Day 6 Assignments

[Eric Humble]

Eric Humble’s Character Death Track

What I learned doing this assignment is: that individual deaths can be mapped out in a nonlinear way. Working on just the deaths this way has given me some huge breakthroughs in terms of the monster’s rules, which I felt were a little weak in the first pass at them. It also has given me some solid terrifying moments and deaths that resonate with the theme, which I suspect will help me in the character journey pass when we get there. I’m loving how this outline is shaping up!

A. SURVIVOR:

The survivor is the one we live through all the way to the traumatic ending. They are often the unlikely winner of this morbid gameshow. The survivor will often fit the theme of your movie.

Who will make it through the Horror Gauntlet? Rachel

Why do they deserve to live? She’s known the dangers of alcohol/drugs from the get-go.

How does their survival fit the theme of your movie? She rages just like her abusive father. She, in essence, becomes the man she’s feared even while not under the influence… and kills it.

B. Who dies first?

Character Death: Veronica – the one who is doing everything right.

Why? She’s doing everything right, so her death is shocking and starts the horror.

How? Surprised / blindsided: They’re just finally coming up with a plan when she is accosted by the Wino, which is invisible to the others, and is stabbed in the throat with the broken bottle… then dragged off with blood spurting out of her throat.

C. The Middle Deaths

Character Death: Bill

Why? Increases the horror—Bill is the leader and a fighter, the only one who can get them through this.

How? Attempt something that fails – Bill can see The Wino and sneaks up on him with a makeshift knife, ready to kill him… but he vomits out the alcohol at the last second and, suddenly sober, can no longer see him. The Wino grabs him from behind, unseen to him but visible to the others, tears out his kidney and eats it.

Character Death: Roach

Why? Moral reason: Roach is a habitual drug user and sometimes dealer. He’s more out of control than he thinks.

How? Give up – Roach is hoarding a stash of coke, even after saying there isn’t any left. Noah wants some so he won’t have to drop acid, the only other alternative… but Roach’s addiction won’t let him. They fight and lose the coke through a crack in the floor. Roach lingers behind to try and get it, snorts what he can… and The Wino converges on him and breaks off his nose to get what’s inside… then cracks into his skull and sucks it out of his brain.

Character Death: Bremmer

Why? Bremmer violated a rule by luring everyone here and drugging them — he wants to gain The Wino’s power.

How? Betrayed – He’s making a deal with the Wino by offering him the others… but instead of rewarding him, The Wino ties him up and forces him to take all the drugs and alcohol, even after his body is rejecting it and shutting down… then eats him alive while he’s convulsing.

Character Death: Noah

Why? He made a bad decision in dropping acid. He regretted that he wasn’t one of the ones to take meth out of solidarity with Rachel.

How? Charge blindly into action. He sobers up from the acid for a moment as he’s lying on the floor below, his leg broken with an open fracture. He sees it and sees an opportunity to kill it — with a gun that he has to be steady enough to load… he can’t do it, but opts to take a bullet and a hammer — but it isn’t the Wino. It’s Veronica’s corpse. And The real Wino comes up behind him, sniffs him, and, enraged that he only brought it non-addictive LSD, kills him with the bottle.

Character Death: Mackenzie

Why? Character flaw: She never chooses the safe option. It’s wired into her to live on the edge.

How? Attempt something that fails: They have a choice – the safer route, above ground… but the drugs are starting to wear off and he’ll be invisible once they get up there. Or the tunnel, a straight shot to the next terminal and in the dark they’ll be as invisible to him as he is to them…. And while Rachel is deliberating, Mac takes off… only for Rachel to hear a muffled scream… because The Wino is already ahead of them in there and has just stabbed her through the gut with the bottle, slurps the cold medicine out of her stomach.

Character Death: Prologue guy

Why? Introduce the horror

How? Standard: The guy buys meth, then drinks as he waits for it to kick in… but The Wino catches up to him and slices his jugular, drinking the blood as it gushes out.

Character Death: Party Girl

Why? A reason for their isolation — the party broke up when it happened. And it gives our heroes a reason to suspect the danger they’re in.

How? Standard: Her spine has been ripped open. She has a glass pipe in hand, charred from recent use – she smoke meth. (Eventually Rachel puts together that meth travels to the central nervous system – it’s consuming the drugs secondhand.)

D. Apparent Death:

Bill – we think he’s dead at the midpoint, but he comes back in Act Three to help them finally escape.

How? Exactly as he was trying to before – he stabs it with the makeshift knife. Pulls it clear of Mac and Rachel. He’s dying, but they take him with them. On the street, he dies. They cradle him…. Then The Wino shows up and devours his corpse, allowing them a moment to run to the subway.

[Cameron Martin]

Cameron Martin’s Character Death Track

What I learned doing this assignment is…this is a good checklist to ensure each character death feels different and has purpose. Making sure each “How” is different, and ensuring each “Why” matches up with a consistent message, helps to give both variety and continuity in the story, rather than allowing the narrative to devolve into pointless murder porn. Though, because this is a project that I’m already working on (yeah, this would be much more of a learning experience with a separate concept), I am watching more horror movies to try and identify the lessons from this course with the films I’m watching. For example, I just watched THE SHINING last night. First time seeing it, and taking it through this same lesson, I have an appreciation for the “Why” and “How” of the only character death we actually see in the film (though there are many more allusions to the deaths that have occurred in the Overlook Hotel’s past that each are unique and give new horror and nightmare inducing material).

Character Death 1: Teenager

Why: Set the tone. Though we’ve seen other, faceless opponents die in the teaser, this would establish the killer as something that doesn’t distinguish between the innocent and the potential threats. In addition, it sets up a major question that provides dramatic irony for about half the script: Is the place our protagonist seeks for safety actually safe?

How: In the bunker where dozens of family have sought shelter from the alien parasitic threat. The teenager is brought in by his doctor, against protocol, due to the doctor’s own hubris. The audience sees the teenager die by coughing and vomiting blood, as well as watching his jaw break and the seems of his mouth split open. We don’t see what he becomes during this process. Another benefit for this death is that it gets the audience to side with the argument for “just do what you’re told.” This is similar to the opening of ALIEN, where if everyone had the same devotion to protocol as Ripley, then the crew of the Nostromo would’ve survived.

Character Death 2: Stranger

Why: Establish what the parasitic worm does, and engage the audience to connect the dots of what may have happened to the teenager from the previous death. Set up a new factor to deal with.

How: At a moment where the worm is seemingly distracted, a stranger makes a break for it. His loud running signals to the worm, which catches up with him, forces its way down the stranger’s throat with serrated teeth, and changes him into a monster: The man’s mouth and jaw are separated from the rest of the cranium, and the man walks on all fours. His mouth snaps out of his skull to bite, similar to fish.

Character Death 3: Jude

Why: Fill in the last piece of the puzzle with the worms. There’s a number of ways to die from them. One, of course, is what we know we’ve seen: the stranger getting turned into a zombie-like host. The other way is how the teenager probably died: being a brood mother for the worms and giving birth to them through the lungs and mouth. Her death also gives further justification to the argument “Just do what you’re told,” because her death allows Sully and Isaiah (our protagonists) to live.

How: Via lethal injection at her final moments of giving birth, which involves coughing and vomiting in the same way as the teenager.

Character Death 4: Apollo

Why: The first counter argument to the idea: “Just do what you’re told.” Form a thematic connection between the parasitic worms and an authoritarian state.

How: A holy man, Markus, is forced to murder Apollo, because Apollo was hoping to stage a mutiny/protest against the passengers being conscripted to fight the alien parasites. Markus is given a decision: murder another man and live a little longer for the sake of supporting the state’s conscription of humble colonists, or be killed with Apollo as a traitor to the state. Markus shoots Apollo in the chest with a shotgun.

Character Death 5: The entire space colony

Why: Take away all safety from Sully and Isaiah. Show how serious an infestation can become, and provide a major obstacle for the latter second act and the entire third act.

How: While we don’t see them all change into monsters/hosts for the worms, we do the see the aftermath as over a hundred colonists have become ravenous monsters, including children and infants.

Character Death 6: The exterminators

Why: catching up with the teaser, and amping up the violence and hysteria Sully and his son, Isaiah, must work together through to survive.

How: In a multitude of ways, all that we’ve seen prior. Getting eaten, shanked by the broken bones of the hosts, getting infected by spores or worms, getting torn apart, etc. It’s a meat-grinder.

Character Death 7: The military officer

Why: Show, thematically, a changing of the guard. Give Markus redemption. Reward the counter-argument: “Don’t just do what you’re told.”

How: Markus shoots the military officer before the military officer can kill Sully and Isaiah. This happens after the officer orders the execution of Sully and Isaiah after Sully just healed his son and exposed the state’s involvement with covering up the worms.

[Alfred Green Green]

Alfred’s Character Death Track

What I learned doing this assignment is to think about the reasons why characters die in horror films. It not merely about a body count or to just see gore.

Character Death 1: Malik

Why: Sets the tone of the movie. Start the horror off.

How: Door to door evangelists come to his house and summon the creature. It devours him.

Character Death 2: Deon

Why: His death puts Gabriel on the trail of the creature.

How: He is blindsided by the creature.

Character Death 3: Africa

Why: She was chosen but the creature.

How: She tries to run and is trapped.

Character Death 4: Rianna

Why: The Karens choose her. We start to see the conspiracy.

How: Alone in her apartment at night as she climbs into bed.

Character Death 5: Quintavius

Why: Chosen by the police

How: Runs from the police. Police herd him to the creature.

Character Death 6: Sara

Why: Rushes headlong into where she thinks her son is.

How: Charges into the dominated group and is torn apart.

Character Death 7: Omar

Why: Omar betrayed his neighbors to the creature.

How” Gabriel pushes him into the creature.

[Scott Kaplan]

Scott Kaplan’s Character Death Track

What I learned doing this assignment is that each character’s death needs to have meaning, giving creedence to the story’s plot. The order can be re-vamped as the three acts evolve. I want to build a sense of impending doom in this small town. The deaths(some expected, some not), are weaved in to heighten the suspense/horror. I need the survival of the protagonist to fit the theme : to save the town from the evil cult, overcoming revenge in an ‘altered universe.’ Thus, he can free the “undead spirits” so they can rest in peace.

Character Death 1 : Jean

Why: One of the more likable neighbors, Jean owns the most popular restaurant in town. He often clashes with Piper and Clen, two members of the sinister cult. They insist on keeping theit boats on his backyard property, causing friction. Jean now refuses to serve them at his eatery.

How: During a house party at Jean’s, the cult summon spirits who lurk underneath the canals. They have the power to enslaven these ghosts, buried alive hundreds of years ago. A member of the cult’s eyes go black(oil drips down his face), as Jean is taking out some garbage. Suddenly, fog emanated from depths beneath. The sewer grate is removed. White, ghastly shapes with sharp claws drag Jean down, beneath the street. SCREAMS come from his son, Jean Jr, who witnesses his father’s death. No one believes his story.

Character Death 2: Pat

Why: The town handyman, always at odds with Piper, who happens to be his boss.

How: One day, Pat chooses a ‘side job’ to make extra money for his family. Piper gets wind of it, and blows a gasket. He wanted Pat to finish a job for him. Piper, fueled with rage, summons one of the ghosts… Pat is decapitated, as black oil oozes from Piper’s eyes, a devilish grin on his face. He disposes of Pat’s body, as the head has disappeared into the abyss.

Character Death 3: Children in a tree

Why: Because Jean Jr. is a witness to the initial crime. He is playing with his best friend, Daisy. He tells her the story. Her father is Clen(a member of the cult). She balks at the idea. Piper then orders Stacy(the third member of the cult) to get rid of them.

How: They are up in a small tree when the sky goes dark; the winds pick up, causing them to fall. Stacy raises his arms to summon spirits. Black oil pours down his face, as the spirits snatch the young children’s ankles, dragging them down. Their screams are drowned out as soon as they are pulled into the dirty canal water… I was hesitant to kill children, but I wanted to create more terror by showing that no character is safe.

Character Death 4: Clen’s Wife

Why: She finds out about her daughter, tells Clen she’s going to the Sheriff.

How: Clen stops her, summoning the spirits. They rise up, slicing her throat with their claws.

Character Death 5: Stacy

Why: He has a “crisis of conscience” at the midpoint. Clen and Piper learn of his change of heart. He must now be sacraficed to keep their secret safe.

How: They lure him to the boatyard for a meeting. As Clen is showing him his new boat, Piper clobbers him from behind with a large shovel. They take him to an abandoned area in the woods and shoot him. They had already dug a grave. Stacy is buried alive, still breathing. He is ‘sacraficed’ by the cult to show their loyalty to their evil ancestors—responsible for executing the original settlers in the 1800’s. These Native Americans were blown to smithereens…just so the builders could take over the town. Their souls never rested. Hence, they are the undead slaves, at the beckon mercy of the cult.

Character Death 6: Sheriff

Why: Originally, he obeys Piper to “lockdown” the town. No one gets in; no one gets out. He does so because they threaten to kill his family. Max eventually sways him to let some of the townies out. This leads to …

How: Upon discovery, Piper and Clen summon the ghosts to slaughter Sheriff Dick.

Character Death 7: Pastor

Why: Father Bob attempts to perform an exorcism on the cult.

How: They splice him in half, then feed him to the spirits.

[Lance Adams]

Lance’s Character Death Track

What I learned is it is important to plan out the deaths in your screenplay. An important horror genre convention is death. Sometimes when a character is particularly annoying, we want to see them die.

I feel like this assignment is on the other end of the spectrum compared to Assignment 4 when we discussed the dying pattern. In lesson four, we learned about the different dying patterns of a horror movie. For some reason, I feel like this lesson leans towards increasing the body count. In my script I was planning on only 1 – 2 deaths.

Character Death 1: Marshall

Why: Marshall dies before the movie begins and his death is the impetus for the story to begin.

How: He dies alone in his apartment of apparent natural causes, however his body isn’t found until it has already begun to decompose.

Character Death 2: Shelly

Why: Shelly is killed by Marshall who is in control of Nathan’s body. Marshall meets Shelly at a bar. When his advances are rebuffed, he ends up killing her.

How: Marshall strangles her to death in her apartment.

Character Death 3: Everett

Why: Everett is trying to protect his girlfriend Vanessa and their friend Hailey. Marshall is trying to get to Hailey and Everett stops him.

How: Marshall stabs Everett.

• This reply was modified 3 years ago by  Lance Adams.

[Brandon Barker]

Brandon’s Character Death Track

What I learned: Must be a variety of creative deaths even though the monster may kill in the same fashion every time.

Survivor: Lacy – the skeptic/complainer. The one you would least likely suspect. She’s the least heroic. But slowly, she changes because she must.

Why – She’s the smartest and actually knows Sleepy Hollow history more than the others. She also knows how to ride a horse which is important in the end.

• Character Death 1: Newt

Why: He breaks from the group and curiosity kills the cat.

How: Trampled by the monster’s horse.

• Character Death 2: Owen

Why: He’s the one who challenges/annoys Ichabod Crane the most.

How: HH swings the axe into his neck and it gets stuck halfway through. HH may be a little rusty but he finally gets the job done in a horrific, gruesome fashion.

• Character Death 3: Random Townsperson 1/Random Strangers

Why: HH is set loose on the village of Sleepy Hollow

How: HH chops the head of an assembly line worker but grabs it just before it’s turned to mush.

• Character Death 4: Julian

Why: Since it arrives early, death of main character should come as a surprise. Just before this, we find out he’s not as nice as we think. Maybe he says or does something dickish to his girlfriend, Sofia.

How: Hearing the ghostly voices of past British soldiers, Julian is lured away from the group and is blindsided by the monster in the fog.

• Character Death 5: Oscar

Why: We think he’s here to save the day, but HH gets the best of him. He’s a false hero.

How: Explosives bury him alive in the Revolutionary-era tunnels

• Character Death 6: Sofia

Why: Because she accidentally killed Oscar, her boyfriend’s father.

How: She’s knocked off the horse by HH’s flaming pumpkin head. HH slices her head clean off as he passes her by on his horse.

[Marc KOENIG]

Marc KOENIG’s Characters death track

What I’ve learned doing this assignment is to give more subtext to the story through the « why » of the death of the characters, and to brainstorm more ways of killing the characters to make the story more surprising and unexpected.

Survivor = Irina, 25

Infiltrated Russian secret agent (revealed in the final scene), rule breaker, loyal, combative, deceptive with good intentions

The characters die in the following order:

Character 1 = Elizabeth (archeologist), 30

Why: the innocent one who unwittingly sets the monster free

How: Attacked by her contaminated boyfriend & Car crash

Character 2 = Paul (Elizabeth’s boyfriend), 35

Why: didn’t respect the dead body & security rules

How: Car crash

Character 3 = Medic, 50

Why: in denial, does the right thing, the most exposed to the new monster

How: Butchered with a scalpel & bled out

Character 4 = Scott (machinery engineer), 25

Why: in denial of the danger and helps a contaminated

How: Neck broken

Character 5 = Trevor (CIA agent), 30

Why: a bad guy, deceptive with nasty intentions<div>

How: Crushed in a hydraulic press

Character 6 = Julia (scientist), 25

Why: arrogant, in love with Jennifer</div><div>

How: Blown up by a grenade

Character 7 = Sally (scientist), 40

Why: unable to keep her self-control, she had an affair with Scott

How: Strafed by the commando

Character 8 = Scott (scientist – Jennifer’s husband), 30

Why: He cheated with his wife, he wants to join her

How: Butchered by Jennifer

Character 9 = Jennifer (scientist) 30

Why: “Patient zero”, in denial in the first place, she broke rules of security and she is at the origin of the chaos

How: Blown up with the whole lab by the explosion of the prototype

Character 10 = Bill (scientist), 25

Why: coward and arrogant

How: Shot in the head by a sniper

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• This reply was modified 3 years ago by  Marc KOENIG.

[Mark Veau]

Mark Veau – “Attack of the Killer Refrigerator 2” – Lesson 6: Character Death Track

What I learned doing this assignment is:

We took a closer and harder look at the reason each character meets their demise. Since the setting is a mansion-full of teenagers at the biggest bash of the year, there are instances of victims being slaughtered just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time – the speaking and main roles have more defined reasons why they die. This lesson was crucial in putting all of it in a clearer perspective. Since the story calls for dozens (perhaps even more) grisly and creative ways that the Killer Refrigerator takes its victim’s lives, we want to make sure that the “gratuitous violence” still moves the story forward. This lesson accomplishes that without a doubt.

Character Death Track:

1) JOEY

Why: He’s one of Derek’s Minions – His “left hand” Man. He’s a bully who also torments Fred.

How: Fred uses Joey’s decapitated head as a shield during the Killer Refrigerator’s initial attack.

2) MALE PARTY GUEST #1 & MALE PARTY GUEST #2

Why: Escape attempt takes them into it.

How: Sliced into pieces by the Refrigerator’s razor-sharp shark-like teeth.

3) MALE PARTY GUEST#3

Why: Escape attempt takes him into it.

How: Sliced like a block of cheese after the Killer Refrigerator fires a high-velocity, rotating metal shelf at him.

4) GOTH PARTY GUEST #1, GOTH PARTY GUEST #2, GOTH PARTY GUEST #3, GOTH PARTY GUEST #4 & GOTH PARTY GUEST #5

Why: Cornered, they try to talk their way out of death by reasoning with, and vowing to serve, the metal beast in desciple-like fashion .

How: The Killer Fridge attacks the group like a pack of rabid dogs. The Goths are literally shredded by the Refrigerator’s rapidly-snapping jaws and blood & flesh-drooling and glistening teeth. Their ripped apart bodies, sucked into the killer ice-box’s gullet to “Hell.”

5) MALE/FEMALE/NON-BINARY PARTY GUEST

Why: Escape attempt takes them into it.

How: Decapitated by the Killer Fridge during its initial rampage on the third floor. The Refrigerator gulps the head down like a snack.

6) COSPLAY GIRL PARTY GUEST#1

Why: Surprised/Blindsided.

How: Decapitated by the Killer Refrigerator firing a high-velocity pie in its tin plate, spinning like a circular saw blade at her head.

7) BEAUTIFUL BRUNETTE PARTY GUEST#1

Why: Thrown into the monster.

How: Pushed into the Refrigerator’s massive jaws by screaming, stampeding teenagers.

8) SOPHOMORE PARTY GUEST#1, SOPHOMORE PARTY GUEST#2, SOPHOMORE PARTY GUEST#3, SOPHOMORE PARTY GUEST#4

Why: Escape attempt takes them into it.

How: Snagged and Eaten in rapid succession as they attempt to flee the carnage.

9) THE PRICK GUY

Why: Sacrifices himself.

How: Pushes Molly, Fred’s sister and host of the party, out of the way of the Refrigerator’s snapping jaws to save her by sacrificing himself. The Refrigerator shoves its metal shelves right through his body – and splitting our victim at the head, torso and legs simultaneously. The remains sucked into the Refrigerator.

10) THE PARTY DJ

Why: Backed into it.

How: Trapped on his DJ stage in the ballroom by the approaching metal beast, the DJ throws his sound and lighting equipment to fend of the fiend. To no avail of course – The Refrigerator engulfs him whole.

11) FRIGHTENED MALE SENIOR

Why: Surprised/Blindsided.

How: Quietly trying to escape by tip-toeing by in the dark – The Refrigerator, hiding in the shadows, yanks this poor guy off of his feet by wrapping its electrical cord around his neck with whip-like speed and accuracy before being cut in two and sucked into the Fridge’s gullet.

12) PARTY GUEST (O.S.)#1, PARTY GUEST (O.S.)#2 & PARTY GUEST (O.S.)#3

Why: Escape attempt takes them into it .

How: As the terrified survivors huddle safe behind a barricaded door – for now – they can only HEAR their friends’ SCREAMS as they are being hunted and ripped apart on the floors below.

13) SAMANTHA’S POSSE MEMBER #1, SAMANTHA’S POSSE MEMBER #2 & SAMANTHA’S POSSE MEMBER #3

Why: Charge blindly into action .

How: As Samantha and the other Survivor’s huddle safe behind a barricaded door – for now – Her Posse searches in vain to save her and because they have her coat – they are blindsided and eaten by the Refrigerator hiding in the dark corner of the kitchen amongst the other appliances.

14) MOLLY’S CAT – PEPPER

Why: Because there was a cat “eaten” in the first “Attack of the Killer Refrigerator.”

How: Sucked into the evil appliance’s jaws – then “uploaded” to serve in the Refrigerator’s Zombie Army forever.

15) NICK

Why: Attempt something that fails.

How: Joey may have been Derek’s “Left Hand Man” but Nick is his “Right.” He loves to bully Fred, maybe even more than his two cohorts did. Nick’s flesh and muscle is completely stripped from his body; leaving only bloody bone showing from the down. Nick is taken trying to climb the ladder leading to the attic’s trap door in the ceiling.

16) ERIC

Why: Surprised/Blindsided.

How: Wanting a cold(er) beer, he is consumed after re-plugging in the Refrigerator after the first major battle. Eric is regurgitated and reborn as the grotesque face and voice of the Killer Refrigerator.

17) ANNE

Why: Surprised/Blindsided.

How: She is consumed after Eric “Becomes the Fridge” after he re-plugged the Refrigerator into an outlet after the first major battle. Her decapitated head lives and interacts through the rest of the story, from within the Refrigerator’s main compartment.

18) MOLLY

Why: Escape attempt leads them into it/Give up..

How: Badly-injured, she is eaten alive in front of her brother Fred and the last of the survivors in a shocking sequence.

19) DEREK

Why: Escape attempt leads them into it & He is Fred’s nemesis/antagonist.

How: Trying to escape with “Fred’s Girl” now – Derek’s ex – The Refrigerator rips Derek’s back off right to the bone so that you can see right through Derek’s body. Derek now becomes one of the Refrigerator’s Zombie Guards.

• This reply was modified 3 years ago by  Mark Veau.