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Day 14 Assignments
Reply to post your assignments.
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6 Replies
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Ricki’s say as hell scene.
What I learned is: If I can pepper the script with these elements it should make for a good read. But, it would be easy to fall into cliches (ala the raccoon scare) Have to be aware of that.
Horror situation: Isolated/Pursued
Karissa walks home alone in a deserted park, unaware she’s being watched. The monster lurks in the shadows.
A/ Emotional range: Anxiety to shock
B/ What emotions go in between? Fear – Panic – Hysteria
C/ What is the physical representation of each emotion?
Anxiety: As she walks along a secluded oath, her phone loses signal, then the street lights fail – one by one.
Surprise/scare: She hears rustling In the bushes.
Release: A raccoon scurries across her path. The lights flash back on.
Shock: Further up the path stands a cloaked figure.
Fear: She sees someones shadow next to hers – someone is following, way too close for comfort. Every shadow seems creepy.
Release: Her phone dings – signal restored. She looks around, there’s no sign of the figure or anything else. The shadows appear harmless. She texts that she had too much to drink.
Shock: Something flashes past her head – SWOOSH – a dagger lodges into a tree.
Panic: Karissa cuts off the path into the woods. Charging through the bracken to get away.
Hysteria: She glances backward and sees a meat clever suspended in air, coming at her – she stumbles hits the ground. Gets up, then gets butterflies into two by the clever.
FADE IN
EXT. PARTY HOUSE – NORTH SPRINGFIELD – NIGHT
Guys drinking beer, leaning against cars. The DOOR opens – MUSIC LOUDER – the guys turn and look at the babe at the door.
The babe is Karissa, (23) appealing without being a pin-up and wears her jeans and tank-top well. She finishing off a White Claw.
KARISSA
Thanks for the invite, I had a good time.
CODY
You sure you don’t want a ride home? I wouldn’t walk across that park at night.
KARISSA
I’d be safer in your car?
CODY
It would be more fun.
KARISSA
I’m sure it would. It’s a beautiful night. I’ll take a rain check.
She finishes off the seltzer and hands Cody the can. Cody watches her walk away.
EXT. PARK TRAIL – NIGHT
Street lights illuminate the pathway. Karissa strolls, nonchalant, reading and sending text messages.
Text message: Why are we going to Eureka?
One of the lights buzzes, flashes on and off, and then it’s dead. It doesn’t concern her.
Text message: He’s rented an old theatre. They say it’s haunted. Sound’s weird to me.
Text message: You believe all that?
Another light shorts out. Karissa, still oblivious.
Text message: Maybe. He’s weird.
Text message: Pretty creative. He pays well too.
The phone loses its signal. Karissa notices how dark it is, when the last light sizzles out.
KARISSA
Shit. Siri turn on the flashlight.
The small beam illuminates. There’s rustling in the bushes. Karissa stops walking.
KARISSA
Hello? I don’t know who you are. I’ll tell you right now, I’m a black-belt and I’ll kick your –
A raccoon leaps out in front of her and scurries away – She drops the phone. The street lights come back on. She picks it up. She has signal.
Text messages: He might pay well but he’s a dick
Text message: You there?
She responds.
Text Message: Yeah, I lost signal for a minute. I’ll take the money and run.
Text Message: You might have to.
Karissa smiles.
Text message. I’ll see you tomorrow.
She puts her phone away. Stops in her tracks. Up ahead is a CLOAKED FIGURE underneath underneath a light.
She sees a shadow on the ground next to hers. All the shadows appear ominous. Different shapes – some look like wild animals ready to pounce. Others could be monsters.
She looks behind her. No one there. Up ahead the cloaked figure has disappeared. The shadows look harmless. She grabs her phone.
Text Message: Hey you still up. I guess I had more to drink than I thought lol.
A SWOOSH flies past her head. A dagger lodges into a tree behind her. Panicked she looks around, no one there. Then the figure appears agin. A shadow appears next to hers on the ground.
She takes off into the woods – charging through the bracken, branches swiping at her face – her feet sinking into the sodden, uneven ground. She’s aware someone is behind her – she turns to see a meat clever closing in – but no one is holding it – she’s more determined – hysterical now – pushing through the trees.
She stumbles. Lands hard – looks toward the meat clever – nothing there so she gets up – then splits into two pieces as the clever slices through her head and down her body.
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Larry Fraller’s Scary-As-Hell Scene
END OF ACT 1
Horror situation: Unknown motive.
Vintner sends servant girl to bring water from the river.
Sequence of Horror Emotions: Anxiety to shock
What emotions go in between: Apprehension, suspense, dread, horror, shock
Give a physical action that could cause each emotion:
Apprehension: Lorette’s painting adds an element of its own when the river water gets streaks of red in it from the blistering sun
Suspense: When Chambers agrees to tour the vineyards, Vintner sends servant girl to fetch water from the stream
Dread: Lorette hears a hideous howling from where she can see the servant girl, alone.
Horror: Lorette runs to the girl with a machete. Finds her surrounded by wolves.
Shock: The wolves attack the girl. She raises her machete to fight them off the girl. The wolves snarl at her. Lorette’s not that brave. She helplessly watches the wolves shred her to the bone.
SCENE
EXT. COTTAGE – DAY
Lorette sits in the sun convalescing from her recent fever. She paints her view of the stream, with branches hanging over.
Chambers chats with Vintner in the garden.
Vintner’s Servant Girl watches Lorette paint. What Girl doesn’t see is the two eyes that appear in the painting in the dark woods beyond the stream. Then two more and two more.
DIALOGUE
A foul smell rises from their well, like a carcass.
Vintner sends Servant Girl to fetch water from the stream. She’s reluctant, but goes.
DIALOGUE
about her reluctance
Vintner and Chambers bid her goodbye as they start to leave to tour the vineyard.
DIALOGUE
Lorette pleads with them to wait until Girl gets back. Just in case.
DIALOGUE
Chambers plays down her over active imagination.
Vintner says his wife is perfectly able to take care of herself. He downplays her reluctance because she distrusts outsiders until she gets to know them, after which she treats you like family.
Lorette points to her painting, but the eyes aren’t there.
DIALOGUE
Vintner praises her painting that it seems so real it could come to life.
Vintner and Chambers leave.
A hideous growl from the river.
Lorette finds Chamber’s machete and hurries as best she can to the stream, still weak from her fever.
She calls to the peasant girl. A wolf charges at her. She cuts it in half with one stroke of the machete.
She gets closer. Another wolf races at her, meets the same fate.
More snarls and growls. She finds peasant girl surrounded by wolves. Lorette screams at them. The don’t leave. They watch Lorette with the same eyes in the painting.
She’s not that brave. Horrified, but fascinated by the ravenous beasts, she can’t take her eyes off the wolves even as they attack the girl, eating through muscle and fat down to the bone.
The wolves lope through the stream and disappear into the woods beyond.
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Carmen’s Scary as Hell Scene
What I learned doing this assignment was how effective each step was and how guided the scene so well. So much of HORROR is build-up and response in a cycle. This Horror Map did that well and made it more simple to have a guide to make an effective and Scary as Hell Scene!
INT. FAMILY BUNKER – LATER
Fredo and Caterina are in the bunker, the only ones in his bloodline left. They are trying to hide from the Don. They think it is safe now.
They hear MOANING.
FREDO
You’ve done enough!
LIGHTS FLASH and a SCREECH RINGS out. A light bulb POPS behind FREDO’S head. He jumps.
CATERINA looks behind him and it’s a bird. They both SIGH.
CATERINA
It’s a bird, Dad.
FREDO
Must’ve made it in when we first got here.
CATERINA
You should’ve seen your face.
They both CHUCKLE.
Then DON BRUNO appears and SLITS CATERINA’S throat right in front of FREDO.
FREDO
Oh, God, NO!!!
The door SLAMS on its own and is locked.
FREDO crawls over to her body. She is still breathing, barely.
FREDO
It’s okay, it’s okay, baby. I’m here.
Blood is spurting all over his face and shirt. She coughs blood, for the last time.
DON BRUNO
This was to be, Fredo.
FREDO is frozen. DON BRUNO raises her body in the air. He PEELS FREDO’S eyelids open and forces them to stay that way. DON BRUNO crushes her bones to dust.
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John Garofolo’s (maybe) Scary-As-Hell Scene
What I learned doing this assignment is further validation of the importance of sequencing scares releases and creepy moments to ensure your project is on track with conventions of the horror genre.
HORROR MAP:
Horror Situation: Isolated/Pursued
(The scene takes place after the bride-to-be and maid of honor think they’ve killed the monster) – Release.
Anguish, Shock –They think they’ve won the fight and limp through the house and take stock of the situation. They look for their phones and go back up to the second floor bedroom and continue looking for their other friends (Note: The killer will probably reveal the two dead bodies by this time, but, I haven’t worked these reveals out yet).
Horror Situation: Isolated/Pursued
Apprehension, Anguish, Suspense — The killer comes back to life and begins quietly stalking the two survivors, until he makes a move attacking from behind and round two of the fight continues. –Panic
PANIC, HYSTERIA -the fight of their lives.
Anguish, Dread–When the dust settles this time, the maid of honor and the killer both appear to be dead.
Samantha is alive.
Release.
Anguish, Horror. The bride-to-be sobs heavily as she caresses her best friend’s body, holding her tight to her chest.
Anguish, Panic, Hysteria. But, then, she hears noises downstairs.
Now, alone, she goes back downstairs to find the killer, the man she almost married, who has, apparently come back to life again.
Fear/Apprehension. She realizes he’s in the garage. And, quietly goes down the stairs, now stalking a psycho killer, carrying her baseball bat.
She slowly opens the laundry room door/entrance to the garage.
She enters the garage and tiptoes through the storage shelves and carefully enters the garage.
Anxiety. Fear. It’s completely packed with boxes and overflowing storage shelves making a dangerous maize-like path.
She stumbles through the garage. She knows he’s there. But doesn’t know where.
Anxiety-She hears something drop ahead of her and changes direction. She moves very deliberately through the mass of stuff on the floor, tripping and giving away her position.
Dread-She pauses, catches her breath and listens.
She presses on slowly until she gets to where she last heard the sound. But, he’s not there.
She turns to the left and in an instant, he pounces on her and grabs her from the back, puts her in a choke hold and wrestles the bat away from her. –Hysteria.
Panic–She struggles to break the hold, throwing elbows, reaching around to grab anything. She’s almost out of air and with one final effort, pokes him in the eye and he releases his grip
Hysteria–She tries to catch her breath and searches for her baseball bat, but finds a screwdriver on the garage floor and desperately grabs it.
Hysteria–He recovers and grabs her again and pulls her off the floor and tries to get her in a chokehold. She stabs at him with the screwdriver and hits her mark, causing him to release her.
She struggles to find the baseball bat on the floor. She grabs it and swings away striking a killing blow–Anguish, Shock.
Release.
INT. BEDROOM CLOSET
Olivia and Sam think they’ve won the fight.
The pull themselves up and see the killer’s body on the floor and feel a sense of relief.
But, they’re physically and emotionally drained and can’t even bring themselves to speak.
Sam stops and stands over the killer for a moment.
OLIVIA
It’s over.
SAMANTHA
How can I have missed the signs?
OLIVIA
There were no signs.
SAMANTHA
I should have known.
OLIVIA
How could you have known?
SAMANTHA
This is all my fault.
Olivia grabs her.
OLIVIA
This is not your fault. It’s that sick fuck’s fault.
SAMANTHA
They’re all dead.
Olivia comforts her.
OLIVIA
Let’s find our phones and call for help. You need…we need help.
Sam nods in agreement.
They head to the master bedroom to look around.
INT. MASTER BEDROOM – NIGHT
They both stop when they see the two dead bodies on the bed.
SAM
We can’t leave them like this.
She starts moving toward them.
OLIVIA
You can’t touch them. It’s a crime scene.
Sam stops. She’s right.
She stops short, gets down on the floor and looks under the bead.
Olivia does the same.
There’s nothing.
SAM
My parents used to keep flashlights in their nightstands.
She gets off the floor and crosses to the nightstand on her left. She opens it and finds two flashlights and illuminates them.
Olivia gets up.
Sam flashes the light at Olivia and illuminates the killer
She SCREAMS.
Olivia turns in horror and sees the killer as he grabs her.
It’s round two of their life or death fight.
The killer chokes Olivia.
Sam runs towards them and starts wailing on the killer, he lets Olivia go and turns his attention to Sam.
He lunges for her and subdues her, as Olivia tries to catch her breath.
Olivia, then looks for a weapon…any weapon that can help.
Sam bites hard on his hand and he lets her go–she quickly collects herself and throat punches the killer, which seems to stun him.
But, she collapses on the ground from exhaustion.
Olivia then runs out of the closet carrying what looks like a sword and stabs the killer from behind.
She pulls the sword out and is stunned to see the killer turn toward her and grabs her throat before she can stab him again.
He strangles her even harder than before and finally kills her.
The killer drops to both knees and after a moment falls face forward to the floor.
Sam, barely coherent, pulls herself off the floor and crawls over to her friend.
She sobs heavily as she caresses her best friend’s body, holding her tight to her chest and passes out.
A few moments later when she returns to consciousness, still holding onto Olivia’s lifeless body, she realizes something is wrong…
The killer is not in the room.
Filled with dread, but also determined to avenge the deaths of her friends, she pulls herself off the ground and starts searching for the killer.
INT. STAIRWAY – NIGHT
Armed with a flashlight and her baseball bat, she slowly goes downstairs, listening, finally hearing a loud noise coming from the garage.
She goes to the laundry room door/entrance to the garage, pauses for a moment, then slowly opens it and peers inside.
INT. LAUNDRY ROOM – NIGHT
The small room is clear.
She slowly opens the second door that opens to the garage.
INT. GARAGE (FIRST BAY) – NIGHT
She enters the garage and tiptoes through the storage shelves.
It’s completely packed with boxes and overflowing storage shelves making a dangerous maize-like path.
She stumbles through the garage. She knows he’s there. But doesn’t know where.
She heads toward the next door opening to the two car garage space.
She hears something drop ahead of her and changes direction.
She quickly opens the door.
INT. GARAGE (TWO-CAR BAY) – NIGHT
She moves very deliberately through the mass of stuff on the floor, tripping and giving away her position.
She pauses, catches her breath and listens.
She presses on slowly until she gets to where she last heard the sound. But, no one’s there.
She turns to the left and, in an instant, he pounces on her grabbing her from behind, puts her in a choke hold and wrestles the bat away from her.
She struggles to break the hold, throwing elbows, reaching around to grab anything. She’s almost out of air and about to pass out.
With one final effort, she pokes him in the eye and he releases his grip
She tries to catch her breath and searches for her baseball bat, but finds a screwdriver on the garage floor and desperately grabs hold of it.
He recovers and grabs her again and pulls her off the floor and tries to get her in a chokehold. She stabs at him with the screwdriver and hits her mark, causing him to release her.
She struggles to find the baseball bat on the floor.
This time she finds it, grabs it and swings away striking a killing blow.
She hits him again to make sure he’s dead this time.
She slowly backs away from the body until she bumps into a shelf and turns around and hurries out of the garage.
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Douglas Ryan’s Scary as Hell Scene
What I learned from this assignment is that I can make a scene scary by following the emotions to get to the end of the scene.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – DAY
Daniella wakes slowly. Adjusting her eyes she sees, DETECTIVE SMITH, 30’S African American woman. Startled she scrambles in her bed.
Disoriented, her eyes dart side to side. She tries to sit up but one hand is cuffed to the bed.
DANIELLA
Where the hell am I? What’s this?
Smith makes takes a couple steps towards her raising her hands.
DETECTIVE SMITH
Calm down kid. You’re at St Mary’s you’ve been through some shit.
Daniella eases back and rubs the wrist in the cuff. Smith gets closer and pats her leg.
DANIELLA
Wait where are they?
DETECTIVE SMITH
Who?
DANIELLA
Dr Xeno and his wife. He’s a killer and she’s..
DETECTIVE SMITH
Look baby, they gone.
DANIELLA
Gone?
Smith leans back and sucks her teeth.
DETECTIVE SMITH
Yeah. They dead. Well at least that’s what my boss think. We’ll find out when we get the dental records back.
Daniella stares off confused, Smith picks up on this.
DETECTIVE SMITH
Look baby, they were straight up burnt to a crisp. You were found outside the house clothes smelling of gas and a gas can near you. Now if you ask me that’s open and shut. But you were out cold when the medics got there.
DANIELLA
She drugged me. Put a rag over my face and, and I just passed out. That’s the last thing I remember.
Smith looks at her face. It’s scared and lost. She takes a step towards the cuff, she slowly moves her hand over to it and unlocks it.
DETECTIVE SMITH
Look baby, this is a fucked situation. My partner was in that house.
DANIELLA
Marcus right?
Smith leans back surprised.
DETECTIVE SMITH
Yeah. Figured he was doing his own investigation on Xeno. So what happened?
DANIELLA
He showed up when Stuart and I went to get his mom. She ended up being a part of this whole eye stealing thing.
DETECTIVE SMITH
(Annoyed) What happened to Marcus?
DANIELLA
Well he had a cuff on Xeno and Xeno tripped him and then killed him. He got Marcus’s gun and killed Stuart. Mary drugged me and I woke up here.
Smith sucks her teeth and rubs her chin.
DETECTIVE SMITH
Well I’m gonna go check the tox report on you. If they drugged you it’s still in your system.
There is a knock at the door. There is humming, Daniella looks at the door terror, and tries to speak but can’t. Smith notices this and puts her hand on her gun.
The handle opens slowly.
Smith barely pulls up on her weapon, as the door opens.
A NURSE, 20’S comes through the door. Smith pushes the gun back down. Daniella sighs of relief as the Nurse checks her vitals.
NURSE
You need anything?
DETECTIVE SMITH
Yeah, did they get her toxicology report yet.
NURSE
Yeah I believe they did. (To Daniella) So need anything?
She’s not used to someone being so nice to her.
DANIELLA
Oh, um, yes can I get some water please.
NURSE
Sure, no problem.
DANIELLA
Thanks.
Smith rolls her eyes.
DETECTIVE SMITH
Hey take me to this report. (To Daniella) Don’t go anywhere.
She locks the cuff back to the bed.
DETECTIVE SMITH
Don’t worry if what you say is right you’ll be losing those cuffs.
Daniella nods, as the women leave the room. She closes her eyes after a long beat.
The door opens, she hears a nurse shuffling around with her IV. She turns and the nurse isn’t the same one. Her hair is covering her face.
DANIELLA
Oh did you bring my water.
The humming starts. Daniella looks at the nurse in fear. She is shaking the nurse turns.
It’s Mary! She has a clear eye.
DANIELLA
How..
MARY
Shhh. Dear you’ve got surgery.
Daniella screams. Mary gets in close and shows her, her right eye.
MARY
Sorry this one didn’t take. And I really do need two to get back to work.
Daniella grabs Mary by the hair and pulls. Mary easily knocks her hand away.
MARY
No. You’ll be out in 10..
Mary gets her ready to move and continues to count down. As she rolls her to the door it opens.
DETECTIVE SMITH
Hey where you going with her.
Daniella reaches for Smith, smith sees terror in her eyes.
MARY
She’s got to go for her rape check.
Smith looks at her eye, it’s familiar, but she just can’t place it.
DETECTIVE SMITH
What’s wrong with her?
Mary smiles.
MARY
It’s the sedative, she been through so much trauma. These poor girls always fight us on this so it’s just easier if we.
DETECTIVE SMITH
Roofie them. That’s fucked.
Mary shrugs.
MARY
Keeps us from being assaulted.
DETECTIVE SMITH
Well if it’s policy. (To Daniella) Don’t worry baby I’ll be here when you get back.
Daniella cant speak and keeps grabbing at Smith. Daniella stops grabbing as the drug takes hold and as she falls into her final sleep, the humming continues.
FADE TO BLACK.
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Mark Dotz
Lesson 14 Scary as hell scenes
What I learned form the assignment is… that releases are just as valuable as scares. It is definitely worth reviewing the class assignment to strengthen a scene.
At this point Boxie and Shannon have just seen Cameron die and they have been covered in roaches and are really sick of this horrid mansion. They have re-entered the first room, where this haunted story began.
INT. FRONT FOYER
Again the crew is lead into the front foyer. Brad’s remains are scattered by the piano. Boxie holds her chest in dreadful remembrance of him.
BOXIE
Oh Brad, I’m so sorry.
Shannon starts studying the paintings on the wall. They have no eyeballs. Dean heads up the stairs to see if he can come up with a plan B.
DEAN
Why are we back here again?
SHANNON
I think they’re running out of house.
Suddenly a creepy laugh cackles behind the walls.
TOMMY (O.C.)
Ha. Ha. HEE, HEE.
Dean creeps down the stairs.
SHANNON (WHISPERS TO BOXIE)
They’re behind the walls.
JERRY (O.C.)
More puzzles to solve children!
The voices are coming from all around the room.
TOMMY (O.C.)
Ha. Ha. HEE, HEE. Play with us more!
Shannon listens carefully, ready to pounce. Boxie knows this look.
BOXIE (WHISPERS)
Careful.
Suddenly, Shannon punches through one of the paintings and grabs whatever is on the other side. It’s Jerry! And he looks the same as he did in the flashback. Same clothes, same age.
Jerry struggles with Shannon a bit but she swing him around and puts him in a choke hold.
Boxie runs over to brads pants pockets and fumbles through until she finds his knife. She takes it over to Shannon. Boxie flips out the blade and hands it to Shannon who presses it next to Jerry’s neck.
SHANNON
Who are you? Why are you doing this?
Jerry starts giggling.
JERRY
Hee, hee.
SHANNON
Nothing is funny about this. I’m going to cut open your throat you asshole.
Tommy starts shuffling and laughing in the walls.
TOMMY
Haa, ha.
SHANNON
You! The other one. Come out here.
Jerry doesn’t resist anymore. His voice like a winey pee-wee herman.
JERRY
Hey, have you met my pets?
Shannon, Dean and Boxie all have an “oh shit” moment. The door upstairs creeks open.
Three white dogs can be seen through the door. The door cracks a little more.
Shannon readjust her position to hold Jerry in a tight headlock.
The Dogs snarling faces are popping out of the ajar door. Without thinking Dean runs into the room of dogs. He slams the door behind him.
SHANNON
No! Dean No!
BOXIE
Dean!
Boxie runs up to the door and attempts to open it, carefully but it’s locked.
Jerry wiggles out of Shannon’s grasp and runs off. Shannon is now worried about Dean and she hovers by the door with Boxie. The sound from the door is filled with scratches and sounds of suffering. Soon, a flood of blood comes pouring out form below the door.
Boxie goes to the front door and tries to open it. Still no luck.
BOXIE
I think it’s just you and me sister.
Shannon flips her knife into attach position. The two hold hands and start to go up the steps. There is a clanking sound coming from up stairs. Boxie and Shannon cautiously walk up the stairs as the clanking continues.
They notice a new door is opening and closing. It’s opening ajar and closing and opening ajar and closing. Boxie moves in to study it. It’s a dark shaft.
BOXIE
It looks like this is not the way to go.
With Boxie’s head looking down the shaft a voice whines a pig like noise and Tommy pops out another door and shoves Boxie down the shaft. She goes down and her head slams against the side of the long shaft before descending into darkness.
SHANNON
Boxie!
Shannon in pure reflex reaction pushes Tommy off the stairs ledge. He falls to the bottom of the stairs. Shannon cautiously peaks over and sees he is injured pretty bad and it looks like he has a broken leg. She pulls out the switchblade. She starts to cry.
SHANNON
That is my best friend. She better be okay you weird freak!
Shannon looks around, nervous.
She looks down at the motionless Tommy. She doesn’t know what to do.
Shannon’s adrenaline spikes. She starts kicking off pieces of the stair railing.
She slashes the painting next to her.
She runs over to the window and throws an urn at it. Shattering the stained glass everywhere and exposing the bars on the outside keeping her in. The urn falls and stays in one piece.
SHANNON
Fuck you! And your stupid Gaudy, fucked up house!
Shannon finds anything she can break, shatter, or tip over. She kicks a hole in one of the walls.
She does the best she can to ruin any part of the house she can reach.
When she turns around she looks down and see Jerry at the bottom of the steps. He looks like Private Pyle from full metal jacket.
JERRY
You hurt my brother.
Shannon holds her knife out. Her breathing and sweat are overwhelming.
SHANNON
You killed all of them!
JERRY
You hurt my brother. Mother will not be happy if you hurt us.
Shannon doesn’t know what to do.
JERRY
Mother is already mad at you.
Shannon throws her knife right at Jerry. Jerry watches as it passes his face and he turns to watch it as it sticks into the wall.
When Jerry turns back he is met by Shannon’s fist. She cold cocks him hard he flops back towards the wall. Shannon shakes her hand off.
SHANNON
Ow? That hurts more than I thought it would.
She looks at her hand, it is red from the impact. She looks up. Jerry holds his jaw in pain.
Shannon grabs him by the collar and starts slamming his head into the wall. Over and over and over from different angles. Blood is splattering and covering the walls. Shannon grabs her knife from out of the wall and starts stabbing his back repeatedly until he falls to the ground.
She hears a rumbling behind her. Tommy is starting to get up.
BOXIE
Set!
It’s Boxie!
She crawled out of the hole and is hanging onto the edge of the hole. Blood drips down her head and she is crawling. But she manages to throw a volleyball up into the air and serves it to Shannon who turns around and spikes it into Jerry’s face. Knocking him back down on the ground.
SHANNON
Match, bitch.
Boxie falls to the ground. Shannon stats searching Tommy’s pockets. She finds a key faub of some-kind. She starts clicking all the buttons. One button makes the kitchen door start flying open and closed. Another button makes the piano play it’s melodic song. Shannon addresses the piano.
SHANNON
Not again.
Another finally opens the front door.
SHANNON
Finally.
With the door open and the faub in her hand Shannon runs up to Boxie.
Shannon picks up Boxie from laying on the ground. Boxie vomits some blood.
BOXIE
Go. Go get help. I can’t make it out of here.
Shannon pulls her up onto to her shoulder.
SHANNON
You’re getting out of here.
Shannon gets Boxie up onto her feet.
BOXIE
I can’t, my feet. They hurt.
Shannon takes a deep breath.
SHANNON
Suck it up kiddo, were leaving this shit hole.
Shannon starts carrying her on her shoulders down the steps towards the front door. They pass the bloody mess that was Tommy and the shards of human that fill the foyer.
Suddenly the house shakes a little. Tommy speaks up.
TOMMY
Mother.. hee hee.
Tommy is holding the Urn.
TOMMY
Mother, mother, come out to play. Mother, mother, make them pay.
Out of the darkness a grayish image appears. Her ghostly image is surrounded by fog as she rises form the darkness. It’s the Ghost of Smother.
Smother flies towards Shannon and Boxie.
Shannon thinking quickly grabs the piano bench and smashes it over Tommy’s head, knocking him down to the ground again.
Gathering their wits they limp out of the house. Straight out the front door. The Ghostly image swoops over them like a hawk.
BOXIE
Go! Go, go go.
Boxie, with her feet dangling is yanked outside by Shannon.
EXT. MANSION
Shannon and Boxie limp out of the house. Through the front door Smother pops out of the house. Smother fly’s towards their face with several swoops.
On the third swoop, Smother’s creepy image stops in front of them. Smother struggles to speak, her voice is painfully hoarse.
SMOTHER
Help me!
She fly’s away. They continue away from the house. Boxie and Shannon discuss as they limp away.
BOXIE
What was that?
SHANNON
I have no idea.
Smother again swings down to face the crew.
SMOTHER
The urn! Free me!
Smother fly’s away again and then swoops back. Shannon stops.
SMOTHER
Destroy the urn! Free my ashes!
Smother swoops away. Shannon stops. Boxie stands up and looks at Shannon with that “Don’t do it” look.
SHANNON
We can stop this.
BOXIE
No we can’t. We can escape with our lives, that’s what we can do.
Shannon can’t resist the challenge.
SHANNON
Can you walk?
Boxie limps away from Shannon and acknowledges she can.
BOXIE
I can walk good enough I guess. I’m not going back though.
SHANNON
Get to the car. I’ll be right behind you.
Shannon hands Boxie the keys to the car. Boxie grabs Shannon’s arm.
BOXIE
You don’t have to do this?
Smother swoops down again and with extreme desperation grinds out the words again.
SMOTHER
Help me! Smash the urn!
Smother fly’s away.
BOXIE
You don’t have to do this.
SHANNON
I know I don’t have to.
Shannon starts running back to the house.
BOXIE
Why do you always have to be the fucking hero?
Smother fly’s around Shannon with an almost protective circular motion. Like a banshee she screams into the open air.
SMOTHER
Help me.
INT. MANSION
Shannon once again enters the front foyer. She sees the Urn at the top of the stairs. Shannon examines the room and sees a motionless Jerry and Tommy wiggling on the floor. Shannon quickly and cautiously runs up the stairs towards the Urn.
SHANNON
This better work.
Tommy at the bottom of the steps jerks up to a sitting position (ala Dracula out of the coffin). He turns his head towards Shannon.
TOMMY
Hee hee. Mother?
Jerry starts to come to. He pulls his head out of the wall. His face is badly beaten. His eye dangles out of it’s socket. His nose is smashed and bleeding and he now has missing teeth. He looks up at Shannon climbing the steps.
Tommy, looks down at his busted leg. He falls to his side and starts crawling with his hands towards the steps.
Shannon slips on a bit of blood and continues carefully walking up the stairs towards the Urn. Her feet struggle to find grounding in the puddles of blood.
JERRY
Mother? Hee Hee.
Jerry’s blood dripping body turns and follows Tommy crawling up the stairs. He limps and walks slowly next to Tommy.
JERRY
Mother, stop her.
Smother fly’s in and hovers between the boys and Shannon. Shannon is just a few steps from the unguarded Urn, inches behind her she sees Jerry crawling up the stairs and Tommy limping his way up after her. Tommy pulls himself up on what is left of the stairwell.
TOMMY & JERRY
Mother?
Shannon makes her way to the Urn, she pics it up and is face to face with Tommy. She can smell his breath.
TOMMY
No! Mother!
Then from nowhere Smother fly’s in and gets in-between Tommy and Shannon. She opens her mouth and screams a haunting roar like that of a banshee.
SMOTHER
AAAAH!
With the roar comes a great gust of wind that blast Tommy back several feet and on his ass.
Smother swings her head back to look at Shannon.
SMOTHER
Help Me!
Shannon looks for something to do with the Urn. She looks over at the shattered window behind her. She smashes the Urn against the bars on the window. It does not break.
SHANNON
Son of a…
Shannon rips the top off of the Urn and reaches her hand into it. She takes a handful of ashes and tosses them out of the broken stained glass window.
She puls her arm back in revealing she cut herself.
TOMMY
Tasty!
Tommy is right behind Shannon.
Shannon takes another handful of ashes and shoves them out the window.
Again, Smother swoops in and screams at Tommy.
SMOTHER
AAAHH!!
Tommy is pushed by her wind gasp but is not deterred. He grabs the urn from Shannon’s hands. Shannon holds tight and angles the urn and slams it into Tommy’s face.
The Urn shatters, finally. A few ashes spill out.
SHANNON
Finally! Fuck.
Black ashes cover Tommy’s face. Tommy falls to the ground. Revealing Jerry standing behind him. Shannon stabs a piece of the urn into Jerry’s forehead, pushing him back onto the floor.
Shannon moves the remaining pieces of the Urn towards the window and the ashes start flying out the window. With an almost magnetic like pull, pieces of the ghostly Smother image fly out the window. With the last of her image remaining in the room Smother turns towards Shannon and squeezes a few last words out.
SMOTHER
Thank you.
Smother grabs hold of the bars on the window and yanks them off.
EXT. MANSION
The bars come crashing down outside the mansion.
INT. MANSION
Shannon sees that both Tommy and Jerry are on the ground but are conscious and pissed. Shannon looks out the window and down at the two story drop. Before she can react her foot is caught.
She looks down and sees that Tommy has grabbed her leg. With his face covered in ashes, tears fall down his face and with a whimper in his voice.
TOMMY
Mother?
Shannon kicks his face with her free foot. He lets go. Shannon turns towards the open window and jumps out.
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