GLOOMY SUNDAY (30-page short horror screenplay) by Kevin Machate

When a mysterious stranger comes to him to learn a song long believed to lead to suicide, music teacher Jonah Horvath must discover the truth behind both the stranger and the mysterious song before he becomes yet another victim of Gloomy Sunday.

Before I get to the review of the actual story, I’ll tell you what caught my attention before I even opened the script up: Gloomy Sunday was also a song composed by Hungarian musician Reszo Seress in 1933. The song was also dubbed The Hungarian Suicide Song because, supposedly, listening to this song made people commit suicide all over the world.. The mythology of the song is captivating on its own, so I was immediately drawn to this story. And, to my delight, writer Kevin Machate’s atmospheric gothic horror short plays on that mythology.

The story opens with 33-year-old Reszo Seress (the actual, real-life composer) writing the song we’d come to know as Gloomy Sunday in Paris, France circa 1933. His inspiration for the song came from real life after becoming estranged from his lover, Erzsebet. Many great works have been inspired by heartbreak. But THIS work in particular seems to have conjured up something else… something evil.

Cut to present day where we meet music teacher, Jonah Horvath. He juggles graduate school while giving piano lessons for peanuts (practically). One day, he receives a visit from a very mysterious man who looks and acts like he’s from another time period. The Man offers Jonah an unusual amount of money to teach him how to play one song and one song only: “Gloomy Sunday”.

We jump between different time periods where we see different people succumb to the curse of the song after learning how to play it. And, each time these people commit suicide (as if under a trance), we see this mysterious man lurking. Who is this man and what is his purpose? And will Jonah suffer from the same fate once he plays the song?

Gloomy Sunday (the script) is a sprawling, epic gothic horror that packs a lot into its 30 pages. It’s an effectively creepy story that doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares: it sends chills up your spine with its eerie atmosphere and suspenseful buildup, giving us characters we both care about and fear. This would be a fantastic film for any filmmaker to take on. Hopefully, the curse isn’t real. Read if you dare!

BUDGET: Moderate.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Although he began his film career as an actor, Kevin Machate quickly moved into producing and eventually directing and writing. Kevin’s films and screenplays have won numerous awards worldwide with his two most recent films having been screened in various cities in the US, Europe, South America, Oceania, and Asia. He has directed six short films and his credits as a producer have exceeded 50 at the time of this writing. His recent works include three short series starring Golden Globe and Tony Award winner Barry Bostwick and Saturn Award Winner Doug Jones, along with a series of short musical and educational videos (With puppets!) starring Ed Helms.

Read: GLOOMY SUNDAY (30-page short horror screenplay)

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*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.

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