MATE-ING (11-page short comedy screenplay) Written by Robert Spence

Two twenty-something friends, Mark and Nat, maneuver their way through the contemporary dating scene with disastrous results.

I, for one, was never a fan of the single life. The awkward dates, the insecurity of even approaching someone, the weak pick-up lines, getting shut down, the online dating horror stories you hear… it’s just not for me. But, if there ever was a silver lining, it was having entertaining stories to tell your friends after a bad date.

In Robert Spence’s hilariously raunchy dating comedy, Mark and Nat (Natalie) are both single twenty-somethings who happen to be platonic friends. And both have their share of dating disasters, which they enjoy sharing with each other.

The story opens with Nat having a clumsy and weird sexual soiree with a man named Brad. As the writer hilariously describes, they’re “having something that resembles sex”.On top of the awkward and labored dirty talk, Brad ends up having a bit of an accident: let’s just call it a case of premature evacuation – bowel evacuation.

But Nat, the sweet girl she is, tries to make Brad as comfortable as possible, helping him change the sheets after his poo incident. Nevertheless, it doesn’t look like they’ll be having another date.

Meanwhile, Mark is a brash and confident playboy who gets around. He has his own set of rules that he likes to follow on dates. Especially after his most recent farce of a sexual encounter with a raging cocaine addict who ends up having an overdose – at the same time the fire alarm is pulled and everyone has to evacuate outside. Talk about bad timing. Luckily, it turns out the girl was okay. It was more of her just passing out than an actual overdose. However, unluckily, Mark left his wallet in the girl’s hotel room. And he later finds out that she used the card, spending $600 – talk about an expensive date.

Now, this was written as a pilot, but it can stand alone as a short film. That being said, I really think, as a show, it has plenty of potential for some really funny episodes with interesting story lines. The writer already sets up a nice “will they, won’t they” subplot with the platonic friends who may or may not have a history of their own.

Carried by smart, funny, yet raunchy dialogue, “Mate-Ing” has a lot of potential with likable and relatable leads – highly recommended to any filmmakers looking to tickle some funny bones.

BUDGET: Low. Common, easy-to-shoot locations, four actors (two leads).

ABOUT THE WRITER: Robert Spence is a Scottish writer who currently resides in Perth, Australia. He graduated from the Screen Academy for Scotland in 2012 with a Masters in screenwriting and has written a variety of short scripts, pilot episodes and feature scripts. Robert’s goal is to improve upon his craft and hopefully have some of his work produced in the near future. Robert can be reached at rspence1989 (a) gmail.

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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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THE PERFECT COVER UP (5-page short thriller screenplay) Written by MARNIE MITCHELL

When a troubled man visits a tattoo shop to cover a bad tattoo, he ends up getting one that suits him perfectly.

“Show me a man with a tattoo and I’ll show you a man with an interesting past.” – Jack London, American Novelist.

Author, Jack London’s quote couldn’t apply more to Jerry, the deranged antagonist in writer, Marnie Mitchell’s cleverly original morality thriller, “The Perfect Cover Up”.

The story opens at a tattoo parlor called “Max Tats”, run by a cocaine-sniffing, heavily inked tattoo artist named – you guessed it – Max. It’s a slow night as he watches television while noshing on some Chinese food… until there’s a knock on the shop’s locked front door.

Enter Jerry. Jerry has a problem that he needs fixed. And that problem seems to be tattooed to the side of his face – a massive snake tattoo that he wants covered up.

We soon learn the origin of the snake tattoo:

But this doesn’t seem to be the only reason Jerry so desperately wants to get this tattoo covered up. He seems to be very concerned with whether or not anyone else is there or if anyone knows Jerry is there. He even asks Max if he recognizes him from TV.

Max soon realizes that this is something serious when Jerry makes him cover up the tattoo at gunpoint – yeah, probably not a reality TV star.

As a very nervous Max covers up the tattoo under immense pressure, we learn a bit more about both characters, especially about Jerry’s tragic childhood and checkered past, being in and out of jail for most of his adult life. And, especially on this night, it seems that Jerry has recently gotten himself in a bit of trouble with the law. And he’s willing to do anything not to get caught, including covering up any distinct, identifying tattoos.

But we also learn that Max isn’t quite as feeble as he made himself out to be…

This is morality tale of a different kind with an incredibly satisfying ending that just goes to show – you can never hide from your past. Endlessly entertaining with an exclamation point of an ending, this is one story that will be hard to remove from your memory.

BUDGET: Low. One location, two actors and a few props.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Marnie is an award-winning screenwriter and 5-page contest junkie. Due to her addiction, she’s written over 80 shorts, 15 having been produced. Currently she’s working on her 8th feature, an adaptation of a horror short she wrote 10 years ago. Some of her work can be found on her site, http://www.brainfluffs.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.

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Yours Truly by Steven Clark (4 page thriller in pdf format)

A suicidal man makes a last minute adjustment to his plans.

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MERCY (6-page short drama screenplay) by Mark Moore

An ailing elderly man and his loving wife revisit defining moments in his past.

Everyone who lives to be old reaches a point in their life when their bodies aren’t what they used to be and their minds aren’t as sharp as they once were. We all hope to grow old someday, but when we do, it can be a difficult to accept everything that comes with age.

Aaron Lewis is especially finding it difficult to accept in Mark Moore’s touching, mature drama, Mercy.

Aaron, now 69 years old, isn’t just struggling with his age – he also has a serious condition that renders him almost completely physically helpless. He was once an athletic mountain climber – according to him, he could’ve climbed Mount Everest if he wanted to. And he could play the saxophone like nobody’s business – Aaron “The Lungs” Lewis is what they used to call him.

But now, he’s barely able to do anything on his own. Luckily, his loving and loyal wife, Mary is there for him, waiting on him hand and foot. The story opens as she prepares him a cup of tea. Unfortunately, Aaron can’t even sip tea on his own and needs her to hold the cup to his mouth.

As they take a trip down memory lane, looking over old photos, remembering just how fulfilling of a life Aaron has lived, it also makes Aaron miss the old days when he was playing the sax, climbing mountains and throwing the baseball around with his son. Not only that, but he feels like he’s now just a burden on everybody because of his condition.

Now, some may find the ending of this story somewhat controversial. But, if you have a soul, it will tug at the old heart strings regardless. This is a story that feels very real and handles the subject matter with great sensitivity without compromising authenticity. Sure to snag up some film festival awards, I highly recommend this to any filmmakers looking for a low-budget, COVID friendly production.

BUDGET: Low. Minimal location (most of it taking place in a house) and minimal cast (two main characters, a few supporting characters with no dialogue).

ABOUT THE WRITER: Mark Moore is an aspiring screenwriter originally from Ireland, currently residing in Upstate New York. He has had multiple shorts produced, including several award winners while also having sold two other shorts. Though a versatile writer, Mark enjoys writing comedy and drama screenplays. Mark can be reached at mmrem24 (a) yahoo

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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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If you have a few coins to spare for one of our own, Eric Dickson. The crowdfunding campaign for The People in the Trees began today. It’s a found footage horror indie featuring scream queens Cathy Podewell (Night of the Demons), Camille Keaton (I Spit On Your Grave), Jenna Kanell (Terrifier), and Marian Sing (Halloween 2018). Check out the teaser and if you like what you see, throw ’em a couple bucks.

– Don

Links:
Facebook
The People in the Trees Indiegogo Site
Erick Dickson – IMDB
Discussion board discussion of the script The People in the Trees

UNDERPASSERS (8-page short horror screenplay) Written by Robin Johnston

A young woman who becomes lost in a maze of underpass tunnels during her commute home soon realizes she is not alone…

All right, folks, enough of all this warmth and joy. The holiday season is over, so it’s time to get back to getting the crap scared out of us again. And what better way to start than with writer, Robin Johnston’s terrifying, maddeningly claustrophobic, one-location spine-tingler? But all adjectives aside…

It’s late at night and our story’s unfortunate protagonist, Natalie, is in the big city, on her way to meet with someone named “Mo”. And, for some reason, the only way to get to this person is through the tunnel of an underpass – probably not the safest of routes this time of night, especially in the city. In fact, one might consider it to be outright sketchy, to say the least.

Natalie hesitates while speaking to Mo on her cell phone, asking for another, less creepy route. When she finds out there isn’t, she logically thinks about putting off this little rendezvous until tomorrow. But, for reasons we don’t know, the meeting has to happen tonight. And it’s just a measly, little underpass, right? It’s not exactly the catacombs of Paris. So, off she goes…

But, before she enters, she gets a warning from an elderly homeless man…

Unfortunately for Natalie, what was supposed to be a brief stroll through an underpass becomes a journey into terrifying darkness. Using the light from her phone as she speaks with Mo on the other line, she begins to hear sounds… inhuman sounds…

And, when she reaches what’s supposed to be the opposite end of the tunnel, it ends up being a junction leading to other tunnels. With the frightening, inhuman sounds getting closer, Natalie desperately tries to find her back… only to reach another junction! And things only get worse when she loses her signal on her phone…

“Underpassers” effectively enhances familiar horror tropes to their maximum potential, using darkness and sound to put us right there in that tunnel with Natalie. With a small cast and essentially one location, I highly recommend this to any horror-centric director looking to terrify audiences.

BUDGET: Low – especially if you can find a nice (and safe) tunnel/underpass to shoot in.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Robin Johnston is an award-winning street photographer, writer and videographer based in Glasgow, Scotland UK. His work has been shown at world-class exhibitions in Rome, Berlin, New York and London. Robin’s work captures the beauty in tiny details, the patterns in the built environment and the way humans interact with architecture. His influences are Brassaï, Cartier-Bresson and the writing of J.G. Ballard. He can be reached at RobinJohnston75 (a) gmail.

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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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THE GIFT OF GIVING (6-page short drama screenplay) Written by John Staats

An elderly man and his dog enjoy another memorable Christmas Eve.

In our December, holiday-themed OWC, there were some really heartwarming, touching tales that really captured the spirit of the holidays and explored the importance of family and togetherness during this time of year. However, this 3rd place OWC winner, a mind-bending tearjerker, explores another common feeling many people experience during the holidays – loneliness. All while bending our perception of reality with unique storytelling and structure.

The tale starts off like many holiday-themed tales: Charley and his wife, June – an elderly couple – prepare a nice Christmas dinner, waiting for family to arrive. Charley sits in front of fireplace, looking over a gift box as his spry, energetic golden terrier, Sam, sits by his feet.

Soon their son, Bill, daughter-in-law, Mary and four-year-old grandson, Phillip arrive bearing gifts. Unfortunately, there’s a pretty bad snowstorm in progress outside and they need to get going before the roads get too bad.

But, before they leave, Charley’s son, Bill, gives him a Christmas gift he picked up from Romania while on business – a very unique crystal ball ornament.

And before we know it, Bill, Mary and Phillip leave. The abruptness of their stay and the way they leave, it almost feels like a dream, but in a very subtle way. But things truly get strange when Charley notices that his once-energetic dog, Sam, is suddenly walking with a limp, for reasons unknown. What is going on here, exactly?

I won’t give away the gut-punch of an ending. But I encourage you to check out this script and I highly recommend this to filmmakers. It really does tug at the heartstrings, but not in a conventional way. It carries a sadness to it in the way we see in Charlie Kaufman projects such as, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and, most recently, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” on Netflix (though easier to follow).

BUDGET: Low. Minimal cast, one location (a house).

ABOUT THE WRITER: As a fly-fishing fanatic and skier living in the Arizona desert, John Staats finds plenty of time for writing. His feature Impasse was a 2019 Filmmatic Season 4 Drama Screenplay Finalist and has been published as an e-book on Amazon. In addition to features and shorts for the screen, John has found a niche writing for the illustrated page (comics!). John can be contacted at jestaats (a) hotmail.

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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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TO THE MOON & BACK (7-page short romance/thriller screenplay ) Written by L.Chambers

A widowed mother and her young daughter receive an unexpected and potentially deadly visit on Christmas Eve when her past comes back to haunt them.

Do you like your Christmas stories to have a little romance in them? How about some thrills? Well, this December OWC 2nd-place winner has all that and then some, including a little Christmas magic to give you a spiritual pick-me-up to kick off 2021.

We open the story on Christmas Eve in the mean streets of Dublin, Ireland. Or, as we see in the story’s opening on-screen text: “Otherwise known as the arse-end of nowhere”.

It’s here where a single mother named Claire lives in a crumbling inner-city flat with her five-year-old daughter Molly. A sad-looking Christmas tree with no decorations pretty much encapsulates Claire and Molly’s situation. But as a dispirited Claire looks closer, she sees one, single Christmas ornament hanging from the tree, hung there by Molly. Unfortunately, this ornament brings back some painful memories for Claire.

Through flashback, we learn the origins of the Christmas bauble as Claire spends a romantic afternoon picnicking with her former love, Sean six years ago. They talk about their promising future together, running off to Australia and raising a family… once Sean gets enough money together.

That haunting request has resonated with Claire all these years – not too long after that afternoon, Sean was shot and killed during a bank robbery where 2 million dollars was taken during the caper… and never found.

Unfortunately for Claire, Sean’s partner in the crime, Michael “Spike” Flanagan, has just been released from prison six years after the botched heist. And she knows that Michael will stop at nothing to find that money…

This is, indeed, a different kind of Christmas story. And that’s why I highly recommend this to any filmmakers who want to create a holiday film that will surely stand-out and make an impact on the film festival circuit. This is one that will be in high demand, so pick it up before it’s too late!

BUDGET: Low. Two primary locations (a flat and a park) and four actors.

ABOUT THE WRITER: 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.

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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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HONEY MUSTARD

 After being stiffed, an unhinged waitress, hell-bent on revenge, torments the customer who didn’t tip her and his surprisingly resourceful family.

One of the hallmarks of a great screenplay is how quickly a reader can become immersed in a story. The writing flies off the page, the dialogue zings, the action never lets up, and the characters instantly come to life.

Honey Mustard has all this and more… From page one Michael Kospiah’s feature-length Indie-Horror puts the pedal to the metal and never lets up in this blood-soaked and frenetically-paced whodunnit tale of action and revenge.

Ever wish you could press rewind on a particularly bad day?

We open on the emotionally wrought and tormented character of Stella in a scene of not-so domestic bliss. To say Stella’s having a bad day is rather an understatement. Having finally had enough of the abuse at the hands of her redneck husband, Oscar, (a small-town cop, no less), Stella grabs a kitchen knife and a frying pan and in a violent frenzy dispatches him (albeit in self-defense) in short order.

What does Stella do next? Well, she grabs a ride with co-worker and secret lover Matilda, and sets off for work as if nothing happened, leaving her husband’s blood-soaked and lifeless body on the kitchen floor.

Stella’s a waitress at Mel’s Diner, an establishment we instantly recognise as being light on equal-opportunity in the workplace and heavy on juvenile frat-boy antics. And that’s just the guys working the grill. Usually, Stella is stoic in the face of frequent taunts, sexist barbs, and racial slurs, but the events of the morning have left her traumatized and her sanity hanging by a thread. Not to mention she’s now hallucinating the spectre of dead husband Oscar, who continues to get inside her head and bark orders at her – including telling her to: ‘kill them all’!

The final straw in Stella’s awful day comes in the form of a nightmare customer –  one Buford Blumpkin, and his seemingly innocuous request for –

Chicken Fingers with

…  a side of Honey Mustard

Little does Stella know that Buford not getting his precious honey mustard will set off a chain of events destined to throw the two of them on a deadly collision course.

DINING ROOM

He grabs her by the wrist, forcing her to a halt.

Now, Buford’s having a pretty bad day himself. His house is up for sale, he has a wife and son to support and fresh from the unemployment office he’s already bent out of shape. Not taking kindly to being treated like this he devises a little payback of his own.

After all, the customer is always right, right?

When Stella returns to his table –

Two little words that might just prove fatal.

Especially as a little bit later we cut to a scene of utter carnage at the diner and a stunned Buford watching a news report on the television –

Nerves rattled, Buford continues to watch…

It seems like hell hath no fury like a server scorned. But all this over a lost tip?

What’s particularly disturbing for Buford however is that his wallet’s gone and now Stella knows exactly where he lives.

Don’t even imagine you can guess where this plot’s headed because the third act is a killer with its clever twists and turns, shocking reveals, and high octane action. Just when you think you’ve got things sussed and the characters firmly pegged in their separate camps as good guys and bad guys, writer Michael Kospiah throws a curveball into the mix that you won’t see coming.

Written with a sure hand and with a sly nod to 80s pulp slashers, Honey Mustard is a gory, funny, tense and suspenseful thrill ride with one helluva bad-ass lead female character. If you enjoyed Don’t Breathe, You’re Next, Villains, and one of my personal favourites, director Coralie Fergeat’s Revenge, you’re going to love this. 

… Just one last thing before I hit the time-clock, and it’s a big tip of my own –

Honey Mustard’s the special of the day – destined to join the ranks of horror/thriller sure-fire hits, or become a much-loved Indie cult favourite. It’s going to be in big demand and because of this very likely to be on the table for a limited time only…

My suggestion: Get your order up fast, before it gets snapped off the menu…  Just be sure to ask nicely.

As Stella would say –

Y’all have an amazing day now.

BUDGET: Low budget, especially suited to Indie filmmakers, two main locations with a few generic locations for smaller scenes. Someone adept with blood SFX.

NB: CASTING – A special shout-out to Sasha Lane who the writer had in mind when creating the character of Stella. According to Michael, “She’s awesome and would murder the role”.  I suppose one could “At” her at @SashaBianca23.

ABOUT THE WRITER:

Michael is a NYC-based, award-winning screenwriter. His critically-acclaimed feature film, “The Suicide Theory” (79% Rotten Tomatoes score) won awards at Dances With Films and Austin Film Festival and received a limited US theatrical release, 3-year run on Netflix and can now be seen on Amazon Prime, Itunes & Google Play. His latest film, “Rage” continues to collect film festival awards and will be available on most streaming platforms Feb. 2021 after picking up worldwide distribution. His feature films, “Her Lost Winter” (co-writer), and “They Never Left” are slated for production mid/late 2021. Michael can be reached at: spesh2k (a) msn.com

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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 screenwriting. 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.