The Crow Transcript 

Ext: View over the city lit by fire. Caption tells us: October 30th - Devils Night.
We gradually go in closer, hearing sirens and news broadcasts.

Sarah (V/O):
People once believed that when someone dies a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can't rest. Then sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that soul back to put the wrong things right.

(Zooming in towards a large round window. Cops and paramedics run around, with the occasional
photographic flash.
ALBRECHT is standing by the window looking down and smoking.
His POV: paramedics and cop cars. A sheet is drawn across a body on the ground.
View from inside the room:
Cops gathering evidence, paramedics attending to a badly hurt woman, SHELLEY, on the floor. 
Halloween stuff is all around. 
Albrecht picks up a wedding invitation: Eric Draven and Shelley Webster, October 31st.)

COP
Hey Sarge

ALBRECHT
Yeah. Shelley Webster and Eric Draven. Wedding was tomorrow night.

COP
Who the fuck gets married on Halloween anyhow?

ALBRECHT
(Looking towards Shelley) Nobody.

PARAMEDIC
Sir, we've gotta move her.

ALBRECHT
Do it.

COP
What's the count so far?

ALBRECHT
143 fires.

COP
They're slacking off from last year.

ALBRECHT
3 hours to go, maybe they're just slow starters.

(Shelley is stretchered out of the room.
Cut to shot of a crow landing on a telegraph pole, then down to the ground.)
DETECTIVE TORRES
There are procedures to stick by, you guys should have cleared this with me first.
(To Albrecht) Is this the victim?

ALBRECHT
No, it's Amelia Earhart, we found her Detective, and you missed it

DETECTIVE TORRES
I don't care what her name is, I didn't give the order to move her.
Jesus Albrecht, I can see why they took away your gold shield.

(We see a skateboard ride up and expertly stopped, then a young girl pushes her way through
the crowds.)

ALBRECHT
Yeah, I wasn't a big enough asshole, come on, let's go.

(The kid approaches as the cops and paramedics wheel Shelley to the ambulance.)

SARAH
Shelley?

ALBRECHT
Stand back kid.

SHELLEY
(in pain) Where's Eric?

ALBRECHT
Just don't worry about him.

SHELLEY
Tell him to take care of Sarah

ALBRECHT
Look, I will, you just lie back. Come on,(To the kid) You Sarah?

SARAH
Yeah

ALBRECHT
Look, your sister, she's gonna be okay.

SARAH
She's not my sister. Shelley just takes care of me. She's my friend. Her and Eric. 
You lied to her about Eric.

ALBRECHT
Look, I had to.

SARAH
And you're lying to me about Shelley. She's gonna die isn't she?

ALBRECHT
Hey uh... come on, it's okay.

(Freezeframe..

Ext: Graveyard. A crow lands on a cross. 
Caption: one year later. 
We zoom out and see that the cross is on the top of an imposing but almost derelict church.)


SARAH (V/O)
A building gets torched, all that is left is ashes.
I used to think that was true about everything;
families, friends, feelings, but now I know that sometimes if love proves real
and two people are meant to be together, nothing can keep them apart.

(Sarah's feet walking through the graveyard. She stoops occasionally to pick up flowers from 
other graves. She puts a bunch of flowers at Shelley's and a single white flower at Eric's grave.)

SARAH
Later.

(As she walks away, the crow lands on Eric's gravestone and it starts to rain. She turns.)

SARAH
What are you, like the night watchman?

(It caws at her and she goes. It starts tapping on the stone. Sarah skates off down the street.)

(C/U Hot dog with ketchup being poured onto it. 
Cut to the hotdog stand, Albrecht is sitting there.)

MICKEY the Hot Dog man
You know, what this place needs is a good natural catastrophe. Earthquake, tornado,

ALBRECHT
No, no, Mickey, come on man- you gotta put the mustard underneath first.

MICKEY
Maybe a flood, like in the bible.

ALBRECHT
Hey, hey let me do it. there we go. How about some onions. 
Oh man, don't go cheap on me, lots a' onions.

(Sarah turns up on her skateboard)

MICKEY
Hey, it's a Sarah-monster.


ALBRECHT
How do you steer that thing on a wet street?

SARAH
Pure talent. Hi.

ALBRECHT
See now Sarah, she's a genuine hot dogger. You hungry?

SARAH
You buying?

ALBRECHT
I'm buying.

SARAH
No onions though okay.

ALBRECHT
No onions?

SARAH
They make you fart, big time.
(Mickey laughs)

(Cut to Arcade Games)

T-BIRD
You know Lake Erie actually caught on fire once from all the crap floating around in it?
I wish I coulda seen that.
(He whistles. Chaos ensues, and a bomb is set before the gang leaves.

Cut to shot of the crow in the rain, still at the church, and the ground at Eric's grave,
which starts to heave and crack until Eric bursts out in his burial clothes. He screams.
Cut back to Arcade games, where the gang run out to the car.
Cut to Eric, pulling himself up by a tree. 
Shot of the crow, then cut to the bird on the front of T-Bird's car as they drive away
Cut to Eric walking through an alley and falling over some, 
pulling off his backless burial garments. Cut to T-Bird and his gang screeching around a corner.)

SKANK
Fire it up! We busted their machine!

(Cut to Eric barefoot in the alley. The crow lands by some boots on a dumpster, which he puts on.
Cut to T-Birds car as they drive past the hotdog stand. One of the gang points out the cop car.)

ALBRECHT
Bad people out on the streets tonight.

(Shot of the timer on the bomb- BOOM!)

(Albrecht runs to investigate.)

ALBRECHT
(As he runs) Mickey, call it in for me.

(Eric follows the crow to the ladder on the side of a building and climbs up, 
then enters and goes down the stairs. 
(His POV) he pulls yellow scene-of-crime tape away from a door and enters. 
We see the smashed round window. A white cat appears.)

ERIC
Gabriel..

(As he goes to pick the cat up, he gets a yellowy-orange flashback
of the cat biting one of the gang.
He falls to his knees. 
Flashbacks follow showing the night of the attack:
Shelley opens the door to a knock, thinking it is Eric.)

T-BIRD
Department of housing. Code violations? Safety hazards? 
Place looks fine to me. Let's redecorate. 
(quoting from a book) "Abashed the devil stood and saw how awful goodness is. Saw virtue in her shape." How lovely. It's pornography. Virtue?

(Eric enters in flashback)

ERIC
Shelley?
(Tintin throws a knife, Eric falls to the floor.)

TINTIN
See ya!

(They all stand over Shelley. Funboy pushes through)


FUNBOY
Na na na na. Me first

SHELLEY
Eric...
(Flashes of his death. In real life he jerks and contorts, finally jumping out of the window and just catching himself back on the top frame. He lands back inside and looks at his cut hands. They heal themselves.)

(Cut to a bullet spinning through the air. 
It lands in Funboy's mouth, and he chases it down with a shot of drink. 
Then it's T-Bird's turn. He calmly places the bullet on his tongue and raises his glass.)

T-BIRD
Here's to Devil's night, my new favourite holiday

(He swallows the bullet then puts his cigar out on his tongue)

FUNBOY
You sick fuck!

TINTIN
You're out of your motherfucking mind man!

(Skank goes to swallow a bullet but Tintin stops him and takes his turn)

TINTIN
Wussies drink last, man

(Skank pulls a gun)

SKANK
Fuck you Tintin

TINTIN
Heyy, this shit ain't even loaded man
(he puts a knife to Skank's throat)

FUNBOY
This one is

T-BIRD
Which one of you motor city motherfuckers wants to bet me this one isn't?
Hey?

ALL OF THEM
FIRE IT UP! FIRE IT UP! FIRE IT UP!

(Darla comes over with a tray.)

DARLA
Here's your shooters. Put your guns away, huh guys?
(She kisses Funboy)

(Cut to the crow in the apartment having flashbacks about his happy life with Shelley.
He smashes the mirror in front of him (Music- the cure)
He paints his face and dresses. With the crow on his shoulder, he walks to the window.
Cut to: the Gideon's PawnShop.)

TINTIN
Couple more rings, 24K.

GIDEON
24 K? 18 K. It's crap, it's probably fake.

TINTIN
Leather purse. Leatherrr.

GIDEON
Jeez. Oh, what is this Tintin, bloodstains? I'll give you fifty bucks, and I hate charities.
Take it or leave it. Right there for you. Decisions, decisions.

TINTIN
Cheap ass, chrome dome, child molesting, saprophyte, motherfucker.

GIDEON
Close the gate when you go out.

TINTIN
Oh, I'll close this up for you real good masser! Fuck you.

GIDEON
(laughs) Sit on it and twirl you scum.

(Music- nine inch nails: dead souls starts as TINTIN walks away)

TINTIN
Lucky I don't stab your fat ass.

(The famous jumping across roofs sequence
Through the crows eyes he sees Tintin in an alley. 
He falls to a pile of rubbish and laughs dramatically before going to meet Tintin.)

TINTIN
What the fuck you all painted up for, crackhead, huh? Halloween ain't till manyana. Come on..

(They fight)

ERIC
Murderer!

TINTIN
I ain't murdered no one man, I don't even fucking know you man, what the fuck you on, man?

ERIC
I want you to tell me a story. A man and a woman in a loft a year ago.

TINTIN
You're out of your motherfucking mind

ERIC
Listen, I'm sure you'll remember. You killed them. On Halloween

TINTIN
Yeah yeah, Halloween, some dude, some bitch, whatever man.

ERIC
Her name was Shelley. You cut her. You raped her

TINTIN
Shelley yeah, I shagged her pink ass and she LOVED it.
(while Eric is distracted by this comment Tintin takes the advantage and starts whupping his ass)

ERIC
Murderer!

TINTIN
Murderer? Let me tell you about murder. It's fun, it's easy. You gonna learn all about it. I'd like you to meet two buddies of mine. (produces knives) We never miss.
(He throws. He misses- well, Eric ducks. He throws again, Eric bats it out of the air.)

ERIC
Try harder. Try again.

(Tintin throws again, Eric catches it and throws it back to nail Tintin to the wall
by his shoulder,)

ERIC
Victims, aren't we all?
(C/U as he raises another knife)

(Cut to the club below top dollar's place as T-bird and co. enter.)

T-BIRD
Look at this mess what's the world coming to?
I gotta go upstairs, report from the front.
Get out of my way you morons!

(Upstairs, Grange is talking to a couple of girls.)

T-BIRD
Hey guess what, arcade games fell down, went boom.

GRANGE
Boom?

T-BIRD
Can you imagine that? It's tragic.

GRANGE
Gather your soldiers, you're on for tomorrow night. No sweat.

T-BIRD
Is the man in?

GRANGE
He's taking a meeting.

(Inside a woman showers while Top Dollar is looking at a snowglobe.)

MYCA
You are thinking about the past.

TOP DOLLAR
Dad gave me this. Fifth birthday. He said childhood is over the moment you know you're gonna die.

MYCA
Is she asleep?

(There is a naked woman on the bed. Top Dollar turns her over to see her dead eyes staring up.)

TOP DOLLAR
I think we broke her.

MYCA
I love her eyes. Pretty. (She leans over with a big knife)

(Cut to Sarah skating on the road going to the Pit. She goes in.
Darla is all over Funboy as Sarah approaches the table and coughs.)

DARLA
I told you to stay out of here.

SARAH
So I guess you're not going to be home till a lot later, huh Darla.

FUNBOY
She's busy. Go play with your dolls or something ok?

SARAH
I don't have any dolls.

DARLA
Get some food huh

SARAH
Somebody already bought me food. The police.

FUNBOY (mimicking)
Somebody already bought me dinner. The police.

(Gideon's. He's counting his money.)

GIDEON
Who the fuck is this now? Hey piss off, we're CLOSED! (Eric bangs on the gate) Go sleep it off somewhere else, dust head. Unless you wanna get mutilated.

(Eric opens the gate. Gideon gets his gun)

GIDEON
Goddamn creatures of the night, they never learn. Hey, hey, hey

(Eric smashes the door)

ERIC
Suddenly I heard a tapping as of someone gently rapping, rapping on my chamber door.
You heard me rapping right?

GIDEON
You're trespassing. And you owe me a fucking new door.

ERIC
I'm looking for something in an engagement ring. Gold

GIDEON
You're looking for a coroner, shit-for-brains.
(Bang- he shoots Eric, it heals.)
Ooh shit, shit on me shit on me. SHIT ON ME!

(Eric throws Gideon about a bit, then jumps above the counter and leans down when Gideon turns.)

ERIC
Mr. Gideon, you're not paying attention.
(He smashes the glass counter then nails Gideon's hand to the wood with a knife.)
I repeat, a gold engagement ring, yes? It was pawned here a year ago by a customer of yours named Tintin. He confided in me before he ran out of breath.
(Cut to: Tintin being carried away on a stretcher with lots of knives sticking out of his chest.)

DETECTIVE TORRES
Who's this sack of shit?

ALBRECHT
It's Tintin. One of T-bird's little helpers. I think you can rule out accidental death.

DETECTIVE TORRES
Don't any of your street demons have real grown up names?

ALBRECHT
This could be a turf hit, but it doesn't look like your usual gang crap.

DETECTIVE TORRES
Come on, Albrecht, spare me. You're a beat cop now. So be a beat cop.

ALBRECHT
I'm supposed to thank you for that, right?

DETECTIVE TORRES
A word to the wise- watch your fucking mouth. What the hell do you call that?
(Shot of the wall of a nearby building. The shape of a crow is daubed in blood.)

ALBRECHT
I call it blood, detective. I suppose you'd write it up as graffiti.

DETECTIVE TORRES
You can leave my crime scene now, kay?

(Cut back to Gideon's)

ERIC
Warmer?

GIDEON
What are you doing?

ERIC
Don't you know this game?

GIDEON
What game are you talking about? Oh the rings, I'll tell you about the rings- a metal box, under the shelf there. Take the fucking rings and you can choke on them you son of a bitch.
(He keeps talking as Eric finds the box and goes through the rings until he finds the right one and a flashback hits.)
ERIC
No... no...no...no...no...Shelley...

(FLASHBACK:
Eric looks up to Shelley in the loft when he gave her the ring: she says, "I love you".
END FLASHBACK)

(Eric knocks over some barrels and stuff: we see a can of gasoline spill.
He approaches as Gideon pulls the knife out from his hand. Eric points a shotgun at him.)

ERIC
You have one chance to live

GIDEON
Take anything you want.

ERIC
Thank you.

GIDEON
Take anything!

(Eric starts pouring gasoline over the counter.)
ERIC
Now you're going to tell me where to find the rest of Tintin's little party pals.

GIDEON
The Pit. They all hang out at the Pit. All T-Bird's little potato-heads hang out there. 
Funboy, he lives there upstairs, alright?

ERIC
Funboy...
(Flashback: like he's looking up from Shelley's point of view before she is raped.)
The whole jolly club of jolly pirate nicknames.

GIDEON
Oh Jesus Christ in a taxi...


ERIC
Hold still.
(Throwing rings at Gideon)
Each one of these is a life. A life you helped destroy.

GIDEON
Look, I'm begging you alright, don't kill me.

ERIC
I'm not going to kill you. 
Your job will be to tell the rest of them that death is coming for them, tonight.
(He tips the rest of the rings from the box into the shotgun)
Tell them Eric Draven sends his regards.
(He turns to leave, picking up a guitar as he goes.)

GIDEON
Walk out of here, they're gonna erase your sorry ass.
You're nothing but street grease you hear, street grease you motherfucker!

(Eric turns)
ERIC
Is that gasoline I smell?

GIDEON
No man, NO!

(Eric walks out, the crow flying with him, then turns to shoot the rings from the gun back through the open door as Gideon runs for the back exit. 
Big explosion. We see Gideon in the back alley with his trouser leg on fire, but very definitely alive.

Cut to: The Pit.)

BARMAN
On the house, kiddo, you know that. Root beer.
(Gives Sarah a root beer)

(Darla and Funboy go upstairs.)

BARMAN
I can't do anything. Your mom, technically, she's off right now.

SARAH
Yeah, way off.

(Cut back to outside Gideon's. Eric walks away as the building burns. 
Albrecht gets out of his car, points his gun.)

ALBRECHT
Police! Don't move! I said don't move!

ERIC
I thought the police always said Freeze.

ALBRECHT
Well, I am the police and I say don't move, so once you move you're dead.

ERIC
And I say I'm dead. And I move.

ALBRECHT
Not one more step. I'm serious.

ERIC
Then shoot, if you will, officer Albrecht.

ALBRECHT
What, are you nuts? Walking into a gun? You high?

ERIC
You don't remember me?

ALBRECHT
What are you talking about?

ERIC
How about Shelley? Do you remember Shelley Webster?

ALBRECHT
Shelley Webster's dead, my friend. Now I want you to move over to the kerb there.Come on, real nice and easy. Come on move it! I'm waiting for backup. 
You're too frigging weird for me.

ERIC
Oh it gets better. Do you know someone called T-Bird? 
He had a friend who shouldn't have played with knives. Like the coat?

ALBRECHT
You're the guy that murdered Tintin.

ERIC
He was already dead. He died a year ago, the moment he touched her. 
They're all dead, they just don't know it yet.

ALBRECHT
(To looters near Gideon's) Get away from there!
(He turns back and Eric is gone.)
Oh great. Great. Guy shows up looking like a mime from hell and you lose him
right out in the open. 
Well, at least he didn't do that "Walking against the wind" shit.. I hate that.
(Cops arrive)

COP
It's a bit early for Devil's Night.

(Cut to Top Dollar's boardroom above the club. He is by a window. Myca sits on the table. )

MYCA
You are very restless.

TOP DOLLAR
Just wish I was a little hungry again, that's all.

MYCA
Be careful what you ask for.

TOP DOLLAR
Yeah, you may get it, I know.

MYCA
There are energies aligning against you.

(Shot of the flaming dish next to them. There's an eyeball inside.)

TOP DOLLAR
Seeing is believing, isn't it?
(Myca blows out the flame and Top Dollar leans over the dish.)
Mmmm, yummy.
(Grange and T-Bird enter.)

GRANGE
Gideon's pawnshop just burned down. To the foundations.

TOP DOLLAR
Nobody cleared this little event with me.

T-BIRD
I didn't have nothing to do with that.

TOP DOLLAR
Why sure, you must be awfully disappointed.

T-BIRD
I got trouble. One of my crew got himself perished.

TOP DOLLAR
Yeah, who might that be?

T-BIRD
Tintin. Somebody stuck his blades in all his major organs in alphabetical order.

TOP DOLLAR
Gentlemen, by all means I think we ought to have an introspective moment of silence for poor old Tintin.
(He leans down to a huge pile of suspicious white powder and sniffs deeply.)
Now you're working for me tomorrow night, right?

T-BIRD
Whatever you say, I can do.

TOP DOLLAR
Good, that's very reassuring. I still ain't heard the story on why Gideon's burned down. Is that a natural catastrophe or an act of God or something? Call it my need to know. 
(Grange and T-bird leave. Shot of buildings from above as the crow flies through to land above the Pit as Sarah leaves.It's still raining. She puts her board down and goes to skate out into the street. A car approaches and somebody grabs Sarah, pulling her to safety.)

SARAH
Let me go you creep.
(We see that it is Eric. He gets flashbacks of Sarah at home with Shelley.)
You didn't slow down you dickhead

ERIC
He couldn't have stopped.

SARAH
He was a buttface, I coulda made it. What are you supposed to be, a clown or something?
(Eric tries to keep his face turned away.)

ERIC
Sometimes.

SARAH
It's more like surfing than skating. I wish the rain would stop, just once.

ERIC
It can't rain all the time.

SARAH
Eric?
(She turns but he is gone.Cut to the police station. A female cop (ANNIE) hands a file to Albrecht.)

ANNIE
Don't thank me. Are we fighting the good fight?

ALBRECHT
Double homicide a year ago. No convictions. Annie. Look at that. (Hands her a piece of paper)

ANNIE
(reading) We the undersigned tenants of 1929 Caulderon Court Apartments. 
What is this, a petition?

ALBRECHT
Big "Kick Me" sign for a very nice girl who found herself a cause. A cause that got her killed.

ANNIE
She was fighting tenant eviction in that neighbourhood?

ALBRECHT
Shelley Webster and her nice rock and roll boyfriend Eric Draven.

ANNIE
You know, the last time you went snooping around on a case is when you got put back on the beat.

ALBRECHT
Yeah I know. Torres keeps reminding me.
(He starts drawing the Crow make-up on a promo picture from Eric's band.)

ANNIE
(leans over to look) You're gonna wind up working a school crosswalk.

ALBRECHT
I'm cool

ANNIE
You didn't get that file from me, okay. And don't tell me you owe me one.

ALBRECHT
Uhh, I owe you one!

ANNIE
Yeah, right!

ALBRECHT
Damn. (as he looks down at the picture)

(Cut to the crow flying through the streets, then Funboy and Darla in their room shooting up.)

FUNBOY
You know, tomorrow night, we can get high and watch this whole fucking city burn!
(Eric is sitting on the sign outside the Pit. The crow flies into their room.)

DARLA
There's a big fucking bird over there.

FUNBOY
It's a squab. Come here birdie! Here bird.
(Eric climbs in through the window and walks up to the light.)

ERIC
Here Funboy.

FUNBOY
What the fuck?
(Eric rushes towards them making noise on his guitar)
Ooh man don't do that/. You nearly gave me a fucking heart attack.
(To Darla) Don't sweat it.
(Eric hangs the guitar on the hatstand)
It's time for you to take your bird and leave freako.
(Eric pulls up a chair and sits in front of Funboy, who now has his gun out. 
He puts his hand over the barrel.)

ERIC
Take your shot Funboy. You got me dead bang.

FUNBOY
You are seriously fucked up. D'you look in a mirror? You need professional help.
(He shoots. Eric reels as if in great pain.)
Bingo! He shoots, he scores!
(Eric turns around and his cries of pain turn into laughter. 
He looks through the hole in his hand before it heals. He laughs.)
Jesus Christ!

ERIC
Jesus Christ- stop me if you've heard this one. Jesus Christ walks into a hotel 
(Funboy shoots again, Eric reels but gets right back up)
Ow. he hands the innkeeper three nails and he asks
(Funboy shoots again)

FUNBOY
Don't you ever fucking die?

ERIC
Can you put me up for the night?
(He hits Funboy's hand as he goes to shoot again. The bullet rips into Funboy's leg.)
Does that hurt?
(Darla runs into the bathroom)

FUNBOY
Yes it fucking hurts! God, oh God, look what you've done to my sheets...
(he collapses. Eric picks him up and drags him into the bathroom where he deposits him in the bath and turns the shower on. We see flashbacks from Shelley's rape. Darla picks up a razor. Eric turns to her and she flails at him. 
He takes the razor from her and drags her in front of the mirror, holding her head towards the glass.)

ERIC
Look. Mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of all children. 
Do you understand? Morphine is bad for you. 
(He twists her arm so the drugs run out of the holes)
Your daughter is out thereon the streets waiting for you.
(Darla leaves. Eric goes to a table and picks up a needle.)
(Cut to down in the Pit. Gideon is shakily drinking. 
He downs it and chucks the ice out of the glass.)

GIDEON
If I wanted ice I woulda asked for ice. Fill it up.

BARMAN
Fill it up yourself, macho man.
(Gideon starts to take the top off the bottle when Grange reaches past and does it for him.)
Alright.

GRANGE
You burn yourself playing with matches?

GIDEON
Fuck off.

GRANGE
You have an appointment.

GIDEON
Well, shit on me.

GRANGE
Drink up.

GIDEON
This is a first. Do I bow or do I curtsey? And get my friend here a glass of blood.
(Darla runs out in a state- still only half-dressed.)

BARMAN
Hey, goodnight- Darla.

GRANGE
(to Gideon) You stay put. Right there.
(He goes up to investigate.
Cut to Funboy recovering consciousness in the bath.
Eric pulls him out, pushing him down on the floor with a needle in his hand.)

FUNBOY
You're wasting it...

(Grange comes up and enters to see Funboy with a lot of needles in his chest. 
He looks to the window: Eric is there. He puts his finger to his lips.)

ERIC
Shhhh.
(Then he disappears out the window. 
Grange goes to the window, sees nothing but hears a quiet laugh. It's quite a drop. Shot of the dying Funboy: he has the same bloody crow on his chest
as on the building near Tintin.)

(Cut to Albrecht looking at pictures from the file on Eric and Shelley at his home. 
He hears something and goes to look.)

ERIC
Freeze!

(Albrecht drops his can.)

ALBRECHT
Jesus, don't ever do that man! fuck..

ERIC
(Looking at the pictures) Good likeness.

ALBRECHT
I saw your body man, you died, you got buried.

ERIC
You still have your hat on.

(Albrecht takes his hat off)

ALBRECHT
I gotta sit down. Holy shit. Say, are you some kind of a ghost?

ERIC
Boo. I don't know what I am. I need you to tell me what happened to us.

ALBRECHT
You took a six-storey swan dive out of a window. She uhh... was beaten and raped...died at the hospital. Hey you asked, man. I mean, come on, read the file. Shelley Webster held on for thirty hours in intensive care and her body finally just gave it up.I saw it man, I couldn't do jack for her.
(He holds out the file to Eric. Instead of taking it, Eric puts his hands to Albrecht's head, forcing the flashbacks of Shelley's suffering. He reels, totally unbalanced.)

ERIC
Don't touch me!

ALBRECHT
Heyy.. you okay?

ERIC
I saw her. I saw her through your eyes. You stayed with her the whole time.

ALBRECHT
Well, you gotta understand something, right, I was hoping she'd come out of it you know, gimme something I could work with. Yeah. Look I..

ERIC
Why didn't you do something about it?

ALBRECHT
Look, you think any of those people in that building, even the ones who signed the petition, would talk after what happened to you? Kept asking questions and I got busted for sticking my nose where it wasn't wanted.
(Eric looks at a framed picture of Albrecht with a woman)

ERIC
This your wife?

ALBRECHT
Yeah we, uh well not any more, we're getting a divorce.

ERIC
It's funny. Little things always used to mean so much to Shelley. 
I used to think they were kind of trivial. Believe me, nothing is trivial.
(He takes the cigarette Albrecht is smoking, takes a drag and puts it out.)
You shouldn't smoke these, they'll kill you.

ALBRECHT
Were you gonna vanish into thin air again?

ERIC
I thought I'd use your front door.

ALBRECHT
Look man, I'm sorry as hell for what happened to you and your girlfriend.

ERIC
Yeah.

ALBRECHT
Yeah.

(Cut to Top Dollar's place.)

GIDEON
I got stabbed. I shot the son of a bitch, I watched the bullet hole close by itself. Then I heard how my business gets blown up real good. Other than that, my day sucked.

GRANGE
Yeah, I saw him too. He had a guitar. He winked at me before he jumped out of a fourth floor window like he had wings.

TOP DOLLAR
He winked at you? Musicians.
What else did you see?

GIDEON
So far I haven't heard shit about what you're gonna do about all this crap. 
I mean, what do I get? My livelihood, it got flushed away and went swirly.

TOP DOLLAR
You ain't lost everything.

GIDEON
Yeah, and maybe you're not such a big shot either!

TOP DOLLAR
Fair enough. Catch.
(He throws something small at Gideon, who catches it and then drops it when he realises that it's an eyeball.)
Say hello to the last fellow who wouldn't co-operate with me.

GIDEON
You're telling me this thing is real?

TOP DOLLAR
All the power in the world resides in the eyes, fella. 
Sometimes more useful than the people who bear them.
(He goes to a large weapons cabinet and takes out a sword)

GIDEON
You know you're directly out of your fucking mind, you know that.

TOP DOLLAR
Yeah, eyes see. One of the most important things I learned from my sister.

GIDEON
Sister. She's supposed to be your sister?

TOP DOLLAR
My father's daughter. That's right. What's the matter, you don't see the resemblance?
(He points the sword at Gideon's throat.)
Now let's take it from the top, friend. In a lot of detail. What do you say?

GIDEON
He had a bird with him. Nearly pecked my face off. 
He told me to tell T-Bird that death was on its way, whatever the fuck that means. 
Draven. He said his name was Eric Draven. You want to relax that thing now?

TOP DOLLAR
And this birdman, he just happened to let you live. 
You sure you ain't making all of this up just to save your own ass?

GIDEON
I ain't making all of this up. I ain't twisted like you two fucks.

TOP DOLLAR
A boy and his bird. Awful touching.

(Gideon laughs. Top Dollar thrusts the sword through his neck. Gideon makes a lot of noise dying)

TOP DOLLAR
Aah, for fuck's sakes die, will you? (To Grange) Give me that thing.
(Grange hands him his gun. Top Dollar shoots Gideon a couple of times then hands the gun back.)
Thanks.

GRANGE
Funboy said he saw a black bird too. A big one. Then he choked to death on his own blood. I'll have the janitor come on up.

(Cut to Eric and Shelley's apartment. The cat Gabriel is by the window. 
Eric is on the roof playing his guitar.Cut to Sarah entering her own home. She goes to her record collection and pulls out an album by Eric's band, Hangman's Joke. She puts it on. The crow lands at her window, she goes over to it.)

SARAH
You again? Are you lost? Or hungry? Hi...
(The crow flies away. As Sarah turns back to the room, the record sticks:
"It can't rain all the time")

(Cut to the streets. T-Bird and Skank are walking along. T-bird sounds angry.)

T-BIRD
We're in this together, one part falls it all falls. 
You know how long it took to put this together, now some piece of red shit made Tintin into a fucking voodoo doll.

SKANK
Tintin's a dick.

T-BIRD
Tintin... FIRE IT UP!

BOTH
FIRE IT UP! FIRE IT UP!

T-BIRD
No Funboy..

SKANK
(Grinding against a parking meter) Probably still banging away on Darla

(T-Bird whistles and points Skank into a shop. Skank looks confused.)

T-BIRD
Smokes and road beers. Be quick.

SKANK
I'm on it.

(T-Bird gets into his car. Eric appears in the seat behind him and points a gun at his head.)

T-BIRD
What the fuck are you supposed to be, man?

ERIC
I'm your passenger. Drive.

(T-Bird starts the car and moves off. Back inside the shop, Skank sees them leaving.)

SKANK
What's this happy horse shit?
Hey, T-bird, T-Bird!

(as he runs into the road a car drives into him, he rolls over the bonnet. 
The driver (Henry Rollins!) gets out.)

DRIVER
What the fucks the matter with you? Stupid ass, you hit my car!

(Skank beats him up and steals the car)

(Back in T-bird's car: )

T-BIRD
What do you want man? Money, drugs, I got it. We could use you. Was you did Tintin. 
This is business right?

ERIC
Faster.

(In a cop car sitting in an alley)

COP1
Got that cream stuff? I hate this, they can't even call it cream legally.

COP2
What the crap?

(T-Bird drives by at full speed, the cops take off, spilling Cop1's coffee down his front.)

COP1
Aaaaaaaaagh!

(cut back to T-bird's car)
T-BIRD
Ooh look, making us popular, and when they flash us like that they ain't friends.

(T-Bird drives through the streets with the cop car right behind, 
Skank drives through looking for T-Bird.)

T-BIRD
Got something personal amigo, we can work it out, right? Uh?

(Skank takes a wrong turn)

SKANK
Damn, dead end
(As he almost drives into several people and gets covered in mud)
Look out, get out of the way, oh shit, goddamn foreign cars! Hate this, this ain't good.
(Skank drives up an alley in time to see T-Bird drive past the end.)
I got you T-Bird, I'm coming!
(He shoots through to slam into the side of the copcar. He spills out the door, mostly unhurt.)

(T-Bird is parked at the docks. Eric is looking in the boot of the car.)

T-BIRD
What, what are you talking about, nah, nah nah nah, you mean that place downtown? I remember her, we needed to put some fear into that little lady, she wasn't going along with our tenant relocation programme. 
Then her idiot boyfriend shows up and turns a simple sweep and clear into a total cluster fuck.Who gives a shit? It's ancient history. What? What do you want? What is it? What? Speak to me! Speak!
(FLASHBACK to the attack)
I know you. I know you. I knew I knew you. I knew I knew you. 
But you ain't you. You can't be you. We put you through the window. 
There ain't no coming back. This is the really real world, there ain't no coming back. We killed you dead, there ain't no coming back.
(Skank makes his way across a walkway to find T-Bird)
There ain't no coming back. There ain't no coming back.
(Eric has strapped T-Bird into the driver seat with an explosive device. 
Now he starts the car to drive into the water.)
Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is... and felt how awful goodness is.

(The car drives up a ramp, takes off and explodes as Eric waves bye-bye. 
He pours lighter fuel on the ground and lights it to form the familiar crow symbol.
He walks away and the crow lands on his shoulder.)
(Cut to the graveyard. Grange kneels beside Eric's empty grave.
Cut to Sarah's home. Darla is cooking breakfast.
Sarah wakes up from sleeping on the sofa with the record sleeve in her arms.)

DARLA
Do you like them up or over? I can't remember.

SARAH
What are you doing? I don't even like eggs.

DARLA
Wait, you loved eggs.

SARAH
Yeah, when I was five.

DARLA
Well what do you want now, black coffee and cigarettes?

SARAH
So what did you take to become mother of the year?

DARLA
Oh, it wasn't drugs. Someone kinda woke me up.

SARAH
Who?

DARLA
Oh, it was nuts.

SARAH
You're acting weird. Did you win the lottery or something, Darla?

DARLA
Oh forget it. I never was too good at this mommy shit.
(She goes to chuck the eggs she's been cooking in the bin.)

SARAH
Over easy!
I like em over easy.
Mom.

(Cut to the police station. Albrecht is walking along when Detective Torres calls him into
his office.)

DETECTIVE TORRES
Hey Albrecht. This is the third hit in your hood in twenty-four hours. 
We just fished this out of the river. 
He's fused to his own car, we're going to have to ID his teeth.

ALBRECHT
Name's T-Bird. Arson was his speciality, looks like he zigged when he shoulda zagged. Case closed.

DETECTIVE TORRES
Bull-fucking-shit! Come here. You're holding out on me. I got a goddamn vigilante killer knocking off scumbags left and right and you're covering up for somebody. Who's the cartoon character in the painted face?

ALBRECHT
Hey, you're the detective, why don't you tell me?

DETECTIVE TORRES
Okay, Gideon's blows all to hell and you're having a chit-chat with some weirdo who winds up in T-bird's car when it zigs instead of zags. 
And you steal one of my case files from homicide, and you're saying this is just a fucking automobile accident? Come on!

ALBRECHT
Yeah. Good speech though, I didn't wanna interrupt you, it sounded good, you wanna write that shit down.

DETECTIVE TORRES
Right, smartass. The captain's got a little love note waiting for you. 
Welcome to the first day of the rest of your suspension.

ALBRECHT
Suspension? For what?

DETECTIVE TORRES
Misconduct. (Into the phone) Yeah, get me the lab.

(Cut to Sarah approaching the building where Eric and Shelley lived. 
She pulls some boards away from the door to climb through and goes upstairs.)
(Shot of photographs burning in the fireplace. Flashbacks of Eric and Shelley's life.
Sarah enters and sees Gabriel.)

SARAH
Eric?
Sarah, you're going crazy. Gabriel! I thought you were dead. You're not dead, are you?
(She notices smoke in the fireplace and goes to look.)
I knew it was you. Even with the makeup. I remembered your song. 
You said, "It can't rain all the time." That is from your song, right?
Come on Eric, I know you're here. I miss you, and Shelley. I get so lonely all by myself. 
Hell with you. I thought you cared.

ERIC
Sarah. I do care.

(She runs to him.)

(Cut to Top Dollar's boardroom.)

SKANK
That's him, that's him. But he looked different. He was all painted up white like some kind a dead whore, I seen him, T-bird, he sent me in for some road beers, right, and he took him away, but I chased him down, and he bang fried T-bird to his fucking car. 
Here's to you buddy!

TOP DOLLAR
I think we oughta just videotape this, play it back in slow motion.

SKANK
Fire it up! Fire it up! Fire it up!

TOP DOLLAR
See the grave?

GRANGE
Empty.

SKANK
Grave? What grave? Hope not my fucking grave!

GRANGE
Three out of four. He's working his way back to this speed freak right here.

SKANK
It's not fair. Funboy's fault, that boy was outa control, T-Bird, he came in and said, (whistles) waste em both, now this ghost gonna kill my ass next. 
This ghost gonna kill my ass next. This ghost gonna kill my ass next.

TOP DOLLAR
Hey! It ain't no ghost.

MYCA
They have all arrived

TOP DOLLAR
Watch him.
We might need him.

(Cut to the hotdog stand. Sarah is already there with Gabriel; Albrecht drives up to join her.)

ALBRECHT
He like his plain or with onions? Fine, don't talk to me.

SARAH
When someone's dead, they can't come back can they?

ALBRECHT
That's what I thought. Are you referring to anyone in particular?

SARAH
You'll just think I'm nuts.

ALBRECHT
Yeah, well then maybe they'll have to lock us both up.

SARAH
You've seen him too?

ALBRECHT
I saw somebody. Maybe it was your fairy godfather.

SARAH
Eric didn't come back for me. He can't be my friend anymore because I'm alive.

ALBRECHT
You wanna friend to walk you home?

(Cut to Eric on the roofs with his guitar, this time more violent until he smashes it.Cut to Top Dollar's club, where My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult are playing. Cut to the boardroom where the long table is now seating a lot of people, loading guns, passing over money etc. They bring Skank in.)

TOP DOLLAR
Boys. It seems our friend T-Bird won't be joining us this evening on account
of a slight case of death. (To Skank) Well, sit down.

TOP DOLLAR
Well, well, well. Devil's night is upon us again, where we throw a little party, 
start a bunch of fires, make a little profit.

MYCA
I like the pretty lights.

TOP DOLLAR
Problem is, it's all been done before, you see what I'm saying.

GANGSTER TYPE 1
No reason to quit.

TOP DOLLAR
Wrong. Best reason to quit. Only reason to quit. A man has an idea. 
The idea attracts others, like minded. The idea expands, the idea becomes an institution. What was the idea? That's what's been bothering me boys. 
I tell you when I used to think about the idea itself it put a big old smile on my face. You see gentlemen, greed is for amateurs. Disorder, chaos, anarchy. Now that's fun.

GANGSTER TYPE 2
What about Devil's night?

TOP DOLLAR
What about it? I started the first fires in this goddamn city, before I knew it every charlatan and shitheel was imitating me. You know what they got now? Devil's Night greeting cards. Isn't that precious? Yeah.
The idea has become the institution, boys. Time to move along.

GANGSTER TYPE 3
You don't want us to do light my fire time for the whole city?

TOP DOLLAR
No. No, I want you to set a fire so goddamn big the Gods will notice us again, that's what I'm saying. I want all of you boys to be able to look me straight in the eye one more time and say, "Are we having fun or what?"
Hey you, what's your name, Skank? You don't feel that?

SKANK
I feel like a little worm on a big fucking hook.

TOP DOLLAR
You feel like a little worm on a big fucking hook, well boy, your mama must be damn proud of you. 
The crow flies in and lands on the table.
(How the hell did that thing get in here?)

ERIC
Gentlemen

SKANK
Let me go, let me go, I gotta go...

TOP DOLLAR
So you're him huh? The killer of killers. Nice outfit. Not sure about the face though.

ERIC
I just want him. (points to Skank)

TOP DOLLAR
Well, you can't have him.

ERIC
Well, I see you have made your decision. Now let's see you enforce it.

TOP DOLLAR
Oh this is already boring the shit out of me, kill him.
(The men all shoot lots and Eric falls off the table.)
Ooooh, that had to hurt. (One guy goes to look at the body. There isn't one. Myca tries to catch the crow.)

GANGSTER TYPE 4
He's gone.
(He disappears under the table, dead. Everyone starts shooting, 
Top Dollar, Grange and Myca escape and a big gunfight ensues.)

ERIC
You're all going to die.
(Eric grabs Skank)

ERIC
Guess it's not a good day to be a bad guy, huh Skank?

SKANK
Uh Skank? That's Skank right there. Skank's dead.

ERIC
That's right.

(He throws Skank out of the window. The cops arrive in force.)

COPS 
That's all she wrote! Hold it! Move and we shoot!

(Eric dances across the floor and runs out onto the roof to make his escape,
followed by helicopters. Albrecht picks him up in his car and they get away.)

ALBRECHT
My advice, next time duck. So many cops, you'd think they'd be giving away donuts.(He stops as a cop car swerves in front of them and Eric gets out and disappears.) I knew you were gonna do that.

(Cut to a car with Grange driving and Top Dollar and Myca in the back.)

TOP DOLLAR
Look at that out there. Whole city ought to be in flames by now. Sky ought to be red.

GRANGE
So that, I take it, was the late great Eric Draven.

MYCA
He has power, but it is power you can take from him.

TOP DOLLAR
I like him already.

MYCA
The crow is his link between the land of the living and the realm of the dead.

GRANGE
So kill the crow and destroy the man.

(Cut to Eric walking down a street. He sees kids in Halloween costumes and laughs.)

ERIC
I'm coming home Shelley.

(Cut to the graveyard. Sarah is asleep at the foot of Shelley's grave.)

SARAH
You're going to say I shouldn't be in a cemetery in the middle of the night, right?

ERIC
Safest place in the world to be.

SARAH
That's because everybody's dead. I knew you'd come here.

ERIC
It's really late, Sarah

SARAH
You didn't say goodbye.

ERIC
You're just going to have to forgive me for that.

SARAH
And you're never coming back.

ERIC
I gave this to Shelley once. I think she'd like you to have it.
(It's the engagement ring, on a necklace. He ties it around Sarah's neck.)
This way you'll always remember her.

SARAH
I'll never take it off. I'd better just sneak back into the house. Bye.

(As Sarah walks past the church, Grange grabs her and drags her inside.)

GRANGE
Shh, shh, take it easy sweetheart.

TOP DOLLAR
What is that, some sort of souvenir there, from your pal? 
I'll just keep it for good luck, what do you say? (he pulls the ring from Sarah's neck)

MYCA
Her eyes are so innocent.

(Cut back to Eric at Shelley's grave. He suddenly gets a flash from the crow's vision of Sarah being abducted.As Eric and the crow enter the church, Grange trains a gun on the crow and shoots it.)

TOP DOLLAR
Quick impression for ya: Caw Caw, bang fuck I'm dead!

ERIC
Give me the girl, and I'll let you walk out of here.

TOP DOLLAR
Yeah, well, why don't you just give me a minute to think about that huh? Oh fuck it. (He shoots Eric. It doesn't heal.)

ERIC
Fuck. (He falls over)

TOP DOLLAR
Well, well, well, it does seem to me that our little life has undergone a rather significant change in the past few minutes now wouldn't you agree? You know, for a ghost you bleed just fine.

GRANGE
It's still alive

TOP DOLLAR
Then kill it.

GRANGE
Bye bye birdie.

(Albrecht bursts in and shoots Grange before he can kill the crow. Lots of shooting ensues. Eric ends up at the bottom of the tower with Albrecht. Myca has the crow.)

ALBRECHT
Well, just came by to pay my respects and here you are getting all shot up again.

ERIC
They've taken Sarah

ALBRECHT
How many?

ERIC
Two more. I can handle it, don't worry.

ALBRECHT
Not worried, look here's a plan. You stay in front, when they run out of ammo, I'll arrest them.

ERIC
That sounds like a great plan, there's just one problem. (He moves his hand from the wound on 
his shoulder)

ALBRECHT
Shit, you're bleeding all over the place. I thought, you know, you were invincible.

ERIC
I was, I'm not anymore.

ALBRECHT
Well, I guess you really will need my help, then won't you?

(Upstairs, Top Dollar gives Myca a gun and kisses her before moving away. 
Albrecht moves in front of Eric and gets shot by Myca.)

ERIC
You were supposed to stay behind me.

ALBRECHT
I think I messed up.

(Eric goes up stairs to confront Myca.)

MYCA
This is all the power you ever had. Now it is mine. A pity there is not more time for us. (She points the gun at Eric, but before she can fire the crow pecks out her eyes. She is blinded and grabs the rope of the church bell before falling to her death.)

SARAH (from the roof)
Help, Eric, I'm scared!

(Top Dollar holds her on the roof of the church in the pouring rain. )

ERIC
Let her go! You can have me. I won't fight you.

TOP DOLLAR
All right.
(He lets Sarah go: she falls down the roof to cling by her fingers to the gutter.)

ERIC
NO!

(Top Dollar produces a sword and fights Eric. During the fight Top Dollar drops the engagement ring. Eric grabs a lightning conductor to fight back but ends up with Top Dollar's sword through him.)

TOP DOLLAR
You know, my daddy used to say every man's got a devil and you can't rest until you find him. What happened back there with you and your girlfriend- I cleared that building. Hell, nothing in this town happens without my say-so. 
So I'm sorry if I spoiled your wedding plans there friend. 
But if it's any consolation to you, you have put a smile on my face. 
You got a lot of spirit son, I'm going to miss you. 
(He produces a small knife.)

ERIC
I have something to give you. I don't want it anymore.
(He reaches up and grabs Top Dollar's head. Flashes of Shelley's suffering in the hospital.) Thirty hours of pain. All at once. All for you.

(As Eric lets go, Top Dollar falls onto an interestingly spiky gargoyle and the runoff from the gutter turns red. Eric helps Sarah back up and takes her down to Albrecht.)

ERIC
Go help him.

SARAH
(To Albrecht) Are you alive?

ALBRECHT
God, I need a cigarette.
(Eric lights one for him.)
Everybody else dead?

ERIC
You helped me. What you kept in here saved me (tapping his head)Thanks.

ALBRECHT
Don't mention it. Been meaning to come to church anyway.
(He takes the cigarette, but spits it straight out.)
Oh yuck! I'm quitting as of now- if I live.

ERIC
Stay with him until help comes.

SARAH
He'll be okay, right?
(Eric's gone)
Eric?

ALBRECHT
Does that a lot.

(In the graveyard. Eric staggers up to Shelley's grave and collapses)

ERIC
Shelley...

(Outside the church, as Albrecht is taken to the ambulance on a stretcher.)

ALBRECHT
At least it's stopped raining, huh?

SARAH
Can't rain all the time.

DETECTIVE TORRES
I don't believe it! This nightmare all your fault Albrecht?

ALBRECHT
(To Sarah) You go on home, I'm okay.

DETECTIVE TORRES
You wanna tell me what's going on?

ALBRECHT
Your vigilante's on the roof. You missed it.

DETECTIVE TORRES
Get him out of here.

(In the graveyard, Shelley appears and goes to Eric and kisses him.)

(Cut to some time later, Sarah is in the graveyard. The graves are both filled in. The crow lands on one of the headstones and drops the ring into Sarah's hand.)

SARAH
Thanks.

SARAH (V/O)
If the people we love are stolen from us, 
the way to have the live on is to never stop loving them.
Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.


THE END

Suggestions, corrections and comments to me. Thank you.