GALE: So there's no record of who's living in Cotton's old apartment now?
BUZZ: Nope.
GALE: Have you ever seen him?
BUZZ: Ma'am, I'm a movie theater manager. I don't know nor care about what goes on upstairs as long as they don't screw up our business. Now if you don't mind – you've wasted enough of my time and I have a show starting in a half hour.
RANDY: Stern as usual, Buzz. Thanks for the input.
Buzz ushers them out of the theater.
RANDY: Welp, it's been fun.
GALE: Oh, we're not through yet?
RANDY: We're not?
GALE: You honestly didn't think we were leaving without checking out the apartment.
RANDY: Breaking and entering?
CUT TO:
INT. APARTMENT 1408 – NIGHT
The door to the apartment slides open. Gale stands there with a credit card.
GALE: No one's home.
She ushers Randy into the apartment, locks the door and switches on the light.
It's a typical apartment. Looks like a dude lives there. Posters of movies line the walls, dirty clothes on the floor.
RANDY: What exactly are we looking for?
GALE: Clues. Neil Prescott was subleasing this place. And this new guy renting it … insists on not signing a lease. He would have no legal recourse if he got evicted. I'm willing to bet he didn't want his name associated with this place …
Randy is looking at bookshelves.
RANDY: Someone is in to serial killers.
He shows Gale books after books on the subject of murder.
GALE: This … this is creepy. What about his bedroom?
She enters the room and flicks on a light switch.
GALE: My God …
Randy pops up behind her and peers in.
RANDY: What the -?
The walls of the new tenant's bedroom are lined with black and white pictures. Pictures of entirely one subject matter.
All pictures of Sidney Prescott.
Gale takes out her phone and begins snapping photos.
Behind them, they hear a man's voice.
MAN: Hey! Who's in my apartment?
RANDY: Shit.
GALE: Follow my lead.
She reaches into her purse and hides something behind her back.
The MAN enters, wearing a hat. He's wielding a baseball bat.
Gale reacts by pepper-spraying him in the face. The man screams and falls to his knees, swinging his bat wildly.
GALE: Run!
She and Randy bolt, never getting a good glance at the man. They sweep out of the apartment, down the hall, down the stairs, back into the movie theater. They pass Buzz who is flabbergasted.
RANDY: Great seeing you Buzz!
He and Gale dash into the storage room, pull open the hidden doorway and jump back into the underground tunnel.
INT. TUNNEL – NIGHT
Gale and Randy are doubled over, panting.
RANDY: Feel my heart – it's going a mile a minute.
Gale puts her hand on his chest to feel – he tries to do the same, but she bats his hand away angrily.
GALE: This … this was informative.
The two make their way back down the tunnel towards the Murder House.
RANDY: Are you thinking what I'm thinking.
GALE: The new tenant is the killer? And he has a serious Sidney Prescott obsession. Damn, too bad we didn't get a look at his face.
RANDY: That's what's interesting … Sid told us that the killer claimed to love her. That he was looking out for her or something, that he was going to expose everyone that was lying to her.
GALE: So then who are our suspects? Who do we know that's obsessed with Sidney Prescott?
They hear a sound behind them. They both stop short.
RANDY: Gale …
GALE: Run!
They dash down the tunnel, struggling to keep pace.
GHOSTFACE BURSTS OUT OF THE SHADOWS, TACKLING RANDY, GRAPPLING WITH HIM.
RANDY: Run Gale! Get Kenny! Get help!
Gale watches as Randy struggles with the killer, rooted to the spot.
Randy punches the killer, knocking him back. He jumps up, grabbing the killer's robes, shoving him into the wall. Ghostface rears his masked head back, then butts Randy in the head. Randy staggers back. The killer flicks his wrist – a long, jagged hunting knife slides down his wrist.
With a quick motion, he strikes. One blow right to his side. Randy turns, blood gushing from his side.
RANDY: …. Run …
He collapses to the floor.
Gale is screaming.
GALE: Randy!
Ghostface wipes the blood from his blade. He steps over Randy.
Gale is already on the move, rushing down the tunnels, Ghostface on her heels.
GALE: HELP! SOMEONE!
She reaches the end of the tunnel towards the Murder House. To her horror, a hutch cabinet has been pushed in front of the end, trapping her in here.
Frantic, she looks left, right for any means of escape.
She tries pushing the cabinet. Ramming it with her shoulder. It budges about an inch.
Ghostface is on her, knife raised.
Randy pops up behind him, STRIKING him with a rock. The killer sways, then collapses.
GALE: Randy –
Randy is panting, holding his side.
RANDY: Do you think … you could get me to a hospital.
GALE: Of course. But first … let's unveil this motherfucker!
They both turn –
- GHOSTFACE HAS VANISHED!
They look at each other, horror on their faces.