THE INFERNAL DEVICE (11-page short horror screenplay) by Jesson Kinder

Writer’s block becomes the least of a novelist’s worries after she buys a cursed typewriter. Each story she completes leads to more blood on her hands. Can she escape the curse?

As a writer myself and a massive fan of the horror genre, I was immediately drawn to Jesson Kinder’s clever slasher/supernatural hybrid, The Infernal Device, after checking out the log line. I’m always up for a good “cursed item/totem” horror story – Child’s Play, Annabelle and Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell come to mind. But, while I’m drawn to movies that explore curses, hexes and voodoo, the fascination carries over to real life. Now, I don’t really believe in that kind of thing, but there’s definitely a what if factor that scares the hell out of me. I searched Ebay for cursed items and found listings for dolls, Dybbuk boxes, paintings, coins, jewelry, Ouija boards, you name it. Again, I don’t believe in that sort of thing. But would I ever purchase any of these items? Hell no. I wouldn’t want any of those things anywhere near me. It’s highly unlikely, in my opinion, that these items carry curses – but just in case I may be wrong, I’ll pass. It’s just not worth the risk.

But what if you didn’t know an item was cursed? Well, that’s exactly what happens to the story’s protagonist, Mallory Chambers, a best-selling author who stumbles upon a cursed typewriter at a yard sale.

The story opens with Mallory furiously typing away on said typewriter. Under a lot of pressure to follow up her last best-selling novel with another hit, she seems to be suffering from a little case of writer’s block. It’s almost as if she’s FORCING herself to write. Sure, most writers usually do the same, but there seems to be a life-or-death sense of urgency motivating her. That’s when an intruder breaks into the room with one goal in mind – to kill Mallory.

But just as she’s about to get killed, we cut to Mallory in a cafe, staring at her laptop. It turns out that the opening scene was either a dream or a possible excerpt from her new book… so we think.

With the 4th of July coming up, Mallory and her successful actor boyfriend, Javier, hit up a yard sale at a trailer home to purchase some fireworks. But Mallory has her eye on something else there… the typewriter. The typewriter that its seller, Gene, who looks like he hasn’t slept in years, is more than happy to get rid of.

Immediately using the typewriter with hopes of being inspired, Mallory gets back to her next novel, Killing King – it’s about Stephen King’s creations coming to life, as she describes it to Javier. But sure enough, in very cleverly executed meta-horror fashion, her own creations come to life and innocent people start getting killed off by a psycho wearing a paper-mache mask… an almost perfect replica of Mallory’ s face!

Once she discovers that her story is coming to life and innocent people are getting offed, she tries to get rid of the typewriter. But whether she’s tossing it into a dumpster, smashing it to bits or setting it on fire, it always seems to mold back into shape and return to her.

After more casualties, Mallory tries returning it to its seller, Gene – who, of course, doesn’t take the typewriter back. But he breaks down the rules for her – which I won’t reveal here because it’ll spoil the fun of finding out on your own. The script does follow a formula we see in a lot of books and films about curses and cursed items, but it’s a proven formula. And writer, Jesson Kinder, executes it so damn well. Insanely entertaining and immensely clever, The Infernal Device will have you on the edge of your seat all the way through to its chaotic finale. A fun ride throughout, it will be impossible to wipe the grin from your face while reading.

BUDGET: Low. There are a few locations, but they’re mainly simple – a coffee shop, an apartment and a trailer home. The priciest part of the script is probably the ending (there’s a fire/explosion involved).

ABOUT THE WRITER: Jesson Kinder has been writing teleplays, shorts, and a feature length movie scripts over the past several years. Though he has yet to “break in”, he continues to work hard at his craft and improve as a writer, still typing away and creating stories. Regardless of the genre, Jesson love a good story with memorable characters – applying that very same love to his own works. Jesson can be reached at jessonkinder (a) mail.com.

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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.