VIRUS-99 (6 page horror short) by Rob Herzog

The quarantine for a deadly virus is over, but the trouble has just started for a man keeping his bizarre family on permanent lockdown.

There was some serious talent on display here on Simply Scripts during its May One Week Challenge. For those visiting and checking out this review, the theme of the One Week Challenge was a pretty relevant topic in today’s world – the COVID crisis. The participating writers had one week to write a 2-6 page screenplay centered around this theme that could realistically be shot during these strange times of social distancing. The results of the challenge saw some very impressive entries across various genres, reflecting our own personal experiences as well as many topics and stories we’ve all seen on the news.

When the writers of the entries were revealed, it was no surprise that Rob Herzog, who has a panache for exploring the deepest, darkest depths of human nature, was the author of one of my personal favorites, the very dark and twisted, VIRUS-99.

What I found really unique about this story in particular was that it didn’t take place DURING the quarantine, but rather POST quarantine, exploring the lingering psychological effects that months of isolation can have on a person.

This twisted tale opens with protective father and husband, William Butler, talking to his sister Erica over the phone. Disheveled and haggard, he looks like a guy who hasn’t left the house in a very, very long time. Though the quarantine has been lifted, William isn’t quite convinced that all is safe, keeping himself and his family on lockdown. Ever the conspiracy theorist (like many during this lockdown), not only does he believe that it’s not safe out there – but he truly believes that there’s something rotten going on. But his sister, Erica, tries to convince him otherwise…

            ERICA (VO)
Go check your window. You’ll see people
outside. The quarantine’s been lifted.

You can’t really blame the guy for being a little paranoid and overprotective. This quarantine is pretty unprecedented, at least in our lifetime. And it can be very difficult to make the distinction between what to believe and what not to believe based on the information we’re given through the news media.

But as we spend more time with William, we find that his paranoia is a little more disturbing than we’re initially made to believe… bordering crazy.

            WILLIAM
Erica, I know that it’s not really you
I’m talking to. You’re a computer-generated
deep fake. You sound like my sister, but
you’re not.

Convinced that his REAL sister is dead, William hangs up on his concerned sister (or sister’s doppelganger), who is determined to come over and talk some sense into her nutso brother.

As if William couldn’t seem any crazier, we really see just how off-the-reservation he might beas he’s cooking up some grilled cheese sandwiches for his wife, Wendy, and his three children. But, rather than actual people sitting at the dinner table, there’s stuffed dummies dressed as his family with facial expressions drawn on pillow cases. Which makes us wonder what happened to his REAL family?

Speaking to them as if they weren’t inanimate, stuffed objects, William prepares them for his “fake” sister’s arrival with a very strange and memorable pep-talk/monologue about the movie, “Apollo 13” – William is 100% certain that an ambush is about to go down.

I won’t reveal TOO much, but just to give you a clue as to how this story may or may not play out, allow me to go back a few sentences in this review where I mentioned – we really see just how off-the-reservation he might be… emphasis on might be.

Very unique and very dark, Rob Herzog’s “VIRUS-99” explores the depths of our paranoia during these strange times, suggesting that some of that paranoia might not sound as insane as others may think.

BUDGET: Shoe string. This would be about as easy as it can get to film with only one location and one on-screen actor.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Rob Herzog is a Chicago screenwriter. He has sold two short scripts and won prize money in two small screenwriting contests. His short horror script Creak and Shriek was produced in 2019 by Mad Dreamer Entertainment and can be viewed on various platforms like Amazon Prime, YouTube and Vimeo. He has a master’s degree in English composition from Northeastern Illinois University. Rob can be reached at: robherzogr (a) hotmail.

Read: VIRUS-99 (6 page horror short)

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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.