“The Howling”

A SCREENPLAY BY JOHN SAYLES

1. EXT. CU FACE OF KAREN WEST – NIGHT

KAREN is an attractive woman in her 20’s. She stares at something, red light flashing on and off on her face-

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2. NEON SIGN – NIGHT

flashing red-          LOVE HUNGRY WOMEN

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3. CU KAREN – NIGHT

turning to look at something else-

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4. NEON SIGN – NIGHT

this one blue-          SEX THRILLS

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5. KAREN – NIGHT

stands in front of a porno theater on an L.A. street. Men pass, browsing. Karen bends her head and speaks in a low voice-

KAREN

I’m trying Western now, just above Santa Monica. I’ll be walking north.

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6. RADIO RECEIVER – NIGHT

on a desk, Karen’s voice coming through heavy static-

KAREN (V.O. Radio)

It’s hard to be sure, but I don’t think anybody is following me.

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A7. INT. TV STUDIO, RADIO BOOTH – NIGHT

CARDWELL, a radio technician, sits with Kline and Shantz, a pair of police specialists, listening to the receiver.

KAREN (V.O. Radio)

I won’t transmit again till I find the phone booth.

CARDWELL

Don’t like that interference.

KLINE

It’s the best rig we’ve got.

CARDWELL

All that neon down there. It messes up the signal.

SHANTZ

I’ll get our people cruising Western.

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B7. INT. POLICE CAR – NIGHT

BRILES, a veteran cop, drives down a city street while

McBEAN, a rookie, watches the action outside-

BRILES

She’s wearing white. We should be able to spot her pretty easy.

McBEAN

Yeah. I’ve seen her on the news.

RADIO VOICE (V.O. radio)

Baker seven, baker seven-

Briles clicks on the radio speaker-

BRILES

Baker seven, over-

RADIO VOICE (V.O. radio)

Contact lost with Fox One, proceed north on Western, report any sighting.

BRILES

Will do, over.

McBEAN

She’s a fox, all right.

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8. INT. OFFICE SET – NIGHT

DR. GEORGE WAGGNER, a cheerful-looking man in his early 50’s sits on the edge of a desk with studied casualness, facing video cameras on a set meant to look like a doctor’s office-

Sc. 8

DR. WAGGNER’S TV SPEECH

We’ve all heard people talk about “animal magnetism”, about the “natural man” and the “noble savage”. As if we had lost something valuable in our long evolution into civilized human beings -- and there’s a good reason for this. Man is a combination of the learned and the instinctual, of the sophisticated and the primitive. We should never try to deny the beast, the animal, within us -- only to channel these energies in a positive direction.

All of us have a great untapped potential -- a potential for living. What we do with that potential, with that life, depends as much on our attitudes toward our physical desires as it does on the social programming of our minds. The struggle between mind and body is not a necessary one. It produces anger, frustration, the strain of modern-day living in a world that’s moving too quickly toward its own annihilation. Stress results when we fight against our impulses, when we attempt to destroy the natural man or woman within us. Repression is the father of neurosis, of self-hatred.

Let me say a few words about my new book, THE GIFT. When we’re born, each of us is given a gift -- the gift of life.....

CONTINUED:

DOC

We’ve all heard people talk about “animal magnetism”, about the “natural man” and the “noble savage”. As if we had lost something valuable in our long evolution into civilized human beings -

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9. CONTROL BOOTH – NIGHT

overlooking the set through a huge pane of glass. Doc appears on the ‘live’ monitor and in another angle on a preview monitor. Another preview monitor has a ‘Special Report’ title cued on it. A DIRECTOR and a T.D. work the show while station manager FRED FRANCIS hovers over them-

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10. TAPE RECORDER – NIGHT

A reel-to-reel playing back a phone conversation. Karen’s voice is much clearer than the other (man’s) voice.

KAREN (tape)

But why can’t you make friends?

EDDIE (tape)

The people here aren’t like me. I’m different.

KAREN (tape)

We all feel that way sometimes, Eddie.

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11. INT. MIXING ROOM

MIRELL, the station censor, and Gibbon, a sound man wearing a headset, listen to the tape. Gibbon has his finger on a button on a box feeding into the same VTR the reel-to-reel is hooked to.

EDDIE (tape)

Karen?

KAREN (tape)

Yes Eddie?

MIRELL

Here it comes – standards and practices violation number 137.

EDDIE (tape)

You know what I’d like? I’d like to be alone with you and BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Mirell cues Gibbon to hit the bleep tone. Gibbon lets it up.

GIBBON

(whistles)

That’s one sick costumer.

KAREN (tape)

I’d like that, Eddie. We’ll have to meet somewhere.

MIRELL

She’s got guts... Or else she’s out of her fuckin’ mind.

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12. EXT. STREET – KAREN – NIGHT

checking a phone booth, looking for something. She doesn’t see it, moves on-

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13. STREET – KAREN – NIGHT

passing tattoo parlors, pawn shops. A MAN in a Dodger’s warmup jacket approaches her-

MAN

How Much?

KAREN

Eddie?

MAN

Carl. How much for a half-and-half?

KAREN

Get lost.

Karen starts away from him-

MAN

Hey, you’re that newslady-

KAREN

Beat it.

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14. TV MONITOR SCREEN – NIGHT

silent footage of a young woman’s battered and mutilated corpse being lifted off on a stretcher by police medics in Griffith Park-

ROY (off)

Which one is that?

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15. INT. MIXING ROOM – NIGHT

Gibbon and Mirell still working with the tape recorder in the background as we see ROY NEILL, Karen’s husband, a well-built man, watching the monitor tensely with CHRIS HALLORAN, a sharply-dressed young feature producer. Roy is upset, pacing-

CHRIS

That’s the second one. Griffith Park.

ROY

Jesus. Has Karen seen this?

CHRIS

Yes.

ROY

She never mentioned seeing the girls. I mean it’s bad enough this psycho picks her to make his phone calls to, but this-

CHRIS

She didn’t want you to worry.

The image on the monitor screen cuts to the scene of another killing. Roy and Chris look at it-

ROY

I’m worried.

CHRIS

Yeah.

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16. EXT. STREET – KAREN – NIGHT

Karen approaches a phone booth, searches, sees-

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17. BOOTH – KAREN’S POV – NIGHT

There is a yellow smiley-face sticker above the phone. Beneath it is the scratched message-

Karen – this is the place.

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18. KAREN – NIGHT

looks around, turns toward the booth to shield the fact that she is transmitting-

KAREN

I’m on Western between DeLongpre and Sunset. The nunber here is-

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19. INT. RADIO BOOTH – NIGHT

KAREN (V.O. radio)

-527-29%$. I’ll transmit [#S{4l6 calls me.

CARDWELL

Damn, It’s something in the wire, it’s got to be.

KLINE

(to Shantz)

Should we have the boys scoop her up?

SHANTZ

If she doesn’t meet him tonight he may go underground again. I think it’s worth the risk to go ahead with it.

CARDWELL

You’re not the one out there with that fruitcake.

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20. CU LEW – NIGHT

LEW LANDERS, an almost too-handsome anchorman, looks at us sincerely-

LEW

-weeks ago when Update News reporter Karen West began receiving calls from a mysterious stranger who identified himself only as ‘Eddie’-

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21. INT. BATHROOM – LEW – NIGHT

Lew is practicing before a mirror over a sink, a sheet of copy in his hands-

LEW

-the KIRQ news team began working with Los Angeles police to link ‘Eddie’ with the recent string of fatal attacks on young women in the area.

Roy enters, shaken, and Lew pretends to be adjusting his clothes. Roy runs cold water in the sink next to Lew and throws it on his face-

LEW

Hi, Roy.

Roy doesn’t respond.

LEW

Brave little girl you’ve got there.

Roy glares at him: exits. Lew takes the copy sheet out-

LEW

Tonight, in an act of courage we here at KIRQ are all very proud of, Karen West has-

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22. INT. PHONE BOOTH – KAREN – NIGHT

waiting-

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23. CU KAREN – NIGHT

tense, watching the phone-

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24. PHONE – KAREN’S POV – NIGHT

A moment’s beat – RING!

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25. KAREN – NIGHT

jumps at the noise. She lifts the receiver-

KAREN

Eddie? Yes... yes... alone.

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26. ECU EDDIE’S MOUTH – NIGHT

very dark, we watch Eddie’s lips as he speaks into a phone-

EDDIE

Are you wearing what I asked you to?

Good... good.

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27. KAREN – NIGHT

shaking a little as she talks-

KAREN

Yes Eddie... I know. I will. Okay. Yes.

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28. INT. RADIO ROOM – NIGHT

Roy is being introduced to the cops by TERRY FISHER, Chris’s program assistant and girl friend-

TERRY

Lieutenant Shantz, Detective Kline, this is Karen’s husband-

SHANTZ

(offers his hand)

You got a brave young lady there, Mr. West.

ROY

Neill. Roy William Neill. Karen uses her maiden name.

KLINE

Roy Neill? From Stanford?

ROY

(embarrassed)

Yeah-

KLINE

(to Shantz)

This is knockdown Neill! I saw him make a tackle once, it was a wonder the boy’s head stayed on his shoulders. What are you doing these days?

ROY

(quietly)

I own some health clubs.

KLINE

No kidding, Must be a great way to stay in shape.

The radio receiver begins to CRACKLE, an unintelligible SQUAWK comes out-

CARDWELL

She’s transmitting.

ROY

Whre’s the sound?

CARDWELL

(pissed)

That’s it. Completely scrambled.

ROY

What?

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29. EXT. STREET – KAREN – NIGHT

talking as she walks-

KAREN

-it’s called the Eros Book Store and it’s a block north Hollyw-

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30. INT. RADIO ROOM –NIGHT

Roy freaking out. Chris is now trying to calm him-

ROY

-you told her she’d never be out of contact! What kind of half-assed-

CHRIS

They’re going to pick her up, Roy, they have people in the area-

ROY

What does that mean, ‘in the area’?

SHANTZ

Don’t worry, Mr. West. We’ll find her.

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31. TV MONITOR SCREEN – DOC – NIGHT

Dr. Waggner addressing his audience-

DOC

-stress results when we fight against our impulses, when we attempt to destroy the natural man or woman within us. Repression is the father of neurosis, of self-hatred-

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32. ECU EDDIE – NIGHT

in the dark somewhere, sweat beading his forehead, eyes bloodshot. He breathes heavily, tense-

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33. EXT. NEON SIGN – NIGHT

flashing -