Early FACULTY screenplay, Part Two
-- It turns out that, during the locker-room exchange between Delilah and Stokely about lotion, Delilah has put something into Stokely’s bookbag. While she, Stan, and Pacey are talking about the students being called to the office so that the faculty can make them aliens, she reaches into her bag for a cigarette….
Suddenly, Stokely SCREAMS BLOODY MURDER. She pulls her arm from her bag, in ungodly pain. They [Stan and Pacey] rush to her.
PACEY
What is it?
Stokely pulls at her jacket, trying to get it off.
STOKELY
Something’s on me. I feel it.
Stan rips at the jacket trying to pry it off.
STAN
(to Pacey)
Help me.
Pacey takes the other arm and pulls the jacket down as Stokely reels back in pain.
STOKELY
Oh God, it’s biting me…
Stan rips through the sleeve of her shirt just in time to see a worm imbed itself into Stoke’s arm, digging deep under the skin. Blood oozes as the worm…disappears.
Stokely SCREAMS IN AGONY as the worm moves just under the surface of her skin…travelling up her arm to her shoulder.
STOKELY
DOSOMETHING!
Stan and Pacey are horrified. He [Stan?] rips the shirt off her back. Then, he traces it with his finger as it travels past her shoulder up to her neck.
STAN
Oh God, what is it?
STOKELY
Please…get it out…it hurts…
Stan takes two fingers and tries to stop it’s [sic] movement, holding it in place midneck. He presses his fingers together…pinching it.
STAN
Give me her bag.
Pacey grabs Stokely’s tote.
STAN
Now open it and get ready.
He squeezes hard, pressing his fingers together…trapping it…and then…
THE WORM ERUPTS THROUGH THE SKIN
ripping flesh…flying through the air. It flops right into Stoke’s bag. Stan grabs it and zips it up. Stokely grabs her neck in pain.
STAN
You okay?
Stan takes a look at her neck, bandaging it with the sleeve of her shirt.
STOKELY
No…no…
Stokely is terrified. He puts his arms around her, comforting her.
PACEY
The last bell is about to ring. Let’s get outta here.
-- The movie scene Miss Burke talks to Zeke at his car and he offers her cherry-flavored condoms is not in this script. The only sexual tension between their characters comes in the classroom conversation about Robinson Crusoe early in the script. Also, Mr. Furlong’s AWESOME death scene, with the paper-cutter blade and the pen to the eye, is not in this script at all.
-- When All Our Heroes jump into the car to get away from the school, it’s not Zeke’s car; it’s Stan’s. He, Pacey, and Stokely are getting ready to drive away when they spot Marybeth, who’s just left a conversation with Zeke; Stan tells her to get in the car. No Delilah at all, of course, because she’s already aliened up. Mr. Tate almost catches them, sticking his hand in the open window. When Pacey hits the electric window button, Mr. Tate drops an alien-worm into the car at Pacey’s feet, and it wriggles under the seat. Marybeth freaks out. After it crawls around near people for a few minutes, they get it out the window and Stan splatters it on the windshield with the wipers. Then, out of nowhere, Mr. Furlong mows into them with the Driver’s Ed car. Zeke roars up in his El Camino and tells Stan to follow him in his wrecked car. That’s when they all end up at Zeke’s house/drug lab. No mice die in this version; they just dissect another worm.
-- A significant difference is that it’s not the caffeine-based drug that serves in this screenplay as the primary means of killing the aliens, but rather fire. During the football game where everyone in town is turned into aliens, Alien Delilah’s leading the cheerleading squad. The part in the movie where Miss Burke chases Pacey through the school bus and gets decapitated is missing. The part where Principal Drake gets shot is still there, but after they shoot her, they burn her body. Instead of Stokely having to leave Stan locked outside, Molly reappears in the gym to provide the tension that’s been missing so far, of “is she an alien or isn’t she?,” and it’s Pacey who has to make that sacrifice. They tie her up and Stokely douses her with lighter fluid, saying, “You make one alien move and you’re fireworks - got it?” There's one bit (cut for obvious reasons!) where Our Heroes in the gym use an American flag to make a torch when they decide to venture out to try and capture the Coach, who they’ve decided must be the Main Alien (since it wasn’t Principal Drake). The aliens outside start trying to get in at Our Heroes, so they decide to make fireballs by ripping up another flag and dousing the pieces with lighter fluid. Molly begs Pacey to untie her and he gives in. Turns out she wasn’t an alien, yay! But then the oncoming alien cheerleaders grab her… and then she becomes one, bummer. It’s Pacey who throws a fireball at her, and she goes up in flames and burns all the cheerleaders around her too.
-- Meanwhile, Zeke’s gone out to his car and is driving away from the school (why?). He sees Miss Harper (Famke Janssen’s character), who is being womanhandled by some cops who are trying to turn her into an alien. Zeke rescues her and she gets in the car with him. He tells her they’ve been invaded by aliens. Turns out she knows. She tries to get him, but he stabs her in the eye with a caffeine-pen. It kills her.
-- The ending of this screenplay is TOTALLY different from the movie. The conversation between Pacey and Marybeth where Marybeth reveals that she’s the Main Alien still happens, but Marybeth takes on her complete alien form. Pacey runs away through the boys’ locker room to the pool area, where Stan and Stokely have been talking. He tells them it’s Marybeth just as Alien Marybeth comes crashing into the pool area. She gets Stan, but rather than turning him into an alien, she crushes him to death and throws his body down in front of Stokely and Pacey. Alien Marybeth jumps in the pool and pulls Stokely in, as in the movie, but again, instead of turning her into an alien, Alien Marybeth kills her and throws her body into the rafters. Pacey runs through the locker room with Marybeth chasing him. Here’s the end, directly from the screenplay:
INSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM
Pacey races through the locker room, passed [sic] rows and rows of lockers. He reaches a corner, a dead-end. He stops and catches his breath.
CREAK! The sound of the locker room door opening. He hears footsteps. Pacey goes deadly silent, listening. He sees a shadow appear along side a row of lockers. The shadow appears to be a human figure.
MARYBETH
Pacey.
A sweet Georgia accent fills the locker room.
MARYBETH
Where are you, Pacey?
Pacey tries to quiet his TERRIFIED BREATHING.
MARYBETH
Poor Pacey. The class wuss. Loser. His little penis taped to the wall for all the world to see.
A SHADOW bounces across Pacey’s face. He moves to another row of lockers.
MARYBETH
I can change all that, Pacey. You never have to be afraid again. Think about it. A life without fear. A society without guns and violence and drugs. It’ll be a perfect world. Fearless.
She’s getting to him. Pacey is losing it. He looks about madly.
PACEY
But you’re afraid. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? You didn’t want to be alone anymore, did you?
Silence. He’s touched on a truth.
MARYBETH
Please, Pacey. Be my new family.
Her voice is whimsical…sweet.
PACEY
No.
Pacey rushes around a row of lockers, not seeing that the shadow has changed shape. It’s now huge and monsterous [sic].
Pacey eyes the small caged room that houses equipment and towels. He goes for it. Opening the caged door and sliding in. He locks it from inside. He cowers down into the shadows as the…
The Creature moves in front of the cage. He watches, in silent horror, as the Creature’s neck elongates and its head rises up and over the cage.
The Thing knows he’s there, its three eyes piercing him.
In an instant, the Creature attacks…CRASHING AGAINST THE CAGE. It RATTLES and QUAKES.
Pacey presses his back against the wall, weighing his options. Through the towel return, comes a tentacle. It slaps about, swinging inches from Pacey’s face, just missing him.
Pacey’s hands find a baseball bat. He grabs it up and starts swinging…beating at the tentacle.
With bat in hand, Pacey goes for the gated door. He slips out of it and bolts for the locker room door.
The Creature tries to pull free from the cage, but it’s [sic] tentacle is stuck in the towel return. It pulls and twists.
INT. GYM/LOCKER ROOM DOOR - A SECOND LATER
Pacey comes bolting out the locker room door RUNNING SMACK into…
ZEKE
Pace SCREAMS HOLY MURDER. Zeke grabs him, holding up the Bic pens.
ZEKE
This kills them. SKAT kills them.
Just then,
AN ENORMOUS MONSTEROUS [sic] WAIL ECHOES through the locker room. Zeke listens in sheer terror.
ZEKE
What was that?
Just then, the locker room door comes RIPPING off its hinges as Zeke's eyes give sight to the single most horrifying thing he'll ever see.
Pacey bolts, moving across the basketball court. He turns to see the Creature take Zeke's body in its grasp and SLING him through the air. His body goes CRASHING into the electronic scoreboard before SMASHING to the floor in front of Pacey.
Pacey turns, to see the Thing slithering across the floor. One of it's [sic] tentacles SLINGS forward, wrapping itself around Pacey's leg, reeling him in. Pacey slides across the floor, KICKING and SCREAMING, his hands flailing about...they find a Bic pen. His body squirms like a hooked fish, until the Creature stands over him.
Pacey lay[s] directly underneath the Creature, it's [sic] four legs on every side of him, caging him in. The Creature's head appears on it's [FOR GOD'S SAKE SPELL IT RIGHT!!! Fuck it, I'm not correcting it anymore] snake-like neck, twisting under and moving close to Pacey's face.
The Creature is face to face with Pacey. It's slimy feelers slap about, grazing his cheeks. Its [!!!RIGHT!!!] mouth opens as two long worm-like tongues spit out...
Pacey eyes the Creature's torso...it's belly where the skin is so translucent, you can see through it. Thousands of small slugs swim about...some breaking the surface of the skin, then diving back under like dolphins in the ocean.
Several fall onto Pacey. They disappear inside his clothing.
Pace brings the Bic pen up to the Creature's eye, but the Creature dodges. Pacey misses. The slugs are invading Pacey's body. He can feel them. He starts SCREAMING and WRITHING about. Pacey rolls away from the Creature.
Pacey stands upright and runs, picking at the slugs imbedding in his skin. The Creature charges for Pacey, tearing at him.
Pacey eyes the bleachers. He goes for them, diving under them...hitting the electric lever on the wall as he goes.
KABOOM!
The electric bleachers begin to close...recoiling up within each other.
UNDER THE BLEACHERS
Pacey races through the maze of metal that comprises the underlining of the bleachers.
He sprints, dodging the steel braces as they snap flat around him. He looks behind him to see...
THE CREATURE
right behind him, trafficking the folding bleachers as well.
Pace runs the length of them, trying to get to the other side before they close completely...SMASHING HIM FLAT.
The bleachers are almost completely gone. Space is tight. Pacey LEAPS in one final jolt of adrenaline. He makes it, flying...SMASHING into the gym wall.
He turns to see the Thing just as the last bleacher snaps closed, SQUISHING THE CREATURE FLAT. Only it's head escapes, stretching forth, coming at Pacey, who meets it dead center with the Bic pen, imbedding it, with warrior force, right in the Creature's middle eye.
The Creature goes mad, it's head convulsing and shaking. A[n] unfathomed SCREAM erupting from IT'S mouth.
A long moment as the Creature finally comes to a still...dead. Pacey looks down, the slugs on his body fall away. Dead too.
Pacey stares a long hard moment until he's completely satisfied the Creature is dead.
Then he rises to his feet.
CUT TO:
EXT. GYMNASIUM DOORS - SECONDS LATER
Pacey steps out into the rising sunlight. He looks around as several of the Faculty move about. Mr. Tate is helping a frightened Mrs. Olson. Everything looks like it will be alright. Suddenly,
A HAND GRABS PACEY FROM BEHIND.
It's Mr. Greenberg. He appears dazed and very much out of it.
MR. GREENBERG
What['s] going on, Pacey?
PACEY
Nothing, Mr. Greenberg. It's all over. Comedy hour is over.
CLOSE ON Pacey's face. He appears different now. Stronger. More confident. Fearless even. He moves across the parking lot. Tire[d], relieved, exalted.
The CAMERA PANS to the sign that sits in front of the school.
"WELCOME TO JEFFERSON HIGH! HOME OF THE FIGHTING PATRIOTS!"
BLACKOUT!
Overall, this version of the screenplay would have led to much less of an ensemble film than what we ended up with -- it's very clear that Pacey is the star of this movie, as he's the only survivor among the principle characters. This one is much, MUCH darker, much more a true horror movie. My favorite thing about this version is that everything is not okay at the end. The people who are dead stay dead; the people who were alien-hosts but survived come out of it confused; the end of Pacey's story is left hanging, and we're left to determine for ourselves what the emotional impact of his experiences might have been. Overall, as much fun as the movie is that ultimately came to be, I have to say that for my part, I think this version makes for a FAR more interesting movie.
I hope you guys enjoyed this different take on the film!