MUMMIES OF GUANAJUATO - Sample script pages ©1996 Wayne Bauer
EXT: ESTABLISHING SHOT - DAY
The Museum of the Mummies (Museo de las Momias) in the town
of Guanajuato at the entrance to the PANTEON (Municipal
Cemetary).
INT: MUSEUM/ MUMMY EXHIBIT - DAY
The distinguished, older, curator of the mummy museum, MR.
ORTEGA, leads two retired couples, mid sixties, typical,
tourist, into the next exhibit.
MR. ORTEGA
And this, ladies and gentleman is
the face that the Guanajuato
legend is made of.
The group of tourists look on in wonder.
CLOSE UP: THE MUMMY OF MARIE
Her skin is dried and pulled taught over her skull freezing
her expression into an eternal silent scream. They are eager
to hear how Maria came to be the legend of Guanajuato.
HARRY
It says in the brochure that she
cursed the Don Josef Del Cruz
family to "burn in hell forever".
MR. ORTEGA
She did. Now I will tell you how
a young girl damned such a
powerful family.
The group looks at him with drooling tourist expressions.
Empty, but full of wonder.
Mr. Ortega leans into the crowd as he continues his tale.
ESTABLISHING SHOT
17TH CENTURY GUANAJUATO.
INT. BARN - DAY
Sounds of A FIESTA are heard outside. Sunbeams stream through
the open loft door.
Rolling in the hay are the partially clad bodies of a man and
a woman. They are at the height of their lovemaking.
MR. ORTEGA (V.O.)
Maria was a peasant girl working
for the influential Del Cruz
family. She had an affair with the
handsome, Francisco, the only son
of Don Josef. It was nothing more
than wanton sex. Two people
consumed by the fire of passion.
Fueled by the enthusiasm of youth.
The heat from their bodies was
enough to ignite the hay they were
lying on. It was a perfect lust
filled moment.
The man and the woman tense up in a sweaty climax.
EDNA (V.O.)
Is it warm in here or is it just
me?
HARRY (V.O.)
It's just you, Edna. Shut up.
The couple finally relax in each others arms. The woman toys
with the small medallion on a silver chain around the man's
neck.
INT: BARN - DAY
The door of the barn opens and two figures step in. JUAN and
EMILLIO, nicely dressed, handsome young men stand in the
light. There is a burro in a small stall on one side. The
door swings closed behind them as they step around a small
cart of hay in the middle of the floor.
JUAN
Francisco. We know you are in
here. And we know you are not
alone!
Juan looks about and goes under the loft where hay is falling
through the cracks of the loft floor above.
INT: BARN/LOFT - DAY
In the loft Francisco and Maria scramble to put their clothes
back on.
EMILLIO
C'mon out, Casanova. You are
needed. It's time for the toast.
Francisco looks over the edge of the loft to Emillio below.
FRANCISCO
Emillio!
EMILLIO
I knew it! If you want to find
Fransisco, look were they keep the
jackass!
FRANCISCO
Are you and Juan the only ones
looking for me?
Juan swings around the ladder from under the loft.
JUAN
Are you the only one in the loft?
Juan charges up the ladder.
FRANCISCO
Juan! Stay down!
Francisco pushes Juan off the ladder and scoots back to Maria.
INT: BARN - DAY
Juan falls and lands in the cart of hay.
INT: BARN/LOFT - DAY
Fransisco throws on his coat. As Maria buttons up her dress.
FRANCISCO
Maria, I must go.
Francisco kisses her then crawls to the ladder and begins
down. He stops and looks at the beautiful girl.
FRANCISCO
(continuing)
I will call you.
He throws her a kiss, grabs his boots from the hay and drops
them.
INT: BARN - DAY
Emillio avoids one boot. The other lands in the cart on Juan.
Fransisco jumps to the ground between his friends. He helps
Juan from the cart.
JUAN
Look at you! Someone would think
you were rolling in the hay.
FRANCISCO
Look at you. Someone would think
we were rolling in it together.
So, tell me how the fiesta is
going.
EMILLIO
The brides maids are all naked
dancing in the fountain.
FRANCISCO
Hmmm, the party is picking up.
EMILLIO
Your father in law is drunk and
has fallen in the well.
FRANCISCO
Are you kidding?
EMILLIO
And your grandfather has lost the
ranch in a poker game to someone
in the brides party.
FRANCISCO
You are not serious.
JUAN
And your wife has run off to make
love with the best man.
FRANCISCO
Now I know you are lieing. You are
my best man.
JUAN
And don't forget it. Put on your
boot.
EMILLIO
Tell me, Francisco. How can you
take such risks?
FRANCISCO
It is the air I breath. What would
life be without it's risks?
EMILLIO
(this should be a
quote out of the
bible that means the
same as below)
You know what they say? One day,
Fransisco, you will pay.
The men get to the barn doors as Fransisco makes last minute
adjustments to his fancy clothes.
FRANCISCO
One day, maybe. But not today. It
is my wedding day!
With that Fransisco pushes open the doors to reveal a huge
wedding reception in progress.
The men stride to the crowd. Fransisco waves to friends and
family as he joins the bride at their seats.
IN THE LOFT:
Maria lays dreamily in the hay basking in afterglow. She
rolls over and looks at the reception as DonJosef leads the
guests as they raise their glasses to toast the newlyweds,
Fransisco and his new bride.
EXT. FRANCISCO'S CASA - NIGHT
The winds blow angrily about as Maria, with a modest cloak
about her, makes her way to the big wooden gate. She rings
the bell. A man opens the gate. She speaks to him briefly. He
backs up and closes the gate leaving Maria standing there.
Francisco comes out and Maria talks to him.
MR. ORTEGA (V.O.)
When Maria discovered she was
carrying Francisco's baby she went
to him for help. He was outraged.
Francisco could never bring this
shame on his family.
Francisco pushes away from Maria and disappears inside the
gates. Maria pounds on the gate. The gates fly open and Maria
steps aside as a buggy drawn by a black horse pulls harshly
up beside her.
MR. ORTEGA (V.O.)
(continuing)
So to hide his indiscretion he
takes Maria to an abandon shack on
a hill on the outskirts of town.
Inside the buggy Francisco holds out his hand to her. She
takes his hand and her place in the buggy.
Francisco aggressively heads up the horse and they race away
into the threatening night to a shack on the hill silhouetted
by the March full moon.
INT. MUSEUM PRESENT - DAY
Mr. Ortega waits for questions or comments
Every one is silent. The women stand consumed by the story.
The men are standing unimpressed.
DICK
That's it? That's the legend? This
girl gets knocked up by a rich kid
and he has to hide it from his
family? That was on Melrose Place.
ADELE
Dick, shut up.
HARRY
We came all this way and paid
paid 12 bucks to boot to find out
mummy here was a slut?
MR. ORTEGA
Francisco didn't let it end there.
He used his influence to convince
the townspeople that Maria had
gone mad and wasn't to be trusted.
DICK
In case she talked. No one would
believe her.
HARRY
Smart guy.
ADELE
The bastard.
EXT. 17TH CENTURY GUANAJUATO - NIGHT
The streets are filled with fiesta people doing fiesta things
in fiesta clothes.
Francisco and his wife look on from a balcony on high in
their villa. Francisco's father and other people are there.
MR. ORTEGA (V.O.)
Months later, On the night of the
FIESTA DE LA MORTE, the FESTIVAL
OF THE DEAD, Francisco and his
father Don Josef Ricardo Del Cruz,
watched the town from their villa
over looking the city. Screams of
agonizing pain shriek from the
hills choking out the sound of the
fiesta. It went straight to the
soul of every man and woman in
Guanajuato that night. Especially
to the tortured soul of Francisco.
He knew. He knew that Maria was
giving birth to Francisco's
bastard son!
A tipsy, distinguished, older looking man comes on to the
balcony.
MARTIN
Josef. Fransisco. So this is where
you've been hiding!
DON JOSEF
We're not hiding Martin. We just
stepped out for some air.
Martin looks down at the town.
MARTIN
It seems the fiesta is not very
festive. People don't know how to
celebrate the dead anymore.
Fransisco jumps up. He is very agitated.
FRANSISCO
It's that woman on the hill!
Wailing from the gates of hell!
Martin and Josef look at Fransisco.
The women and others go in the house.
Martin slowly breaks the awkward silence.
MARTIN
Come inside now. Your man Pepino
has made a piñata that looks like
Crazy Maria. She is pregnant with
good things for the children. They
are waiting to whack at it.
DON JOSEF
Very good Martin!
MARTIN
I may take a swing at it myself.
Martin swings his arm and staggers a bit. Josef steadies his
friend.
DON JOSEF
Tell the children to begin without
me. But don't you do anything
until I get there.
Josef shuttles Martin into the house then turns his attention
to Fransisco.
DON JOSEF
(continuing)
Why do you seem so tortured
tonight, Fransisco? Even our
guests have noticed.
FRANSISCO
Don't you hear her, Father? She has
chilled every bone in Guanajuato
tonight.
DON JOSEF
I understand she is giving birth.
You should have heard your mother
wail when you were born. You could
hear her in the next arroyo.
Because you were so big she swore
never to have another.
FRANSISCO
Her cries echoing everywhere have
ruined the entire fiesta.
DON JOSEF
The painful joy of birth my son.
INT. MARIA'S SHACK - NIGHT
In her sparsely furnished shack Maria lays on her bed tearing
at her sheets, and scratching the bed posts. She wails as
another searing pain shoots through her in what is obviously
a difficult labor.
EXT. DEL CRUZ HOME/BALCONY - NIGHT
DON JOSEF
Come inside, Fransisco. Don't
worry about the town people. And
forget about that crazy peasant
girl. She has nothing to do with
you.
Fransisco looks into his father's eyes then yells down to a
farm hand below.
FRANSISCO
Pepino! Saddle my horse!
Don Josef grabs his son's shoulders and holds him face to
face.
DON JOSEF
Fransisco, what have you done?
Fransisco breaks free of his father's grip and runs into the
house.
EXT: GUANAJUATO - NIGHT
Francisco rides through the streets to the center of town
gathering the people together. Supported by this scary witchy
looking woman, the people move toward him listening to what
he is saying. The scary woman makes him seem more convincing.
As she screams her conviction and thumps her bible.
The crowd gets restless. The men scowl. The woman cross them
selves and do their rosary.
MR. ORTEGA (V.O.)
Francisco rode frantically through
the streets inciting the towns
people to form a mob. Working on
their religious beliefs and
spiritual fears. He convinces them
that Maria is evil and is giving
birth to the devil's spawn. The
very spiritual matriarch of the
town gets caught up in Francisco's
frenzy. She agitates the crowd
with talk of God's work fighting
Diablo in all of his forms.
Someone has brought the priest. He
tries to talk sense to them but he
is drowned out by another shriek
from the shack on the hill.
Even with his convictions he finds
this night is unlike others. And
when he cannot guarantee that
Maria is not possessed by the
devil hysteria and fear fuel mob
mentality.
The crowd heads toward the shack on the hill as Maria's cries
of pain tear through the night air.
INT. MARIA'S SHACK - NIGHT
Maria is crazed with pain. No drugs. No help. Things couldn't
be worse. Then the child starts coming out. It is a bloody
mess.
Maria reaches down to receive her baby. It is born into her
own hands in one last screaming grunt and push.
Just as the child clears the vagina, hands snatch the baby
from her. Maria looks up very confused.
WITCHYWOMAN
You shall not give life to the
devil's child this night!
The old woman, unmercilessly, cuts the umbilical cord with
her knife.
Hands grab Maria and drag her outside.
EXT. SHACK - NIGHT
Men are furiously digging a grave.
The priest is blessing the ground.
FRANCISCO
You have given birth to an unholy
child. Now you will spend eternity
in hallowed ground.
MARIA
It's your baby Francisco Del Cruz!
If anyone is unholy it is you! I
curse the day I ever laid eyes on
you!
WITCHYWOMAN
This child is the result of a
demonic coupling.
MARIA
Let me hold my baby!
WITCHYWOMAN
Diablo's attack on our souls stops
here.
The old lady cuts off the head of the child.
Maria shrieks in horror. The men holding her, throw her in
the hole.
A priest gives the witchywoman a small jewel encrusted box,
then starts throwing holy water on Maria. Blessing her in
Latin.
The witchywoman puts the head of the child in the jeweled
box and the body in a small wooden box.
WITCHYWOMAN
(continuing)
We must bury the child's head
separate from the body and away
from its mother to keep the evil
at bay.
Maria is in shock but she feebly speaks.
MARIA
My baby. Let me hold my baby
WITCHYWOMAN
You shall be buried alive with
your sins! And at the gates of
heaven you will find there is no
mercy for your wretched soul.
Men start filling in the hole with dirt.
Francisco looks down at her.
Maria's head flies up with hatred in her eyes.
MARIA
I curse you Francisco Del Cruz!
You and all of your family to
come. I will plague the Del Cruz
family out of existence if it
takes me a thousand years. And I
Maria Conchita Rosita Margarita
Gonzales will personally come
back for the pleasure of killing
the last of your family!
Hear me Francisco! I curse you
all! I will have my revenge!
The last shovel of dirt blackens the screen.
INT. 20TH CENTURY GUANAJUATO/MUSEUM - DAY
The mummy of Maria seems even more saddened at hearing her
story again.
EDNA
Has it come true? Did she kill the
last of the Del Cruz family?
MR. ORTEGA
After decades of hardships and
deaths the family left Guanajuato
many, many years ago. No one ever
knew where they had gone.
ESTABLISHING SHOT
The upper crust part of the LOS ANGELES SAN FERNANDO VALLEY
EXT: CRUZ HOME - DAY
A nice two story house in a nice upper middle class
neighborhood. Groomed lawn. Nicely landscaped. A new SUV in
the driveway.
INT. FRANK CRUZ HOME - DAY
In his home office Frank Cruz, a fit, good looking man in his
40's, talks to his friend and boss, Larry Weller, an older
distinguished silver haired man, dressed in a very expensive
suit. They are talking over some travel brochures scattered
about the desk.
FRANK
I love Mexico!
......end sample script pages.