LAST DAY (6-page short thriller script) by Ariel Yang
A man is discharged from the hospital on the last day of his recovery.
In this 3rd place winner from October’s Twilight Zone themed OWC, writer, Ariel Yang, actually uses two TZ episodes as inspiration for her “Groundhog Day” esque, mind-bending thriller: “Twenty-Two” (S2, E17) and “Stopover in a Quiet Town” (S5, E30).
This TZ-inspired hybrid follows Herb Crawley, who wakes up in a room to the sound of birds chirping, not sure where he is or why he’s there. He looks out his window to see a mother playing with her toddler, a couple having a picnic and finally, a sign that reads “Tranquil Pines Mental Hospital”. He immediately screams for his nurse, who quickly comes to her patient’s aid.
HERB
There must be a mistake. I’m not crazy!
According to the nurse, he’s been there a while. But he’s made progress. In fact, he’s made so much progress that he’s been cleared to be discharged today.
NURSE
There are some forms that you need
to sign downstairs and you can be
on your way. Follow me.
He follows the nurse down a narrow hallway to an elevator. But, as they get in the elevator and descend, Herb experiences a mind-screeching pain migraine and, when the elevator doors open and he leaves, he finds himself back in the same hospital room – birds chirping, couple outside having a picnic, nurse saying the same exact thing she said moments ago. And, once again, on their way down the elevator so that he can fill out his discharge papers, he ends up right back in that hospital bed.
Much like “Groundhog Day” and “Happy Death Day”, Herb keeps reliving the same moment over and over again, only to get sent back to his hospital room every time he’s about to leave. But why is this happening? And how does he break this cycle? Or is this just a symptom of the condition that sent him here in the first place? The answer WILL surprise you.
Wildly clever with a very unexpected twist, “Last Day” is an excellent, low-budget thriller that could be a film festival contender if it ends up in the right hands. So, to all you filmmakers out there, don’t pass this one up!
BUDGET: Low.
ABOUT THE WRITER: Ariel is a Canadian Producer-Writer and native Torontonian. She likes to write stories about characters in unfortunate literal or social circumstances. Currently she is developing an original grounded comedy series based on her experiences as an expatriate. Ariel has a background in television production and most recently has worked for a major television broadcaster as a content development executive. Ariel can be reached at arieljyang (a) gmail.
Read: LAST DAY (6-page short thriller script)
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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.
