Original subtitles

BELLS CHIME

FLY BUZZES

Are you hungry, Mr Harker?

No, I'm...

..I'm fine. DOOR UNLOCKS

Thank you.

Then perhaps we can talk.

I'm Sister Agatha.

Hm. I thought I'd met all the sisters.

I have been sequestered.

In prayer?

In study, Mr Harker.

Of you.

I've read your account of your most interesting stay in Transylvania.

It's the truth. All of it. And what a lot of truth there is.

Sister Angela tells me you wrote all day and all night for a whole week.

Please...sit with me.

Is the sun a little bright for you?

No.

Good.

It's good, isn't it?

DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES

Ah, my dear. Come in.

We are to be observed.

Apparently, I cannot be trusted alone with a man.

Consider yourself chaperoned.

Mr Harker, I intend no impertinence, but why are you still alive?

I-I fled.

I was trapped. I escaped.

Escaped, yes.

I fled that place in terror of my life.

He is a monster.

I-I swear to you...

...he is the Devil himself.

Then why have you stopped?

Stopped what? Fleeing.

You've been here nearly a month.

I'm safe with you.

Why?

This is a house of God. A house of God, is it?

That's good. We could do with a man about the place, eh, Sister?

Two years ago, a church in this town collapsed.

The roof fell on the congregation, killed everyone as they prayed,

including the children.

The priest was the only survivor.

Priests are like that.

He said to me afterwards that, even in moments like these,

he was able to maintain his faith.

I told him he should have maintained his roof.

Look to your own protection, Mr Harker.

FLY BUZZES

God doesn't care.

The way you talk...

It's unusual in someone of your calling.

My calling was a very long time ago.

What's wrong?

You have something in your eye.

Is it gone?

Yes.

Your fiancee, Mina.

You mentioned her a lot when you first arrived. Mina Murray.

Oh, er... Yes.

I need to contact her. You must love her very much.

Of course. Perhaps, in time,

you will let her read this account.

If she wishes, yes.

So, out of kindness, you have omitted from your writings

anything that would alarm or disturb her.

Well, I didn't want to...

So now you may tell me

everything that occurred in the time you spent with the Count at his castle.

Your dinners. Your conversations.

Your intimate moments.

Your life may depend on your complete honesty.

Do you understand what I'm asking you?

I think so.

I'm asking, Mr Harker,

if you had sexual intercourse with Count Dracula.

FLIES BUZZ

THUNDER RUMBLES

WOLF HOWLS

PRAYS SOFTLY

HORSE NEIGHS

Mr Harker?

Mr Harker, please, you must take this.

That's very kind of you. Thank you. I couldn't possibly.

You must.

Thank you. You will need this!

WOLF HOWLS

Driver, I'm sorry, but we still seem to be some distance from the castle.

It's as close as we are going.

The Count will find you here.

How?

HORSE NEIGHS

He finds people.

He will send his driver. WHIP CRACKS

HORSE NEIGHS

Yah! Yah! Hey!

WOLF HOWLS

WOMAN: My darling Johnny...

THUNDER CRASHES

..you are to travel to a distant land,

and I shall miss you very much every single day.

WIND HOWLS

It seems to me likely that you will meet some very exciting women

as you travel across Europe to Transylvania, and I wanted to assure

you that should you fall prey to

temptation, I, as your dutiful fiancee,

will completely understand.

The certainty of our coming wedding

is all the consolation a young woman could require.

Well, apart from the very handsome Dr Homewood,

your friends, Reggie and Barnaby, who always seem so pleased to see me,

lovely Edwin from your office,

the butcher's boy, who has filled out quite deliciously in recent months,

and should I want for variety,

the adorable barmaid at the Rose and Crown,

who I know you have also admired.

I feel certain we shall be mindful of each other at all times

during our separation.

All my love, and I hope all yours,

your adoring Mina.

HORSE NEIGHS

Actually, Driver, could you help me with my cases?

Oh.

Charming.

KNOCKER CREAKS AND BANGS

BATS SQUEAK

KNOCKER CLANKS AND BANGS

BATS SCREECH

GASPS AND SCREAMS

DOOR CREAKS OPEN

SCREECHING DIES AWAY

HOOVES DEPART

HORSE NEIGHS

Hello?

ECHOING: Hello?

DOOR CREAKS SHUT

Anyone at home?

Hello?

I-I'm sorry.

The wine was open. I assumed...

Perhaps I could pour you some, Count?

I do not drink...

..wine.

I bid you welcome,

Mr Harker.

I am...

..Dracula.

Your employer speaks highly of you, Mr Harker.

Yes. The property has been purchased in your name.

Everything is in order.

EXHALES WHEEZILY

I need only your signature on a few documents

and Carfax Abbey will be yours.

I am looking forward to England, Mr Harker.

Ah... People here, they are so narrow.

I wither among them.

Um...

They are without...

They are without flavour!

Perhaps you mean character?

THUNDER RUMBLES Perhaps.

BOTH LAUGH

This is good, Mr Harker.

You must correct my English at all times!

From you, I shall learn to pass among your countrymen

as one of their own!

Your English is already excellent, Count.

You flatter me.

I don't! I don't!

However, I'm afraid I will be leaving here tomorrow.

I-I have to return to England immediately.

No.

Sorry?

Your apology is unnecessary.

You are staying!

It has already been agreed.

With...with whom?

Your superiors.

You will remain with me for one month,

and assist me with my English

and my understanding of your culture.

Count, I-I...

Do not...

LAUGHS: No, please.

Do not look so concerned, Mr Harker.

You are most welcome.

C-Count... Count Dracula, I'm a lawyer.

I-I'm not a teacher.

There will be no need to teach.

Simply remain at my side and I shall...

..absorb you. Hm?

SISTER AGATHA: That word - absorb.

He said that?

Yes.

PENCIL SCRATCHES

Absorb.

DRACULA: Please pay close attention.

You will not find my home easy to navigate.

It is a rising labyrinth of stairs and doors and shadows.

HARKER: Yes. It's quite remarkable.

One would almost need a map.

There is no map of my castle.

No complete design was ever committed to paper.

It is said many souls are lost in the tangle of the corridors.

Reserata carcerem.

The prison...without locks.

CHUCKLES EVILLY

Perhaps you have heard of the architect?

Petruvio the Widower?

No.

This castle was the Widower's final work.

A monument to his lost love

and the sunlight to which he could never return.

Legend has it that he died here...

..in the arms of his wife.

If he was a widower, surely she died before him?

It must have been a cold embrace.

FLIES BUZZ

Do not be impatient with those sweet little things.

They are man's companion to the end and beyond.

Where there is flesh, there are flies.

CHUCKLES

In the morning, you will find the sunlight will be streaming

through this window.

WOLVES HOWL

Fortunately, the drapes are very thick.

WIND WHISTLES

Please excuse the absence of my staff.

They are not here at night.

GLASS SHATTERS

Forgive me.

I-I am clumsy.

Of course, Count.

Th-though perhaps you could lend me a replacement.

I am afraid I do not possess such a thing.

You don't have any mirrors?

SIGHS: Baubles of vanity.

What is the purpose of a mirror?

Hm?

One will find no enlightenment in one's own gaze.

GLASS TINKLES

Agh!

HISSES

Are you all right, Mr Harker?

Oh, I'm fine. It's, er... It's a scratch.

Please be careful.

We cannot return you in any way damaged to your beautiful Mina.

It's nothing. It's ju...

Did I mention Mina?

I think you spoke of her beauty at dinner.

Oh, um...

I don't recall that.

Perhaps it was the wine.

No, I barely drank.

HARKER LAUGHS

My sympathies.

Please attend to your hand.

It's really fine. It's... It's nothing.

Blood is not nothing!

Blood...is lives.

SISTER AGATHA: Lives?

You are quite certain he did not say "blood is life"?

He said "blood is lives"? He...he did.

Yes.

PENCIL SCRATCHES It struck me as odd.

But there were other oddnesses that preoccupied you?

How could he know my thoughts?

I never mentioned Mina at dinner.

I'm certain of it.

A dog can sniff stories on the slightest breeze,

while we are blind in the wind.

He could smell my thoughts in the air?

No, Mr Harker. That would be ridiculous.

But perhaps in your blood.

Perhaps stories flow in our veins,

if you know how to read them.

Blood is lives...

You will not see me till tomorrow evening.

I have...several appointments.

Till then, please treat my home as your own.

I bid you goodnight. Good n...

DOOR CREAKS

HIGH-PITCHED SCRAPING

SCRAPING CONTINUES

GASPS

WIND WHISTLES

WIND HOWLS

Is someone...? Agh!

GASPS

Hello?

Hello?

WOLVES HOWL

So there was another guest in the castle?

Perhaps also a prisoner?

HARKER: I didn't realise I was a prisoner, at the time.

That night, then?

I slept.

You dreamed.

I woke early.

No, wait. Wait. You dreamed.

After a day of such incident and colour, how could you not?

Was it Mina you dreamed of?

You longed for her.

One longs for the solace of home.

SISTER AGATHA: One longs, certainly.

Tell me more about your dream.

It is private.

Your ache for her. You were together in your dream.

I-I don't...

This is not...

GASPS

HISSES

GASPS AND PANTS

There is no shame in it.

Dreams are a haven where we sin without consequence.

Believe me, I know.

Some mornings, I can hardly look Sister Rosa in the face.

What you asked before,

if I'd...

If you'd ever had sexual intercourse with Count Dracula.

Mm.

Why did you ask that?

Clearly, you have been contaminated with something.

Any contact you've had with Count Dracula,

sexual or otherwise, is therefore relevant.

BREATHES UNSTEADILY

Continue.

"Help us."

SISTER AGATHA: So it struck you as strange, of course.

Well, clearly, there was someone trapped in the castle.

No. No. The writing. "Help us."

It was upside down.

Well, yes, of course, because whoever wrote it was obliged to hang that way.

But even that extraordinary physical feat is surely not the point of interest.

Then what is?

What is remarkable, Mr Harker,

what is convenient,

is that the words were in English.

Oh...

I didn't think of that.

Of course not.

You are an English...man -

a combination of presumptions beyond compare.

Proceed.

Well, I knew I had the day to myself,

so I determined to find the room above mine

and see if anyone required my assistance.

SISTER AGATHA: Tell me, how did you feel?

HARKER: Different. Older.

But very curious.

At least I knew I was not alone.

The Count hadn't been exaggerating about his castle.

Hello?

Whatever way I turned, it never took me where I expected.

Every door I opened, led to two more

a-and then three.

Every step I took, I made the wrong choice.

I was lost in the architect's labyrinth.

Agh!

Ahh!

I wasted most of the day...

...until I found myself too tired to go on.

WOLVES HOWL

CORK POPS

Hmm? Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you.

I think you've been working too hard.

Mm... Count...

Please - relax.

Have a glass of wine.

Your voice... You sound different.

I've been working on my English.

Ah... Do you approve?

It's almost perfect.

The credit is all yours.

Your presence has invigorated me.

Fresh blood.

Help us.

Hello?

GIGGLES

Hello?

Hello? Excuse me?

Please! I-I intend you no harm.

However fleeting the sight, surely this was proof that I wasn't going mad?

WIND HOWLS

THUNDER RUMBLES

Count Dracula.

Are we alone in this castle?

Yes.

Except for the servants, of course.

I never see any servants.

They aren't here at night.

I don't see them in the daytime...either.

In fact, apart from the driver...

...I haven't seen anyone working here at all.

DRACULA CHUCKLES

Ah, yes.

The driver.

What I'm asking is, aside from yourself...

..is there anyone living in this castle?

No.

Jonathan...

...there's no-one living here.

SISTER AGATHA: So after sundown each day, Dracula appeared stronger and younger...

..while the opposite was true for you.

BELL CHIMES

Did you understand what was happening to you?

THUD AND BIRD FLUTTERS

PIGEONS COO OUTSIDE

No. Not then.

I thought I was sick. Just...sick.

Turn your head to the side.

Why?

Show me.

You have been very strong, Mr Harker.

In your circumstances, I don't think I could have been half so brave.

I wasn't brave.

In what way was I brave? You were trapped in that place,

you were afraid, and yet you spent your days searching the castle

because you thought someone needed your help.

Well, my help had been requested. It...

It would have been difficult to refuse that.

Difficult?

Unacceptable.

So your search continued.

Tell us.

PANTS

My every exploration led me deeper and deeper into the labyrinth.

Eventually, I made a remarkable discovery.

STRAINS

What had become of these people?

Were they my predecessors?

GRUNTS

SQUEAKS

FLIES SWARM AND BUZZ

GROANS

LOW GURGLING

GURGLING CONTINUES

GASPS

EXCLAIMS

GURGLING INTENSIFIES

SQUELCHING

HARKER GASPS

SQUELCHING Omoara ma!

HARKER GASPS

SCREAMS

GASPS

Omoara ma...

SCREAMS

HARKER PANTS

WHEEZING: Omoara ma...

BONES CRUNCH

Omoara ma!

BONES CRUNCH

GASPS WHEEZILY

GASPS

ALL: Omoara ma!

Omoara ma!

HARKER SHRIEKS AND GASPS

SHOUTING ECHOES

GASPS

SHOUTING FADES

BAT SQUEAKS AND HE GASPS

GASPS

SCREAMS

GROWLS

HARKER SCREAMS

BELL CHIMES

It's all I remember.

I fear I may have passed out.

Quite understandable.

"Omoara ma."

Do you know what that is?

It sounded like a curse.

It's Romanian.

It means "kill me".

They looked dead already.

Dead and walking.

Undead.

Tell me.

There is a contagion,

a corruption, passing through this world from one sufferer to the next.

For those unfortunate to fall victim to it, life becomes incurable.

They lose the divine ability to die.

As their bodies rot,

their consciousness persists.

Even as dust, their pain goes on.

It is a secret every gravedigger keeps.

There are those among us

destined to scratch at our coffin lids for all eternity.

If you work among the dead, it's not death you fear.

It's the alternative.

Is there any salvation for such creatures?

I don't know. Have faith!

Faith is a sleeping draught for children and simpletons.

What we must have is a plan.

Dracula's one of them, isn't he?

Undead?

Undead certainly but, from your account, I think he is much more complicated.

GASPS

GROANS SOFTLY

Johnny.

There you are.

Thought we'd lost you. Hmm...

What am I doing here?

I found you downstairs, asleep on the floor.

I could be wrong, but I think you were having a nightmare.

You do look rather pale.

You said you didn't drink.

Wine.

Now... CLEARS HIS THROAT: ..listen.

I need you to do something.

Set yourself down. There you go.

That's the ticket.

Now, take this.

I need you to write three letters.

BABY CRIES

What was that?

That's nothing. Sounded like a baby.

LAUGHS: No, no, no. There's no baby.

Now, Johnny, Johnny...concentrate.

Three letters.

No-one calls me Johnny.

No-one?

No-one.

Company for you while you work.

Who is she?

Don't you recognise her?

Why would I?

I took it from your room. It's Mina.

Your fiancee.

Mina Murray.

RETCHES

How can I not recognise her face?

Well, you do look rather...drained.

You look young.

And I owe it all to you.

Thanks.

Now, it's almost time for you to go.

So, three letters, all to Mina.

The first saying you have nearly finished your work here

and will be leaving within the week. The second saying

that you have now completed your work and will be leaving the following day.

And the third saying you have now left the castle

and have arrived safely in... What shall we say?

...Bistritz, hm?

I will send the letters at the appropriate times.

I'll forward the last one to Bistritz so it can be sent from there.

Wh-why... Why would I...

Why would I do that?

So that Mina will know that you're coming home.

But why would I write the letters in advance?

Because the post here is very erratic.

It's a precaution.

For whom? If...

If something were to happen to me and those letters had already been sent...

Then Mina wouldn't think to come looking for you here.

Do you want her to come here?

BABY CRIES

That's a baby.

I can hear it crying. There is no baby!

Write the letters or don't write the letters.

It's up to you.

I'm only thinking about Mina.

SOBS

Now, if you don't mind. Things to do. See you tomorrow evening.

Leave the letters on the table.

The dates! The dates!

The dates for the letters...

How should I date them?

Well, let's see. Er...

The 12th for the first.

For the second, the 19th.

And for the third...

Um...

KICKS CRATE

What shall we say?

29th?

29th?

As good a day as any, Johnny.

Goodnight.

BABY CRIES

What if I leave?

What if I leave this place right now?

No-one is stopping you.

I don't have the strength.

No. I know.

It's not your fault, Johnny. You mustn't blame yourself.

BABY CRIES

Agh!

Please...

Please, please!

The baby!

SING-SONG: Johnny, there is no baby.

BABY CRIES

I knew in that moment that I had a choice.

I'd been told the span of my life,

the limit of my existence - the 29th.

Now, I could stay here, dying piece by piece, till I found myself

nailed into one of those boxes.

Or...?

Or I could kill Count Dracula.

Not an easy task in the circumstances.

No, but I had certain advantages.

I should be fascinated to know what they were.

I was enfeebled and trapped...

Well, indeed.

..so Dracula did not consider me a threat.

That's true, yes.

But, on the negative side, you were enfeebled and trapped.

I had a potential ally.

One who could climb the castle walls.

One you couldn't even find?

That was because I was looking for the wrong thing.

I should have been looking for a map.

Of the castle? But there wasn't one.

That's what Dracula believed.

But, in telling me that, he'd also told me where to find it.

What did he say?

I told you.

I missed it.

You did.

Then you're much quicker than me.

I'm not quick. I've always been slow.

But the thing is, when you're slow, you know you need to pay attention.

It's the clever ones who never listen.

You've read all this.

Already. In my account.

It's vague in certain crucial regards.

Continue, please.

It occurred to me that night

that Dracula said more than he intended.

And more than he knew.

As he was a creature of the night,

I had to wait until morning to test my theory.

GASPS

The Count said there was no map, but Petruvio was an artist,

and artists always wish to be understood.

The castle was a monument to the architect's lost love

and the sunlight to which he would never return.

And what else is sunlight...

..but the face of one's beloved?

The path to the sunlight.

It was clear from the castle maps

that Petruvio had created within his design

a system of short cuts through the maze.

Hidden passages, possibly unknown

even to Dracula himself.

How many times had I looked at that picture and not seen it?

Petruvio's wife was the sunlight...

..and he stood guard at the door.

STRAINS

STONES RUMBLE

WIND WHISTLES

SQUEAKING

SQUEAKING CONTINUES

CLAWS SCRATCH

FLIES BUZZ

SCREAMS

GASPS

GASPS

SQUEAKING

CLATTERING

He doesn't know I can get out of the box. Don't tell him.

I won't.

Are you his friend now?

No. I, er...

I-I...

..I work for him.

I'm a lawyer.

From England.

I think he's made you his friend.

Why?

What's England?

It's where I'm from.

You know it.

You're...speaking English.

I learnt it.

SHE LAUGHS

How? It tasted fun.

Tasted?

Once you are the Count's friend, all languages are the same.

I'm hungry.

Was it you at the window?

You left the message?

I smelt you.

You're trapped here.

You're trapped too. I want to help you.

Tell him I'm hungry!

He only gives me scraps.

Tiny little things.

Tell him I finished the last one.

I finished it really quickly.

I'm hungry! Agh!

SHE GROWLS

Look at it! Look at it!

It is the sign of the cross.

The symbol of our Lord.

I know.

It's pretty.

SCREAMS ECHO

You assumed, I suppose, that the cross would ward off evil.

Why are you smiling?

Your faith. I think it's touching.

What happened to yours?

I have looked for God everywhere in this world and never found him.

Then why are you here?

Like many women of my age, I'm trapped in a loveless marriage,

maintaining appearances for the sake of a roof over my head.

Now then, we proceed to your miraculous escape from Castle Dracula,

about which you have been so vague.

KNOCKS

Somebody! Please, help!

GASPS

STRAINS

BABY GURGLES

BABY CRIES

CRIES

HARKER PANTS

CRIES

GROANS

WHEEZES

Johnny, this is interesting.

I've never seen it work with a baby before. Never.

I think I might keep it on for a while.

I hope this doesn't mean that I'm getting sentimental.

Why did you kill her? Who?

Oh. Um...

Because I wanted to see if she would die, I suppose.

Johnny, don't give me that look. You were a child once.

You know the feeling.

Didn't you break your toys apart to see how they worked?

You're a monster. And you're a lawyer.

Nobody's perfect.

Ah, a stake through the heart.

You see, sometimes the legends are right.

This is not one you can test too often, though.

I only ever have three brides at a time.

"Brides"?

Brides, yes. I think that's the right word for it.

You see, um...

CLEARS HIS THROAT ..I am trying to reproduce...

CRATE OPENS Oh!

SQUISHING

..which, frankly, can be a bit of a challenge when there is only one of you.

Agh!

Oh, Johnny. You're just about done, aren't you?

She was a thirsty little thing,

and to think that she was going to keep you in that box all to herself!

Are you going to kill me?

Of course I'm going to kill you.

Why does death always come as such a shock to mortals?

You took everything from me. Of course I did.

You are the high road that leads me to England.

HARKER: Why? Why England?

Ah.

The people.

All those sophisticated and intelligent people.

As I've been trying to tell everyone for centuries,

you are what you eat.

HARKER WHIMPERS

WIND WHISTLES

Now...

...if you don't mind, I need you to do one last thing for me.

I haven't seen her in hundreds of years.

Describe her to me.

WEAKLY: Who?

I've had artists paint her,

and poets capture her in words,

and Mozart wrote such a pretty little tune, I-I...

CLEARS HIS THROAT: ..I really should have spared him, but...

..what does a lawyer see?

Johnny, in my memory,

she sets behind the second-highest peak at this time of year, and she's quite red.

Is she red, Johnny?

Look for yourself.

But that will burn me to dust.

Good.

Fair enough.

Absolutely fair enough.

Will you put me in a box?

Keep your eyes on the sun, Johnny.

It'll be the last time you see her.

There is a box waiting for you, in case you walk, yes,

but most people I feed off just die.

So you'll probably be fine.

Don't you see? An end is a blessing.

Dying gives you size.

It's the mountaintop from which your whole life is at last visible.

From beginning to end.

Death completes you.

Spare me.

How?

LAUGHS

Answer me. Johnny, how?

How do I spare you?

How indeed, Mr Harker?

Mr Harker?

Mr Harker...

BELL CHIMES

..you were about to explain how you escaped from the castle.

Yes.

Y-you've read my account.

Yes.

Perhaps it will help to refresh your memory.

"Dracula will be served."

What is this?

"Dracula is my master. Dracula will be obeyed. Dra...

"Dracula is the beginning and the end.

"Dracula is all things. Dracula is God." What?

I-I didn't write this.

When you were first brought here, you asked for a pen and paper.

You were up all day and all night, and this is what you wrote.

No, no, no, no, no. I-I thought I'd...

You thought you'd written an account of your stay at Castle Dracula.

The only account you've given is the account you're giving right now.

It's time to finish your story.

DRACULA: Johnny, how? How do I spare you?

How?

WEAKLY: Let me go.

You know why I'm going to England.

You know that I'm going to kill people.

A lot of them. As many as I need. And perhaps even more.

But...

COUGHS

..I won't...

You won't what?

Oh, you won't tell anyone about me? Or try to stop me?

You'll just let me slaughter all

those innocents, no questions asked?

LAUGHS

Some lawyer you turned out to be, Johnny!

I promise.

I...I swe...

I...I swear.

I... I...

I swear.

All right, then.

Do that.

GASPING: What?

Swear.

I'm going to England to destroy everything and everyone you love,

but if you give me your word that you won't try to stop me...

..I'll spare you.

It's a trick.

Give me your word.

SOBBING: No... You're going to kill me anyway.

Look me in the eye and give me your word.

Count Dracula...

..I give you my word.

If you let me out of this place...

..if you let me live...

..then I...

..then I will do everything in my power to stop you.

Quite right.

That's my Johnny.

Welcome to the mountaintop.

BONES CRUNCH

I'm not breathing.

Sometimes you do, but I think it's mostly habit.

You have no heartbeat, either.

I'm dead.

Undead.

But apparently, not yet a vampire.

One must cling on to any good news that there is.

WOLF HOWLS IN THE DISTANCE

I do not serve Dracula.

No, but he's in your mind.

The question is, why are you not in one of his boxes?

I don't know.

It's not something one ever anticipates asking,

but what happened AFTER you were murdered?

Oh, my goodness, that was quick.

WHEEZES AND GASPS

Johnny, Johnny, Johnny...

Usually, people have a lie-down first.

GASPS

DRACULA CHUCKLES

You're going to be a lively one, aren't you?

You came back so quickly. That was impressive.

You even have the beginnings of a will of your own.

None of the others have much beyond hunger, but look at you go!

Well, don't you see? This changes everything.

Stay. Stay!

You could be my finest bride.

The others just became beasts, but you've kept your spirit.

Johnny, you're like me.

I am not like you!

PIERCING SCREAM

SCREAMING CONTINUES

SCREAMING ECHOES

That's everything. That's...

That's all I remember.

But why did he scream? What did you do?

Nothing, I did nothing. I...

I looked at him, and the next thing I remember was that I was here.

Oh, yes, yes, never mind that.

We know what happened next. No, I...

I don't... I don't remember.

The river bore you out to sea, and the fishermen found you, caught in their net.

A drowned man walking and talking arouses a certain amount of curiosity,

and you were brought to me,

babbling of a girl called Mina whose face you had forgotten

and an evil count who had stolen your soul.

Why was I brought to you?

I am known to have some expertise in the realm of witchcraft and the occult.

You're a nun!

We can discuss my imperfectly suppressed

fascination with everything dark and evil another time.

For now, we will focus on why Dracula screamed.

HARKER SIGHS

You were facing the sun!

Yes.

I have sought to find God all my life,

and never found a sign of him anywhere.

Why now? Why you? Why him?

I don't understand.

Then, think!

Count Dracula fears the cross.

He fears the symbol of our Lord.

The girl didn't. Never mind the girl. She was nothing.

Dracula, prince among vampires, fears the cross.

Do you understand what that means?

No. Tell me.

God is real.

God is real, and I've found him at last.

You have found the Devil. If it takes the Devil

to bring me to my Lord, then I say, "Bring on the Devil!"

SCOFFS

I don't!

And why not?

God saved you for a reason, don't you think?

I'm not saved!

I'm nothing.

Would Mina think that?

If she could see me, yes, she would.

Look at me.

I can't even remember her face.

Yes. I think you have proven that to our satisfaction.

SISTER ANGELA WEEPS

Mr Harker, I apologise for the deception.

It was necessary she heard the story from your own lips.

You may have forgotten your fiancee's face...

..but I have not lost you yet.

Hello, Johnny.

Your eyes are still blue, at least.

Having established your identity, it was not difficult to trace you back to England

and find your worried fiancee.

I have a detective acquaintance in London.

Mina?

Did you really think, even in your darkest moment...

..that I wouldn't come for you?

Did you think it was even possible that I could abandon the man I love?

I am no longer that man.

Dearest one.

We are to be married.

So let me be plain.

Who you are will always be my decision. Yes...

SCREAMS

BATS SCREECH

WOMEN SCREAM

Dracula is here!

How exciting!

BATS SCREECH

Look after Mina.

DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES

SCREAMING IN THE DISTANCE

WOLF HOWLS

Mina?

Take it, please.

Why?

Because you're bleeding.

And I can't stand it.

SHOUTS: Take it!

GASPS

WOLF HOWLS

Mother Superior, on no account

invite that creature in.

SNARLING

That is not a temptation with which I was struggling.

What is happening? What is this?

We are under attack from the forces of darkness.

Why would the forces of darkness wish to attack a convent?

Perhaps they are sensitive to criticism.

LOW SNARL

SNARLS

I know who you are.

I've studied the legends. I am fully aware that I am addressing Count Dracula.

The bats are a little noisy. Would you mind?

HOWLS

SCREECHING FADES

Listen to me.

You are Jonathan Harker.

You would never harm me.

STAKE CLATTERS

I know I am safe with you.

SOBS: It's me.

Look at me.

See me.

My blue-eyed Johnny.

No, Johnny...

Don't.

Oh, please, don't.

You don't need to do that.

I know you don't.

SCREAMS: Johnny!

SNARLS

The sun is down. You don't need to hide any more.

Or are you too afraid to step from the shadows?

BARKS

SNARLS

GURGLING

GASPS

Let me...

Johnny... Let me.

Please... Johnny!

GASPS

MINA SCREAMS

No...

I'm sorry.

Somebody help!

Please!

SCREAMS

BONES CRUNCH

WHIMPERS

This is devilry.

It's worse than that.

It is the Devil.

GRUNTS

MOTHER SUPERIOR GASPS

I don't know about you girls...

...but I do love a bit of fur.

GASPS

Suffer unto me.

LAUGHS

BELL RINGS OUT I'm not sure

what legends you've been reading, but bells don't have any effect on me.

This one will.

Ooh!

Sister Agatha, have you been up to one of your secret projects again?

You'd better hope so. This is exciting.

This'll be the most nuns I've had in one sitting.

Sisters, present arms.

DRACULA: Ooh!

I see my arrival was anticipated. I was aware of the possibility.

Sister Agatha, what have you brought down upon us?

Cooee!

MOTHER SUPERIOR GASPS

Hello!

Hello, ladies.

I don't want to worry you,

but the army of the faithful can't seem to look me in the eye.

You're naked, and they're nuns.

It isn't your eye they're not looking at.

Well, isn't anyone going to invite me in?

I've come a long way to see you. Certainly not.

Sister Rosa, the key!

MOTHER SUPERIOR: You can't be serious.

I'm more than serious. I'm completely confident.

How did you know that I was coming?

There's a man here you consider to be your property.

My bride. He's what drew you here, I think.

A bee can always find nectar.

And a trap always needs honey.

I don't think this is a trap.

Well, it wouldn't be a very good trap if you did.

Thank you, Sister.

BREATHES RASPINGLY

Count Dracula, please attend my words with care.

CHAINS CLANG

This is St Mary's Convent of Budapest,

and you are not welcome here.

You are most specifically not invited in.

SNARLS AND HISSES

SNARLS

SNARLS

SISTER AGATHA: Oh!

So it's true, then.

That's interesting. MOTHER SUPERIOR: What is?

A vampire may not enter any abode unless invited in.

I wasn't sure about that one. A vampire?

You unlocked the gate and you weren't sure?

A vampire?!

Oh, the iron wasn't keeping you out. You could have torn it apart like matchwood.

I could tear you apart.

Not from out there, you couldn't.

But what's stopping you?

A-a feeling?

A force?

Is it physical or mental? Why do you need an invitation?

Do you expect me to tell you? Oh, I don't even expect you to know.

A beast can follow rules. I don't expect it to understand them.

NUNS GASP

I am more than a beast.

In what way?

By your own account, you've been on this Earth for hundreds of years,

and you can't even walk into a nunnery?

An ox could do it.

How are you more than a beast? Do you want me to show you?

Of course.

I'm waiting.

WHISPERS: Come here. Come here.

Come here. Come here a moment.

Come closer.

Look at them.

Look at your sisters.

Armed and ready.

You're not looking. I don't need to.

One of them - that's all I need.

If just one of your pretty little army beckons me in...

..I will tear your world to pieces and I will drink my fill.

Why would they invite you in?

What do you have to offer?

Eternal life.

Well, they have that already.

Thanks.

Starting tonight, because the first

one to invite me in stays at my side.

The others I will tear apart,

and, ladies...

..I will take my time.

One should never rush a nun.

Your words are not welcome here.

Well, if you find you're not tempted by my offer,

ask yourself this.

Who is?

Who's weakest?

Who's the most afraid?

Who will break first?

And is there still time for it to be you?

LAUGHS: What's that?

What are you doing? You wanted to know who's weakest?

I'm showing you.

SNARLS

ROARS

Oh, go on, help yourself!

There's a dog comes past here most days.

We often give it scraps.

SNARLS

Go on. You've come so far.

I'm sure you could do with a drink.

SNARLS

Hmm. You see, I'm not certain I see the appeal.

SNARLS

SNARLS

Each to his own, I suppose.

Do you think...

...provoking me is clever?

Yes. I do.

I want to learn about you.

I want to see the limit of your capability.

That's the point of this experiment. You have no conception.

Not the first idea.

Hmm... Here, boy!

This is contemptible.

You are without shame. Be careful...

..what you say to me.

Don't speak with your mouth full.

She's earned the right to express her contempt, you know. We all have.

Each of these women in front of you has turned her back on earthly pleasures.

Resisting all forms of temptation,

we have freed ourselves of appetite and therefore of fear.

That is why you can't bear the sight of this.

It speaks of a holy virtue you do not possess.

It is goodness incarnate.

LAUGHS SOFTLY

For a moment there, I thought you were clever.

But no.

No, that's not why I fear the cross.

Goodness has got nothing to do with it.

So you say, but how can a mere beast understand its own fear?

No-one will invite you in, Count Dracula.

They'll just pity you right where you are.

Who are you?

Finish your scraps. That's all you'll be getting tonight.

Agatha...

..that's the name, isn't it?

Mother Superior used my name. You heard her. You'll have to do better than that.

You're from somewhere else, I think. Um...

Holland, right?

Well, you can tell as much from my accent, I think. I bid you goodnight.

Helsing!

Van Helsing!

What is your interest in me, Agatha Van Helsing?

Who are you?

Your every nightmare at once.

An educated woman in a crucifix.

SNARLS SOFTLY

KNIFE CLATTERS

ROARS

NUNS SHRIEK

SNARLS

He was a brave man.

He must have loved you very much.

What is he?

What is Count Dracula?

In life, he was a prince of exceptional learning and attainment.

In death, I suppose you could say he's the best of the vampires.

The best? The most successful, I mean.

Most are feral, half-mad. They rarely last long and yet, somehow,

Dracula has found a way to retain his human form and intellect,

more or less intact, for hundreds of years.

By drinking blood?

Ah, they all drink blood.

Dracula has learned to do it well...

..I think by choosing his victims with the greatest of care.

Even in death, he has retained the discrimination of an aristocrat.

And so he took my Johnny.

SISTER AGATHA: Come, the Mother Superior will want to lead us in prayer.

MINA: I don't see the point in praying.

God is nowhere.

In which case, it is up to us to stop Count Dracula.

And we will.

Won't we?

Yes.

We will.

Goodbye, Johnny Blue Eyes.

I shan't ever love anyone else, you know.

Quite right.

LOW GROWLING

SWORD CLATTERS

WIND WHISTLES

WHISPERS: Johnny.

Johnny Blue Eyes.

Suicide doesn't work.

Don't you think the undead have tried that?

HARKER WHEEZES

Stake through the heart, that's fine,

but someone else needs to put it there.

I'm willing to give it a try.

Do you want me to do that?

Do you want me to kill you properly?

GASPS

All you have to do...

...is invite me in.

MOTHER SUPERIOR: We face danger, we face evil, which stands at the gate

of our most holy sanctuary.

God is with us, as we know.

God's love is eternal.

This we know too.

Tonight, in our most deadly hour...

...do we think our God will remember us?

Will he reach down and save us from death's shadow?

No.

No, he will not.

Where in our world is God to be found?

In our prayer?

No.

In our song?

No.

In our suffering, in our endurance?

No.

Faith is not a transaction.

You do not barter with the infinite.

You align with it.

So, then, where do we find our God?

Sisters, I will tell you.

When you stand in the deepest pit,

alone, without hope or help,

and yet still know right from wrong...

When there is only darkness and despair...

..and yet you feel humming in your blood,

the difference between good and bad...

When you are beyond rescue or reward or judgment...

..and you still look evil in the face and say, "No!

"This far but no further.

"No!"

Whose voice is that who is with you in that darkness?

Whose voice keeps you to the path?

Darkness and evil may seem compelling to us all,

and I believe it is because, in their presence,

we can feel God in our hearts.

No, he will not reach down to save us.

We will rise to meet him.

Let us pray.

PRAYS SOFTLY

MOTHER SUPERIOR: Ahem. Ahem.

BLADE SLICES

She was clearing her throat.

NUNS GASP AND QUIVER

I think it's fine now.

Oh, ladies, who's next? Boo!

ALL SCREAM

HOWLING AND SNARLING

It's just that I have a very hard time deciding who's going to be...

NUNS SCREAM

Here's an idea.

Catch!

NUNS SCREAM

SCREAMING CONTINUES

This will be the safest spot.

What is this place? My workshop.

Here.

Here. Where the sunlight hits.

It's night-time. In the morning.

In the morning.

It's not morning for hours! I know.

SCREAMING

Who's got it?

Who's caught it?

Ah, we have a winner!

What's that?

Jesus.

Jesus?

Bread.

Sacramental bread.

WAILS

Oh, of course.

Nuns.

You have those things, which work, actually,

even though you will never...

..guess why.

EXHALES

So I suppose I'll just have to control myself.

But, between you and me,

controlling wolves is just so much more fun.

BARKS AND SNARLS

NUNS SCREAM

It's a question of who you'd rather have tear you apart, I suppose.

You have a choice, of course.

I'm undead. I'm not unreasonable.

SCREAMING AND TEARING

Oh! Oh! Oh, that must have hurt!

BARKS

NUN SCREAMS

Ooh.

SCREAMING CONTINUES

SCREAMING AND SNARLING

PRAYS SOFTLY

SCREAMS ECHO

SNIFFS

It's all right. The screaming has stopped.

Oh...

..I don't know how you could bear to listen to that.

I brought it on them. Listening was my punishment.

Dracula's going to find us, isn't he?

Of course.

How is bread going to keep him out?

Sacramental bread.

But how? I don't know.

None of the vampire legends make sense,

and yet somehow they are proving to be true.

He can't enter a home without being invited. Why not?

The light of the day would burn him to death. Why?

He's terrified of the cross, and yet he's no believer.

Somehow, these facts are all the same fact.

There's one thing that Dracula fears above all

and, to destroy him...

...we must discover it.

He got into the convent. How did he get in here?

Well, clearly, there was an invitation.

Then someone invited him.

CRASH AND BOTH GASP

Shh. MINA QUIVERS

DOOR CREAKS

HEARTBEAT THUDS

Mina?

MINA: I-I thought you...you were...

I saw you dead.

I couldn't stop him, Mina.

I let him inside.

He's inside.

We know, Johnny.

He killed everyone.

Do not cross that line.

You can't come any closer.

Let him in. We cannot trust him.

He is strong, stronger than you think, and if I'm with him...

No-one is strong enough.

No-one! Please!

We can't just leave him out there. Do not invite him in!

No!

Come here, Johnny.

Come to me.

I am inviting you to be with us.

You don't know what you're doing!

He let Dracula in - he will do it again!

You won't, will you, Johnny?

Cos I'm here with you.

And I will give you strength.

The two of us, together, we can be stronger than...

Johnny, your eyes...

He's inside.

Why aren't your eyes blue any more?

HEARTBEAT THUDS

WHISPERS: They're not my eyes.

GASPS

WOMEN SCREAM

Hello.

I've been dying to meet you.

PIERCING SCREAM