Truth or Dare (8 pages in pdf format) by P.H. Cook

We all have our secrets.

A night of babysitting can be a trying feat under normal circumstances. But what if the child you are sitting is a mix between Damien from The Omen and that kid from Looper?

As a favor to a coworker, married couple Brynn and Mike Carter are looking after young Jayden for the weekend. It’s nothing they can’t get through with a little pizza and a lot of wine. At first, Jayden seems perfectly content to play his uber-violent video games, until BZZZZ, ZAP, the power goes out. To pass the time without electricity, Brynn suggests a game of truth or dare. Little does she know, truth is sometimes a thing best kept secret.

Things start off normal enough, embarrassing dancing, movie impersonations, etc. But then, Jayden starts to ask some questions that are… difficult. He seems to have a preternatural ability to probe the weak spots of Brynn and Mike’s relationship. Like a young Hannibal Lector, Jayden knows just what to ask in order to manipulate and intimidate. Will Brynn and Mike’s relationship survive the weekend? Will any of them survive the night? From here, it’s a slow burn to an unforgettable finale. Give away the surprise ending? I wouldn’t dare!

The best payoffs in psychological horror scripts arise organically out of well-plotted circumstances. The illustrious, enduring finales of The Exorcist, Psycho, and of course Silence of the Lambs, are all made possible through their impeccably-structured first acts. So it is with Truth or Dare, which, in a few short pages establishes a situation that is at once high-concept and highly relatable. All of this builds to an ending that is both inevitable and completely surprising. It’s a rare feat and an absolute stunner of a screenplay that will unquestionably electrify the festival circuit.

I dare you to make this picture, because truthfully, the script is phenomenal!

Budget: Low. One room, three actors, and a pizza.

About the writer: Born and raised in Sweden, P.H. Cook is the director of the short film Them That’s Dead and writer of produced feature films Finders Keepers: The Root of All Evil and Blackout. She started writing screenplays in 2006 and has written over sixty short screenplays and ten features. She can be reached at gatortales (a) gmail.

About the Reviewer: Dane Whipple has one hand in his pocket, and the other hand is playing a piano. He is currently working on that screenplay everyone keeps talking about: The Wild Age. Contact him at dane.whipple (AT) live.com

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First Kiss – Filmed!

YouTube is a great place to find all sorts of training videos, but not everyone wants to learn news things.

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This just in from Antony:

Just finalising sale of First Kiss to a film maker in Atlanta [Stearns Media Group – Atlanta]… found on SimplyScripts again.

Anthony

You can check out a review of First Kiss

Read more of Anthony’s voluminous body of work.

About the Writer: Anthony Cawood is an award-winning and produced screenwriter. He has sold/optioned four feature screenplays, and sold/optioned over forty short scripts, many of which have been filmed. Outside of his extensive screenwriting career, Anthony is also a published short story writer, interviewer and movie reviewer. Links to his films and details of his scripts can be found at www.anthonycawood.co.uk.

Writer’s Block (pdf format) by John Hunter – Filmed by Jeff Easley

Billy Wilson would kill for a good story. Will he die for one?

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The Original Review

Words, words, words! For writers, words are life. On a good day, words flow onto the page to create stories that move and inspire us. A well-written story can uplift and…um…hang on, I swear I had something for this. Dang, writing is tough.

Billy Wilson knows all too well the struggle with the blank page. Sitting on a park bench looking for inspiration in a bottle of booze, Billy has a serious case of writer’s block. As Billy ponders just how to come up with a truly unique story, along comes a proverbial spider: Vance Buttons. You see, Vance has a secret to share. He is a serial killer. A well-practiced, calculating, pre-meditated murderer. With half-drunk whimsy, Billy queries for a few specifics. How to choose a victim? Randomly. Geographic preference? Never the same place twice. Just when it seems Billy has found something new to write about, one more problem crops up. He is dealing with a killer after all. Will Vance put Billy out of the misery that is writer’s block, or put him out of his misery altogether? Is Billy writing the story, or is the story writing him?

Feature films dealing with the writing experience pack a potent, powerful punch. Some of film’s truly great screenwriters, from Charlie Kaufman to the Coens, have tackled the subject. Adaptation, Barton Fink, and Wonder Boys have all built reputations as favorites among both filmmakers and audiences. In this grand tradition, Writer’s Block succinctly taps into a subject that consistently garners accolades on the festival circuit and beyond. If you are looking for a film with an intelligent build to an unforgettable finale, I recommend you come down with a case of Writer’s Block.

Quickly, before the killer strikes again!

Pages: 4

Budget: Low. Assuming you can find a park bench, that is.

About the writer, John Hunter: With the completion of (4) boffo features, a litter of riveting shorts, a one hour take-your-breath-away sci-fi TV pilot and first 30 minute episode for that series, I am now officially THAT guy — The one who really needs an Agent or Executive Producer. Contact me at x32792 (AT) yahoo.com

About the Reviewer: Dane Whipple is the man who fixed the 1919 World Series. How did he manage that? Saw the opportunity, I suppose. He is currently working on that screenplay everybody keeps talking about: The Wild Age. Contact him at dane.whipple (AT) live.com

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Pick-Up pdf format by Brian Lewis

Stranded on a desolate country road, Julie is forced to call her recent ex for a late night ride.  However, the couple’s bickering is quickly cut short by an unseen creature who will stop at nothing to get inside.

Run-ins with the Ex can be tough.

Unbearable physical proximity combined with intolerable emotional distance. Memories flooding in –  the smell of her perfume, the stupid fights, the way her smile lit up her face. Your heart pounding in your chest. Palms sweaty.

And to top it all off, an evil monstrosity trying to murder you in the dead of night.

Okay, maybe that last one doesn’t apply to everyone.

But for former lovers Nick and Julie, stuck together on an empty stretch of road, jealousies and petty grievances give way to fear; a fear so intense and immediate it drains away everything else.

Something is hunting them.

Something dark and primal that will shake them to the very core and test every inch of human resolve. They’ll need each other, faults and all, if they’re to have any chance of surviving the night.

Written with a visual style to rival the best Creature Features, Pick-Up offers up believable characters and bone-rattling thrills galore.

Budget: A bit of a challenge. Probably some FX/CGI required. The hardest part will be beating back all the actors chomping at the bit to work with such a great script.

About the writer: A graduate of the Seattle Film Institute, Brian Lewis has been writing screenplays ever since high school. He’s also a musician, editor, video engineer, and DIY filmmaker. Be sure to check out more of Brian’s work on his Vimeo and Youtube channels.

About the reviewer: James Barron is a former law student turned screenwriter who loves to write comedy along with the occasional horror/thriller. Contact James at jbarron021 (a) gmail.

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Ready or Not (pdf format) by Steven Clark

A simple game of hide-n-seek takes a turn for the worst.

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The Original Review

Mom and her son play a fun game of hide-and-go-seek. But, what if what you find is not what you were looking for?

This micro short can be as scary as you want to be. Snap this up now.

It’s a perfect weekend shoot and an excellent calling card short film that, as written, can be a family friendly horror comedy or an very un-family-friendly horror.

Pages: 2

Budget: Shoestring budget, two actors – Mom and son, one interior location.

About the writer: Based in upstate, NY, Steven Clark is the writer of over 30 short scripts, several of which are under option, in pre-production, or have already been made into films. On A Clear Night, a family Christmas feature aimed at a Hallmark Channel-type audience, is currently in the works. Steven can be reached at Steamroller138 (a) gmail.

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The Grieving Spell (13 pages in pdf format) by Bill Sarre

A grieving man uses a special magic to relieve the pain he feels following the death of his wife.

It’s a paradox – so many really good stories revolve around a character’s bad decisions. This is definitely one of them.

Written by screenwriter Bill Sarre, The Grieving Spell tells the eerie tale of a man’s crumbling emotions after the loss of his wife Helen in a car crash… and his relentless quest to find relief from the pain chipping away at his psyche. So he makes a bad decision.

He turns to witchcraft.

Inspired by his departed wife’s interest in Wicca, Lawrence pays a visit to Astrid Dove – the High Priestess of the New Dawn Centre. “I need your magic to take the pain away – allow me to heal on the inside,” he tells her. Though he swears he’s not looking for an easy fix, Astrid has reservations. “I’m not sure this is the right approach for you.”

Talk about an understatement.

The bereaved widower persists: he desperately needs to move on. But what Astrid doesn’t know is that there’s more to Lawrence’s emotional crisis than loss and grief. There’s jealousy. And rage. And more than a touch of guilt.

A reluctant Astrid gives him a “grieving spell”, to be performed around a large fire. The priestess counsels as she writes it down: “Magic’s a subtle art. It’s not easy to predict.”

Understatement (and bad decision) part two.

As Lawrence performs the spell on a beach one starry night, a hazy figure emerges from the embers. Lawrence’s bad decisions have come back to haunt him. And finally set things right…

The Grand Prize Winner of the London Film Awards, The Grieving Spell is classic Monkey’s Paw horror. Watch out what you wish for… unless it’s a script like this, of course!

Budget: A few locations (car, beach, diner and office.) Four main characters… and some minor FX that can easily be done in post.

About the writer: An award winning writer, Bill Sarre has had scripts place both finalist and quarter finalist with Page and Bluecat. Bill can be reached at Bill.sarre (a) gmail

About the reviewers: Scott & Paula Merrow are a husband and wife screenwriting team. Since 2006, they’ve written over 50 short screenplays, several of which have been produced. They tend toward family-friendly scripts, but they’ve written a little bit of everything: horror, fantasy, sci-fi, comedy – the whole nine yards. They’re reachable at scott-paula (a) comcast.net

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Fangs (pdf format) by Jean-Pierre Chapoteau

A vampire offers his services to a slave for the exchange of food.

Adversaries. They’re the essential ingredient for conflict. Protagonist vs. Antagonist: equally strong and well defined. To create a compelling tale, one needs that Yin and Yang. Characters that need something from each other. Unwilling to stop until that urge is satisfied…

It’s a lust that works, every time. Especially in Jean-Pierre Chapoteau’s short script, Fangs.

As the story opens, slave fieldworker Mogey heads to a dark and dismal storm cellar. There he encounters Aldazo – an ancient vampire in extreme distress. Having lost his way while hunting at night, Aldazo’s been separated from his “minions”. With daylight beckoning, the creature’s taken shelter in the cellar. Vulnerable, and mortally weak from hunger, Aldazo’s in a terrible bind. He offers the human a deal he can’t refuse: bring him some needed “prey” – and Aldazo will grant Mogey his greatest wish.

At first, the skeptical slave resists. Why negotiate with a “rank, deadin’ bloodsucker.” Especially a creature as shifty and evil as Aldazo seems?

But Aldazo insists. Wielding a wiley persistence honed throughout the centuries, the vampire hammers out an agreement. Mogey will fetch Aldazo a young slave girl to feed on. In return, the vampire will call in a few favors. From creatures even more old and powerful than he.

Mogey takes down names and leaves, setting out to fulfill his end of the deal. But can the vampire be trusted? And are Mogey and Aldazo being kept in the dark… in far more ways than one? The two are headed for deadly conflict. From which only one can emerge victorious….

More than than your run-of-the-mill vampire tale, Fangs is filled with rich history and dialogue. It’s a smart story, awaiting a smart director. And so we ask: are you the chosen one?

Pages: 5

Budget: Manageable. Stairs and a basement could represent a cellar. Both the male protagonist and male antagonist are distinctive and deserve special attention. We’ll leave it up to the director to reveal which is which. 🙂

About the Writer: Jean-Pierre Chapoteau started writing feature-length scripts in 2005, then focused on shorts in 2009. Since then he’s had three scripts produced and two more optioned. He has won several awards for his shorts. Jean-Pierre was a finalist in the RAW TALENT Competition for his faith-based feature-length script: ‘Far From Perfect.’ And was also a semi-finalist in the SLAMDANCE teleplay competition and a finalist in the OBSWRITER teleplay contest for his adapted teleplay, Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Guardian. You can contact Jean-Pierre Chapoteau at: jeanpierre425 (a) gmail.com

About the Reviewer: California über reader/reviewer KP Mackie is working hard on her animated feature.

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Along the Roadside (pdf format) by Brian Wind

A murderous drifter meets his match along a desolate stretch of rural road.

Gotta love any script that manages to intertwine a geriatric crocheting in the back seat of a sedan with serial killer butcherings…

Which is exactly what Along the Roadside, from Brian Wind, manages to great comedic effect. Of course that’s comedy as black as the La Brea Tar Pits!

Let’s join sweet old couple Parker and Taylor as they take a leisurely drive down a rural road. A figure in the distance waves them down, so they stop to offer the stranger a lift. That lonely figure is Yancy – the kind of hitcher the geriatric couple should leave stranded at the curbside, choking on their diesel dust. But hey – they’re old, naive and trusting. Just what Yancy’s counting on.

Did I mention that Yancy kills people who pick him up? Yep – that’s his standard M.O.

In fact, he mentions that detail to his over friendly benefactors, who seem to take it far too well (beyond a Waltons-esque exclamation or two). Even Yancy is puzzled. For awhile.

You can probably work out the twist by now. Or at least part of it. But there’s an Easter egg or two in this one, pertaining to Taylor’s name…

A great example of less being more, Along the Roadside packs a hell of a lot into five pages and limited characters. With an overload of dark humor.

Pages: 5

Budget: A very affordable shoot: limited location – small cast. We’ve only got one warning: budget for a quick trip to the grocery store.

About the writer: Brian Wind can be contacted at bwind22 “at” yahoo!

About the reviewer: Anthony Cawood is an award winning screenwriter from the UK with four shorts produced, two in post production and another 10 short scripts optioned/sold. You can find out more at AnthonyCawood.Co.Uk

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Trapped* (pdf format) by Chris Keaton

Searching for a bit of the past, a survivor of an apocalypse finds himself trapped.

Spoiler alert: you’re going to die.

It could be quick – a sneaky brain aneurysm that shuts you off like a light switch. Or maybe it’ll be the slow torture of terminal illness. Or a sudden, tragic accident. But whatever the fates hold in store, you’ll have to face it. Eventually. That’s one of the reasons horror is such a beloved genre. It’s our morbid fascination of watching the human animal in its death throes… and wondering how we ourselves will fare.

Written by talented screenwriter Chris Keaton, Trapped is just such a tale. Bleak. Grim. Depressing. And you won’t be able to turn your eyes away.

In the indeterminate future, society’s collapsed. Dave’s been struggling to survive ever since. Wandering through desolate terrain. Scavaging. Surviving by any means necessary. Which has worked… at least, until now. In a lightening quick moment of lousy luck, he finds himself trapped in an abandoned garage; pinned under an engine block at the bottom of a pit. Unless a miracle happens, Dave’s reached The End.

There’s no chance of medical care. Wild dogs prowl outside. And he hasn’t seen another human being in months. But when a small group of travelers discover Dave’s predicament, it looks like he might be saved! But is it the help he was praying for? Or something else entirely?

Much like The Walking Dead (and other post-apocalyptic tales), Trapped is framed against the death of society. But the story itself is far more personal. Surprisingly uplifting in certain ways, it’s about facing your own mortality. And appreciating the small joys of life… while you can.

Horror and thriller indie directors take note: the potential for great performances in this one is vast. A small cast – no FX. All that’s needed is someone with the vision to bring it to screen. Grab this little gem while you can.

Or you can ignore it. It’s your funeral.

Pages: 7

Budget: Mid-range. Set in an automotive garage, there are a few “equipment” requirements. But nothing that would break the bank. (Especially if you’re pals with a local mechanic!)

About the writer: Chris Keaton is an Air Force veteran living with his family in sunny Arizona. He’s primarily a screenwriter, but he does love diving into prose. He has had several short screenplays produced and go on to win awards. He’s optioned a few features screenplays and currently has a thriller feature in post-production. A young-adult novel based on one of his screenplays is soon to be released. You can see some of his projects on his website, Chris-Keaton.com or follow him on Facebook at Facebook.com/ChrisKeaton.

About the reviewer: Pete Barry is an award-winning screenwriter, playwright, actor, director and musician. His short plays have been published in numerous collections. He’s also a cofounder of the Porch Room, a film and theater production company, website available at http://www.porchroom.com/. Please feel free to reach out to him with script requests at petebarry27 (a) Hotmail.

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*Fixed the broken link