SECOND CHANCES

Screenplay by

Sean Mc Callion
Tomala White

Adaptation by

Tomala White

From the Book by

Charles Gillen

Tomala White
Address: 37 Rosemount Avenue
Phone Number:07749446215
 ACT I

1 EXT. DERRY - NIGHT 1

LOW ANGLE TRACKING SHOT

Starts with wide of the city and continues to track forward

through an empty town, passing back alleys. A LITTLE BOY, 10
years old, runs through the allies and streets.

As we approach an old chapel, voices begin to speak.

PAUL
Bless me Father for I have sinned,
it’s been... a very long time since
my last confession.

PRIEST
The Lord is a good shepherd my
child, and always happy to welcome
a lost sheep back into His flock.
Tell me your sins.

2 INT. CONFESSIONAL BOOTH - NIGHT 2

PAUL, a man in his 40s, is clearly out of his comfort zone as

he talks to a priest, who can barely be seen through the mesh
screen of the confessional booth.

PAUL
(exhales loudly)
Where to begin... I guess I’m just
trying to start over, I haven’t
been a very good person for most of
my life.

PRIEST
(laughing gently)
But surely you can only be as God
made you, no?

PAUL
Well, I...

PRIEST
That is to say, if God wanted you
otherwise he would’ve made you
otherwise, would he not?

PAUL
Well, yes, but-
 2.
2 CONTINUED: 2

PRIEST
(patronizing)
Unless you think He made a mistake,
is that it? Do you think God made a
mistake?

PAUL
No! I just don’t understand why-

PRIEST
(raising his voice)
Do you question the will of your
God?

PAUL
No, Father!

PRIEST
(relaxing)
Then tell me, why are you really
here?

PAUL
I don’t know. Forgiveness maybe?

PRIEST
And do you think you deserve
forgiveness?

PAUL
Does anyone?

A loud banging is heard some distance away, startling Paul.

The Priest continues as if he hasn’t heard it.

PRIEST
God’s grace is not for everyone,
and you carry darkness under your
feet Paul. You have made the
darkness your secret place, the
canopy that surrounds you. There is
no penance to be found here.

PAUL
How did you know my-

The banging is heard again, this time closer, louder and more
frantic.

PRIEST
The least of the apostles, unworthy
to be an apostle.

The banging is now almost deafening, cutting off Paul when he

tries to speak.
 3.
2 CONTINUED: 2

PRIEST (CONT’D)
You think your mother’s rosary
beads can protect you? They
couldn’t protect her.

Paul looks down at the old worn rosary beads in his hand. He
doesn’t remember bringing them. The banging suddenly stops,
the priest is heard softly laughing behind the panel. He
slowly leans towards the mesh, revealing the best view of his
face so far.

PRIEST (CONT’D)
He is coming for you Paul, and he
takes many forms.

The Priest slinks back into the darkness of the booth and
starts laughing again. There is brief moment of silence
before the banging begins again, more violent than before.

3 INT. PAUL’S HOUSE, BEDROOM - NIGHT 3

The banging from Paul’s dream bleeds into reality as he

awakes in his bed with a shock. Maria, his pregnant
girlfriend is sitting upright in the bed beside him, she
slaps his chest.

MARIA
(whispering)
Paul! Get up!

Paul jumps out of bed just as the knocking stops. He raises a

hand to gently silence Maria as he listens. Suddenly, they
are startled by a crashing noise from downstairs, sounds like
breaking glass. Maria is on the verge of tears.

Paul rushes to the closet and pulls a baseball bat from a

pile of shoes and old clothes at the bottom. He raises a
finger to his lip in Maria’s direction.

PAUL
(mouths the words)
I’ll go check it out.

He stands beside the closed bedroom door, bat in hand, and

turns the handle to open it while staying just off to the
side. Once the door is open he takes a quick look to make
sure the hallway is empty before stepping through the
threshold.

4 INT. PAUL'S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 4

Paul enters the living room with a quick glance from the side
before entering. Once in, he is relieved that the room is
empty.
 4.
4 CONTINUED: 4

A cursory glance around the room reveals that something is

out of place- a picture frame from the wall has fallen face
down onto the floor. He lets out a sigh of relief and picks
up the frame. It’s a picture of Paul and Maria, all smiles.
The glass in the frame is smashed and falls as he picks it
up. He begins to pick up the broken pieces and stacks them on
the picture. A crucifix on the wall behind Paul begins to
turn upside down on its own. Paul, oblivious to this,
finishes picking up the pieces of broken glass.

As Paul leaves the living room, his relief is short lived as

something flies over his shoulder and bounces off the wall -
just missing him. Paul drops the picture frame holding the
broken glass on the floor.

MARIA
(from upstairs)
Paul? Is everything OK?

Paul looks down at the broken glass at his feet before

turning to investigate the object that had shattered against
the wall. Crouching to gather up the pieces, he finds it is
the same set of rosary beads from his dream.

Maria appears at the door to find Paul crouched over in a

state of shock.

MARIA (CONT’D)
What’s going on?

Paul is still fixated on the rosary beads. Maria then notices

the upside down crucifix on the wall. She backs out of the
living room, eyes fixated on the upside down cross.

Paul follows Maria’s eye line, his eyes lock on the upside
down cross on the wall.
 5.

ACT II

5 EXT. PAUL’S HOUSE - NIGHT 5

WE SEE FATHER JOHN APPROACHING PAUL AND MARIA’S HOUSE.

PERHAPS HE STOPS TO TAKE IN THE ENTIRE BUILDING IN A SUBTLE
HOMAGE TO THE EXORCIST.

CUT TO:

Maria opens the door to Father John, trying her best to hide
her nerves.

FATHER JOHN
Hello there, Maria! I assume Paul
said I’d be stopping by.

MARIA
He did - I hope you brought your
strongest holy water!

Father John raises his briefcase and taps the side.

FATHER JOHN
Oh yes! The good stuff!

He enters the house.

6 INT. PAUL’S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 6

Father John follows Maria into the living room, she gestures
for Father John to sit.

FATHER JOHN
So you’ve experienced things too?

MARIA
You mean, am I sure Paul’s not just
losing his mind? Aye, I’ve
experienced it too. I know he used
to be a bit of a madman, but he’s
come a long way since we found out
we were expecting. He’s really
trying, I’m just worried that this
is all gonna stress him out to the
point where he just gives up.

Maria winces and puts a hand to the side of her pregnant

bump.
 6.
6 CONTINUED: 6

MARIA (CONT’D)
Sorry Father, can you excuse me a
moment, the joys of pregnancy! Paul
should be down now.

FATHER JOHN
Of course! I’ll be fine here, you
do what you have to do.

Maria leaves.

Father John, still in a light mood despite the confirmation

of strange occurrences by Maria, takes the opportunity to
look around the living room while on his own. His eyes fall
on the upside down cross on the wall. He rolls his eyes,
expels a slight snicker, and shakes his head at the
obviousness of the imagery before stretching his hand out to
turn the cross the right way up. His dismissive demeanor soon
turns to confusion as he realizes that the cross will not
budge, no matter how hard he tries. His efforts begin to
verge on anger when Paul enters the room, startling him.

PAUL
Father, thanks for coming round.

FATHER JOHN
Not at all, I was just...

He gestures towards the cross.

PAUL
Yeah, that. Maria thought to put up
a few crosses when all this
started, I thought it was a bit
creepy myself. And then they
turned. I bet she wishes she could
take them down now!

FATHER JOHN
I’m sure.

Eager to get started, Paul claps his hands together.

PAUL
Right, will we get started?

7 INT. PAUL’S HOUSE, UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - NIGHT 7

Paul takes Father John upstairs, Maria follows behind.

 7.
7 CONTINUED: 7

PAUL
There are things happening
throughout the house, but it seems
to be worse in the spare room,
well, it’s supposed to be the
baby’s room, and it’s been freezing
in there since all this started. We
haven’t gone near it in a few days.

MARIA
I can’t go in there anymore. I feel
like something’s constantly
watching me.

Paul stops at the landing and lets Father John go ahead, Paul
hangs back with Maria, intimidated by the room. Father John’s
demeanor is much more serious now than it was when he
arrived, though still not completely convinced.

FATHER JOHN
(uneasy)
Well. That seems as good a place as
any to start.

Father John approaches the door to the spare room cautiously

but stops before opening it. After a moment of hesitation, he
opens the door and slowly takes a few steps into the room.
For a second everything seems fine, but suddenly the door
slams shut on the view of Father John’s now terrified face.

Paul rushes to the door.

PAUL
Father!?

Maria stands rooted to her spot on the landing, trembling and

scared. Paul frantically but unsuccessfully tries to get the
door open.

They hear the creaking of wood and the rumble of earth as the
house itself seems to have swallowed the priest, while buried
in the sound is the groaning and breathing of something
animalistic. The banging sound from earlier can now be heard,
growing in volume and intensity until it’s clear that
something is banging on the other side of the spare room
door. A large THUMP and Paul jolts backward. Paul stands
helpless, Maria begins to cry, when suddenly the noise begins
to subside, getting quieter to the point it becomes nothing
more than a long exhaled breath. The door lazily swings open
of its own accord.

PAUL (CONT’D)
Father?

Paul cautiously approaches the room, he gets to the doorway

and peers in.
 8.
7 CONTINUED: 7

He stands at the threshold, careful not to be swallowed up by

the room himself, and sees Father John from behind on his
knees, his head in his hands.

PAUL (CONT’D)
Father John, are you okay?

Father John slowly takes his head from his hands, glancing
around the room to ensure that he is in fact safe now. He
looks completely defeated, tears streaming down his face, his
faith shaken to its very core, his mind filled with horrors
that will remain for the rest of his life. He looks up at
Paul, his eyes screaming. Paul once more begins to ask if he
is okay but as soon as the words begin to leave his lips
Father John hurries to his feet and claws his way out of the
room. He has no direction as he escapes, his hands feeling
for anything that can propel him quicker from this entire
ordeal, almost tumbling down the stairs and out the front
door.

Paul and Maria stand open mouthed at the top of the stairs,
looking down the path the Priest has just taken. Paul’s eyes
do not leave the front door, whereas Maria is able to stifle
her sobs long enough to slap the back of her hand off Paul’s
arm.

MARIA
What the FUCK was that?

8 INT. PAUL’S HOUSE, DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAY - NIGHT 8

Maria has her coat on, she is carrying a travel bag. As she
comes down the stairs Paul follows frantically behind her.

PAUL
Maria come on, we can sort this
out.

MARIA
Oh aye, sort it out, you always
sort it out don’t ye!

PAUL
What’s is that supposed to mean?

She turns to face Paul.

MARIA
I mean it’s always something Paul,
isn’t it?! If it’s not the drink
it’s the drugs, if it’s not the
drugs it’s the women, and now this?

PAUL
Now hang on, it’s hardly my fault
there’s a ghost!
 9.
8 CONTINUED: 8

MARIA
A ghost?! A GHOST?! It’s not like
Patrick fuckin’ Swayze’s up there!
There’s something DEMONIC going on
in this house, and I’ll be fucked
if I’m gonna stay here one more
night. I need to think about this
baby. Or have you forgot about that
and all?

9 INT. PAUL’S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 9

Maria rushes into the living room, Paul follows her.

PAUL
Where are you going?

MARIA
My ma’s.

PAUL
Well, that’s hardly fair. I’m not
exactly welcome over there.

MARIA
At least I know we’ll be safe
there.

She motions to her bump.

PAUL
What am I supposed to do?

MARIA
I don’t know, Paul! I thought you
were gonna sort it out?! Isn’t that
what you do?

PAUL
(defiantly)
You know what? I WILL sort it out!

MARIA
You’re staying here?

PAUL
You’re damn right I am!

Paul sits down and folds his arms. His attitude is stern.

PAUL (CONT’D)
I’m gonna stay right here, ‘cause
this is MY house, and no bloody
specter is gonna chase me from it.
 10.
9 CONTINUED: 9

Maria slings her overnight bag over her shoulder and takes a
look at Paul as she turns to leave.

MARIA
Good man.

Maria leaves.

Paul stubbornly stays rooted to the spot for a few seconds,

he gets up and runs to the door after her.

PAUL
Maria!

10 INT. PAUL'S HOUSE, FRONT DOOR - NIGHT 10

Paul realizes that Maria is gone, closes the door and rests
his head against it for a moment before turning around and
grasping that fact that he is all alone in the house.

PAUL
FUUUUCCCKKK!!!!

CUT TO BLACK.
 11.

ACT III

11 INT. PAUL’S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - MORNING 11

Paul is slouched on the couch, barely awake - just staring

into space. On the table beside him there is an empty bottle
of whiskey, an empty glass and an ashtray full of cigarette
butts. He looks awful, bags under his eyes, leg trembling,
chewing his fingernails, it’s clear he hasn’t slept at all.
Suddenly a text alert causes Paul to jump out of his skin, he
grabs the phone, hoping that it is Maria. A few deep breaths,
a few light slaps across his own face, and a look of
determination comes over him.

12 EXT. EDGE OF RIVER - GOLDEN HOUR 12

We see Paul stop to rest along his journey at the edge of a

river. He gazes out over the water, tired and almost
defeated, when he feels a tugging at his sleeve. He turns to
find a little boy, who holds out a closed fist to hand Paul
something. Paul opens his hand and the boy drops a set of
rosary beads onto his palm, the same rosary beads that had
been flung across the living room. The little boy disappears
as soon as he has delivered the beads. Paul stands dumbstruck
at the sight of the rosary beads in his hand and turns to
question the boy as to their origin but finds he is alone,
very much alone. After a few seconds of scanning the area,
Paul holds the rosary beads to his face with both hands and
says an inaudible prayer.

13 EXT. OLD CHAPEL - NIGHT 13

Paul approaches the chapel, the area is peaceful, with

nothing to suggest anything may be wrong. He hesitates
anyways before entering.

14 INT. OLD CHAPEL - NIGHT 14

A priest is at the alter with his back to Paul. Paul

approaches the priest. When he gets close enough, he clears
his throat.

PAUL
Excuse me, I’m looking for Father
McLaughlin? I need his help.

The priest turns to reveal a very familiar face, in fact,

it’s the very same Priest from Paul’s nightmares. Paul begins
to stammer in terrified confusion.

PAUL (CONT’D)
But how? You’re... This can’t be!
 12.
14 CONTINUED: 14

The priest slowly grins. He approaches Paul, arms open.

PRIEST
Paul! You made it! I was beginning
to think you’d never arrive.

Paul is now backing off.

PAUL
No, no no no….this is just a dream,
YOU’RE just a dream!

PRIEST
I told you Paul, he takes many
forms.

The Priest lets out a sinister laugh.

THE END
CAST MEMBERS
1. 3. 5.
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 Shoot Day # 1 Monday, 1 June 2020

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End Day # 1 Monday, 1 June 2020 -- Total Pages: 3 4/8

Shoot Day # 2 Tuesday, 2 June 2020

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End Day # 2 Tuesday, 2 June 2020 -- Total Pages: 3 7/8

Shoot Day # 3 Wednesday, 3 June 2020

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End Day # 3 Wednesday, 3 June 2020 -- Total Pages: 3 3/8

 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Unscheduled
Day 1 1 Day 2 2 Day 3 3
7:20 est; 3 4/8 pgs5:35 est; 3 7/8 pgs3:15 est; 3 3/8 pgs
SHOOTING SCHEDULE 11: PaUL'S
ROUGH
HOUSE,
DRAFT
5: PAUL'S
LIVING HOUSE
ROOM
12: EDGE OF RIVER 10: PAUL'S HOUSE, 7: PAUL'S
FRONTHOUSE,
DOOR UPSTAIRS HALLWAY
1: DERRY 3: PAUL'S HOUSE, 6: BEDROOM
PaUL'S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM
13: OLD CHAPEL4: PaUL'S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM
14: OLD CHAPEL8: PAUL'S HOUSE, DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAY
UNIT MOVE LOCATION 9: PaUL'S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM
2: CONFESSIONAL BOOTH