THE LOST CAMP (14-page short horror screenplay) by Connor Etter

Three boys at a sleep-away Summer camp discover an abandoned, Old West town that is home to dark spirits intent on vengeance.

Summer camp is a great way for kids of all ages to get away from Mom and Dad for a few months while embracing nature, enjoying new life experiences, meeting new friends and embarking on adventures that they’ll fondly remember for years to come…

Unless they’re in a horror movie. If you’re familiar with the genre, you probably know that summer camps get a pretty bad rap in horror films – Thanks a lot, Jason. Unfortunately for the three adventurous teens in Connor Etter’s immensely fun supernatural slasher, The Lost Camp, they don’t know that they’re in one.

The story opens with Jack, the thirty-something year-old camp counselor, taking a group snapshot of all the kids on the last day of camp. This photo does come back later in the script in a very cool way that will make you think of The Shining. Meanwhile, the only campers not smiling for the photo are Christian, Luke and Dustin – our story’s heroes.

With everyone asleep, Christian (17) and best bud, Luke (15) decide to sneak out with the McLovin of the trio, Dustin (14) tagging along. Clearly the nerdy one in the group, Dustin isn’t quite as thrilled to sneak out and wander about in the woods. But peer pressure’s a bitch when you’re the youngest member of the squad.

Christian leads the way through the dark woods until they stumble upon an old, abandoned town straight out of the Old West. As they explore the ghost town, they find what appears to be a “Wanted” sign – a sepia-toned photo of a grizzled, bearded outlaw on it.

Nerd that he is, Dustin immediately recognizes the photo, laying out the mythology of this tale’s potential Bogie Man character.

Nobody knows whatever came of Ruck Jones, Dustin explains. Some people say he just vanished off the face of the Earth, without a trace. But, according to Dustin, nobody really knows.

Not the least bit spooked by the story, Christian and Luke continue to explore – until they see someone lurking in the near distance. Sensing danger, the kids make a bail for it and head back to their bunks.

It’s not until the next day that Christian realizes that he left his precious curb chain back at the ghost town – his late mother, who was killed in a car crash, gave it to him as a child. Much like Butch in Pulp Fiction, Christian has no choice but to head back to the spooky, old abandoned town to retrieve his beloved curb chain. Though Luke and Dustin don’t think it’s a great idea, Christian has a way of persuading them to come with him.

Weaving in familiar horror tropes and funny dialogue, what happens next is a pretty unique twist on the supernatural slasher. Obviously, I won’t completely give away the ending, but the conclusion will have you scratching your head… in the most awesome way possible.

I had high expectations going into this one, learning that the script got some love from the competition circuit – Inroads Fellowship (Finalist) [2019]; New York International (Finalist) [2020]; Los Angeles International (Finalist) [2018].

And I’m pleased to say that I wasn’t disappointed.

BUDGET: Low to medium. There are a good amount of non-speaking roles/extras, maybe about a dozen. Two locations, a camp ground and the abandoned Old West town – securing the location for the latter may depend on the geographical location of the filmmakers.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Connor Etter graduated from Southern Connecticut State University where he studied Communications and concentrated on video production. He was a founding member of the SCSU Digital Production Club, which was designed for students who wanted to make short films and write scripts for future projects. After graduating, Connor managed to land on set-gigs for television shows, along with his own independent projects. With a unique writing style and distinctive voice, Connor often portrays human emotion through his characters, giving them personalities and traits that readers can identify with. Connor can be reached at connoretter1 (a) gmail.

Read: THE LOST CAMP (14-page short horror screenplay)

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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.