Dredd: The Screenplay
Page 4
Utility pipework and wiring.
Anderson is cuffing Kay to a pipe.
DREDD
We’re going to have to go through them.
Dredd pulls back from the slightly open doorway.
Takes something from his utility belt.
Flashbang.
He looks back through the doorway.
Let’s give them the good news.
INT. OUTSIDE LEVEL TWENTY-FIVE MED CENTRE – CONTINUOUS
Tracking a small spherical object, with a rubberised exterior.
Rolling silently along the floor.
Under the legs of the citizen vigilantes.
Until it comes to a stop –
– under Japhet.
He doesn’t see it, because his attention – and the attention of all the vigilantes – is distracted by the sound of Dredd’s voice.
His words are amplified, as if through a loud-hailer.
DREDD’S VOICE
Citizens of Peach Trees. This is the law.
The Clan look around, trying to see where the noise is coming from.
DREDD’S VOICE
Disperse immediately, or we will use lethal force to clear the area.
MA-MA CLAN ONE
Where’s that coming from?
JAPHET
Over there! The access corridor!
All weapons swing to the doorway behind which Dredd and Anderson are hidden.
INT. ACCESS CORRIDOR – CONTINUOUS
Dredd and Anderson are pressed to the wall either side of the doorway.
Dredd is speaking into a mike, swung out of the inside curve of his helmet.
DREDD
You have been warned. You now have twenty seconds to comply.
INT. OUTSIDE LEVEL TWENTY-FIVE MED CENTRE – CONTINUOUS
Big Joe, SAW trained on the doorway, shouts back.
BIG JOE
It’s you doing the complying, Judge. Eleven of us, two of you. Come out from that doorway, or we’re blowing the shit out of you.
DREDD
Ten seconds to comply.
Big Joe flips the safety.
BIG JOE
You got five.
INT. ACCESS CORRIDOR – CONTINUOUS
DREDD
Thanks for the heads-up.
In his hand, he depresses a small button on a hand-held device.
INT. OUTSIDE LEVEL TWENTY-FIVE MED CENTER – CONTINUOUS
At Japhet’s feet –
– the flashbang detonates.
A blinding flash of light fills the space.
As our vision returns, bleaching back from white-out brightness, deafening tinnitus ringing in our ears …
… we can see Dredd and Anderson are already out of the doorway.
Guns blazing.
And the Clan Members are being shredded by the rain of rapid fire.
Before the effects of the flashbang have cleared, the Clan have been shot to the ground.
Cut to:
Anderson.
Taking in shattered bodies. The sprays of blood and bullet holes.
She’s looking at the one vigilante who is still alive.
Japhet.
Blood pouring from the wounds in his stomach. Doubled up on the floor. Kneeling. Still dazed.
Seeing his Beretta beside him.
With slow, drunken coordination, reaching for it.
Trying to bring it to bear on Anderson.
Anderson keeps her gun levelled at Japhet.
But she doesn’t fire.
Instead, frozen, watches as Japhet’s arm fails him.
And we glimpse – Anderson has fleetingly read him.
Japhet’s gun remains only half-raised. Swaying. As if it is heavy for him to lift.
Dredd’s voice cuts into Anderson’s reverie.
DREDD
Anderson.
Anderson doesn’t answer.
DREDD
His crime is attempted murder of a judge. His sentence is death.
Beat.
ANDERSON
(distant)
Yes, sir.
Anderson fires.
Japhet is hit in the head.
He drops forward, and lands face down.
Hold on Dredd a moment. Watching Anderson. His face is expressionless, but we can tell: as far as Anderson’s assessment goes, the balance just tipped against her.
INT. MEDICAL CENTRE – CONTINUOUS
The Paramedic is watching a monitor from behind his security doors.
On the monitor:
Anderson is pulling Kay out of the access corridor.
Dredd is walking over the bodies of the dead vigilantes, to the video intercom.
DREDD
Open up.
In front of the Paramedic is the door-release mechanism. But he makes no move for it.
DREDD
(leaning into the camera)
Open up!
PARAMEDIC
Negative, Judge.
DREDD
You know what’s going on. We need a place we can defend.
PARAMEDIC
Then you’d better find somewhere else. This is a medical facility. Neutral ground.
DREDD
You’re not neutral. You’re choosing sides.
PARAMEDIC
Peach Trees has been sealed by blast doors designed to withstand attack. No one is getting out. No one is getting in. And you have every Clan affiliate in the block after your blood. (Shrugs.) There are no sides. You’re already dead.
INT. OUTSIDE LEVEL TWENTY-FIVE MED CENTER – CONTINUOUS
Dredd walks to Anderson, who has released Kay from the place he was secured.
DREDD
Switch weapon to silencer mode. Minimum profile. Conserve ammunition. Don’t shoot unless you’re going to hit.
They hit a button on their handguns, and a suppressor slides out over the barrel.
Kay smiles.
ANDERSON
Sir, what about the perp? Are we keeping him with us?
DREDD
Explain.
ANDERSON
… Just that under the circumstances, he could be a liability.
DREDD
Also a prime suspect in five homicides. What do you say, rookie? Want to cut him loose?
ANDERSON
(chastened)
No, sir.
INT. STAIRWELL – DAY
Kay, with Dredd and Anderson either side of him, move up a stairwell. She notices anti-mutant graffiti.
Echoing from the corridors, we can hear the voices and shouts of the Clan, searching for the judges.
INT. LEVEL TWENTY-SIX ⁄ CORRIDOR – CONTINUOUS
Dredd, Anderson and Kay exit from a stairwell and start moving down a residential corridor.
They turn a corner.
Almost as soon as they have done so, at the far end of the corridor, at a T-junction, we see three armed Clan appear.
They are not facing the Judges. They appear to be talking to someone out of sight around the junction corner.
Anderson’s gun raises immediately –
– but Dredd pushes her hand down.
He pulls her into the recess of one of the apartment doorways.
Down the corridor –
– the three Clan start to walk towards us.
In the recess –
– Dredd pushes Kay into the corner of the recess, face in, and levels his gun on the back of Kay’s head. Then waits, waiting for the men to draw parallel.
We can hear their footsteps.
Getting closer.
But Anderson is doing something else.
Her head suddenly tilts to the side –
– as if she is listening. Hearing something through the apartment doorway.
Then stays motionless like that for a moment.
Then – surprisingly, Anderson pushes the intercom buzzer.
Dredd turns.
She motions for him to be silent.
Then whispers into the intercom.
AN
DERSON
Cathy?
Beat. Then:
WOMAN’S VOICE
(through intercom)
Who’s that?
The armed Clan are now only a few feet away.
ANDERSON
Cathy, open the door.
Another beat.
Then the door unlatches.
Immediately, Anderson jams it open.
INT. JAPHET’S APARTMENT – CONTINUOUS
Dredd and Anderson push inside with Kay, throwing Cathy back, and close the door behind them.
As soon as we see Cathy, we recognise her as Japhet’s wife.
Anderson stops Cathy from screaming with her hand.
ANDERSON
(quiet)
We aren’t going to hurt you.
Dredd watches through the spyhole as the armed Clan pass.
A silent beat.
DREDD
They’re gone.
He turns, looking at Anderson. She obviously just went up in his esteem.
DREDD
Secure the woman, somewhere where she can’t raise any alarms.
ANDERSON
Sir – we can’t. She has a baby. Asleep next door.
Cathy, wide-eyed with confusion and fear, nods.
ANDERSON
We can’t secure her if we don’t know when she’ll get freed.
DREDD
Where’s her husband?
Anderson gazes into Cathy’s eyes. Not looking into them. Through them.
ANDERSON
Out there. Looking for us.
Cathy’s eyes open even wider. Awed and bewildered by Anderson’s abilities.
ANDERSON
Say that. What you were just thinking.
Anderson removes her hand from Cathy’s mouth.
ANDERSON
Go ahead. It’s okay.
Cathy keeps looking at Anderson, hyperventilating.
CATHY
I don’t – how did you –
ANDERSON
(cuts in)
Calm down. Just tell him what you were thinking.
Cathy takes a deep breath. Tries to control the tremor in her voice.
CATHY
I’m not raising any alarms. If the men out there don’t know where you are, you won’t be killing them.
DREDD
Go on.
CATHY
There’s a service elevator near here. The sign says it’s broken, but it works as long as you’re hitting a button above level seventy-five.
Dredd nods.
CATHY
I just want you off my level. Away from my family.
INT. LEVEL TWENTY-SIX ⁄ DOORWAY – CONTINUOUS
Dredd eases the door open.
Checks each way down the corridor.
DREDD
Clear. Let’s move.
INT. JAPHET’S APARTMENT – CONTINUOUS
Dredd leads Kay through the door into the corridor.
Anderson is about to follow –
– then stops dead.
She’s seen something.
On the wall – a framed photo.
Cathy, the baby and Japhet.
A terrible, frozen beat, as Anderson realises that the man she executed was Cathy’s husband.
From the other room, the baby wakes, and starts to cry.
Anderson looks back to Cathy.
A moment between them.
ANDERSON
Cathy, I –
CATHY
(cuts in)
Don’t thank me. It’s not for you. I just don’t want to see you again.
ANDERSON
(quiet)
You won’t.
INT. LEVEL SEVENTY-SIX ⁄ LOBBY – DAY
An armed Clan Member stands guard in a lobby.
The glowing wall stencil reads LEVEL 76.
Behind him is the service elevator. A sign in front of it reads: OUT OF ORDER.
But – ping.
The elevator just arrived.
The Clan Member turns as the doors open.
And sees Dredd pointing a gun right at his head.
The next moment, the Clan Member drops, shot silently, right between the eyes.
Cut to:
INT. CCTV IMAGES – CONTINUOUS
A CCTV image of the dead Clan Member, crumpled on the floor by the service elevator.
CLAN TECHIE
(out of shot)
We’ve got one here.
Cut to –
– the strewn bodies outside the med centre.
CLAN TECHIE
(off-screen)
Maybe eleven outside the med centre.
Cut to –
– the bodies in the stairwell.
CLAN TECHIE
(off-screen)
Eight in the stairwell.
Cut to –
– the bodies in the corridor.
CLAN TECHIE
(voice-over)
And another five on level eighteen.
Cut to:
INT. MA-MA’S BASE ⁄ CCTV ROOM – CONTINUOUS
The bank of monitors on which these images are being shown.
Watching these images, over the shoulder of the Clan Techie, are Ma-Ma and her Bodyguards.
CLAN TECHIE
They’ve downed thirty plus, and haven’t even taken a scratch.
MA-MA
Where are they now?
The Clan Techie points to the monitors.
CLAN TECHIE
I don’t know. But they seem to be moving up the block –
The Clan Techie breaks off.
CLAN TECHIE
Wait – I just picked them up. Level seventy-six, West quadrant.
He points them out on the monitor. Zooms in the image.
CLAN TECHIE
Do you want me to hook you up to the Tannoy? We could get level sixty through eighty converging on them.
Ma-Ma processes. Quickly.
MA-MA
No. Can you seal them in there?
CLAN TECHIE
Sure. The war override gives me full control of the building.
The Clan Techie starts tapping in commands to his console.
CLAN TECHIE
There. I just triggered the riot protocols. All doorways to stairwells, elevator shafts, and access corridors are all sealed. Full lockdown. They’re going nowhere.
Ma-Ma nods.
MA-MA
They’re in the West quadrant.
Tight on Ma-Ma. The ice in her eyes.
I tried to do this clean. But they wouldn’t let me. So now we do it messy.
Cut to:
INT. LEVEL SEVENTY-SIX ⁄ LOBBY – CONTINUOUS
Dredd, Anderson and Kay stop in their tracks, as all around them, in a strange ripple of sound, all the doorways are locking.
The noise starts from down the corridor, then passes over them like a wave, and continues away from them.
Then a computerised voice comes over the Tannoy.
TANNOY
Warning. Warning. Block riot containment protocol initiated. All citizens remain in your apartments until further notice.
DREDD
This isn’t good.
Dredd’s gaze flicks to the CCTV camera in the corner of the lobby.
He knows the Clan are watching.
He lifts his gun and –
Cut back to:
INT. MA-MA’S BASE ⁄ CCTV ROOM – CONTINUOUS
– fires.
The monitor image goes dead.
MA-MA
Too late, Judge.
Ma-Ma lifts her handset.
Caleb, come in.
INT. PEACH TREE CONTROL ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Caleb lifts his radio.
CALEB
Here, Ma.
MA-MA
We’ve got them cornered. We’re taking them down, right now.
INT. LEVEL SEVENTY-SIX ⁄ OUTSIDE LIFTS – DAY
A riot door has descended between the West and North quadrants.
&nb
sp; Dredd is checking it out. Metal bars, an inch-and-a-half thick, block their way forward.
DREDD
We’ll need oxyacetylene to cut through.
Anderson looks around.
They are in a long corridor, with further corridors leading off. There is no cover, except the shallow recesses of the doorways.
ANDERSON
They know where we are. Why aren’t they coming?
DREDD
That’s what worries me. (Beat.) Take him to the main lobby. Hold position behind the elevator block. It will be a good place to defend.
ANDERSON
Where are you going?
He starts to walk away.
Then stops and looks back.
DREDD
If I don’t come back, and you get cornered, you might not want to be taken alive. (Beat.) Your call.
ANDERSON
… Sir.
Dredd turns and goes. Leaving Anderson alone with Kay.
ANDERSON
(to Kay)
Let’s go.
INT. LEVEL SEVENTY-SIX ⁄ CORRIDOR – CONTINUOUS
Dredd moves cautiously down a corridor.
As he walks down, doors close on him. Before they shut, we see glimpses of the interiors of the apartments and the lives inside.
The people. The families.
This is the reality of the world inside Peach Trees. Normal people, managing as best they can.
And right now, they are silent. Frightened. Huddled. Fathers with a hand on the shoulder of teenage daughters. Mothers trying to keep babies from crying.
INT. LEVEL SEVENTY-SIX ⁄ OUTSIDE LIFTS – CONTINUOUS
Anderson takes her position with Kay by the elevator block.
Kay is sitting on the floor, hands still cuffed behind his back.
Anderson’s gaze is checking around the corner of the elevator block.
Kay’s gaze is only on Anderson.
His tongue wets his lips.
Then, after a few moments –
KAY
He’s right, you know.
Anderson reacts. Partly because Kay has broken his silence. Partly because of what he’s said.
KAY
About not wanting to be taken alive. (Beat.) The stuff the Clan would do to a girl like you … (Shakes his head.) Nasty.