A struggling couple seek help for their communication issues, but is it enough?

Communication is key in maintaining a healthy relationship with your significant other – miscommunication is usually the downfall of many marriages. But, as we learn in this wickedly dark and masterful suspense drama, miscommunication can even lead to deadly consequences.

Told with a very unique, yet never confusing structure, writer Matthew Taylor takes us on quite the ride using time jumps to give us a first-person look at how disorienting the miscommunication can be for an unhappily married couple.

In “Misread”, that couple is Jade and her workaholic husband, Leo. Right out of the gate, we see the consequence of their miscommunication, opening with an image of Jade lying in a puddle of blood with Leo standing over her. But how did we get here?

Playing with scene chronology, the author takes us through the moments leading up to the gruesome aftermath. We learn that the struggling couple has been seeing a marriage counselor named Dr. Goodwin, who eventually learns just how volatile this relationship really is by story’s end. Through a series of voice-overs during their numerous sessions, he explains to them the five pillars of a solid marriage: safety, faithfulness, commitment, intimacy and, finally, communication. And we see specific examples of Jade and Leo failing at each of these pillars.

Even though we already know the end result, the journey leading us up to that point still surprises us, with each of the time-jumping sequences coming together brilliantly before FADE OUT. With its wit, off-beat tone and series of misunderstandings, this script really reminded me of excellent films such as the Coen Brothers first film, “Blood Simple” and Sidney Lumet’s final film, “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead”. This really is quite a brilliant achievement to accomplish in six pages and would make a fantastic film that I could easily see winning some awards on the film festival circuit. If you’re a filmmaker, scoop this up before someone else does!

BUDGET: Low. Common and minimal locations, three main actors.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Matthew Taylor is an accountant from Shakespeare’s county. Though fairly new to screenwriting, he is a naturally gifted storyteller hitting his stride as a writer, recently securing an option for one of his scripts. Though he’s always learning and looking to improve his craft, his skill level is far more advanced than most writers with similarly limited experience. Matthew spends his spare time reading scripts and books. His dream is to be able to make a living from screenwriting, specializing in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He can be reached at: scripts.by.mt at gmail.

Read: MISREAD (6-page short drama 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.

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ASH HOLE (4-page short comedy screenplay) by DAVID LAMBERTSON

A fitting celebration of one’s life.

I’m sure you’ve all been to a funeral and/or wake at some moment in your life. Usually, people say nice things about the deceased and exchange fond memories. BUT… what happens when there’s nothing nice to say about the deceased? What happens when mostly everyone at the wake despises them? Well, writer David Lambertson’s hilarious dark comedy “Ash Hole” gives us an idea.

We open at a wake being held at a restaurant where we see a large, printed photo of the deceased posted up on a tripod, Bobby Joe (42 at the time of his death). His younger brothers, Jimmy and Ray have the urn with Bobby Joe’s ashes in it. And it’s made very clear that neither brother was very fond of Bobby Joe.

Jimmy makes a good counterpoint: ashes are thick and it would clog the toilet. So, Ray decides to dump a little bit into the toilet at a time. After all, it all ends up at sea anyway, right?

Soon, Jimmy gets in on the action, flushing just a little bit of the ashes down the toilet.

Neither brother wants to make a three-hour trip to the ocean to dump the rest of the remains. So they come up with a proposition to the rest of the “mourners” still at the restaurant.

And the fun doesn’t stop there: there’s even a twist to cap off an already laugh-out-loud romp. This comes highly recommended to any filmmakers looking for a hilarious, budget-friendly comedy to produce.

BUDGET: Low (one location).

ABOUT THE WRITER: David Lambertson: I took up writing rather late in life having already been retired before I put pen to paper (okay – finger to computer key) for the first time. My favorite genres to read and write are dramedies and romantic comedies. In addition to this short, I have written four features; “The Last Statesman” (a 2015 PAGE finalist and a Nicholl’s and BlueCat quarter-finalist), “The Beginning of The End and The End” (a PAGE Semi-Finalist). “Taking Stock” (a drama) and a new comedy – “Screw You Tube”. Want to learn more? Reach Dave at dlambertson (at) hotmail! And visit his website.

Read: ASH HOLE (4-page short comedy 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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GLOOMY SUNDAY (30-page short horror screenplay) by Kevin Machate

When a mysterious stranger comes to him to learn a song long believed to lead to suicide, music teacher Jonah Horvath must discover the truth behind both the stranger and the mysterious song before he becomes yet another victim of Gloomy Sunday.

Before I get to the review of the actual story, I’ll tell you what caught my attention before I even opened the script up: Gloomy Sunday was also a song composed by Hungarian musician Reszo Seress in 1933. The song was also dubbed The Hungarian Suicide Song because, supposedly, listening to this song made people commit suicide all over the world.. The mythology of the song is captivating on its own, so I was immediately drawn to this story. And, to my delight, writer Kevin Machate’s atmospheric gothic horror short plays on that mythology.

The story opens with 33-year-old Reszo Seress (the actual, real-life composer) writing the song we’d come to know as Gloomy Sunday in Paris, France circa 1933. His inspiration for the song came from real life after becoming estranged from his lover, Erzsebet. Many great works have been inspired by heartbreak. But THIS work in particular seems to have conjured up something else… something evil.

Cut to present day where we meet music teacher, Jonah Horvath. He juggles graduate school while giving piano lessons for peanuts (practically). One day, he receives a visit from a very mysterious man who looks and acts like he’s from another time period. The Man offers Jonah an unusual amount of money to teach him how to play one song and one song only: “Gloomy Sunday”.

We jump between different time periods where we see different people succumb to the curse of the song after learning how to play it. And, each time these people commit suicide (as if under a trance), we see this mysterious man lurking. Who is this man and what is his purpose? And will Jonah suffer from the same fate once he plays the song?

Gloomy Sunday (the script) is a sprawling, epic gothic horror that packs a lot into its 30 pages. It’s an effectively creepy story that doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares: it sends chills up your spine with its eerie atmosphere and suspenseful buildup, giving us characters we both care about and fear. This would be a fantastic film for any filmmaker to take on. Hopefully, the curse isn’t real. Read if you dare!

BUDGET: Moderate.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Although he began his film career as an actor, Kevin Machate quickly moved into producing and eventually directing and writing. Kevin’s films and screenplays have won numerous awards worldwide with his two most recent films having been screened in various cities in the US, Europe, South America, Oceania, and Asia. He has directed six short films and his credits as a producer have exceeded 50 at the time of this writing. His recent works include three short series starring Golden Globe and Tony Award winner Barry Bostwick and Saturn Award Winner Doug Jones, along with a series of short musical and educational videos (With puppets!) starring Ed Helms.

Read: GLOOMY SUNDAY (30-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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THE SHADOWS (2-page short horror screenplay) by Matthew Taylor

A scared woman takes to the City’s shadowy alleyways to escape her pursuer.

Looks can be deceiving, at least in Matthew Taylor’s atmospheric horror micro-short, The Shadows, which was the 2nd highest rated script in the 1st round of the Simply Scripts May Writing Challenge (and my personal favorite).

The story opens in the dark, city streets where we meet Tabi as she runs for her life barefoot while wearing a cocktail dress. We don’t a lot but we know she’s running from someone… or something. We soon find out that she’s running from a hooded man but we don’t know why this man is chasing her. We can only assume he has evil intentions.

You ever watch a horror movie and yell at the screen when a character makes a questionable decision? Well, that’s exactly what Tabi does when she decides to dart into an even darker back alley with her pursuer not very far behind. She even trips and falls! For God’s sake, it almost seems like these people in these movies WANT to get caught! BUT…

While the setup uses very familiar horror tropes, the story takes us into a completely different direction, completely subverting our expectations as an audience and hitting us with a complete curve-ball. Even after the curve-ball, the surprises and twists keep coming… and all within two pages!

I can’t provide any more information about the story – it would spoil the fun of discovering the twists on your own. But I assure you, this one makes fantastic use of its two pages, packing in A LOT in such a short amount of time. This one is NOT short on thrills. And the creepy atmosphere and imagery elevate this even more above your average horror thriller.

If you’re a filmmaker looking for something budget-friendly that has serious viral potential, I recommend scooping this one up before someone else does.

BUDGET: Shoe-string.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Matthew Taylor is an accountant from Shakespeare’s county. Though fairly new to screenwriting, he is a naturally gifted storyteller hitting his stride as a writer, recently securing an option for one of his scripts. Though he’s always learning and looking to improve his craft, his skill level is far more advanced than most writers with similarly limited experience. Matthew spends his spare time reading scripts and books. His dream is to be able to make a living from screenwriting, specializing in the science fiction and fantasy genres.

Read: THE SHADOWS (2-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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PAUL (3-page short drama screenplay) by STEVEN CLARK

Sometimes, the best gift you can give is to just listen…

The world can be a very cruel and lonely place sometimes. As someone who lives in New York City, I see homeless people every single day, whether they’re on the subway begging for change or making their money as street performers. Either way, they spend most of their days alone, being ignored, neglected… and often mocked.

In writer Steven Clark’s heartfelt, slice of life dramatic piece, our title character knows this type of life all too well – he is a homeless street performer who spends his days strumming the guitar for passersby with hopes of collecting a little change. At night, he takes shelter in the basement of a local church. When he wakes up, it’s back to the street corner with his guitar. That’s pretty much every day for Paul.

Paul is a pleasant man, just trying to survive. Strumming the guitar seems like somewhat of a peaceful outlet for him, helping him forget about his hardships every time he picks up the guitar. Unfortunately, it seems like the guitar is his only friend.

But he has his fans. A passerby named Rory, for instance, seems to enjoy Paul’s guitar playing. Most people, however, ignore him. Or, like a pair of obnoxious teenagers at the story’s opening, make fun of him.

There’s a sadness in the tone of “Paul” and how he’s treated. He just seems like such a nice guy, we really do feel for him and empathize with his lonely existence. But, by story’s end, we see just how important making a connection with someone really is and how something as small as saying “hi” can make someone’s day. Kindness can really go a long way. It’s a shame there isn’t more of it the world.

SPOILER ALERT: You may shed a tear or two before FADE OUT.

BUDGET: Low. Minimal cast, minimal locations.

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 his website.

Read: PAUL (3-page short drama 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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I CAN’T GET NO SATISFACTION (4-page short comedy radio play script) Written by GARY HOWELL

A radio DJ tries his best to give away a cash prize over the air, but the listeners aren’t having any part of it.

People sure are stupid. Nobody knows this more than Nebraska radio DJ, Jamie Jameson, in this hilarious winner of April’s audio-only themed Quickie Challenge.

Jamie Jameson is a small-time, rock ‘n roll radio DJ for KROK-FM in Nebraska. You can’t help but think he’s had bigger aspirations in life. In between insults towards his hollow-brained callers, he sneaks in comments about how much he hates his life, blaming the stupidity he consistently encounters for much of it – and he does this using his most professional “Casey Casum” radio DJ voice, which makes it all the more hilarious.

Today, Jamie’s taking live calls as part of a contest in which he plays the opening to a classic rock and roll song and callers must guess what the song is.

He plays the opening to the Rolling Stones hit, “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” and the calls immediately come pouring in… as does the stupidity.

With each horrible guess, Jamie’s comments get even darker and more depressing, to the point where he’s practically reflecting on the regretful path his life has taken.

But, there’s a glimmer of hope when he receives a call from a young woman who seems to be very close to getting the answer right…

We can’t help but feel for Jamie as he deals with idiot caller after idiot caller. But, at the same time, we can’t help but laugh.

BUDGET: Zero. It’s an audio script.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Gary Howell is an authentic Texan, yet still doesn’t own either a cowboy hat or a horse. He practiced law for 17 years, much to his chagrin. He finally scratched a life-long itch and began writing short and feature films and over the years has had four of his short films produced, had one featured optioned and has worked with Matthew George, founder of Acacia Filmed Entertainment (“LBJ”, “Wind River”). His TV Pilot, “Bounty” is in the top 2% rating wise of all scripts on Coverfly.

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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 who wrote what and writer’s choice of of the April Challenge. And, stand by week of May 10th for the May Challenge.

– Don

DEER FRIENDS (9-page short comedy screenplay) by BRYCE SMINK

A teenage boy wants nothing more than to live out the rest of his life out in the woods as a Deer…but his Deer-hunting Father isn’t so accepting of his son’s new life style and a wild man-hunt ensues.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve read something as original as Bryce Smink’s bizarre aburdist horror/comedy, “Deer Friends”.

The story starts off with a bang (literally) as a high school teen named Debbie sitting parked outside of her friend’s house hears gunshots from inside. Her friend, Eric, runs out and jumps into her car as his father chases him with a shotgun, blasting away.

Did I mention that Eric is wearing a deer onesie?

So, why exactly is Eric’s father trying to murder his own son? Well, to follow up on the log line (which describes the story pretty accurately), Eric has decided to “come out” to his parents and identify as a deer. Eric’s father does not approve. Not only that, but Eric’s father is also an avid deer hunter, which immediately makes them mortal enemies.

Eric’s father chases after Debbie and Eric in his pick-up truck, all the way to a national park in the woods, where Eric plans on living his life as a deer.

Although this is an absurdist comedy, the story itself is surprisingly intense. It’s essentially one long chase scene with the feel of a horror-slasher almost. But it also has elements of a screwball comedy, at least in terms of the very strange, off-beat dialogue. It felt like an episode of “The Eric Andre Show” crossed with Quentin Tarantino’s “Death Proof”, at least tonally.

What really impressed me about this script wasn’t just the originality, but it was how it delivered its message using a bizarre, way-the-F-out-there premise. And once you understand the message (which is kinda/sorta obvious), you realize that maybe the premise isn’t that bizarre after all. There’s a real humanity and heart to the story… while also being absurdly entertaining.

BUDGET: Low. The story takes place in a car and out in the woods. Only three characters.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Re: Bryce Smink – “I’m a young writer about to graduate high school in a year. I love writing about the weird and absurd, and mixing it with the relatable aspects of life. I’m working a part time job at small production studio (Delivering Coffee, Yah!). But besides that, nothing has really changed at all. Still just write, write, writing all the time. I’m actually working on multiple web series as a comedy Staff Writer, which is something that I’m actively pursuing.” Bryce can be found at brycesmink (a) outlook.

Read: DEER FRIENDS (9-page short comedy 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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CELLULOID (10-page short comedy screenplay) by RICK 5E

Two lewd and crude high school teachers are taught a valuable lesson about the importance of being discreet.

It’s been a while since there’s been a really funny, R-rated raunch-fest comedy, hasn’t it? Movies like “Bad Santa”, “Porky’s”, “Van Wilder”, “40-Year-Old Virgin”… it just doesn’t seem like they make movies like that anymore. Well, strap the f**k in, because Rick 5e’s laugh-out-loud, profanity-filled, sex-crazed romp is bringing that s***t back!

The story is centered around two hard-partying junior high school teachers (Mr. Todd and Mrs. Granger) who are really bored with their jobs. Today, they’re supervising another boring field trip at a public park.

Unfortunately for them, someone else is in the bathroom with them, secretly taking pictures. And a few days later, both teachers find themselves being blackmailed. Is it one of their students? Another teacher?

Determined to find the culprit, Mr. Todd goes through all the yearbook committee photos that were taken during the field trip. And he finds a suspicious looking white van in one of the photographs. The decal on the side of the van reads: “SHAKES THE CLOWN – FUN PARTY SHOWS AND STUF! 555-1234”.

“Celluloid” was an entry from February’s erotic-thriller themed OWC. But as you can tell by this review, it is most definitely not an erotic-thriller. In fact, it’s nothing close. But I’m glad I read it. It really was my favorite of the bunch despite not following the genre or theme.The dialogue is hilarious, thesight gags are perfectly timed and the farce of a premise had me laughing about as hard as I’ve laughed in a while. “Bad Teacher” meets “Election”, this one will have you ROTFL.

BUDGET: Medium. There are group shots (it takes place during a junior high field trip), so the cast is a bit large. But this script also has feature film potential and will be well worth its budget.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Rick 5e (pseudo), is a part-time writer, musician, and landscape aficionado living somewhere above the 49th parallel. He has been writing enthusiastically for approximately 10 years, including feature screenplays, short scripts, and various instructional models regarding script structure and outlines. “Always try to capture the ‘absurd’ when writing” is his basic tenet, a primal drive whenever typing ‘Fade In’ that may also be viewed in many of his other works that are currently available online at his personal website of curios media – Obfuscation: Hand Crafted Screenplays. Rick can be through his website.

Read: CELLULOID (10-page short comedy 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.

Subscribe to Michael’s YouTube Channel.