Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Mola Ram steps forward to the stretched-out victim and the Indian looks up into the High Priest's grotesque face –

Suddenly Mola Ram's hand shoots out toward the man's chest – and pierces it! The High Priests hand sinks into the victim's writing body and rips out his living heart!

INT. THE WIND TUNNEL

Willie covers her mouth –
 

WILLIE

Oh my God! He ripped out his – he killed him!

INDIANA

No... the heart's still beating!

INT. THE ALTAR

Indeed, the bloody heart is still beating in Mola Ram's hand! He lifts the heart into the air and the worshippers begin the chant.

THE MULTITUDE

Jai ma Kali, jai ma Kali!

Stranger still, the sacrificial victim is still alive – there is no evidence of a gash on his chest, only a reddish mark. The priests add chains to the iron frame and carry the victim over toward a hoist hanging over the crevasse.

The man thrashes about helplessly on the iron frame as it is up ended and then lowered with the victim hanging face down –

As the sacrificial victim looks down into the crevasse below – he screams – and we see the molten lava bubbling crimson at the bottom of the chasm!

INT. THE WIND TUNNEL
 

Willie closes her eyes but Indy and Short Round watch horrified as the iron frame is lowered – and the bloody heart continues to beat in Mola Ram's hand – and the molten lava burns and flickers as the screaming victim is lowered deeper into the crevasse.

INT. THE TEMPLE

The weird paint on the victim's face starts to smoke and sizzle – the man's skin blisters as he's lowered within feet of the lava. His flesh smokes and he screams one last time as his body bursts into flame.

The iron frame sinks and submerges into the boiling fiery lava.

INT. THE ALTAR
 

Above the crevasse, Mola Ram continues to hold the heart in his hand – the heart is smoking and bursts into flames – and disappears!

INT. THE TEMPLE

The iron frame is raised out of the lava – the metal glows like a branding iron, but there is no trace of the sacrificed victim.

INT. THE WIND TUNNEL

As the wind howls again, Willie and Short Round look sickened and appalled by the ceremony. Even Indy seems shaken by what they are witnessing.

THE MULTITUDE

Jai ma Kali, jai ma Kali!

INT. THE ALTAR

Mola Ram raises both hands and his voice echoes strange incantations. Behind him, three priests carry cloth-wrapped objects toward the altar.

INT. THE WIND TUNNEL

Willie is crying and her voice is shocking as she turns away from the hideous ritual –
 

WILLIE

Let's go! Let's get out of here!

INDIANA

Quiet!

INT. THE ALTAR

The priests reverently unwrap three conical pieces of crystallized quartz. The place the three stones below the statue of Kali and slowly the smoke around the altar swirls –

The smoke is drawn to the three stones and they actually start inhaling the spiraling smoke. The smoke disappears into the stones and the air clears. Then the three stones start to glow a haunting incandescent white.

INT. THE WIND TUNNEL
 

Short Round looks scared. Willie is still crying – Indy waits, horrified but fascinated.

INDIANA

The village knew their rock was magic – but they didn't know it was one of the lost Sankara Stones...

SHORT ROUND

Why they glow like that?

INDIANA

Legend says that when the stones are brought together the diamonds inside of them will glow.

Willie wipes her eyes and becomes more interested –
 

WILLIE

Diamonds...?

INT. THE ALTAR

The Sankara Stones shimmer brightly, and inside the crystallized quartz, the enormous sparkling diamonds of legend are now revealed.

Mola Ram stands facing Kali with his arms outstretched and kneels and bows and then walks off the altar and disappears.

INT. THE WIND TUNNEL
 

Indiana sees the worshippers below start to leave the temple. He looks at Willie and Short Round.

INDIANA

Okay – now listen – you wait here and keep quiet. Shorty, keep an eye on her.

Short Round nods and hands Indy his bullwhip and shoulder bag. Willie sees Indiana peering down at the sheer drop below the mouth of the wind tunnel.

WILLIE

Wait – what're you doing?

INDIANA

I'm going down.

WILLIE

Down? Down there?! Are you crazy!

INDIANA

I'm not leaving without those stones.

WILLIE

You're gonna get killed chasing after your damn fortune and glory!

INDIANA

(looking at her)

Maybe... someday.

(smiling)

Not today.

SHORT ROUND

I keep my eye peeled, Indy.

Indiana nods and looks down at the now empty temple. Then he slips down from the mouth of the wind tunnel.

INT. THE TEMPLE WALL

Indiana skillfully climbs down an enormous temple column – finding footholds on stone cobras, carved lions and the stone breasts of dancing girls. Slowly, he makes his way down and swings across a balcony.

INT. THE BALCONY

Indiana walks quietly along the balcony overlooking the temple. He stops – between him and the altar is the crevasse with the lava bubbling fire at the bottom.

Indiana looks across the gulf and sees another column near the altar at the top of which stone elephants are perched. Indy curls his whip and suddenly lets it fly –

The whip cracks and its end wraps tightly around the tusk of one of the stone elephants. From the balcony, Indy tugs the whip taut, takes a breath and runs –

INT. THE CREVASSE
 

Indiana leaps and swings out on the whip, arching down and up, over the chasm of fiery lava in a spectacular curving jump!

INT. THE LATAR

Indy lands on his feet and turns to release the whip. Short Round waves to Indy that the coast is clear. Indy snaps the whip – it releases from the elephant tusk and drops.

Recurling the whip, Indy attaches it to his belt and moves toward the towering statue of Kali. The three Sankara stones start to glow and Indiana approaches them cautiously.

Reaching the stones, Indy's face is lighted by them. He notices that one of them (the stone from Mayapore village) has strange lines painted across it.

Suspiciously, Indy touches the stone, but it doesn't burn. He lifts it carefully and peers into it. The enormous diamond sparkles inside. He places the stone in his shoulder bag and reaches for the others.

INT. THE WIND TUNNEL
 

Short Round and Willie watch apprehensively as Indiana bags the three stones.

INT. THE ALTAR

Indiana backs away and looks up at the horrific statue of Kali. It seems to be watching him. He turns and is about to go when he hears something –

It sounds like a voice and Indy is afraid to turn – could it be Kali? The he hears other noises echoing and turns slowly. Realizing the sounds are coming from behind the altar, Indy moves around it toward the back.

INT. THE WIND TUNNEL
 

Short Round and Willie are mystified as they see Indiana disappear behind the altar.

WILLIE

Oh hell, where's he going?

Short Round looks worried. Then the wind rushes past them quickly and howls its somber musical note. However, the wind sounds different this time, its tone quavering slightly.

Short Round is puzzled and looks around. Hefeeezes when he sees two shadowy figures coming down the tunnel toward them – the bodies causing the tone of the wind to shift eerily –

Willie notices Short Round pulling a dagger from his belt -

WILLIE
What're you – ?

Suddenly she turns and screams as two huge Thuggee guards rush at them! One grabs at Short Round but the kid slashes the guard's hand with his dagger.

Willie tries to get past the other guard, but he snatches her by the arm and pulls her toward him – from her training at the College of Hard Knocks, Willie successfully knees the big man in the balls.

WILLIE (CONT'D)

Keep your paws off, letch!

The man groans and sinks to his knees. Willie sees that Short Round is in trouble. She runs over, leaps onto the back of the other guard and starts ripping his hair out.

Short Round picks up his fallen dagger. The big guard lurches backwards and smashes Willie into the rocky wall of the tunnel. Willie falls to the floor.

Short Round approaches, holding the man at bay with his dagger. Willie turns as the other guard, the one she kneed, crawls toward her – Willie scoops up some dirt and throws it. The man claws at his eyes and Willie jumps up.

SHORT ROUND
Run Willie!

Willie starts to run and Short Round backs away, keeping the guard at a distance with his dagger. Suddenly the guard cries out in Hindi and dives at Short Round.

Panicking, Shorty tries to run after Willie – but he's tripped. The guard has Short Round by the foot and drags him back. Willie looks around and stops running. She sees Short Round is caught.

SHORT ROUND (CONT'D)

No! Run! Go get help!

Willie hesitates, then runs down the tunnel. Meanwhile, a mammoth hand clutches Short Round's throat – the giant guard lifts Shorty completely off the ground and the kid looks terrified and helpless as he dangles in the air...

INT. CHAMBER BEHIND ALTAR

Indiana enters the dark chamber behind the altar. The only illumination is the back-light streaming around the silhouetted statue of Kali.

Indy slowly crosses a narrow stone bridge and moves toward a cylindrical shaft of light rising up from what appears to be an enormous hole.

Indy hears voices and the clink of metal against rock as he continues forward. The ground is dark in front of the large hole. He edges toward the precipice and the light rising up illuminates the look of shock on his face as he peers down into Hell...

INT. THE THUGGEE MINES
 

Indy looks into a deep pit around which concentric paths leads off into numerous narrow tunnels. Crawling out of these burrows, scrawny children drag sacks of dirt and rock. Other hollow-eyed children pull these sacks to mine cars waiting on rails.

Straining to lift the rocks into the mine cars, several of the children slip and fall. Bare-chested Thuggee guards shout at the enslaves children and kick those who've fallen.

For these children there would seem to be only one hope – death – an end to their travail.

Indiana edges around the hole, looking into the ghastly mine and feeling as if he's discovered an inferno of misery as grotesque as Dante's.

Indy shifts the bag of stones on his shoulder. He hesitates and considers his choice: he has the Sankara Stones and can leave with them now...

But Indy hears the pleading cries of one child and peers down to see a burly Thuggee guard beating the pitiful little slave. Indy gets angrier and angrier as he watches.

He finally steps over the grabs a boulder. He lifts it and flings it down into the mine –

INT. THE MINE
 

We see Indiana above and the boulder hurtling down – it crashes onto the head of the Thuggee guard who hits the ground like a sack of cement!

INT. THE CHAMBER

Indy sees the startled slave children looking up at him in shock. He smiles victoriously at the Thuggees below who've run over to see what happened.

Indy's smile seems to fade as his anger turns to surprise as he feels something unnerving:

Dirt is crumbling away from the rim of the hole, a small landslide starting beneath his feet. Suddenly the floor gives way and Indy slips!

The entire rim of the hole shears off and Indy topples with it and plunges down into the mine toward the assembled guards who scatter – Indy yells as he falls and it echoes...

CUT TO:

INT. A CELL – NIGHT

Indiana's yell continues to echo – his head jerks suddenly – Indy jolts awake as if coming out of a nightmare, awakened by his own reverberating shout.

Indy is lying on the rocky floor of a dark cave/cell. He lifts his hands and discovers that they are chained. In the murky light, he sees Short Round sitting in chains across the cell.

SHORT ROUND
Indy – you knocked out when you fall. You okay?

Indiana nods groggily. He sees a young slave worker in rags sitting near Short Round. Through the iron bars of the cell, Indy sees the children slaving in the mine tunnels.

SHORT ROUND

(indicating the kid)

This is Nainsukh – from the village. They bring him here to dig in the mines.

INDIANA

Why?

NAINSUKH

Children are small – we can work in tunnels. Now I am too old.

SHORT ROUND

What they do to you now?

NAINSUKH

I pray to Shiva – let me die. But I do not. Now – now the evil of Kali take me.

SHORT ROUND

How?

NAINSUKH

They will make me drink blood of Kali. Then I fall into black sleep of Kali Ma...

INDIANA

What is that?

NAINSUKH

I become like them. I believe – nut like in nightmare. You drink the blood, you not wake up from nightmare of Kali Ma.

There's a noise and they see two guards and a priest outside the cell. Nainsukh cowers in the darkness at the back of the cell, like a trapped animal awaiting the inevitable.

CUT TO:

INT. A MINE TUNNEL – NIGHT

Indiana and Short Round are pushed down a tunnel by guards. They are stopped at a door and shoved inside.

INT. MOLA RAM'S CHAMBER

Indiana and Short Round stumble into the chamber. It is a terrifying gallery of occult yantras, ritualistic statues and grisly icons of the evil Thuggee sect.

Grotesque statues of Kali's baleful minions line the walls. In a corner, there is another statue of Kali herself, draped with flowers, necklaces of real human skills and slithering belts of live snakes.

Fresh blood has been splashed over the statue and at its base are the three Sankara Stones recovered from Indiana. Mola Ram sits in a yoga position near the statue of Kali.

Mola Ram opens his eyes and he sees Indiana and Short Round standing in chains before him.

MOLA RAM
You were caught trying to steal the Sankara Stones.

INDIANA

(shrugging)

Nobody's perfect. The way I heard it, you stole one of them from a small village.

Mola Ram stands and gazes transfixed at the stones glowing on the altar.

MOLA RAM

There were five stones in the beginning. Over the centuries they were dispersed by wars, sold off by thieves like you...

INDIANA

Two are still missing.

MOLA RAM

No. They are here – somewhere. A century ago when the British raided this temple and butchered my people, a loyal priest his the last two stones down here in the catacombs.

INDIANA

That's what you've got these children – these slaves digging for?

MOLA RAM

They dig for the gems to support our cause. They also search for the last two stones. Soon we will have all five Sankara Stones and the Thuggees will be all powerful!

INDIANA

Nobody can say you don't have a vivid imagination.

MOLA RAM

You do not believe me? You will, Dr. Jones. You will become a true believer.

The door opens and Mola Ram bows slightly as the little Maharajah enters. Indy looks surprised and Short Round tenses.

MOLA RAM (CONT'D)

Your Highness will witness the thief's conversion.

Mola Ram nods and two guards grab Indy. They drag him struggling to a rock and chain him to it. Short Round scuffles as he's pulled aside to watch.

Remembering the High Priest's earlier open-heart surgery, Indiana looks worried as Mola Ram approaches him –