Lesson 10

[Dean Burkey]

LESSON 10 HOMEWORK:
Dean’s Level 1 Horror Emotion Scene
What I learned doing this assignment is how to toy with people’s emotions for fun and profit. ;oP
Scene Outline: The Arrival of the Red Antennas
Setting:
Eldergrove, a sunny afternoon. Villagers gather in the town square for a casual community picnic. Children play, people laugh.
Apprehension/Anxiety:
Introduction of the Antennas: During the picnic, a group of workers from Hargrove Communications arrives. They begin unloading bright red antennas from a truck, catching the attention of some villagers.
Villagers’ Reactions: The villagers exchange glances, murmuring questions about what’s going on. Dr. Evelyn Hart notices the anxious looks among the townspeople. She walks over to speak to one of the workers, but they just give her a vague smile and say, “We’re bringing better entertainment for everyone.”
Apprehensive Glances: Some of the older villagers, including Marcus, look uneasy. They voice their concerns to Daniel, the schoolteacher, about how fast everything seems to be changing. There is a palpable feeling of unease as the workers start installing the antennas on rooftops.
Surprise:
Activation Announcement: The team works quickly, almost too quickly. Startling to see.
Bright Red Antennas: The antennas clash with the Springbok atmosphere of this gentile town.
Shock:
Sudden Activation: A worker makes a mistake and gets zapped by whatever strange power comes from those antennas. He screams, flies off the roof, and lands dead in the street.
Shock and Fear: The zapped worker’s body gets covered with a tarp. But the tarp flattens, indicating that nothing is underneath. When the trucks storm away, that tarp blows away, revealing that the zapped worker’s body is gone. Gone for good.
Scene: The Arrival of the Red Antennas
FADE IN:
EXT. PARK / TOWN SQUARE – DAY
Villagers enjoy a casual community picnic. Smoke rises from grills. People stand in line to be served. Children run around playing tag, laughter fills the air.
DR EVELYN HART, sophisticated, yet accessible, attentive, personable, smart, stands before a SERVER.
DR HART
More please. Sarah’s potato salad is so serene. And I can use a lot more serenity in my life.
The Server smiles and scoops another scoop of potato salad onto Dr. Hart’s plate.
VROOM! The thunder of engines breaks the calm serenity as a convoy of Hargrove Communications trucks pull into the square.
Workers unload bright red antennas from the back of the trucks, placing them in neat rows along the sidewalk.
Teams with ladders dart around with ladders, antennas, and tools dart around town.
Curious whispers and stares ripple through the crowd as the picnic atmosphere turns from joyful to uncertain.
Dr. Hart savors a scoop of potato salad and approaches FOREMAN, early 50s, a determined man with a forced smile.
DR HART
Excuse me, what’s happening here?
While still working, he replies:
FOREMAN
We’re bringing better entertainment for everyone. Just a quick install, ma’am, nothing to worry about. Soon this town will be connected to the whole world.
DR HART
The whole world. Wow.
FOREMAN
The whole world. You should’ve received an email. We cleared everything with the mayor weeks ago.
Dr Hart nods and turns away to return to the picnic, but as she does so, her plate collapses, causing potato salad to splatter on the street. Sayonara serenity.
MARCUS, an elderly widower, moves closer to DANIEL, middle-aged, the village’s head schoolteacher.
MARCUS
Everything’s changing too quickly, Daniel. Why do we need all this?
Daniel nods, his gaze lingering on the red antennas being hoisted onto rooftops.
DANIEL
We’re getting more sports, movies, concerts, and shows than ever before.
MARCUS
Don’t we already have plenty of that?
DANIEL
We’re people, Marcus. We always want more.
Daniel grins. Marcus does not. Daniel waves a quick goodbye and darts over to Dr. Hart.
The Foreman calls out to the crowd with a megaphone:
FOREMAN
Enjoy your picnic. Your new Elite Entertainment will activate tonight at nine. Thank you for being a part of the Hargrove Communications family.
The Foreman puts the megaphone away and wraps up installation proceedings with his crew.
Daniel reaches Dr Hart.
DANIEL
Find out anything?
DR HART
They sent an email and cleared everything with the mayor.
DANIEL
Yeah, the email mentioned that. But something doesn’t feel right.
DR HART
True. I feel it too. The email said the antennas would blend in seamlessly. But those.
DANIEL
Stand out like blood on snow.
DR HART
Or ketchup on a wedding dress.
They share a gentle laugh. A short-lived laugh.
Their brows furrow as they gawk at how rapidly the workers fan out and cover the town with those bright red antennas. That blood on snow. Ketchup on white lace.
DANIEL
They just got here; and they look like they’re about to leave.
DR HART
Working faster than the bomb squad.
ANNA, 30s, maternal, caring, a true mom who’s tougher than she realizes, approaches with her son CALEB, 9, easily bored. She saddles alongside Daniel, who smiles to see her so close.
ANNA
They’re putting these up today?
DANIEL
Looks they’re almost done.
DR HART
Why do you sound so apprehensive? It’s just some harmless entertainment.
A ZAPPED WORKER touches a wire wrong, screams like a shark victim, and flies off a nearby roof, landing dead in the street.
Anna gasps and forces Caleb into a hug, so he can’t see.
DR HART
Mostly harmless.
The Foreman waves for two other WORKERS to quickly cover the Zapped Worker with a tarp.
But once they do, the tarp flattens to the street. The body is no longer there.
DANIEL
What the?
The Foreman and Dr Hart locks eyes for a tense, awkward moment.
He turns to his workers.
FOREMAN
Load up; and pull out!
DR HART
Semi-mostly harmless.
VROOM! The trucks thunder away as quickly as they arrived. That tarp blows away in the wind, revealing nothing underneath it, but street. That Zapped Worker’s body really is gone. Gone for good.
FADE OUT

[David Wetzel]

Dave Wetzel’s Level 1 Horror Emotion Scene

What I learned doing this assignment is the art of creating emotional rollercoasters is one of the most rewarding aspects of horror screenwriting.

DIRE FALLS

FADE IN

INT – DARK PASSAGEWAY – NIGHT

Inside a dimly lit passageway, SIMON (15), slight build, sandy hair, big eyes to match his outsized curiosity moves cautiously down the dirt path.

SIMON (apprehensive)

You sure it’s OK?

A black garbed arm just offscreen motions for Simon to continue.

As Simon slowly moves down the dark path he notices and bright orange / yellow glow emanating from just around the corner.

Simon cautiously peers around the corner, he’s stunned to observe a swirling orange/yellow “portal” that appears to be floating in the air just above ground.

Distant cries and screams seem to be emanating from inside the eerie portal.

The dark hooded figure stands next to the glowing portal and extends his hand.

Suddenly, a hideous figure appears at the mouth of the portal, its huge eyes burn red.

Simon’s eyes open wide.

SIMON (shocked)

What is that?!

The dark figure laughs maniacally, a long black hand with huge claws reaches from inside the portal towards Simon!

Simon shrieks in horror and runs back up the dark path as the demon growls, GROWL!

SIMON

Ah!

Simon sprints back up the path, heavy padded footsteps can be heard behind him.

Simon reaches the top of the path and pulls on a large metal door; the footsteps grow louder.

A long black arm with long claws reaches for Simon!

Simon finally pulls the door open and runs out into the dark, snowy night, just in time to evade the claws of the demon!

• This reply was modified 6 months, 2 weeks ago by  David Wetzel.
• This reply was modified 6 months, 2 weeks ago by  David Wetzel.
• This reply was modified 6 months, 2 weeks ago by  David Wetzel.

[Timothy Barley]

TIM'S HORROR EMOTION SCENE

What I learned from doing this assignment is that 1. I think I have too many characters. And 2. I REALLY want to scare them all before I kill them…

Scene Outline: Brooke’s Encounter – first death

1. Establishing Anxiety/Apprehension:
Brooke enters her room and sets up her phone to record a vlog, talking about the eerie vibes of the house. She’s excited, but there’s an undercurrent of nervous energy as she acknowledges the isolation and strange atmosphere, though she brushes it off.

She starts vlogging in front of the mirror, noticing a flicker or odd movement in her reflection. She stops and stares, chalking it up to a glitch or her imagination, but the mood shifts subtly to unease.

2. Surprise:
As she checks the playback, her reflection doesn’t match her recorded gestures. Brooke feels unsettled as her reflection holds an expression she knows she didn’t make. She leans closer, surprised but curious, almost trying to confront her “other self.”

3. Shock:
The reflection suddenly moves independently, grinning widely, and reaches out toward Brooke. Before she can react, her reflection pulls her violently through the mirror’s surface. Blood spatters the glass as her reflection exits the mirror, taking her place with a satisfied, eerie calm.

SCENE:

INT. BROOKE’S ROOM – NIGHT

The storm is raging outside, casting fleeting shadows across Brooke’s dimly lit room. She props her phone against a flickering table lamp, angling it toward the large, ornate mirror hanging on the wall. She hits record, eyeing her reflection as she begins her vlog.

BROOKE

"Hey guys… checking in from the freakiest house I’ve ever stayed in. Middle of nowhere, can’t call anyone, and I’m totally alone… Spooky, right?"

She chuckles, but a hint of apprehension creeps in as her reflection seems to hesitate for a beat too long. The subtle delay is enough to give her pause, but she brushes it off, chalking it up to tired eyes.

BROOKE
(laughing nervously)

"Guess I’m getting too into character…"

She glances back at her phone to check the playback. As she watches, her reflection in the video lingers just a bit longer than her own movements—a half-smile lingering eerily on its lips. Brooke’s own smile falters.

Brooke rewinds the video, leaning in to get a closer look. Onscreen, her reflection is not mirroring her expressions. Instead, it stares back with an unsettling grin that she knows she never made.

BROOKE
(whispering to herself)
"What… what the hell…"

She looks up, her eyes locked on the mirror. Her reflection tilts its head, smirking with a cruel edge that sends a shiver down her spine.
Brooke inches closer, her breaths shallow, a thin layer of sweat forming on her brow. Her reflection leans in as well, gaze growing darker, more malicious. Suddenly, the reflection moves forward, its hand reaching out and pressing against the glass.
Brooke stumbles back, her heart racing as her reflection’s hand starts pushing through the mirror, stretching the glass like thick, viscous liquid.

BROOKE
(screaming)

"No. No!"

Before she can finish, the reflection’s hand clamps onto her wrist, its grip impossibly strong. Brooke yelps, thrashing, but it drags her closer. Her reflection’s eyes widen in dark excitement as it yanks her toward the mirror’s surface.

Brooke’s body slams against the glass, her face pressing painfully into it as the reflection drags her deeper, her skin pressing and stretching against the cold surface.

Blood begins to bead around her lips as the force presses her mouth shut, smearing against the mirror in sickening streaks.
In a brutal final tug, her reflection wrenches her through with a sickening, wet pop. Blood sprays onto the glass from the other side as the reflection steps out, adjusting its hair and wiping the blood from its cheek with a nonchalant smile.

It glances down at Brooke’s phone, still recording, and picks it up, whispering into the camera as it mimics Brooke’s voice.

BROOKE (DOPPELGÄNGER)

(whispering to the camera)
"Totally alone… or maybe not."

With a sly smile, it hits stop, ending the video as the storm rages outside.

• This reply was modified 6 months, 1 week ago by  Timothy Barley.

[Allie Theiss]

Alison Level 1 Horror Emotion Scene

FADE IN:

INT. MUSEUM – MAIN HALLWAY – NIGHT

The group—Claire, Derek, Emily, Max, Sarah, Jake, and Dr. Harrison—gathers near the museum’s main exhibit hall.
They’re excited, voices echoing in the quiet, grand space as they exchange jokes and snap pictures on their phones.
Shadows stretching in the dim lighting.

The NIGHT GUARD (60s) appears, stepping into the light with a slow, deliberate pace. He’s older, with a lined face and distant, almost unreadable eyes. His gaze lingers on them as he speaks.

NIGHTGUARD

I see we have some visitors tonight.

His voice makes the college students react in fright.

Dr. Harrison, puts his hand on his heart and turns toward the Nightguard.

DR. HARRISON

Oh, you startled us. Yes, our group is spending the night for a job well down on their art history projects.

(beat)

I assume the museum's office let you know that we would be here?

The Nightguard shrugs it off.

NIGHTGUARD

I’m always the last to know.

(beat)
Let me welcome you to the museum at night. Just a head’s up…there are many strange noises in this old place, ignore them. Especially, if you hear footsteps – whatever you do, don’t turn around.

He laughs a low chuckle that seems to echo long after he stops.

Claire SNORTS with laughter, elbowing Derek.

CLAIRE

Oh no – footsteps! How spooky!

JAKE

(mocking)

I’m already terrified!

The Nightguard’s smile fades as he watches them, his gaze lingers on each person for a beat too long, finally resting on Emily, who involuntarily shivers.

The guard’s watches them slowly walk away, as they continue down the hallway. His expression shifts to blank neutrality, as if he’s switched off.

The lights above flicker briefly, and the faintest sound of footsteps echoes behind them. Emily’s eyes dart back, but he’s already gone.

INT. MUSEUM — DARK WING — NIGHT

As they walk, Emily catches something in the corner of her eye. A SHADOWY FIGURE moves in one of the mirrors, just behind her reflection.

EMILY

(whispering, clutching Max’s arm)

Did you see that?

Max turns, looking into the mirror. There’s nothing there but their reflections, stretching and distorted in the faint light.

MAX

(laughing softly)

Relax, Em. It’s just us and our creepy reflections.

Emily forces a LAUGH, but her eyes keep darting back to the mirror, watching for any movement. Her shoulders tense, sensing eyes on her, but each time she turns, there’s nothing.

I

NT. MUSEUM — MAIN EXHIBIT ROOM — NIGHT

The group slowly reconvenes in the museum’s main exhibit room, talking quietly. The laughter and jokes have faded. The shadows feel closer, and the empty rooms around them seem to hum with an unseen presence.

Suddenly, a loud clang echoes through the halls, making them all jump.

SARAH

(gasping)

What was that?

Before anyone can answer, the lights flicker wildly, casting a strobe-like effect across the room. In one blink, the guard stands in the middle of the room, eyes glazed over and staring at nothing. His voice is barely a whisper, almost like a chant.

NIGHTGUARD

You’re never alone in here…

The lights flicker again, and when they come back, the guard is gone. Only his voice lingers, fading into silence.

JAKE

(breathless)

Did that… did that just happen?

Everyone stands frozen. Emily’s face is pale, her hand clutching her thick glasses. Claire, for the first time, looks genuinely rattled.

CLAIRE

(whispering, shaky)

Okay… maybe we stick together from now on?

They all nod, moving a little closer to one another. The thrill of a harmless night at the museum has morphed into something darker, a subtle but tangible dread settling over them

.

• This reply was modified 6 months, 1 week ago by  Allie Theiss.

[Diane Keranen]

Diane’s Level 1 Horror Emotion Scene

What I learned doing this assignment is how multiple, consecutive, different emotions build upon each other to set up the initial tone of horror for the audience before the characters even realize they are in danger.

EXT. ALCATRAZ ISLAND – DAY

The group of nine impromptu explorers purposely fall behind from the twenty or so others on the tour.

FRANKIE
This way.

He looks at a hand drawn map as he goes off the tour path and around a big rock.

FRANKIE
Here it is.

Without hesitation, Frankie squeezes through a narrow gap between two large rocks and disappears from view.

FRANKIE (O.S.)
Whoa! Oh, shit!

The others hear a wobbling rock and some splashing then nothing. After an uneasy moment…

FRANKIE (O.S.)

It’s okay! I’m okay.

INT. ALCATRAZ ISLAND CAVE – DAY

He shines a flashlight on a rough-hewn stone door and hollers back to the others.

FRANKIE
It’s a bit of a tight squeeze to get in. There’s a wiggly rock in some water as you step in, but it’s not bad. Come on in. Just watch that first step.

EXT. ALCATRAZ ISLAND – DAY

CHESTER
Let’s go. This will be so much better than the tour. Like the guide said, ‘the mysteries of the island are not for the feint of heart,’ and I didn’t come out here to follow some guide around. That’s boring. Let’s go.

Chester follows Frankie into the cave. Ghoulie is next and then Harold who is followed by Vincent.

BONNIE
Does anyone know we’re going in there? What if we get lost in there.

She laughs nervously.

VINCENT (O.S.)

I’m sure it comes out inside the prison somewhere. This island isn’t pretty small.

Bonnie is uneasy, but goes in the cave. Vincent reaches a hand back to help Bonnie step into the cave.

BONNIE
Yeah, you’re probably right. This could have been an access for supplying the prison with food and other necessities.

She takes Vincent’s hand and disappears into the gap.

Blake is right behind Bonnie and Travis is tentative as he enters the cave.

The last one in is Isabel. In addition to her flashlight, she clutches a leather bag that hangs on a braided string from her neck.

Once Isabel goes through the gap, there’s nothing to suggest anyone has gone into the cave.

INT. ALCATRAZ ISLAND CAVE – FLASHLIGHT LIGHTING

The cave, once entered, opened up enough that everyone fits with enough space to spread out.

BLAKE
(braggingly to Travis)
This is a pretty good secret cave. The guards hide them, but the prisoners all know about these caves anyway. I’ve been in caves like this before.

Travis tries to ignore Blake’s nonsense.

The group examines the cave with flashlights going in all directions.

FRANKIE
Here’s the door.

All flashlights, nearly in unison, shine to where Frankie is. Chester hurries to the door.

CHESTER
Whoa. This is so cool.

Frankie and Chester pull open the stone door.

CHESTER
Ho-ly shit! Look at that.

Frankie smiles at the find and pushes past Chester to go through the door.

INT. ALCATRAZ UNDERGROUND HALLWAY – FLASHLIGHT LIGHTING

The opened door reveals a man-made hallway with bars and locking doors along one wall.

FRANKIE
This is better than I expected. Look at that. Are those cells? Jesus! I don’t think this was just storage.

CHESTER
Unless they’re storing prisoners.

He laughs.

BLAKE
(to Travis)
Yeah, this is where the kept the most violent prisoners.

Travis just rolls his eyes at Blake.

One by one the group enters the hallway. Each amazed by what they see.

They spread out down the hallway and separate as they explore different cells test the doors, and look for souvenirs.

As the group looks around. The stone door shifts. A little at first, but then a flow of water runs freely over the hinge side and the stone door settles into place leaving no hint of its existence. The water slows but continues to slowly flow over the rocky surface of the now hidden way out.

FRANKIE (O.S.)
Bad news guys. That’s all there is. The hallway ends right here. It’s a dead end.

The others pop out of cells and shine to where Frankie stands. Chester looks closer at the wall at the end of the hallway.

CHESTER
This can’t be all there is. Did you look for another door.

FRANKIE
(sarcastically)

No. That didn’t occur to me.

(frustrated)

I guess that’s it gang.

Chester taps on the walls to check for a door.

CHESTER
Nope. No door.

BLAKE
(to Travis)
That’s to keep these prisoners from escaping.

Travis appears to have had enough of Blake and ignores the commentary.

GHOULIE
It’s still pretty neat. Let’s take a closer look around. Maybe we’ll find another secret passage.

The group separates again and looks along the hallway and the cells for a hidden door.

HAROLD
Uh, guys. Where’s the door? Shouldn’t it be right here?

Chester rushes to where Harold is shining his light along a stone wall looking for the door. The light passes over the flow of water, but it looks like a natural underground flow of water.

CHESTER

Where the hell is it? The fuckin’ hallway is straight. We came straight in.

Frankie pushes past everyone to where the door should be. He taps on the rocks with his flashlight. No door. He pulls a small rock-pick hammer from his pack and taps harder on the rock walls.

FRANKIE
What in the hell? It should be right here!

BONNIE
What do you mean ‘where’s the door?’ it’s got to be there!

VINCENT
We’ll find it. We just got turned around somehow.

CHESTER
Turned around? The hall is a straight fuckin’ line! This is the only place it could be.