BUNK (5-page short horror screenplay) Written by Rob Herzog

Siblings return to a room that terrified them as children.

If you revisit the past too much, sometimes you can remain stuck there – that’s what two siblings learn when they return to their dead aunt’s creepy house in Rob Herzog’s eerie, blood-soaked spine-tingler, “Bunk”.

Now in their 20s, brother-sister duo Doug and Hanna have inherited their Aunt Edith’s creepy, old house after she had passed. Doug, the executor of the estate, wants to sell the place. But as he and Hanna revisit the home, Hanna isn’t so sure. Specifically, it’s the old bedroom they used to sleep in when they’d spend weekends with their old Aunt Edith that has Hanna spooked. The room hasn’t changed much – it still has the bunk beds they used to sleep in as kids. And the room is still adorned with creepy old trinkets, including rocks with people’s faces painted on them.

Something was never quite right with Aunt Edith, though Hanna seems to be a little more traumatized from their sleepovers than Doug.

Just as the siblings hold hands and share a warm moment, that’s when things start to go awry…

Giving away anything else would ruin the gruesome fun, but just a disclaimer: this ending is not for the squeamish.

Gloriously horror to the core, I can see this going viral and/or picking up some accolades on the horror film fest circuit.

BUDGET: Shoe-string. One location, 3 actors.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Rob Herzog is a Chicago-based screenwriter. He has sold several 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. He has a master’s degree in English composition from Northeastern Illinois University. Rob can be reached at: robherzogr (a) hotmail.

Read: BUNK (5-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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Over on the Unproduced scripts page are eighteen original scripts for your reading pleasure.

And, in case you missed it, we had a One Week 96 Hour Challenge. You can check out the Writers’ Choice and Who Wrote What.

– Don

An Angel Whispers 20 page short, drama fantasy by Jeremy Storey

A cynical reporter investigates a small-town supernatural tale, that can only be believed to be seen.

Learn more at AnAngelWhispers.com.

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Yuvraj is running the challenge this month and it’s all about relationships. Check out the theme and get writing!

– Don

BEE-EL (8-page short horror screenplay) by CJ Vecchio

A young girl befriends something that’s inside her closet.

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Check out the script review.

ABOUT THE WRITER: CJ Vecchio braves the cold, windy winters in Chicago, along with his sidekick, a lovable pit bull named Izzy. Recently, due to COVID, CJ’s business (along with many others) was shut down. With a lot of time on his hands, he started to pursue his lifelong passion of writing Horror and Sci-Fi shorts. He plans on entering his latest short “Bee-EL” into The Killer Shorts contest and others. CJ is also working on featured full-length versions of his stories. CJ can be reached at his website is www.CjVecchio.com.

SHUTEYE

A disturbance in the apartment above keeps downstairs neighbors from getting a good night’s sleep. But sleep deprivation is the least of their worries as the disturbance works its way down, one apartment at a time.

This week’s review is brought to you by:

The neighbor from hell…

From Rear Window and Disturbia, to Barton Fink, Pacific Heights, Fright Night, The Strangers and Funny Games… (don’t even get me started on the evil Castevets couple in Rosemary’s Baby) – the film industry and audiences alike love their sinister Neighbors from Hell, and Home invasion stories.

Cautionary takeaway from all of these films: Sometimes it pays to mind your own business, keep your doors locked, and keep to yourself.

Of course, sometimes that’s not as easy as it sounds.

If you’ve ever been an apartment dweller you’ll be more than familiar with having to share common walls, not to mention bear the brunt of the annoying and creepy sounds that can accompany them – creaking floorboards, echoing footfalls, shouts in corridors. It can be enough to drive even the most sane person mad, especially at the witching hour when all you’re trying to do is get a good night’s sleep.

Michael Kospiah’s short horror script, Shuteye, opens on the third floor of just such an apartment building. In the early hours of the morning we meet –

Tom, an irritable grump with resting-asshole face,

He’s glaring up at the ceiling from his bed as…

LOUD THUDDING and YELLING comes from the apartment above…

Fed up with the noise Tom does what any self-respecting person would do when being kept awake at two in the morning –

Up on his tippy-toes, he pounds the side of his fist on the ceiling.

For a moment there’s silence.

He lies back down in bed… snuggles against his pillow

And then…

The LOUD THUDDING continues…

This time however, it’s even louder.

Oh, c’mon! All Tom wants is a bit of Shuteye.

Tom storms out of his apartment and heads upstairs…

Eek! Maybe not the smartest idea …

Especially when we read on to discover, uh-oh, Tom’s left his apartment door wide open.

Cut to a bit later and we discover Tom is not the only inhabitant of this apartment building having problems with things going bump in the night.

On the second floor in Apartment #2, Nancy is having a similar problem with the same violent thudding and yelling coming from above.

Incensed, she rolls out of bed.

Grabbing the nearest thing to her –

… she beats the end of the broomstick against the ceiling…

Oh, dear… Remember when we warned about keeping yourself to yourself?

If you’ve ever read Michael Kospiah’s work you’ll be well acquainted with his talent for tapping into universal fears. A specialist at writing macabre and twisted tales with a sting in the tale and usually with more than a hint of blood, Michael is not only a master at building suspense but he also possesses that unique talent of lulling an audience into a false sense of security – and of using both sound and deathly silence to great effect, with the end result being that you’re always on the edge of your seat.

Another talent he has is of evoking dread with just one well placed visual. Reading Shuteye for the first time instantly took me back to Johnny Depp’s character in Nightmare on Elm Street and that now infamous scene of poor old Glen being sucked into the depths of hell through his own mattress … Not that we’re suggesting you’re going to need buckets of blood with Shuteye, but a pint or two just might come in handy.

To say anymore about Shuteye’s plot would be to spoil the surprises and the shocks.

Suffice to say if you’re a fan of all things Hollywood here’s something to bear in mind: Horror is big-business. If you follow trends you’ll also be aware that often times ‘short horror films’ can lead to a quick leg-up in the business. You only need look at The Babadook, Oculus Chapter 3, ToothFairy, Lights Out, Trick ‘R Treat, Mama, and Saw, to name just some feature length films that all began as humble Shorts.

FILMMAKERS: No need to lose any sleep over this one. Get banging on Michael’s door so you can get this one in the can and entered into Screamfest, Shriekfest, or any of the other myriad horror festivals available.

Second thoughts: a better approach might be a polite email.

ABOUT THE WRITER: 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.

Subscribe to Michael’s YouTube Channel.

About the Reviewer: L.Chambers has been writing all her life – especially in her head, and on scraps of paper. It’s only in the last few years she began to get serious about screen-writing. Prior to this she worked in the Features Department for ABC TV as a Program Assistant, and trained as a FAD. She currently works as a freelance web-content editor and lives with her husband (also a screenwriter) in Sydney, Australia. L. Chambers can be reached at: libbych (a) hotmail.

BUDGET

Lowish: A few bedroom/apartment locations.

One location/bedroom with a little bit of clever set-design could double for two.

Three adult characters.

A talent for gruesome make-up and blood sfx. would also come in handy.

Read Shuteye (4 page horror)

Discuss Shuteye 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.

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

– Don