Lesson 1

[Lois Buchter]

Horror Class Working File: A SACRED PLACE

A. Monster/Villian: Ancient Spirit/Indian Shaman
B. Interesting Terror: Has laid dormant for centuries – now awakened
C. An isolated and horrific environment: Indian Burial Grounds
D. People who will terrorized: Developer/State Reservoir Authority Officer

5. Creatures: The State Reservoir Authority seizes sacred tribal lands, ignoring warnings about the ancient spirits that protect them. In their greed to build a reservoir, they awaken an ancient entity, a vengeful force that has guarded these grounds for centuries. Five tribes come together, desperate to stop the encroachment, but it’s already too late. Something has been unleashed.

A smoke-like creature begins to emerge from the disturbed soil, seeking vengeance on anyone who dares to claim the land, touch the sacred artifacts, or move the ancient stone pillars. The creature doesn’t just kill—it invades the souls of its victims, hollowing them out and transforming them into agents of its wrath. Its fury is now aimed at the families of the Reservoir Authority, seeking to claim their souls in retaliation.

The tribal leaders try to warn those in power, but their pleas go unheard, and the spirit grows stronger with every trespass. To make matters worse, the ancient creature has crossed paths with an even older guardian—the elusive Bigfoot tribe that roams these woods. Now, a war is brewing between forces not seen by the human eye.

Alone in the woods, when the screams start, the spirits won’t stop. And no one will hear you.

[Diane Keranen]

Yikes!

[Timothy Barley]

What I learned doing this assignment is that I had these ideas all in my head, but didn't know how to quantify them.

1. Pick a horror movie that fits three criteria:

Title / Concept: SALEM'S LOT (MAX)

Terrorize The Characters:
A vampire is preying on the people of Salem's Lot, forcing the heroes to kill newly turned friends and family to survive.

Isolation:
Scenes include the young hero trapped in the vampire's lair,

Death:
Townspeople are being slaughtered by vampires.

Monster/Villain:
An ancient vampire and the newly turned friends and family.

High Tension:
Vampires are stalking people.

Departure from Reality:
Vampires don't exist.

Moral Statement:
I really couldn't find one.

My story: "REFLECTED"

Concept: A group of social influencers at an off-season luxurious Long Island beach house must fight for their lives as their reflections come to life, aiming to replace them and erase their existence.

Terrorize The Characters: The doppelgängers exploit their deepest insecurities and flaws, turning their worst fears into reality while stalking them.

Isolation: The beach house’s remote location and cutting off communication trap the characters with no outside help.

Death: Visceral and symbolic deaths, with each character killed in ways that reflect their online personas and personal flaws.

Monster/Villain: The doppelgängers—twisted, perfected versions of the influencers that want to replace them.

High Tension: Paranoia escalates as the characters can’t trust their own reflections or each other.

Departure from Reality: The line between reality and reflection blurs as the influencers struggle to retain their identities.

Moral Statement: A critique of influencer culture, vanity, and the dangers of curated personas, exploring the consequences of losing authenticity and becoming consumed by the desire for perfection.

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  Timothy Barley.
• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  Timothy Barley.

[Diane Keranen]

Yikes! I’d think of that every time I passed a mirror.

[Timothy Allen]

Movie Title
Horror Conventions

Tim Allen
What I learned from this assignment is that it caused me to pay more attention to the small details I would not have normally.

Title: Thanksgiving (Netflix)

Terrorize the characters: gruesome photos are being sent to certain individuals randomly

Isolation: small Massachusetts town

Death: Dismembered bodies are set at a dinner table as a thanksgiving style feast

Monster/Villian: The deputy is taking revenge for the death of his wife caused by a towns stampede during a shopping spree

High Tension: The entire town is in a panic frenzy on who's the next victim

Depart from reality: Cannibalism isn't acceptable (which brings me to the next bullet)

Moral statement: No one is going to invite you to their home and serve you human flesh

I believe this was a great movie because it did its job. I wasn't frightened because I love horror movies, but it did surprise me with who the actual killer was. I was way off. And the gore was very sufficient. It looks like the budget might have been within reason, and for all the horror movies on the market this one had something unique to bring.

My Story

Title: Last Rush

Terrorize the characters: 7 adrenaline junkies are brought to the edge of their worst fears

Isolation: A remote mountain adventure park

Death: One by one adrenaline junkies are brutally murdered

Monster/Villian: A disfigured man left for dead is exacting revenge

High tension: The park closes, entrances are locked, but no-one gets to leave

Departure from reality: After the first death, investigators would be on scene and the park truly would be closed

Moral statement: You shouldn't play around with death

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  Timothy Allen.

[Timothy Barley]

I LOVED “Thanksgiving.”

[Diane Keranen]

I was pleasantly surprised. I’m not a horror film fan of the gory horror. I thought this was a very well done and gripping film. I’ve not seen Thanksgiving. Perhaps I’ll check it out.

[Diane Keranen]

Oops…misclicking :-[]

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  Diane Keranen.

[Diane Keranen]

I look forward to seeing your concept as it develops.

[Diane Keranen]

“The Menu” film’s Horror Conventions
What I learned doing this assignment is that a horror film doesn’t need to be just about blood and gore. The film can also be terrifying in that it makes us look at our own “bad” behaviors that can flip the switch of a borderline psychopath into a full-blown killer who believes they are justified.
Conventions I’ve noted:
• Title / Concept: I selected the film, “The Menu.” A group of famous foodies, critics, and expert food reviewers are invited to a secluded island to experience a phenom-chef’s masterpiece dinner menu as he serves dishes of revenge.
• Terrorize The Characters: Slowik’s sharp clap of his hands as his sous-chef’s stand to attention kicks off an unusual event. The clap seems increasingly harsh with each course. A host with passive-aggressive replies keeps the guests in line. The chef’s storytelling adds a twist of words to say one thing/mean another deadly thing. Each course intensifies in oddity. Tortilllas are used as a “canvas” of sorts to reveal to the guests that their own indiscretions and crimes are discovered. With the guests primed to feel uneasy with their private matters revealed, the first death occurs. Jeremy, a sous chef, is the first to die. He shoots himself in front of everyone to become the “next dish” of the night titled, “The Mess”. Guests are shocked, some think it theatrics, but another guest’s finger is chopped off for all to witness. They learn that everyone here will die tonight. They are all ingredients in the chef’s story of revenge. Everyone here will die tonight. Margo is an uninvited guest brought by Tyler. She figures out Slowik’s madness and the cult-like servitude of the island’s employees and confronts him with his early love of cooking. She is allowed to leave and is the only survivor of the night.
• Isolation: Hawthorn Island – guests are dropped off on the secluded island to dine at an exclusive restaurant where the head chef is Julian Slowik.
• Death: Jeremy is the first to die by suicide in front of everyone. The second victim, an adulterous husband, has a finger chopped off in front of everyone. The second death is the owner of the island and restaurant as the guests watch him be drowned. The next “course” is sous chef Katherine who stabs Slowik in the leg for unwanted advances. He too is a victim of the night. Guests are permitted to try and escape, but none do. The last course of the night is s’mores where the remaining guests are covered with mass produced graham crackers, cheap chocolate, and store-bought marshmallows. All are set aflame to die.
• Monster/Villain: Chef Slowik; Tyler is revealed as a co-conspirator. Slowik, impressed by Tyler’s food knowledge, says he belongs in the kitchen and tells him to cook, but he can’t cook and messes up miserably with a dish titled “Tyler’s Bullshit.”
• High Tension: The plan starts to unravel when Margo tries to find a way out. She encounters Elsa, the hostess, “I take care of the guests so Chef can take care of the menu,” and “take care of” has deadly meaning. Elsa tries to kill Margo but is killed instead. Margo, having discovered Slowik’s early love of cooking, figures out how to upend Slowik. She resists his psychopathic rage and dares to fight back by reminding of how he first started, making cheeseburgers and a cheap restaurant. Margo sends his food back. Will this work? Or, will she be killed? She’s not a planned guest? Can she survive this night? She’s tells Slowik that she’s still hungry and wants a cheeseburger (like the one in the picture she saw earlier). He enjoys the making of the cheap cheeseburger. He’s reminded of his love of cooking and rewards her by letting her go.
• Departure from Reality: Chef Slowik has become psychopathic in his desire for revenge. The island’s and restaurant’s employees are cult-level committed to Slowik. The murders and violence are acceptable and they are part of it.
• Moral Statement: What happens to an artist when they lose their purpose? What happens when you destroy the thing you love for fame? Answer: You turn into a psychopath to get revenge!

Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great horror film? This is an elevated horror film. There’s a high level of metaphor showing how Chef Slowik is carrying out his psychotic dinner menu. It’s beautifully done.

Conventions for my story:
• Concept: A group of history-of-prison-torture buffs go on a tour of Alcatraz prison’s “dungeons” but when they discover the crumbling entrance to a forgotten series of chambers beneath the prison, they sneak out of the tour to explore further only to face their own executions orchestrated by a secret killer in their midst.
• Terrorize The Characters: The location is dark and spooky. The chambers suggest horrible suffering. When one of them “accidentally” becomes trapped in a device that seems to be haunted and barely escapes it before it kills him, he leaves the group and the chambers. He goes on to be the one who terrorizes the others so they truly realize the extent of terror that their favorite tortures evoked.
• Isolation: 1 ) Alcatraz Island. 2) The deepest parts of the prison, the dungeons,” on the island. 3) The chambers beneath the regular tours. 4) They are alone on the island.
• Death: In exploring the chambers and torture devices, one of the group dies after getting trapped in a “malfunctioning” device. Conflicted by some wanting to leave to get help and others noting that there is no help to be had, they discover they have lost the exit. They can only hope to find a new way out. As they search, others become tortured-to-death victims.
• Monster/Villain: The first “victim” is a psychopath who wants to kill the others due to a their having laughs over torture. They also want the deaths to appear as if ghosts of the only men who might have escaped the prison are doing it. They could be a relative of one of the escapees (who, it turns out did not get away but died and are now haunting the prison depths).
• High Tension: The devices seem haunted. The group tries to rely on their knowledge to escape unharmed, but it doesn’t work. They can’t escape the chambers and must seek another way out which requires them to encounter more danger, more devices, and must rely on their knowledge of prison history in order to save themselves.
• Departure from Reality: Extreme location, there are no actual torture chambers beneath the known prison. If there were, they would likely be flooded. Ghosts and paranormal happenings.
• Moral Statement: Torture, physical and mental, is deadly and not as entertianing as torturers, bullies included, believe it is.

[Timothy Barley]

“the Menu” is one of my favorites. A great [non gory] horror film with a huge moral lesson(s).

[Dean Burkey]

Diane, I just saw The Menu last month. Such a fun movie. Anya Taylor-Joy is screen magic. Super fun movie. Lots of crazy twists and turns. Excellent example of the suspense technique of fragmented information as we learn more and more about Anya Taylor-Joy’s character as the movie progresses. Your concept sounds wild and fun too. All The Best, Dean

[David Wetzel]

“Dire Falls,” Horror Conventions

What I learned doing this assignment is watch “Smart Horror,” examples and try to work your concept into as many of the conventions as possible.

Analyze a HORROR movie to discover how the conventions were expressed. It is totally okay to analyze a movie you've already seen, but please watch it again. Don't just do it from memory.

1. Go to Netflix, iTunes, or Amazon and search for “horror" movies. Pick a horror movie that fits three criteria:
• A. It matches our model. The Conjuring
• B. It is not one of our example movies.
• C. You can get instant access to it. Check iTunes, Netflix, YouTube or Amazon.
2. Watch the movie and as you do, note its conventions.
• Title / Concept: Paranormal investigators take on one last terrifying case involving mysterious entities they must confront.
• Terrorize The Characters: Ed and Lorraine Warren
• Isolation: House
• Death: Former suicide
• Monster/Villain: Ghost of suicide
• High Tension: Plenty
• Departure from Reality: Ghosts
• Moral Statement: Put our faith in God, family, or both
3. Anything else you'd like to say about what made this movie a great horror film.
Excellent use of low budget practical effects to invoke terror, very few locations.

4. With your concept, fill in each of these Conventions for your story. “Dire Falls”
• Concept: A depressed suicide survivor (who is also a synesthete) is an administrative assistant at a preparatory school for children on an island built on top of a former insane asylum.
• Terrorize The Characters: Jennifer Weatherly, Dean, faculty, support staff, students.
• Isolation: Island off the coast of Maine
• Death: Children and adults
• Monster/Villain: Demon from hell gone rogue that kills anyone it chooses not just the victims ordered to be killed by the devil.
• High Tension: Throughout
• Departure from Reality: Often
• Moral Statement: Put your faith in God and friends.

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  David Wetzel.
• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  David Wetzel.
• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  David Wetzel.

[Diane Keranen]

Egad! What a setting!

[David Wetzel]

Thanks Diane! The old and scarier the better with dark past added!

[John Amato]

“What I learned doing this assignment is…?”

I decided to start with a fresh idea and develop it in class. Analyzing “Talk To Me” highlighted the importance of creating a simple story that makes sense from beginning to end and has practical low-budget effects without relying on jump scares and gore alone.

• Title: “Talk To Me”
• Terrorize The Characters: Characters are murdered and possessed; Dreams bleed into reality, causing suicides and mutilations.
• Isolation: Bedrooms, bathrooms, hospital, small house party, sleeping, alone dreams.
• Death: Scissors, knives, self-mutilation, strangulation, jumping from embankments.
• Monster/Villain: Dead demonic spirits channeled by the dead hand of Satanic medium.
• High Tension: Hallucinations caused by demons resulting in possessions. Addicted to euphoria. Betrayal.
Departure from Reality: Allowing oneself to be repeatedly possessed by dead spirits for fun.
• Moral Statement: Don’t break the rules. Also, like drinking, underage possession is terrible for your health. 🙂

Is there anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great horror film?

The opening premise was original and scary and made for a fun adventure right to the end.

—

My Concept: Smart Horror "

"Ghastly” or How to make a ghost

Terrorize the Characters: Flailing ghost hunters turn on a staff member in an old, dilapidated house. Unforeseen consequences result for the crew. Others are tricked and then trapped in a faux haunted house to be picked off and possessed.

Death: I’m still fleshing this out. Torture and murder results in future eviscerations, hanging, stabbing, choking, and possession

Monster/Villain: Ghost-hunting YouTube duo plus an angry dead spirit.

High Tension: Nerd video editor is trapped and murdered. A faux haunted house becomes a real one. Friends turn on each other.

Departure from Reality: Ghost hunters don’t kill to create a ghost for fame and celebrity.

Moral Statement: Getting what you wish for (like fame) doesn’t always turn out as you imagined.

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  John Amato.

[Diane Keranen]

I look forward to seeing you develop this idea.

[John Amato]

Thanks so much.
So do I!!

[Vince Parenti]

What I learned doing this assignment is? How difficult it was to choose a horror film. And maybe a little about horror story details. We’ll see if it sticks before I claimed to have learned it.

“Smile” Horror Conventions:

Title / Concept: Smile. A psychiatrist is tortured by visions of an evil entity after being infected by a patient’s smile.

Terrorize The Characters: Visions of an evil entity makes the psychiatrist appear to everyone she’s going insane. Especially since her mother was. She knows she’s not, but she’s also trapped in a world where the help she feels she needs to survive is beyond any known treatment. Unless she murders someone.

Isolation: Trapped within her own mind, the psychiatrist is forced to fight the evil entity alone, while facing society and trying to find a “cure”.

Death: After the entity selects a candidate: Suicide.

Monster/Villain: An evil entity that lurks which no one, but the infected, can see.

High Tension: Desperate to find a solution, the psychiatrist visits an inmate who is reported to have survived the infection. He did it by murdering someone. She must face becoming a murderer in order to be free.

Departure from Reality: Ghosts and evil entities aren’t real. However, psychotic breaks are.

Moral Statement: Don’t get therapy? Or maybe it’s that some people are put in difficult situations to either kill or be killed. What would you do?

Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great horror film? Something as mundane and ubiquitous as a smile is twisted into a creepy, possibly, terrifying ordeal. But more than that, the possibility of a psychosis being contagious is horrifying to think about.

My concept Conventions: “Scary Good Drug”

Concept: A misguided chemist creates an aphrodisiac.

Terrorize The Characters:

Isolation:

Death:

Monster/Villain: The drug’s users who kill at random.

High Tension:

Departure from Reality: The drug doesn’t exist.

Moral Statement: Murder is bad.

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  Vince Parenti.

[Diane Keranen]

Yikes! Very interesting concept. Wonderfully complex.

[Vince Parenti]

Thank you so much!

Funny thing… I almost posted The Menu as my review, but decided to find something else at the last minute.

[Timothy Barley]

This has such a moral statement to it! Love it!

[Micki Hess]

Micki’s Horror Conventions

What did I learned from the lesson: even though I don’t like watching horror movies. Find QUIET PLACE movie is something I can watch. Seeing how horror conventions makes a movie terrifying and enjoyable.

Title / Concept: A QUIET PLACE
Concept: A family trying to survive from blind creatures that attacks people hen they make a sound
Terrorize The Characters: t
The creatures attack people when a sound is made.
Isolation:
A family must be quiet and looking ves in a farm house. Separate from the rest of the world.
Death:
Make a sound, the creatures attack the person by eating them.
Monster/Villain:
Blinded creatures that uses sound to attack.
High Tension:
The birth scene where her water breaks and must be quiet during contractions. Must keep the baby quiet as well.
The children trap inside a corn silo, the daughter’s hearing aid have a high frequency that drives the creature crazy.
The father saving the children from the creatures.
Basement: The mother, older children and the baby are trapped with the creature, the mother pints a gun
She noticed her daughter in distress with her hearing aid. The daughter takes it off and turn up the volume and drives the creature crazy. Mother shoots and now more creatures are on there way.
Departure from Reality:
The world has changed since the creatures came. Speaking is no longer a normal. Using sign language to communicate.
Moral Statement: Staying silent, you can live.
2. Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great horror film?
The suspension, fear, departure from reality…I was so drawn into the movie. Some parts I held my breath as of it would helped.

3. With your concept, fill in each of these Conventions for your story.

Concept:
In an isolated, eerie hotel, guests are warned never to look into the mirrors. Those who ignore the warning are hunted down by a malevolent force that uses their deepest fears against them, killing them in horrifying ways.
Terrorize The Characters:
Terrorizing the Characters in “Reflections of Death”

1. The Paranoid Guest:

Fear of the Unseen: As soon as this guest accidentally glances at a mirror in the hallway, their reflection remains even after they move. Every time they turn away, they hear faint footsteps behind them, but when they look, nothing is there. Their reflection, though, moves freely, mimicking twisted versions of their actions—always watching. They become increasingly paranoid, hearing whispers from the glass, and begin covering every mirror they see. But soon, the mirrors start appearing in places they wouldn’t expect—small, reflective surfaces in everyday objects, like a puddle or a doorknob. Their paranoia drives them to madness, and they’re hunted down by the force that stalks them through every reflection.

2. The Fearful Leader:

Fear of Losing Control: This guest, a natural leader, tries to keep everyone calm, convincing them that the curse is nothing more than a superstition. But after looking into a bathroom mirror for too long, they start to feel weak. Their arm, the one reflected in the mirror, suddenly goes numb, and before their eyes, the limb in the reflection begins to twist and wither. They scream as their real arm turns black and lifeless. Now disfigured, they lose their confidence, their leadership crumbling under the terror of losing control over their own body. Each time they catch a glimpse of their face in a reflective surface, it becomes more distorted, as if their reflection is decaying faster than their body. The fear of helplessness and losing their identity begins to consume them, and eventually, the force tears them apart mentally and physically.

3. The Skeptic:

Fear of the Unknown: Convinced that the warnings are just old folklore, the skeptic looks into the lobby mirror out of spite. At first, nothing seems to happen, but later, they notice their shadow is missing. The more they explore the hotel, the more strange phenomena occur—their voice echoes back in different tones, their footsteps are muffled, and they begin losing the ability to feel anything physically. Terrified, they rush to confront their reflection again, but this time, the mirror shows a distorted, faceless version of them, grinning. Suddenly, they feel an intense cold spreading through their body as the reflection’s face slowly peels off like flesh. Their mouth disappears in the reflection, and they scream as they physically lose the ability to speak, suffocating in silent horror as the force hunts them down.

4. The Romantic Couple:

Fear of Separation: The couple enters the room, laughing off the strange warning. As they admire themselves in the vanity mirror, one of them lingers, watching the other’s reflection. They suddenly notice something wrong—their partner’s reflection is smiling, but not in reality. The reflection steps out of the mirror, a doppelgänger that slowly approaches the real partner. In panic, they break the mirror, but the shards now reflect multiple versions of their partner, all closing in. When they turn around, their partner is gone. Now trapped in an isolated loop, every mirror shows their lost love in torment, just out of reach. The force plays on their fear of losing each other, driving them to the brink of despair, separated forever in the mirrors’ reflection.

5. The Escapee:

Fear of Being Chased: This guest, an athlete who thinks they can outrun any danger, accidentally looks into a mirror while rushing down a hallway. Their reflection lingers for a second too long, and as they turn the corner, they see their doppelgänger waiting at the end of the hall. They run, but no matter how fast they move, their reflection is always ahead, its movements unnatural and jerky, as though the mirror version is hunting them. Doors slam shut, and reflective surfaces appear everywhere, turning the hallways into a maze of terror. The reflection becomes a predator, growing closer with each look, until finally, it steps out of the mirror and takes their place, leaving them trapped in a nightmare behind the glass, watching helplessly as the force consumes their body.

In every scenario, the malevolent force exploits each character’s most intimate fear—whether it’s loss of control, separation, or being hunted. The mirrors are omnipresent, and the hotel becomes a twisted labyrinth where their own reflections are their greatest enemy, driving them deeper into terror until they meet a horrifying end.

Isolation:
Amplifying Isolation in “Reflections of Death”

1. Physical Isolation:
The Hotel’s Location: The hotel is situated in a remote area, perhaps deep in the mountains or surrounded by dense fog. There is no cell service, no nearby towns, and no functioning transportation. The guests arrive expecting a quaint, peaceful getaway, only to find that they are cut off from the outside world. When they realize something is wrong, the roads are mysteriously blocked, and the weather shifts unnaturally, trapping them.

No Escape: As the guests begin to encounter the malevolent force, any attempt to leave is futile. Doors lead back into the same rooms, the hallways loop endlessly, and staircases vanish as soon as they’re used. The more they try to escape, the deeper they’re drawn into the hotel’s labyrinth, which seems to expand and change on its own.

2. Psychological Isolation:

Paranoia: Each guest starts to feel as though they’re the only one seeing the terrifying reflections or experiencing the hauntings. As more guests succumb to the force, the survivors become distrustful of one another, fearing that any interaction might lead to their own downfall. They start locking themselves in their rooms, covering mirrors and avoiding windows, terrified of catching a reflection of anyone else.

Loneliness: As the malevolent entity picks off guests one by one, those who remain are driven to a breaking point. They hear the voices of the others trapped in the mirrors, but they can’t see them. In some cases, they might encounter strange glimpses of other guests in distant reflections—calling for help, begging to be let out—but they are unreachable, a cruel illusion of company.

3. Emotional Isolation:

Reflections as Doppelgängers: The mirrors begin to reflect versions of the guests that are twisted, emotionless copies. These doppelgängers appear more frequently as the guests become more isolated, watching them silently, taunting them with lifeless smiles. The real guests lose touch with their sense of self, no longer able to trust their own image. They feel emotionally cut off from even themselves, as though the mirrors are draining their humanity piece by piece.

Breakdown of Relationships: The fear of looking into mirrors and the threat of being mutilated turns friends, couples, and even family members against one another. They begin to isolate emotionally, unable to look at each other in the face for fear of what might happen. They may even hear false voices of loved ones calling out to them from the reflections, creating deep confusion and heartbreak, as they can no longer distinguish what is real and what is the mirror’s trickery.

4. Spiritual Isolation:

Trapped Souls: Guests who die after looking into the mirrors have their souls trapped inside the reflections, unable to move on. The living guests can sometimes catch fleeting glimpses of these souls, who are often frozen in the moment of their terror, silently screaming or pleading for release. The survivors are haunted by the idea that they too could be condemned to an eternity behind the glass, lost and forgotten.

Cut Off from Help: Any hope of spiritual or external salvation feels distant. The hotel is a cursed place, almost a void where no outside force, divine or human, can intervene. Those who pray or attempt to reach out to higher powers feel utterly abandoned. The isolation here is not only physical and mental but also existential—there’s a crushing sense that they are utterly alone in the universe, with no chance of being saved.

In “Reflections of Death,” isolation is multi-layered—guests are isolated physically by the hotel’s remote, trap-like setting, psychologically as paranoia builds, and emotionally as they can no longer rely on each other or even trust their own reflections. The mirrors become windows into a world where they are forever alone, and the hotel, despite being full of mirrors, becomes a place where they are cut off from everything, including themselves.

Death:
Horrifying Deaths in “Reflections of Death”

Each character’s death in the hotel is uniquely tied to the supernatural force manipulating the mirrors. The deaths are not just physical but psychological and emotional, using the mirrors to play on the characters’ primal fears and deepest vulnerabilities.

1. The Paranoid Guest:

Death by Isolation and Fear of the Unseen:
After weeks of paranoid avoidance, covering every reflective surface and hiding from anything that might show their image, the guest finally becomes trapped in a room full of mirrors. Desperate and exhausted, they see multiple versions of themselves, each showing a different expression of fear and panic. The reflections begin moving independently, their hands reaching out toward the real person, who is backed into a corner. One by one, the reflections step out of the glass, tearing pieces from the guest until only their terrified, empty-eyed face remains, frozen inside the mirror, now trapped as one of the many distorted reflections.

2. The Fearful Leader:

Death by Loss of Control and Fear of Helplessness:
After losing their arm, the once-strong leader spirals into despair. They look in the mirror, seeing their reflection whole again, only to feel the rest of their body failing them in reality. As they desperately try to hold onto their authority and composure, their reflection grins and starts to pull away piece by piece—first their legs, then their other arm. The leader collapses, unable to move or speak, watching helplessly as their reflection disintegrates. With each piece lost, they feel it in reality, until finally, their reflection pulls their face off, and they die, staring at their own faceless corpse in the mirror.

3. The Skeptic:

Death by Fear of the Unknown:
The skeptic’s arrogance is their undoing. After multiple terrifying encounters with reflections that don’t match reality, they attempt to confront the force head-on. They stare into a mirror, daring it to do its worst. As they do, their reflection begins to disappear piece by piece, starting with their feet. They feel themselves being pulled into the mirror world, body parts vanishing into the glass, leaving them floating in a space between realities. They scream in panic, but no sound comes out. The last thing they see before they disappear completely is their reflection grinning back at them, whole and alive, as though it has taken their place in the real world.

4. The Romantic Couple:

Death by Fear of Separation:
After their partner is taken by the mirrors, the remaining lover is left in a state of panic, searching for them throughout the hotel. Every mirror shows a warped, nightmarish version of their partner, sometimes in distress, other times smiling sinisterly. In their desperation, they begin smashing the mirrors, but each one they break reveals another layer of twisted reflections. Finally, they stumble into a room where their partner’s reflection is trapped, reaching out to them. Overcome with emotion, they touch the mirror, but instead of rescuing their partner, they are dragged in. As they enter the mirror world, they see their real body collapse to the floor, dead, while their reflection and their partner’s reflection are trapped forever behind the glass, reaching for a freedom they will never attain.

5. The Escapee:

Death by Fear of Being Chased:
After being relentlessly pursued by their reflection throughout the hotel, the athlete finds themselves cornered in a hall of mirrors. Their reflection is now a monstrous version of themselves, distorted and wild-eyed. They run through the hallways, but no matter how fast they go, the reflection is always ahead, waiting for them at every turn. As the hallways collapse into chaos, mirrors breaking and multiplying, they are forced to face the reflection directly. In a final, desperate moment, they attack the mirror, only to feel their own body ripping apart. The reflection steps out, now fully formed, while the real person’s body shatters into pieces of glass, dying as nothing more than a broken reflection of their former self.

In “Reflections of Death,” the deaths are more than physical; they reflect the characters’ deepest fears, making their demise a blend of psychological terror and supernatural horror. The mirrors serve as the gateway to these deaths, turning the characters’ own reflections into the tools of their destruction, trapping them in a nightmarish loop where they lose not just their lives, but their very identity and soul.

Monster/Villain:
The Villain: The Mirror Wraith

Name: The Mirror Wraith
Description:
The Mirror Wraith is a malevolent, otherworldly entity bound to the cursed mirrors of the hotel. It is a shadowy, amorphous figure that exists primarily within the mirrors, but it can manipulate reality through reflections. Though it rarely shows itself fully, glimpses of its true form can be seen through the mirrors—an unnerving combination of shadow, distorted faces, and disjointed limbs stolen from its victims. The Wraith has no face of its own, borrowing the features of The people it has claimed, each piece distorted and warped into something monstrous.

Abilities:

1. Reflection Manipulation:
The Mirror Wraith can alter what guests see in the mirrors, showing them twisted versions of themselves, loved ones, or terrifying visions of their own deaths. These reflections move independently, taunting the guests, creating paranoia, and luring them into traps.

2. Body Part Theft:
Whenever a guest looks into a mirror, the Wraith can take a part of them, whether it’s a limb, a sense (sight, hearing), or even a part of their mind or soul. The stolen parts appear in the Wraith’s form, used to further torment the victims. For example, a guest might look into a mirror and see their own arm missing, only to feel it physically vanish from their body moments later.

3. Psychological Torture:
The Wraith uses the mirrors to reflect the deepest fears of its victims. For some, it’s their fear of losing control, for others, it’s fear of isolation, pain, or death. The entity knows how to push each guest’s buttons, using their personal traumas and anxieties against them until they break mentally before their inevitable death.

4. Mirror Dimension:
The Wraith can trap souls in its mirror dimension, a distorted version of the hotel where time and space are warped. Here, the trapped souls are forced to relive their worst moments on an endless loop, while their bodies are left as lifeless husks in the real world. This dimension is a prison of eternal torment where the Wraith grows stronger with each soul it captures.

Motivation:
The Mirror Wraith feeds on fear and despair. It is drawn to the mirrors, using them as windows into its victims’ minds and lives. Its primary goal is to consume as many souls as possible, keeping them trapped in its mirror realm for eternity. Every life it claims strengthens its control over the hotel and its power within the mirrors. The Wraith was once a spirit tied to the hotel’s past, but over centuries it has evolved into a nearly unstoppable force, intent on feeding endlessly.

Weakness:
The Wraith can only interact with the real world through the mirrors. Without a reflection, it cannot manifest fully, making it vulnerable in rooms with no mirrors or reflective surfaces. However, removing every mirror in the hotel is nearly impossible, as new reflections seem to form even on ordinary objects like windows or polished floors. Only by breaking the original cursed mirror, hidden somewhere deep within the hotel, can the Wraith be weakened or potentially destroyed.

Appearance in Death:
When the Wraith kills, it leaves no visible wounds. Instead, the victim’s body appears almost perfectly normal but lifeless, as though drained of their essence. Often, the last thing seen before death is the Wraith’s reflection in a nearby mirror, smiling wickedly with the stolen parts of its latest victim grafted grotesquely onto its form.

High Tension:
Building High Tension in “Reflections of Death”

To intensify the horror in your story, the tension must continuously escalate, both on a psychological and emotional level. Here’s how to structure that tension effectively:

1. Slow Unraveling of Reality

Initial Unease:
At first, the guests only hear vague warnings about the mirrors from cryptic hotel staff or strange signage. No one takes it seriously, brushing it off as an old superstition. However, the first strange occurrences are subtle—mirrors showing slight delays in reflections, shadows that don’t quite match the room’s layout, or faint, whispered voices that seem to come from the glass.

Escalation of Oddities:
As time progresses, the mirrors begin to reflect things that aren’t really there—phantom movements in the corner of their eye, flashes of other guests who should be nowhere nearby. The characters notice that their reflections seem off, smiling when they aren’t, or mirroring different emotions entirely. The unsettling feeling builds slowly, creating a constant low-level anxiety.

Personalized Torment

Fear Tailored to the Characters:
Each character’s deepest fear is reflected back at them. For one character, a mirror might show them aging rapidly, reflecting their fear of death or decay. For another, their reflection might taunt them with images of being utterly alone, cut off from everyone they love. The mirrors use these fears to manipulate the characters, making them second-guess their perceptions and decisions.

Paranoia Sets In:
The tension is heightened by the growing paranoia among the guests. They start suspecting each other, wondering if someone has been possessed by the entity or if they’re part of the haunting itself. Conversations become terse, and alliances break down as everyone becomes more self-serving in their desperation to survive. No one can trust the person standing in front of them—or even themselves.

Relentless Pursuit

Unseen Stalker:
The Mirror Wraith is never fully seen, but its presence is constantly felt. It begins to stalk characters, but only through reflections—never in direct sight. Characters see it in mirrors when they look away, catching glimpses of its ever-changing form looming closer. The fear of being watched, hunted by something they can’t face directly, creates a palpable sense of dread.

Escape is Impossible:
Characters attempt to cover mirrors or avoid them entirely, but the Wraith finds new ways to reach them. Reflections appear in puddles, windows, even in another person’s eyes. Every time they believe they’ve managed to avoid it, the Wraith finds another reflective surface to taunt or chase them. The sense that there is no way to escape intensifies the terror.

Countdown to Death

Time Running Out:
Once a character looks into a mirror and catches sight of the Wraith, it’s only a matter of time before they’re consumed. They begin to deteriorate—physically, mentally, or both. Maybe they start losing small parts of themselves (a hand that suddenly feels numb, or the ability to speak), each piece claimed by the Wraith. The ticking clock of their impending death drives up the tension, especially as they desperately try to hide from every reflective surface, knowing that any glance could be their last.

Isolation and Helplessness:
The remaining survivors watch as their numbers dwindle, each death more brutal and psychologically tormenting than the last. They’re trapped not only by the hotel but by their own minds, as the constant fear of reflection chips away at their sanity. Being hunted relentlessly in an environment where even the walls seem to conspire against them pushes them to the brink of madness.

Final Stand in a Hall of Mirrors

Climax in a Labyrinth of Mirrors:
The climax should occur in the most tension-filled setting possible—a room or hallway lined with mirrors on every side. The remaining characters are forced into this space, completely surrounded by reflections. The Wraith appears in every mirror, a distorted, shifting version of each character, mocking them with visions of their doom.

Fight or Flight:
The tension reaches its breaking point as the characters have no choice but to face their own worst fears—either by confronting the Wraith head-on or frantically trying to smash every mirror. Each time they break a mirror, the Wraith becomes more powerful, its form coalescing as it steps out of the shards. The claustrophobic environment and the growing realization that they’ve been outsmarted at every turn makes the climax suffocatingly tense.

Techniques to Amplify the Tension:

Unpredictable Pace:
Alternate moments of eerie calm with sudden bursts of terror. Sometimes, the Wraith is patient, lurking and observing, while other times, it strikes without warning, keeping the audience on edge.

Sound Design and Silence:
The mirrors could produce unsettling noises—echoes of whispers, distant screams, or distorted laughter. At key moments, the absolute silence of a character’s isolation can be just as terrifying as any sound, allowing the audience to anticipate a sudden strike.

Character Breakdown:
Show characters deteriorating mentally, physically, or emotionally in real-time. Some may break down and begin talking to their reflections, while others may turn on their companions in fits of rage or paranoia.

Glimpses of the Wraith:
Never show the Wraith fully until the very end. Its fragmented form in the mirrors—an arm here, a face there—keeps it more terrifying because it remains mostly unseen. The less we see, the more we fear it, as the imagination fills in the blanks with far worse horrors.

By combining these escalating layers of tension, “Reflections of Death” can become a high-stakes horror experience, where both the characters and the audience are left questioning reality and fighting to survive the mounting dread of the unseen Wraith. The constant interplay between reflective surfaces and the looming, unseen threat of the Mirror Wraith keeps the terror unpredictable and ever-present.

Departure from Reality:
Departure from Reality in “Reflections of Death”

One of the most powerful tools in horror is the slow erosion of a character’s sense of reality. In “Reflections of Death,” this can be used to create an even more disorienting, terrifying atmosphere. The line between what is real and what is not becomes blurred, leaving both the characters and the audience questioning the very nature of their existence. Here’s how you can integrate this into your story:

Shifting Environments

As the characters succumb to the influence of the Mirror Wraith, the hotel itself begins to change in ways that distort their perception of reality:

Labyrinthine Layout: Hallways start to bend in impossible ways. Characters may find themselves walking in circles or backtracking to places they’ve already been, even though they never turned around. Familiar rooms disappear or change drastically when they return. This constant shift in space makes the characters feel like they’re trapped in a dream—or a nightmare—where nothing makes sense.

Mirror Worlds: Sometimes the characters pass by a mirror and see not their own reflection, but an alternate version of the hotel—a decayed, crumbling ruin or a version that is warped beyond recognition. The mirrors reflect a world in which time or reality itself has unraveled, adding to the sense that the hotel exists on the edge of two dimensions.

Personal Reality Distortions

The Mirror Wraith doesn’t just manipulate the hotel—it manipulates the minds of the guests, gradually distorting their sense of self and the world around them:

Loss of Time: The characters may lose track of time altogether. What seems like minutes might actually be hours, or they might go to sleep and wake up days later without remembering what happened. Watches stop working, clocks spin randomly, and even the day-night cycle begins to blur.

Altered Memories: The Wraith could start warping the characters’ memories. A character might suddenly “remember” events that never happened or forget crucial details about their life. Others might start doubting whether they were ever real. Their memories of the outside world begin to feel hazy, making it difficult to ground themselves in anything certain.

Identity Fracture: The Wraith could manipulate reflections to the point where characters begin to question who they are. Their reflections may take on lives of their own—talking back, making decisions for them, or acting against their will. The characters’ sense of identity starts to fragment as they see multiple versions of themselves in mirrors, all behaving differently.

Psychological Fragmentation

The relentless mental assault of the Wraith takes its toll, breaking down the mental fortitude of each character:

Hallucinations: Characters begin seeing things that aren’t really there—distorted versions of their companions, past traumas, or surreal images that blend into the real world. They might mistake other guests for reflections or vice versa, losing their grip on what’s real.

Mirror-Driven Madness: A character might begin obsessively looking into mirrors, convinced they can solve the mystery if they watch closely enough. Others might become so terrified of their own reflection that they avoid anything that can show them their image, even going so far as to break all mirrors they come across, pushing them into a frenzied state.

Paranoid Delusions: As the Wraith isolates each character mentally, paranoia sets in. They may start believing that their companions are working with the Wraith, or that they are already dead and trapped in some twisted afterlife. This paranoia causes rifts between the survivors, making alliances nearly impossible and increasing the characters’ vulnerability.

Dreamlike Logic

Reality begins to follow dreamlike, illogical rules. Just when the characters think they’ve grasped the truth, the rules change:

Inescapable Loops: Characters might think they’ve escaped a room, only to find themselves right back where they started. They could attempt to flee the hotel, only to re-enter from a different door moments later. The sense of being trapped not just physically but within a reality loop enhances the claustrophobic terror.

Fluid Time and Space: Rooms that once were connected might no longer be accessible. Walking down a hallway might lead to a completely different section of the hotel than expected. This unpredictability makes escape seem impossible and disorients the characters to the point of helplessness.

Reality Bleeds: The Wraith’s mirror world begins bleeding into the real world, making the characters question whether they’re still in the hotel at all. Shadows of the mirror dimension flicker in and out of existence, distorting objects and people around them. This further disconnects the characters from any stable sense of reality.

Final Descent Into Madness

As the story reaches its climax, the characters’ final descent into madness can take multiple forms:

Multiple Realities: The Wraith might fracture the remaining characters into different realities. One person may see themselves trapped in a never-ending nightmare, while another believes they have escaped, only to realize they’re still in the hotel, living the same events on a loop.

Identity Erasure: The Wraith could strip away so much of a character’s identity that they no longer remember their name, who they are, or what they’re doing in the hotel. In their final moments, they might not even recognize themselves when they look in the mirror—because their reflection is someone else entirely.

Eternal Captivity: In the final moments, the characters might realize that they have been trapped in the mirror dimension all along, never having left it. The “real” world was just another reflection manipulated by the Wraith. They are doomed to spend eternity reliving their worst fears and moments, prisoners of the Wraith.

Techniques to Amplify the Departure from Reality:

Surreal Imagery: Use dreamlike visuals—hallways that stretch endlessly, clocks with no numbers, characters suddenly floating or moving in slow motion, objects behaving as if they are underwater. These visuals enhance the sense that the characters have left the known world.

Audio Distortion: Use sounds to disorient the audience—voices that seem to echo from different directions, growing louder or softer unexpectedly. The characters might hear whispers or conversations between their reflections that they can’t control.

Perspective Shifts: Occasionally shift the audience’s perspective, so they’re seeing through the eyes of a reflection or a character who is slowly losing their mind. Let the audience experience the fragmentation of reality along with the characters, heightening the tension and confusion.

Moral Statement:
Moral Statement for “Reflections of Death”

“In the pursuit of self-discovery and truth, one must be cautious not to lose themselves to the illusions of their deepest fears.”

[Diane Keranen]

You have a solid grasp of how you’ll apply the horror conventions in your script. I look forward to seeing how this pre-planning shows up in the screenplay. It’s pretty scary so far. 🙂

[Ryan Benson]

What I learned doing this assignment is how a horror story can be broken down into these different conventions. From watching a movie with a similar setting to my own story, I have been able to see how I can fit these conventions into my own work.

Watch the movie and as you do, note its conventions.
• Title / Concept: Fright Night (original) A vampire moves in next door to a highschooler (Charlie) in a suburban neighborhood.
• Terrorize The Characters: There is a vampire loose in the neighborhood! Charlie is scared and does several questionable things to try to stop the vampire. Of course, no one believes him until too late.
• Isolation: No one believes Charlie about the vampire. Later his best friend is also turned into a vampire and the neighbor seduces Charlie’s girlfriend. This movie is a lot like Rear Window where a person knows there is a murderer, but no one believes him.
• Death: Murder by vampire. The vampire even threatens to kill Charlie after Charlie goes to the police telling them that the vampire is responsible for several missing woman.
• Monster/Villain: A smart, charming, attractive vampire that has charmed everyone, even Charlie’s Mom and girlfriend.
• High Tension: Vampire threatens to kill him that night. Mother has already invited the vampire in so he can enter at will. He also has to save his girlfriend as time is running out on her becoming a vamp or dead.
• Departure from Reality: Vampire doing vampire things!
• Moral Statement: Look through the façade of an interesting and smiling face. Don’t be afraid of trying to do what’s right even if everyone thinks the opposite of you. Another interpretation could be to be wary of strangers or someone different or new moving into your world, though I hope its not this.
3. Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great horror film? I think a lot of what I liked about this movie is that it is fairly relatable, and I often wondered what I would do if put in the same situation as Charlie. I know there aren’t vampires but everyone throughout their life, especially as a kid, had a weird neighbor or house they worried about.
4. With your concept, fill in each of these Conventions for your story.
• Concept: A newly unemployed guy (need a name!) in a suburban neighborhood sees a horror in the neighborhood, but is literally incapable of stopping the horror in front of him. Family and neighbors begin to question his sanity.
• Terrorize The Characters: Property damage, injuries, and even murders occur in the quiet neighborhood. The protagonist is able to see the evil spirits, but somehow always seems to avoid the worst of the damage while incurring mundane costs like paying thousands for a destroyed fence. This changes when they finally target, not him, but his family. There is also a twenty something year old woman who becomes intrigued with the goings on and the protagonist’s behavior.
• Isolation: Like Fright Night, no one believes him as to the cause of bad luck in the neighborhood and even began to suspect him.
• Death: Two evil spirits (at least), cause mayhem, injury, and death.
• Monster/Villain: Twin spirits, one a child and one a hulking mess. Attack the inhabitants of the neighborhood but are largely invisible or overlooked by everyone except the protagonist.
• High Tension: Protagonist knows more problems will happen, but there is no way to stop it.
• Departure from Reality: Spirits are after his neighborhood and protagonist is after the spirits!
• Moral Statement: If you feel helpless to help or make a difference, try to teach or influence others, especially your children. Also, he is unemployed, so society treats him as unimportant.

[Diane Keranen]

I like the addition of the woman who gets curious about the protagonist. An added level of complexity.

[Karyn Laitis]

Karyn L. – Horror Concepts and Conventions
“What I learned doing this assignment is…?” I learned that my mind usually doesn’t go to the dark side horror when it comes to movies. This is a real learning experience and a stretch for me outside my comfort zone. I’m hoping that this will help me elevate the stakes and my writing.
2. Watch the movie and as you do, note its conventions.
• Title / Concept: A Quiet Place/A community is invaded by mammal eating aliens with hypersensitive hearing but blind.
• Terrorize The Characters: The aliens appear out of nowhere attracted to any sound.
• Isolation: Everyone has been killed. Find a safe, insulated, hideout, basement, etc.
• Death: Everyone is getting killed, even the family’s youngest son.
• Monster/Villain: The Monster Aliens
• High Tension: Any sound will attract the aliens; the birthing scene was incredible.
• Departure from Reality: Invaded by alien monsters. Not sure how much of a departure that is.
• Moral Statement: Do anything to protect family
3. Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great horror film? It’s an incredible film. It delivers on the conventions of a great horror film.
4. With your concept, fill in each of these Conventions for your story.–Title: DO NOT ENTER!
• Concept: Four explorers enter a cave to retrieve the body of the twin sister of one of the lead explorer, only to discover of perfectly preserved remains of ancient humans & aliens.
• Terrorize The Characters: Die or become part of the experiment.
• Isolation: Labyrinth cave; A threat with each turn and each
• tunnel.
• Death: Tunnels become death chambers – physical and mental attacks.
• Monster/Villain: Aliens shapeshift, vanish, torment
• —who, what, where is the threat?
• High Tension: Discovering more isn’t a comfort-!
• Departure from Reality: Shapeshifting, body snatching aliens-really?
• Moral Statement: Is the enemy within? Existential threat to humanity.

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  Karyn Laitis.

[Diane Keranen]

Yikes! I’ve been watching cave exploration videos on YouTube lately. That’s one place that would scare the heck out of me.

[Allie Theiss]

What I learned doing this assignment is that I never knew that horror films had certain conventions. Now I know!

Title: Don’t Turn Around

Concept:

A group of college art students and their professor spend the night locked in a museum with a famous, unknown to them, cursed painting. As the night unfolds, they discover that the painting consumes its victims, trapping their souls. Tied to the painting, the old guard is crucial in luring them to their doom. The horror builds as the group realizes they must survive until the museum reopens in the morning—if they can avoid the painting’s pull.

Terrorizing the Characters:

Subtle psychological horrors haunt the characters. Unseen footsteps, whispers, and strange movements in the museum put them on edge, causing paranoia and fear. The painting plays with their senses, drawing them closer to their fate.

Isolation:

The museum becomes a claustrophobic trap, locked until the morning. The characters are cut off from the outside world and must navigate the dark, ominous halls while evading the unseen forces slowly hunting them down.

Death:

The painting claims the characters one by one. Their disappearances are terrifying yet subtle, leaving the survivors in increasing panic. The painting grows more dangerous with each victim, leaving haunting reminders of those lost.

Monster/Villain:

The old guard, a servant of the cursed painting, stalks the characters, guiding them toward their doom. The painting itself is the true villain, a malevolent force that consumes the souls of its victims, trapping them in eternal torment.

High Tension:

As the night progresses, the tension escalates. The characters race against time, trying to survive until the museum doors unlock at dawn. Each moment brings them closer to either escaping or becoming another piece of the painting.

Departure from Reality:

The characters question what’s real as the museum distorts their perception. The line between reality and the supernatural blurs as they are drawn deeper into the painting’s grip.

Moral Statement:

Each character’s downfall reflects their inner weaknesses, while the blind student, who is immune to the painting’s allure, symbolizes seeing beyond surface appearances.

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  Allie Theiss.

[Diane Keranen]

Yikes! Makes me think of Goya’s “Saturn Devouring His Son” painting.

[Allie Theiss]

Yes! Good comparison 🙂

[Zachary Hunchar]

What I learned doing this assignment is that my idea may be a bit ambitious with the low-budget idea. However, the audio intro mentioned there would be suggestions on how to keep it low(er)-budget so I don’t feel so bad. Also, mayhem is important.

* Title / Concept: Freaky. A serial killer and a nerdy teenage girls switch bodies. Mayhem ensues.
* Terrorize The Characters: The serial killer is now inside nerdy girl and kills people, which is unexpected and scary. The nerdy girl is in massive serial killer and that scares people, even though she’s nice.
* Isolation: The situation is crazy and most people don’t believe the nerdy girl. There is a section where a cell phone out of power, and isolating. The core group keeps splitting up.
* Death: One girl is frozen to death is a freezer. A sadistic shop teacher is stabbed with a screw driver and cut in half with a table saw. One jock is killed with a chainsaw.
* Monster/Villain: A maniacal serial killer is inhabiting a teenage girl’s body, but still wants to kill.
* High Tension: Killer stalking their victims, they don’t know where he is as he hunts them
* Departure from Reality: An ancient curse dagger that switches souls is a sacrifice isn’t completed.
* Moral Statement: Only you can save yourself

Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great horror film – the mixture of horror and silliness made it manageable. Also, the bad people get their comeuppance which is refreshing.

With your concept, fill in each of these Conventions for your story. |
* Concept: A killer stalks college students trying to relax at a snowless ski resort. Mayhem ensues. You have to have mayhem.
* Terrorize The Characters: A bizarre priest-like killer hunts the victims through a snow-storm.
* Isolation: The characters are snowed in at an almost abandoned ski resort town.
* Death: One person is killed with a snowplow. One if killed with a ski lift. Another is cut in half. Another is killed with a tow-truck chain.
* Monster/Villain: A being all in black, with a cross on his face killing people partying.
* High Tension: The characters don’t know why they’re being targeted, and have almost no resources.
* Departure from Reality: A virtually unstoppable killer.
* Moral Statement: Sex leads to death.

[Diane Keranen]

Great location. I look forward to see the story develop. I live in “snow-country” so if there’s evil in the snow storms, I want to know about it. 🙂

[Zachary Hunchar]

Me too! I hope it doesn’t make the cost too high by having “snow.”

[christopher Cochran]

I learned at each piece of the puzzle needs to be solved for a successful Horror story.

Title / Concept: Longlegs / Satanic killings
Terrorize The Characters: Families are killing each other.
Isolation: Suburban
Death: Fathers killing whole families, suicide, gun deaths.
Monster/Villain: Satanic follower called Longlegs
High Tension: What family will be killed next.
Departure from Reality: Satan controls the dolls that tell people to commit murder.
Moral Statement: Do not make a deal with the devil.

Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great horror film?

Slow burn with great cinematography.

Concept: Scientist preforms extreme experiments looking for a cure to the plague
Terrorize The Characters: A group of survivors of the plague are hunted and captured
Isolation: Rocky, desolate coastline.
Death: Dismemberment, injections, shootings.
Monster/Villain: Mad scientist
High Tension: Surviving the experiments and escaping
Departure from Reality: “the Plague” is a grueling flesh-eating disease
Moral Statement: The needs of the few vs the many.

Chris

[Patti Wall]

A Quiet Place – Horror Conventions

What I learned from this assignment: I never thought about a horror movie being “smart.” But it makes sense. I love this movie and felt like there was a lot of work the writers put into developing the story.

The movie I watched:

• Title / Concept: A Quiet Place/Aliens come to earth and kill people based on their ability to hear them.

• Terrorize The Characters: A family must remain absolutely silent or they will be killed. Any small mistake (even by a child) will end in death.

• Isolation: It appears that there is nowhere they can go where these alien monsters won’t hear them. We only learn later that there are spots of high levels of noise where it is okay to speak.

• Death: Victims are sliced apart

• Monster/Villain: Aliens that have come to hunt anyone that makes noise

• High Tension: A woman has to give birth while being hunted by one of the aliens! It’s an OMG moment when she finally has to scream!

• Departure from Reality: Aliens!

• Moral Statement: What would you do to save your family and friends from such destruction?

3. What made this movie a great horror film?
Outstanding writing, performances, and intense stress. It made it a great ride.

4. With your concept, fill in each of these Conventions for your story.

• Concept: FAMILY SUCKS – Horror Comedy

A dysfunctional family gathers at their grandfather’s farm for an intervention, only to discover that they are on the dinner menu.

• Terrorize The Characters: The characters are being hunted by the “vampire” grandfather. He will use all slaughter equipment to exsanguinate every last relative.

• Isolation: Their Grandfather’s remote farm.

• Death: Bolt through the head, throats slashed, hung like cattle, while your blood is collected before you’re dead.

• Monster/Villain: Grandpa, the vampire, who has lost his mind and thinks he can live forever and become all-powerful by drinking human blood. He doesn’t care if you are family or not.

• High Tension: Miles from nowhere. All communication and transportation has been disabled. Someone in the family is helping Grandpa hunt down his kin. Who can you trust in a family of siblings and cousins that you already hate?

• Departure from Reality: Someone believing they can become a vampire decides live as a vampire.

• Moral Statement: Maybe you should have stayed in closer touch with your parents after all!

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  Patti Wall.

[Dean Burkey]

UPDATED:
Jaws Horror Conventions:

What I learned doing this assignment is… I should've seen the pre-class assignment sooner! I'll try to do that this weekend, depending on how Milton Madness goes. – UPDATE: I survived; and my power is back on. I hope to get caught up on this class this weekend.
Also, I got introduced to all the pieces that make up the jigsaw puzzle of horror.

Title/Concept:

Jaws! Just when you thought it was safe to do screenwriting homework…

The concept of Jaws centers on a great white shark terrorizing the small, seaside town of Amity Island. The threat becomes more than just a natural predator; it is an unseen menace that represents a primal fear of the unknown lurking beneath the surface, making every beachgoer a potential victim.

The Way the Shark Terrorizes the Characters:

The shark terrorizes through:

Stealth and unpredictability: The shark is rarely seen, building suspense as it attacks without warning.

Targeting the vulnerable: It hunts beachgoers, particularly focusing on children and lone swimmers.

Its size and strength: The shark's power is overwhelming, making it nearly impossible to fight off.

Inescapability: The water becomes the characters' enemy. Anyone entering the ocean is vulnerable, with little chance of survival once the shark attacks.

Isolation:

The isolation in Jaws is both geographical and emotional:

Geographical: Amity Island is cut off from outside help, and much of the action takes place out in the ocean, where characters are isolated from safety.

Emotional: Chief Brody faces isolation as he tries to close the beaches and warn others about the danger, but he is met with resistance from the town’s officials and business community, who prioritize tourism over safety.

Death:

Death in Jaws is gruesome, often swift, and unexpected:

Victims, including the young boy and other swimmers, are dragged beneath the water in bloody attacks.

Each death escalates the tension, showcasing the shark’s lethal nature and the town's inability to stop it.

The deaths also heighten the stakes for the main characters as they eventually set out on a dangerous mission to kill the shark.

Monster/Villain:

The shark itself is the monster—a nearly indestructible force of nature. It has no motive, emotion, or personality beyond pure instinctual hunger, making it more terrifying. Unlike typical villains, the shark represents an amoral, natural danger, preying on humans without discrimination.

High Tension:

The build-up of unseen danger: Much of the tension comes from not knowing when or where the shark will strike. The iconic musical score by John Williams increases the tension with its slow, creeping crescendo.

The struggle between man and nature: As Brody, Quint, and Hooper hunt the shark, the tension escalates, culminating in a battle for survival where human cunning and bravery are pitted against an unstoppable predator.

The final showdown: The climax aboard the sinking Orca, with Brody facing the shark alone, creates near-unbearable tension.

Departure from Reality:

The shark in Jaws is often depicted with exaggerated capabilities compared to a real great white. Its relentless pursuit of the boat and supernaturally cunning behavior heighten the sense of a monstrous, otherworldly antagonist.

The film plays on the audience’s suspension of disbelief, allowing for moments of heightened drama and tension that go beyond the realistic behaviors of actual sharks.

Moral Statement:

One key moral statement is about the danger of ignoring expert advice for financial gain. The town’s leadership dismisses warnings to keep the beaches open for tourism, resulting in
tragedy. This speaks to the consequences of prioritizing economic interests over human safety.

Another theme involves man versus nature, highlighting humanity's fragile position in the natural world and the respect that must be given to forces beyond our control.

Jaws uses these classic horror elements to create a gripping, suspense-filled story that taps into primal fears and leaves a lasting impact.

My Concept: “Myst”
A. Monster: A mysterious mist.
B. Terror: People who go into the mist vanish.
C. Environment: An isolated seaside town.
D. Victims: The population of the town.

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  Dean Burkey.
• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  Dean Burkey.
• This reply was modified 6 months, 4 weeks ago by  Dean Burkey.

[Renee Johnson]

ASSIGNMENT
What I Learned…
So I think I’m gonna make mine more of a Horror/Comedy. I don’t know, still tossing it around. I watched a few and Zombieland seems to be what I’m looking for. Not a ton of dialogue but the action is BAM! The Zombies are so disgusting. They are quick on their feet and present a very deadly threat. They are tough to kill and will find you.
Title / Concept: Zombieland
Terrorize The Characters: Chased by Zombies
Isolation: They’re everywhere. Bathroom stalls….
Death: To be eaten by a Zombie
Monster/Villain: Zombies – blood drooling, vomiting, broken and limping, half rotting Zombies
High Tension: Being chased by Zombies. Fighting off Zombies. They were Great Scary as Hell Zombies!! And they were Everywhere!!
Departure from Reality: When would it be impossible to find a Twinkie? And when would we ever go around shooting Zombies? Only when we’re the only sane people walking and a Zombie is eating the intestines of their loved one in the street.
Moral Statement: Family and/or belonging to a group we bond with is all we need.
Fun to watch. Made me jump a couple of times.

[Johnathan Gorman]

What I have learned from the first assignment is how much structure can be utilized to develop a horror concept and screenplay. Being new to exploring the horror genre, I’ve started to watch horror films through a new lens.

I enjoyed watching A QUIET PLACE and I loved how simple the concept was and how it aligned with all 4 points shared in our first assignment:

A. The monster/villain: Alien
B. The interesting terror: Noise
C. An isolated and horrific environment: Farm
D. The people who will be terrorized: Family

I think I tend tp struggle to find simplicity in my ideas. During this class I want to work on not over complicating my concepts.

I’m playing with a concept that consists of a group of people on a haunted bus tour that is scheduled to make a few stops at legendary haunted castles. When the tour bus breaks down close to their final stop, the weather shifts dramatically which forces these haunted lovers to have to stay the night in a vacant monastery located on a remote seaside cliff. Through the evening they come to realize they are not alone, and now must choose to either face mother nature’s fierce wrath or keep themselves safe from this mysterious demon monk who is out to kill anyone enhabiting the dwelling.

A. The monster/villain: Demon Monk
B. The interesting terror: A demon monk that can only survive in darkness and will kill anyone they encounter.
C. An isolated and horrific environment: Vacant Monastery
D. The people who will be terrorized: Haunted Tour Guests

I’m sure this will be a work in progress but I’m excited to see if I can turn this story concept into a fun and scary feature film.

[William Sokolic]

• Title / Concept: The Rental Two couples book a getaway at a beautiful house overlooking the ocean with no neighbors around.
• Terrorize The Characters: There is a suspicion on the part of one couple that something isn’t right. The girl and the guy of the other couple discover hidden cameras in the shower, which begins the downward spiral.
• Isolation: No neighbors and a dark road and a steep drop to the ocean
• Death: Caretaker and all four stars perish.
• Monster/Villain: There seems to be two villains but we never see who they are or ID them.
• High Tension: The killing of the four stars happens somewhat quickly and at the end.
• Departure from Reality: The location, the four unexplained murders
• Moral Statement: A girl from one couple cheated on her husband with the guy from the other couple. They also disposed of the caretaker body thinking they killed him when they did not. Tey should have called police.

The dog was the first missing creature. The ad clearly said no pets but the couple didn’t care. The dog turns up at the end.

The villain puts new cameras in the shower and elsewhere and new tenants arrive for his jollies. One woman puts a mask on her honey.

[Suzanne Thomas]

“What I learned doing this assignment is…? To be able to discern the key elements of a horror film to maximize the emotional and physical effect on the viewer. This in turn makes your writing more focused and polished.

The film I watched was Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”:
• Title / Concept: The Birds/Birds arrive in Bodega Bay following the arrival of a new visitor to attack its residents.
• Terrorize The Characters: Residents are attacked who are with or associated with this visitor
• Isolation: Victims are attacked in a phone booth, in an attic, in a boat
• Death: If you are in the pathway of the birds you are at risk of being killed
• Monster/Villain: Multiple species of birds
• High Tension: Birds dive-bombing people at any given time, open area nowhere to hide, trapped in an attic with access to the outdoor
• Departure from Reality: Hundreds of birds slowly gather on a playground to attack the children as they exit the school; In the attic where tons of birds attack Melanie and she is unable to open the door to escape; leaving the house to flee the area as hundreds of birds are all over the ground and house
• Moral Statement: Not everyone is welcome in a small town.

Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great horror film? It had no music in it with the exception of the song sung by the children at the school. The soundtrack was literally the birds crowing/cawing etc. making it so eerie throughout the film.

With your concept, fill in each of these Conventions for your story.
• Concept: Beware of who you decide to bully
• Terrorize The Characters: The taunters get a taste of their own medicine in the most effective way-through their worst fears
• Isolation: An elevator, a car sinking in water, room with bugs/bees, etc.
• Death: Each individual’s biggest fear/phobia happening to the extreme
• Monster/Villain: Scorned outcast bullied relentlessly by peers and seeking the ultimate revenge
• High Tension: Does anyone know your worst fear/phobia
• Departure from Reality: The odds of someone being able to track down these particular individuals and getting this intimate of access to get this information out of them would be highly unlikely
• Moral Statement: Think twice before you decide to degrade or demean someone-you may regret it for the rest of your life.

This is my submission for Lesson #1. I will get the other lessons caught up on Saturday (October 12, 2024). Sorry for the delay in submission-a lot going on with my family this week.

[Brian Bull]

BRIAN BULL – Horror Conventions

My Vision: I’m a writer that producers want to work with and can’t wait for my next script!!!

“What I learned from doing this assignment is…?” The conventions of the horror genre and the need to honor them.

ASSIGNMENT

2. Watch the movie and as you do, note its conventions.
Title / Concept: FRIDAY THE 13TH / A remote camp is terrorized by a killer.

Terrorize The Characters: The characters individually realize something is wrong by various means and soon find themselves vulnerable and helpless against the killer.

Isolation: Camp Crystal is 20 miles out of town with no phone and a car that doesn’t work.

Death: As the killer makes its presence known the victims know they are going to die.

Monster/Villain: Pamela Voorhees is the big reveal killer/monster.

High Tension: The fear of the dark and the unknown or unseen leads to terror. Knowing death is lurking around the corner (which corner is the question) is horrifying.

Departure from Reality: Summer camp is characterized as a good time which quickly turns into a nightmare with no where to go.

Moral Statement: Those that slack at their duties and don’t take their job responsibilities seriously may/will become the victims of neglect at the hands of the killer/judge.

3. Anything else you'd like to say about what made this movie a great horror film?
This is a classic and has spawn a number of sequels. I believe it is the type of horror movie people expect from the genre and it delivered.

4. With your concept, fill in each of these Conventions for your story.
Concept
A group of 4 college graduates are road tripping to California, one of the four has unknowingly been bitten by a werewolf while he was in England a month earlier, and the full moon is tomorrow.

Terrorize The Characters
When the sun sets and the full moon rises, one college graduate steps away, the remaining three soon realize they are at the mercy of a wild beast of the night.

Isolation
A ghost town in the foot hills of California, miles away from anyone.

Death
The victims know they are no match for the werewolf and after seeing one of their friends get shredded to pieces, the others will do anything to survive the night.

Monster/Villain
A werewolf.

High Tension
Man vs. Beast. Man vs. teeth, claws, superior hearing, ability to see in the moonlight and a thirst for blood. The victims know they are outmatched in every way.

Departure from Reality
What was suppose to be a fun roadtrip with some adventure turns into a “how do you out fox a wolf” night and survive to tell about it?

Moral Statement
To make it in the “real” world you will need more than a college education.

• This reply was modified 6 months, 4 weeks ago by  Brian Bull.

[Toni Truong]

Bodies Bodies Bodies horror convention (Paramount+)

What I learned doing this assignment is how a horror film needs these four elements to make it an emotionally horrifying and scary experience for me.

– Concept: Young friends and one older man party at a remote mansion belonging to one of the kids, David. They drink and do drugs while waiting for the incoming hurricane. But dead bodies turn up once the storm hits.
– Terrorize The Characters: Someone is killing people in the house. The first murder is David who bleeds to death from a knife slash to his neck.
– Isolation: Very remote mansion in the woods becomes more isolated when a hurricane cuts off power.
– Death: Someone is killing everyone at the mansion, one by one
– Monster/Villain: Each person at the party could be the monster because of how quickly everyone started blaming each other and making assumptions about situations.
– High Tension: Can't trust anyone, even your friends. Anyone could be the killer.
– Departure from Reality: What I liked about the film is that it felt rooted in a heightened reality. It’s a bit of a whodunnit film, because the killer is one of the people at the house, but who? The departure from reality would be how quickly the dead bodies mount over the course of this one night.
– Moral Statement: The only monsters are us, when we quickly devolve to mistrust.
– Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great horror film? I loved that there wasn't a supernatural monster. The monsters were each person when they started to mistrust and blame each other for murders.
– My Concept: Scared Straight – queer teens sent to a gay conversion camp to de-queer their identity
– The Terror: Forced psychological de-programming that strips the kids of any life or vibrancy
– Isolation: remote wilderness camp
– Death: Kids turn up dead
– Monster/Villian: Homophobic adults
– High Tension: Not only do the kids have to escape from murderous adults—they must escape from de-queered kids who turn against them
– Departure From Reality: A wilderness camp for teens constructed solely to break down and torture queer teens
– Moral Statement: Being brave is living your true identity – not conforming to cultural expectations of assimilation

[Timothy Allen]

This is quite the experience for me. I’m seeing such good writing, that my head is spinning. This combined with my daily responsibilities, I wonder if I have bitten off more than I can chew? Buuuut, seeing how I am not a quitter, I will continue.