Over on the Original Scripts page are twenty one original scripts for your reading pleasure.

After you’ve read a few scripts, why not try your hand at the May One Week Challenge?

– Don

SLEEPOVER (9 page horror short) by Curtis James Coffey

A young girl is terrorized in the middle of the night during her first ever sleepover at a friend’s house.

Ah, to be a kid again. We can only wish, right? Back when our imaginations were pure and full of magic; Santa would bring us presents, a giant bunny would hide eggs and some tooth-obsessed fairy would leave cash under our pillows. We had our whole lives ahead of us. The world was full of endless possibilities. Sure, there was a laundry list of rules, restrictions and responsibilities, mostly bestowed upon us by our parents. But it’s BECAUSE of those rules that the little things were so fun – like sleeping over a friend’s house. Especially when that friend had super cool parents. You got to stay up way past your bedtime, pig out on junk food you weren’t normally allowed to eat and hang out with your buddies without the supervision of your own parents and their stupid rules. But what happens when your friend’s parents are… weird?

That’s the premise behind Curtis James Coffey’s nightmarish horror short, “Sleepover”.

As magical as being a kid can be, it can also be a very scary time. As fun as Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy were, this was also a time when there were monsters hiding under the bed and a Bogeyman living in the closet. And, as fun as sleepovers were, there was always that one kid who would freak out because they were scared to be away from home.

Meet 10-year-old Allison, on her way to her best friend, Cassie’s house for her very first sleepover. Though a little nervous, Allison’s mother, Becky, tries to be reassuring.

            BECKY
You’re going to be fine. It’s not different
than sleeping at home in your own bed.
It’s even better, in fact, because you’ll
be with your best friend. You’ll get to
stay up late and watch movies and eat junk food!

Allison doesn’t seem so sure.

            ALLISON
But what if I can’t sleep?
Or what if I snore? What if SHE snores?
She might not have a nightlight. You know
I have a hard time sleeping with a nightlight.

            BECKY
That’s just something you’re going to have to
deal with. I’m sure she’ll protect you. And her
parents are going to be there the whole time. Right?

            ALLISON
What if they’re weird? Or mean?

When Allison arrives at Cassie’s home and meets her parents, Jack and Julie, everything starts off okay… ish. Meeting new people, especially adults, can be awkward for a child. But Allison’s skepticism seems fairly warranted. Though nice, there seems to be something a little off about Cassie’s parents. It’s almost as if they’re TOO nice. Not to mention those creepy “Stepford Wives” smiles that seem to be pasted to their faces.

Cassie seems pretty normal, however, embarrassed by her parents’ lame jokes and overly-gracious hospitality. And, as Allison settles in, she becomes more comfortable, even seeming to warm up to Jack and Julie a little bit.

            ALLISON
Your parents are nice.

            CASSIE
Yeah, they’re okay, I guess.

But it’s not until the “sleepover” part of the sleepover that Allison’s deepest, darkest fears begin to take over and she finds out that Jack and Julie might not be quite as “okay” as Cassie says they are.

Is it just Allison’s imagination? Or is there is something terribly, terribly wrong with Cassie’s parents?

Fully of creepy moments ala M. Night Shayamalan’s “The Visit”, heart-pounding jump-scares and chilling imagery reminiscent of a Marilyn Manson music video, “Sleepover” will make you glad to be an adult.

BUDGET: Low. One location (a house) and 5 actors (2 of them children).

ABOUT THE WRITER: Curtis James Coffey was born on May 28th, 1990 in Binghamton, NY and raised in Sarasota, FL. He self-published a novel titled, A Call Beyond, and did extensive writing for the tabletop RPG Machina Arcana. He currently resides in Saint Petersburg, FL and aside from film, enjoys games, comics, cooking, and all things spooky. He can be reached at de_cafe6914 (a) yahoo.

Read SLEEPOVER

Talk about it on the Discussion Board.

*This screenplay may not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.

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About the Reviewer: Michael J. Kospiah is the award-winning screenwriter of critically acclaimed indie-thriller, The Suicide Theory (79% Rotten Tomatoes – available on Amazon Prime, Itunes, Google Play, etc) and 2020’s upcoming Aussie thriller, Rage. His horror feature, They Never Left is currently in development.

Last, for now, in a series of interviews by award winning screenwriter Anthony Cawood who runs the excellent script resource Screen Writing Opportunities with the creators/CEOs of script sites that attempt to match screenwrites with others in the film industry.

This is not an endorsement by SimplyScripts, but rather we’re just trying to lay out what information we have so you, the writer, can make a well informed decision.

Nadira Azermai, CEO of ScriptBook.io. ScriptBook‘s mission is to democratize the business of storytelling through the art of AI.

Please read the interview with Nadira Azermai on Screenwriting Opportunities.

Discuss the service on the discussion board.

Update – 6/14/20 – Discussion of one users experience with ScriptBook.io.

About The Interviewer: Anthony Cawood is an award-winning screenwriter with one feature produced and a further four features optioned or in pre-production. In addition to features, he has over forty short scripts produced/sold/optioned – including ten filmed. Also occasionally pens screenwriting articles, interviews with writers and filmmakers, and even a short story or two. He can be reached on his website AnthonyCawood.co.uk.

HAND AND FOOT DISEASE (14 page short horror script) by Luke Mepham

After an innocent foot massage, a happily married couple’s relationship is tested when they both become infected with a very strange and itchy skin disease…

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably well aware of all the craziness happening in the world right now. Actually, come to think about it, “living under a rock” is probably the wrong idiom to use. Because many of us, for the past six weeks or so, have actually been living under rocks. Many of us are are sitting in isolation right now as we speak, quarantining ourselves until this madness blows over (hopefully). Many of us are surviving this lock down alone while many of us are cooped up with our loved ones, doing our best not to get infected.

But what happens when you’re isolated with your significant other and one of you gets infected? What happens when BOTH of you get infected? Do you turn on each other? A little game of who-infected-who?

Writer, Luke Mepham, explores what could happen in his delightfully twisted body-horror short, Hand and Foot Disease.

Before I continue – this is NOT a COVID-19 script. Nor is this making light of all the terrible things happening in the world right now. This was written long before any of this happened, back when the word “corona” was strictly associated with alcohol consumption. This script, in particular, examines how a seemingly-healthy relationship can turn very unhealthy under very adverse and unusual circumstances.

Our story opens with Dennis and Helen – a happily married couple just enjoying each other’s company, sharing some relaxing TV time on the couch. Just another night, right? Well, as Dennis gives his loyal, loving wife a foot massage, his hand begins to itch. Deciding that it’s probably nothing but a slight skin irritation, Dennis decides to just sleep it off.

But, later that night while in bed, that itchy sensation becomes a little painful for poor Dennis. He wakes up to find his mitts covered in nasty, blotchy rashes. To make matters worse, Helen wakes up to find the same itchy rashes covering her feet.

            HELEN
Whatever you had, you passed it onto me.

            DENNIS
What do you mean?

            HELEN
Come and see for yourself.

Dennis gets up and walks around the bed to see the state of Helen’s feet match the same state as his hands. Blistered, boiled, dry flaky skin.

After Helen accuses him of spreading it to her, Dennis then questions the quality of the hand soap Helen had bought – the blame game has officially begun.

But, with their doctor away on holiday, they try to make do. Putting their heads together, they come up with somewhat of a game plan – in an attempt to sweat the infection out and keep it from spreading, Helen tapes off her feet with layers of socks while Dennis tapes oven mitts around his hands. Not the worst plan, considering the circumstances, but now they can’t drive to an ER – Dennis unable to operate the steering wheel with mitts on his hands and Helen unable to work the pedals. So, it’s looking like they’re stuck.

As their condition worsens and the itchiness becomes more difficult to resist, the couple’s need to scratch completely takes over, even resorting to dipping their hands into scalding-hot water. But when that doesn’t work… well… let’s just say a cheese grater comes into play.

You’re probably getting itchy just reading this review, aren’t you? Well, it gets much, much worse for Dennis and Helen, the story reaching levels of body horror gore that would make David Cronenberg blush. But, as a massive Cronenberg fan, I found this to be a very, very entertaining schlock-fest, hearkening memories of the legendary filmmaker’s earlier work. This also reminded me a little bit of Troma’s gruesomely effective, “Cutting Moments” short film.

BUDGET: Low. Three actors and a house. Most of the budget will probably be fake blood, makeup and some cheap prosthesis.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Luke Mepham has loved film since he was very young. His childhood favorites such as “Hook” and “Back To The Future” pushed his interest into the world of screenwriting, hoping to write classic films of his own.Luke has written a few other scripts, both short and feature length, while also having several published short horror stories. Luke can be reached at: lukemepham1988 (a) hotmail.co.uk

Read HAND & FOOT DISEASE

Talk about it on the Discussion Board.

*This screenplay may not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.

Find more scripts available for production.

About the Reviewer: Michael J. Kospiah is the award-winning screenwriter of critically acclaimed indie-thriller, The Suicide Theory (79% Rotten Tomatoes – available on Amazon Prime, Itunes, Google Play, etc) and 2020’s upcoming Aussie thriller, Rage. His horror feature, They Never Left is currently in development.

Upcoming over the next week or so, SimplyScripts will be featuring a series of interviews by award winning screenwriter Anthony Cawood who runs the excellent script resource Screen Writing Opportunities with the creators/CEOs of script sites that attempt to match screenwrites with others in the film industry.

This is not an endorsement by SimplyScripts, but rather we’re just trying to lay out what information we have so you, the writer, can make a well informed decision.

Choukri Ben Meriem is the Creator/CEO of TheMavericksOfCinema.com. Mavericks of Cinema is a relatively new site that is hoping to help connect actors, directors and screenwriters with producers looking to create.

Please read the rest of the interview with Choukri Ben Meriem on Screenwriting Opportunities.

Discuss the service on the discussion board.

About The Interviewer: Anthony Cawood is an award-winning screenwriter with one feature produced and a further four features optioned or in pre-production. In addition to features, he has over forty short scripts produced/sold/optioned – including ten filmed. Also occasionally pens screenwriting articles, interviews with writers and filmmakers, and even a short story or two. He can be reached on his website AnthonyCawood.co.uk.

I-commute by Christina Katsiadakis

When it comes to finding love, look up.

Synopsis
In a world where we are becoming our phones or they are becoming us, Eugene is a lot like many of us, always buried in his cell phone. Day in, day out it is the same old routine of Eugene and his phone, no real human interaction or communication, until one day when his battery runs out, he notices the beauty on his commute–a girl. Unfortunately, she does not notice him because she is consumed in her cell phone. Eugene fixes himself up, even does obvious things to make her notice him, but she does not. When he finally gives in and gets sucked back into his phone, the girl’s battery finally dies. We hope she will finally recognize him. And she does look up long enough to take an interest in a guy, but it’s not Eugene.

What’s good.
This is such a relevant topic. It showcases the world we live in and what’s becoming of us. Maybe we are becoming machines. We are surely living in machines i.e., cell phones these days. I think this script is contest material. Not a big enough concept for feature but it works well as a short IMO.

Production Qualities.
– Medium Budget (hardest thing would be the bus)
– Two main characters (Eugene and Girl) with several extras to fill the bus.
– Two locations (house, bus)

The Real.
After reading this, I am going to try to go a day without my cell phone tomorrow. It really made me think about what we are becoming. The fact that we may miss a chance at love. Or a smile. Or life… Hits home. A sad script in a way, but reality.

About the writer: Christina Katsiadakis was born in Athens, Greece and she moved to Montreal in 2012. She holds a BA in History from the Athens University and an MA in Film from Goldsmiths College. She has been working in film and TV since 2004 as a production coordinator and production manager. In the last few years she has started pursuing her personal creative projects. She has written and directed two short films, Marching Muse and Football Days in Hockey Town and is currently working on her first feature film Fumus and Umbra. Christina Katsiadakis can be reached at xkatsiadakis (a) gmail.com

Read I-commute (3 page Romcom in pdf format)

This screenplay may not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.

Find more scripts available for production

About the reviewer: Dena McKinnon is an optioned and produced screenwriter who also writes on assignment. Her IMDb credits. She can be reached at: girlbytheshore (a) hotmail.

Over on the original scripts page are twenty six original scripts for your reading pleasure.

– Don

Just a Load of Baloney (8 page dramedy) by Kirsten James

When a student saves another from a bully they end up having to face their own fears and stereotypes of each other.

Synopsis.
The story starts with Toby taking a beating from the school bully, Jared. Walking by, Hassan, another student, steps in trying to help but gets punched by Jared. Hassan and Jared sit in principal’s office and after some explaining, Principal Taylor, who really enjoys bologna sandwiches sums it up: Jared the bully beat up Toby because of his sexuality and Hassan stepped in to help, and got punched by accident. Once excused, Toby thanks Hassan. But when he caringly checks Hassan’s black eye, Hassan takes it as a homophobic advance and reacts harshly. Later in the locker room, Hassan is attacked over his religion. As students harass Hassan for being a Muslim, Toby watches without helping. Hassan later verbally attacks Toby calling him a faggot. Students watch as the tension between Toby and Hassan escalates, Hassan upset that Toby didn’t step in to help. It’s like deja vu. Principal Taylor, indulging in another bologna sandwich, leaves telling the boys to work it out. This time though, however, they really do. Toby admits he didn’t help because Hassan had gotten all homophobic on him and Hassan admits that he doesn’t have anything against gays, he even has a gay cousin who lives with him after being kicked out. The two agree to be distant until later when they will hang out and become friends. Laughs come at the end when Toby asks Hassan if his cousin is cute, and the boys leave a note for Principal Taylor, warning him he shouldn’t eat so much bologna.

What I love about this story.
I LOVE that so many prejudices are brought forth. We really are like this as people and we shouldn’t be. Very heartfelt, this story and I think it would be superb festival material.

Why I think this story should be produced.
There is not enough material out there to shed light on such a touchy but relevant subject. This one deserves making. It is film-worthy and one that would hit home and touch many hearts. STRONG subject but light-hearted.

Budget: Low
Characters: 4 mains and some extras
Locations: 1-A school… could be done easily I think

About the Writer: Kirsten James is an aspiring screenwriter in her mid 40’s, originally from NZ, living in the USA. She started writing short stories 5 years ago, and after a year learned that she was more geared to writing scripts. Kirsten has a degree in psychology and finds this a great asset to her writing. Kirsten has 1 short in production.

Read Just a Load of Baloney (8 pages in pdf format)

This screenplay may not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.

Find more scripts available for production

About the reviewer: Dena McKinnon is an optioned and produced screenwriter who also writes on assignment. Her IMDb credits. She can be reached at: girlbytheshore (a) hotmail.