Brett Born
Forum Replies Created
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Brett Born’s Intriguing Concept and World
What I learned doing this assignment is what it takes to construct a concept and a world that operates with a multitude of layers.
The Concept
A. A cynical social worker takes in the pregnant teen of an ex-girlfriend who has been found dead…
B. And must fight a secret society as he investigates a series of ritual murders…
C. Rediscovering the importance of his own humanity…
D. As he digs deeper into the most guarded secrets of the Church.
The World
A. Unique Sub-World: The hidden world of the Church
B. Previously unexplored: The ramifications to the world if certain secrets were exposed.
C. The Unknown: The Church secrets / Identity and motives of an elusive serial killer
D. The Unseen: The covert society charged with protecting Church secrets.
E. Unheard of Dangers: Learning truths that might be worse than living in lies
F. Reason to explore it: The only way forward requires risking everything and facing the devil himself.
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Brett Born’s Outline Version 1
INTERMISSION
Logline: A high school student seeks fame by starring in a reality series that documents the reopening of a haunted drive-in but must fight to survive the night when the disturbed ghosts from the past return for cameos.
INT – TICKET BOOTH – NIGHT (FB)
Erik Steele watches a car approach with no headlights. He stops it. Meet Buck trying to sneak himself and his gf into the theater. Erik confronts Buck, who then attacks Erik. Threatens him with a knife. The gf diffuses the situation. Buck pays for tickets and drives in.
INT – LOBBY – NIGHT (FB)
Jade, the assistant manager, and Jim are flirtatious co-workers. Erik comes inside from the booth, still shaken. Jade wants Erik to go back out. Erik refuses. Jim volunteers to take cover the booth.
EXT – DRIVE-IN – NIGHT (FB)
Jim finds Buck’s gf tied to a merry-go-round. He tries to help her. Buck is enraged that Jim is ruining a ceremony. Buck kills Jim on the hood of a car as a fireworks show explodes overhead.
INT – DRIVE-IN – MANAGER’S OFFICE – DAY (Present Day)
Christine’s excited about starring in a reality show following the drive-in’s reopening. But Jade, now in her 40’s, tells Christine that the reality show is cancelled.
EXT – CHRISTINE’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Barbra, the assistant manager, visits Christine and tells her Jade was wrong. Shin’s in charge and the show’s a go.
INT – ERIK’S ZEN ROOM – NIGHT
Erik Steele is Christine’s father. She doesn’t tell him about the reopening.
INT – MURDER HOUSE – NIGHT
Erik is a detective with the Boulder PD. Erik investigates a homicide. He examines the bodies and searches the house.
In the attic, Erik finds a 30-year old yearbook from his high school. Was Erik the victims’ classmate?
INT – DRIVE-IN LOBBY – NIGHT
Shin, the manager, explains the drive-in’s history, including the legend of Muse. Reminds the group to download the workplace URL.
INT – ERIK’S OFFICE – DAY
Erik runs a background check on the murdered mother and learns her real name. She was Buck’s gf.
EXT – DRIVE-IN – ROOFTOP – NIGHT
Group of teens on a double date. Buck confronts them… kills three of them. Sophie jumps from the roof and disappears.
INT / EXT – DRIVE-IN – NIGHT
The group receive same message on their phones… an intermission ad for a fireworks show. The ad features the three teens killed on the roof.
None of the group’s phones have outgoing service because of the workplace URL.
INT – DRIVE-IN LOBBY – NIGHT
Zoe sees a white van. Thinks it’s police surveillance. Wants to confront them. Javier goes with her.
INT – DENVER MENTAL HEALTH HOSPITAL – NIGHT
Erik learns that Buck was trying to perform a burial ritual for his dad. He was using his gf to act as his father’s “widow.”
INT / EXT – TICKET BOOTH – NIGHT
Marcos returns. Tries to get Christine to leave with him. She won’t go. He has his final good-bye with Christine.
Muse kills Marcos outside the booth. Christine doesn’t see anything.
INT – HOLIDAY THEATER – NIGHT
Muse attacks Shin… catches him and beheads him.
INT LADIES ROOM – NIGHT
Buck traps Christine, Alyxx, Lauren and Hannah. Hannah’s phone works. She calls 9-1-1 but gets transferred. Buck breaks inside and kills Hannah. The others escape.
INT – WHITE VAN – NIGHT
Zoe and Javier discover the white van is full of pyro. They find a body. Javier wants to run and get help.
INT – LOBBY – NIGHT
Christine, Alyxx and Lauren meet up with Zoe and Barbra. They need Hannah’s phone. It’s the only one with service.
EXT / INT – LADIES ROOM – NIGHT
Barbra volunteers to go inside. She emerges bloodied head to toe. She tells the others to run before she collapses.
EXT – HIGHWAY – NIGHT
Marcos’s car chases Javier. Marcos’s car hits and kills Javier.
INT – WHITE VAN – NIGHT
Christine finds road flares. They need somewhere high above to light them… the top of a movie screen.
Buck attacks the van with a sledgehammer. The girls have to fight him. Buck injures Alyxx’s hip.
Muse appears and fights Buck. Muse hits Buck in the head with the sledgehammer. The girls escape.
INT – MOVIE SCREEN – NIGHT
A ladder leads to the top. Jade’s body hangs from a rope. Alyxx can’t make the climb. They hide her.
EXT – HIGHWAY – NIGHT
Erik investigates the scene of Javier’s attack. Just then, a flare, high in the distance…
EXT – MOVIE SCREEN – NIGHT
Marcos’s car parks in Lot 1. From the top of the screen, the girls try to get his attention but he doesn’t get out of the car.
INT – MOVIE SCREEN – NIGHT
Christine descends the ladder. The dead body swings below her… except it’s not Jade. It’s Alyxx.
EXT – DRIVE-IN LOT 1 – NIGHT
Christine runs hysterically to Marcos’s car. She realizes too late that it was a trap.
Moments later, Lauren and Zoe make it to Marcos’s car, but no one’s inside. The key’s in the car. They leave to get help.
Sophie crawls after Marcos’s car. Watches it pull away. A bloodied and beaten Buck takes her to be his dad’s “widow.”
Erik drives past the movie screens. Finds Sophie. Performs CPR. Calls for help. Buck attacks Erik. Erik stabs him.
Erik sees the white van in Lot 1. Someone’s inside the van… it’s Christine.
Muse has a phone… a “FIRE” button displayed on the screen. Muse counts down from five… touches the button.
Fireworks explode from inside the van. A giant fireball shoots into the sky. Erik drops to his knees.
Intermission ads play on the big screen. Christine stands behind the register and watches Erik with a haunted stare.
Erik screams.
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Brett Born’s Scary-as-Hell Scene
What I learned doing this assignment is how to utilize release of tension to maximize frightening sequences.
FEAR to SUSPENSE to DREAD to PANIC
Fear: Shin watches the intermission ad on the screen. Something’s wrong.
Suspense: Buck is coming for Shin. Shin doesn’t realize he’s in danger.
Release: Shin ducks inside the back of the lobby. The door closes and locks.
Surprise/Scare: Fire alarm goes off several times in the hallway.
Release: Security company calls. Shin tells them it’s a false alarm. Everything’s fine.
Dread: Shin comes face to face with Muse. Muse performs a strange danse macabre. Spider walks to Shin. Pulls a knife.
Panic: Muse cuts Shin across his chest. He runs.
EXT. HOLIDAY THEATER – LOBBY – NIGHT
Shin stands at the rear of the building. He vapes.
LOT 1 SCREEN. The word ‘INTERMISSION’ flashes. An array of colors spin behind the word.
SHIN – What the hell is this?
LOT 1 SCREEN. Images of smiling hamburgers and merry hot dogs… a dancing slice of pizza.
INTERMISSION – We promise to satisfy… Your hunger… Your thirst…
Twenty yards from Shin… Buck. His red face paint glows beneath the artificial lights.
Buck’s POV. Marches for Shin… Shin doesn’t see him coming.
Shin exhales slowly. Hears FOOTSTEPS… turns…
Buck is less than ten yards from Shin… his intense gaze fixed on Shin.
Shin. Too much weirdness tonight.
The back door. A brick holds it open. Shin swings the door fully open and kicks the brick out of the doorway.
INT. HOLIDAY THEATER – HALLWAY – NIGHT
The door closes slowly. As the opening shrinks, Buck draws closer.
Buck smiles. He’s almost there…
The door shuts. Locks.
RATTLE. BANG! The door shakes violently.
SHIN – Go around, for Christ’s sake.
Shin looks down the dimly lit corridor. Walks to the stairs.
UNKNOWN POV. Watches Shin from the far end of the hallway.
INT. HOLIDAY THEATER – PROJECTION BOOTH – NIGHT
Shin pulls out the keyboard tray from under the projector. Opens the digital cinema package on the screen.
Shin studies the screen. He looks confused. Not finding what he expected.
BEEP BEEP BEEP. BEEP BEEP BEEP.
Shin turns. What the hell?
INT. HOLIDAY THEATER – UPSTAIRS HALLWAY – NIGHT
Shin peers out from the doorway.
The smoke detectors flash in the hallway.
BEEP BEEP BEEP. BEEP BEEP BEEP.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; color: var(–bb-body-text-color);”>SHIN – Are you kidding me?
A flashing alarm. Shin reaches out to touch it… the beeping stops.
INT. HOLIDAY THEATER – PROJECTION BOOTH – NIGHT
Shin heads back to the projector.
Beep Beep Beep.
SHIN – C’mon?!
INT. HOLIDAY THEATER – UPSTAIRS HALLWAY – NIGHT
Shin marches out of the projection booth. White lights flash all around.
His phone RINGS.
SHIN – Hi. Yeah. (beat) Roof.
The alarms stop.
SHIN – It’s a false alarm. I’m sorry. (beat) Yes, I’m sure. Don’t send anyone… please. (beat) Great. You too.
Shin pockets his phone. Turns around.
Far end of the hall… Muse waits.
SHIN – What are you supposed to be?
Muse says nothing. Watches Shin from beneath the twisted mask. Turns their back to Shin.
SHIN – Hi! Hello?! What is this?
Muse bends backward… drops their hands to the floor… spider crawls to Shin.
SHIN – I didn’t know we were doing performance art on this show?
Muse spider crawls up to Shin… slowly straightens… turns around… meets Shin’s gaze.
Shin is unnerved.
SHIN – Who are you?
Muse produces a Butterfly Knife. Deftly flips it open… holds it to Shin’s throat.
Shin stumbles back.
SHIN – Are you crazy?!
Muse lunges… swipes the blade at Shin. It slices his shirt… cuts his chest. Blood oozes from the wound.
Shin shoves Muse back… Muse falls down.
SHIN – Help?! Somebody!!!
Shin leaps over Muse and races to the stairs.
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Brett Born’s Scares, Releases and Creepy Moments!
What I learned doing this assignment is how to use different types of moments to build tension and maximize the audience emotional reaction.
Scare: A stranger in a car tracks Javier as he runs along the side of the highway. He flags them down.
Release: It’s a woman who considers picking up Javier, but his erratic behavior causes her to reconsider and drive away. Javier then sees the safety of the bus shelter.
Creepy Moment: The next car that comes along is the killer. Stalks Javier. Kills him.
EXT. HIGHWAY – NIGHT
The heels of Javier’s dress shoes click against the pavement. The sound of the tapping echoes.
He GRUNTS and HUFFS… struggles to suck in air.
Headlights.
Javier turns. Jogs backwards and faces the vehicle. Waves his arms.
The car slows.
JAVIER – Stop! Please!
The car draws closer to Javier.
Javier stops. Bends over to catch his breath. Waves his hand.
JAVIER – Hey!
The car pulls along side Javier. Through the window, a WOMAN stares at him. She looks uncertain.
JAVIER – Help me!!!
Javier charges the car.
The woman panics. The car accelerates away.
JAVIER – No! Wait! Come back!!!
Javier chases the taillights. They quickly disappear around the bend in the road.
Javier comes to the bend.
A hundred yards away… a dim light glows from the bus shelter’s flat roof.
CLUNK. CLUNK. CLUNK. It’s coming from behind Javier. Steady. The sound draws closer.
Javier spins around.
Headlights shine at the bend in the road.
Javier raises his arms… thinks twice.
The car travels at a slow clip. Something’s not right.
Javier turns back around and runs full speed for the bus shelter.
Bright rectangular headlights in front of him. It’s a bus… it’s almost to the stop.
The steady CLUNK stalks Javier. It’s so loud now.
Javier waves frantically at the bus.
JAVIER – Hey! Help me! Help me!!!
The bus rolls to a stop. The DRIVER peers through the windshield.
Javier clomps awkwardly in his shoes… one of his shoes flies off his foot. He gasps and tries to scream.
JAVIER – Please.
The bus driver stands inside the bus. Watches Javier through the glass.
CLUNK. CLUNK. CLUNK. It’s right behind him.
Pure panic. Javier flails his arms.
The bus. The side door swings open.
Javier runs into the light of the bus shelter. Less than ten feet from the bus…
The Honda accelerates. Swerves into Javier.
Javier SCREAMS as the car clips him… he flies through the air… slams into the side of the bus… crashes to the ground… slams his head against the pavement.
The Honda brakes hard. Tires smoke against the pavement. Taillights show bright red.
Javier moans. His eyelids flutter. He tries to regain his senses.
The Honda… taillights dim… tires squeal. It reverses full speed.
Javier rolls over… tries to dodge the Honda.
His eyes grow wide.
Tires come right for him.
The Honda hits Javier in the head. He WAILS in pain as the car rolls up on his head and parks on top of him.
His head crushes beneath the car’s weight… blood and brains explode on the road.
The driver hurries out of the bus… freezes… puts his hand to his mouth, repulsed by the sight of Javier.
CLUNK. CLUNK. CLUNK. The Honda disappears around the bend.
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Brett Born’s Level 3 Horror Emotion Scenes
What I learned doing this assignment is the subtle nuances of the various horror emotions and how to weave one into another.
Anguish: Christine finds Alyxx’s body hanging from the ladder.
Panic: Christine has to get to the car and warn Marcos. They have to get away and find help.
Horror: Christine realizes that Marcos Isn’t in the car. It was a trap.
Hysteria: Christine loses her composure and demands the killer show themself.
INT. MOVIE SCREEN – NIGHT
The wooden ladder rattles from Christine’s weight.
She moves quickly down the rungs. Missteps. Catches herself.
She looks below.
In the shadows. Jade’s body hangs… tied to the side of the ladder. The vibrations cause it to rock back and forth.
Christine forces herself to continue her pace. She gets closer to the body… glances more and more. Her anxiety grows.
She knows she has to push past it.
Christine hugs tight to the ladder… her feet almost even with the top of Jade’s head.
She slides down slowly. A little further…
Christine. A whisper. It’s faint. Is she hearing things?
Christine freezes. Turns her head to face Jade’s body.
Christine turns her head… a slow realization… it’s not Jade’s body that hangs from the rope.
It’s Alyxx. Her dead eyes come face to face with Christine.
All the sorrow that Christine’s ever felt rises in a single moment. She lets out a guttural scream.
Christine falls off the ladder… lands awkwardly on her feet… crashes to the ground.
She cries in disbelief. Tries to stand… immediately feels the pain. It doesn’t matter. She has to move.
EXT. HOLIDAY THEATER – LOT 1 – NIGHT
Christine stumbles from the doorway. The adrenalin rush allows her to run through the pain.
The parking area. The Honda sits in the middle of the lot.
Christine hobbles awkwardly toward the car.
CHRISTINE – Marcos?! Marcos!!!
Christine skips and hops as fast as she can… pushes herself to the limit… beyond exhaustion… makes a beeline for the car.
Christine runs to the driver’s side. Peers in the window…
She takes a step back. Disbelief. It was a trap.
Christine looks around the lot. This was all for her… to draw her out. It worked.
CHRISTINE – This isn’t happening to me.
Christine looks back to the car… she’s going to be sick. Emotions turn. From fear to anger.
CHRISTINE – This isn’t fair! You can’t do this!!! Why are you hiding like a pathetic loser?! Coward!!! That’s what you are! A nobody who hides in the shadows! Come out!! Come out and face me!!!
She collapses to her knees. There’s nothing left in her to stay standing.
CHRISTINE – Don’t you know who I am?
Christine smirks acrimoniously at her own question.
Behind Christine… Muse waits.
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Brett Born’s Level 2 Horror Emotion Scene
What I learned doing this assignment is the way different emotions are used to build the tension of the story. Even though you could use any of these emotions anywhere in the script, it’s interesting to think about using certain ones in clusters to achieve a desired effect.
Fear: Christine tries to warn the others that something’s wrong and they need to go. No one’s listening.
Suspense: The girls are locked in the bathroom. The killer is outside. Hannah tries to call 9-1-1 but she gets transferred to a different county.
Dread: The killer has broken the bathroom lock. He’s coming inside.
INT. LADIES ROOM – NIGHT
Lauren and Alyxx stand at the sinks. Lauren fixes her hair. Alyxx checks her makeup.
The door swings open. Christine rushes inside.
CHRISTINE – We need to go.
ALYXX – Aren’t we supposed to do some interviews or something?
Lauren’s phone vibrates. She opens it.
Lauren’s phone. An intermission ad plays.
LAUREN – Did y’all get this?
Christine and Alyxx check their phones.
ALYXX – What does this mean?
Door swings open. The girls all jump. Hannah enters.
LAUREN – Hey, hun, did you get a message… like an old drive-in ad about visiting the lobby?
HANNAH – Nope.
Hannah heads straight to the accessible stall at the end of the row.
LAUREN – Was anyone in the lobby?
HANNAH – Nope.
Hannah slams the door shut. Locks it.
LAUREN – My new bestie.
The lights go out.
HANNAH (O.S.) – That’s not funny!
LAUREN (yells) – Keep your pants on, hun!
CHRISTINE – It’s him.
ALYXX – Who?
THREE KNOCKS at the door.
LAUREN – Who’s at the door?
CHRISTINE (whispers) – Quiet.
LAUREN – I’m not in a mood to play games.
Lauren marches to the door.
CHRISTINE (hisses) – No!
Lauren opens the door.
Buck stands in the shadows.
LAUREN – Can I help you?!
BUCK – I’m looking for someone.
LAUREN – Who are you looking for?
BUCK – I’ll know when I find her.
Lauren slams the door shut and locks the deadbolt. She turns back to Christine and Alyxx.
LAUREN – Who is that?!
CHRISTINE – Get away from the door.
KNOCK.
Hannah comes out of her stall.
HANNAH – Is this part of the show?
ALYXX – I don’t think so.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
BUCK (O.S.) – I need someone to burn with him!
Lauren backs away from the door.
LAUREN – What does he want?
CHRISTINE – A widow.
Lauren gives Alyxx a look. Confusion and terror all rolled into one.
LAUREN – We need to call the police.
Lauren pulls out her phone. Tries to dial.
LAUREN – It’s not working!
CHRISTINE – Our phones don’t work.
LAUREN – Why not?!
Hannah exits the stall.
HANNAH – It’s the MDM… it’s blocking your signals.
Hannah pulls out her phone. Dials…
CHRISTINE– What are you doing?
HANNAH – Calling nine-one-one.
CHRISTINE – But the MDM…
HANNAH – I didn’t download it.
CHRISTINE – My dad’s a cop! Call him!
HANNAH – What’s his number?
Christine thinks.
CHRISTINE – Call nine-one-one!
OPERATOR (O.S.) – Nine-one-one… what is your emergency?
HANNAH – Help us! We’re trapped in a bathroom, and there’s a crazy man outside!
BANG. BANG. Door rattles.
LAUREN – We need to hide.
Hannah runs to the accessible stall at the far end. Slams the door… CLICK.
CHRISTINE – Hannah? That lock won’t stop him.
HANNAH (O.S.) – Leaving it open will?!
Hannah’s Stall. She pushes against the door. Checks the window behind her.
HANNAH – Are you sending someone now?!
OPERATOR (O.S.) – You’ve contacted Weld county… I have to transfer you to Boulder county…
HANNAH – Wait… what?!
The main door. A brassy SNAP. The deadbolt on the main door breaks…
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Brett Born’s Level 1 Horror Emotion Scene
What I learned doing this assignment is how to identify the subtle differences between the various emotions and feelings I hope to evoke from an audience.
Apprehension/Anxiety: Curiosity over the VW Bug parked oddly at the back of the lot.
Surprise: The children setting off fireworks by the truck/Sudden pops and bangs of the fireworks show
Shock: Buck stabs Jim
EXT. HOLIDAY THEATER – LOT 1 – NIGHT
A chain link fence separates the parking area from a forested perimeter.
The VW BUG is parked parallel to the fence.
Jim notices the odd positioning of the Bug at the back of the lot.
Fireworks pop overhead. The light bathes Jim’s face in reds, blues, and greens. He takes in the sights.
Jim looks back to the Bug. On the ground next to the passenger side… a dark mound.
‘Oooh’s’ and ‘Ahhh’s’ can be heard all around. Jim looks up to the sky. Then back to the Bug.
A FIGURE… kneels over the dark mound. As the intensity of the light grows brighter, the dark mound becomes identifiable… a BODY.
A smattering of applause from the crowd. Cheers. Laughter.
Jim heads for the Bug.
POP. Three BANGS. Jim jumps. Spins around.
A GROUP OF CHILDREN play beside a truck. They light their own various fireworks… sparklers, poppers and snakes.
Jim turns back to the Bug. The body is gone. But someone sits in the passenger seat.
A momentary pause in the show. The lot goes dark.
Excited whistles and shouts from the onlookers.
BAM! BAM! BAM! The sky explodes in a colorful display. Sparks rain down on the parking area.
Smoke streams from inside the Bug.
Jim quickens his pace. Breaks into a run.
VW BUG. Jim rushes to the passenger side. Throws the door open.
Orthodontic Girl. She’s unconscious.
A fire burns in the back of the car. Flames lick the glass.
Jim dives inside. Coughs violently. The black smoke intensifies and rolls from the open door.
Jim emerges from the smoke. Drags Orthodontic Girl away from the Bug.
JIM – Fire! Everyone get out! Get out!!!
The fireworks show is at its crescendo. It’s loud. No one can hear Jim scream.
Behind Jim… Buck. His face smeared in blood from his forehead to the top of his cheekbones.
THE BUTTERFLY KNIFE. Opens with a quickdraw… deftly drops the bite handle… swings the bite handle up… flashes the blade.
Buck thrusts the knife into Jim’s side. Jim staggers sideways. Buck stabs Jim in the stomach… yanks the knife straight down.
Jim turns white. Grips his stomach. Tries to hold his intestines inside.
JIM – Everyone needs to leave. Go home.
Jim staggers away… weaves between the cars. Stumbles to the middle of the lot… tries to open a car door… it’s locked… he climbs onto the hood of the car… pounds on the windshield.
JIM – Help me!
Buck crawls onto the car hood… his eyes glow beneath the blood mask. He kneels behind Jim.
Buck stabs Jim in the back. Again and again. It’s a relentless onslaught.
The fireworks show ends.
Jim tries to stand… blood runs from the corners of his mouth… he loses his feet… crashes onto the hood.
Buck wipes his bloody blade on Jim’s pants… flips his wrist deftly and closes the Butterfly Knife. Slips it back into his pocket.
Jim stares into the windshield. Places his hand flat against the glass.
JIM – Bunny.
Jim exhales violently… spits a splattering of blood across the windshield.
SCREAMS. Frantic cries for help dot the parking lot.
The MOVIE SCREEN. Images of dancing SODA POP BOTTLES and singing CANDY BARS…
INTERMISSION – Let’s all go to the lobby… Let’s all go to the lobby… Let’s all go to the lobby… And get ourselves a treat!
UNKNOWN POV. Jim lies on the hood… stares blankly into the car.
Buck disappears amongst the chaos.
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Brett Born’s Horror Outline Version 1
What I learned is the importance of the outline in organizing and analyzing the beats of the story so you don’t spend wasted time trying to structure your script when you’re actually trying to write it.
ACT 1 – SET UP FOR HORROR
INT – TICKET BOOTH – NIGHT – FB
Erik sits alone… practices on his guitar. String breaks.
Car approaches with no headlights.
Erik stops the car. Meets Buck. Erik uses his knife to cut Erik’s string for him. You should always carry a knife.
Erik discovers Buck’s trying to sneak a girl into the movies, as well as a box containing the ashes of his deceased father. Erik knows that it all feels strange, but he lets Buck pay and enter.
INT – LOBBY – NIGHT – FB
Jade is put in charge by the manager. Jim flirts with her. She tells Jim to go swap duties with Erik so that her and Jim can leave work early.
Erik enters as the fireworks show is about to start. Jade wants Erik to go back to the booth, in case someone comes in late. Erik thinks it’s dumb, nobody should come in during the middle of the show. To keep the peace, Jim volunteers to go sit in the booth during the fireworks.
EXT – DRIVE-IN – NIGHT – FB
Jim sees Buck’s girlfriend laid out on the ground at the rear of the lot. He goes to see about her. She’s incapacitated. He tries to revive her.
Buck has painted part of his face. He attacks Jim, angry that the fireworks show is ruining his ceremony. Buck stabs Jim to death as the fireworks show explodes overhead. Mass panic as everyone realizes that they are witnessing a murder.
Unknown POV watches as Jim lays dying and a drive-in intermission ad plays.
EXT – DRIVE-IN – DAY – PRESENT DAY
Christine is meeting Jade for the first time. Alyxx tags along to take pictures. Outside they meet Caleb, who harasses the girls with catcalls. Alyxx wants to ignore him, but Christine wants to embarrass him.
INT – MANAGER’S OFFICE – DAY
Christine meets with Jade. Jade informs Christine that she’s changed her mind and wants nothing to do with this reopening. She was told it was going to be done tastefully, but clearly, Shin has lied to all of them. The show is grotesque and sensationalizes Jim’s death. The drive-in’s not reopening. Reality show’s not happening. Go home.
INT – HALLWAY – DAY
Alyxx sits with Lauren, who holds her baby. Needs the job. Waits to meet with Barbra. Barbra calls Lauren in… sees Christine in tears.
INT – RIDESHARE – NIGHT
Driver tries to make small talk with an aloof passenger. The passenger quickly turns menacing. It’s Buck. He’s in town to see an old friend. Buck makes veiled threats about going after the family of the driver. The driver freaks out and yells at Buck to get out of his car.
INT – CHRISTINE’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Christine and her mother argue about her involvement with the drive-in. Learn that Christine’s parents have a strained relationship. Christine’s older brother ran away years earlier because things were so bad. Someone peers through the front window of the house. Christine goes to investigate. Thinks maybe it’s part of the show… maybe someone didn’t get the memo. Puts on the a brave face… doesn’t want to look like a victim. Some paranormal activity escapes Christine’s attention. Someone is definitely stalking the house.
EXT – OLD FRIEND’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Buck walks around the perimeter. Examines the doors and windows. Jiggles one window. Returns to the front door. Rings the doorbell. A woman answers. She knows Buck, and she’s terrified.
EXT – CHRISTINE’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Barbra is at the door. She’s there to smooth things over. Jade had no right to say what she said. Shin is in charge and everything’s still happening as planned. Jade is hypersensitive. There’s going to be a show, and there are no ghosts from the past coming back to stop it.
INT – POLICE DISPATCH – NIGHT
Mystery person screams for help.
EXT – OLD FRIEND’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Erik is now a detective with the Boulder PD. He’s called to investigate the crime scene. He meets with Terra, the officer on scene.
They walk inside. It’s smokey. Examine the bodies of three victims. Erik believes the attacker targeted the woman.
Checks upstairs. Finds wood screws in the hallway. Wants to check the attic.
Furniture, boxes and decorations stored upstairs. Personal belongings like HS yearbooks. One of the yearbooks is from Erik’s high school. He was their classmate? Erik doesn’t remember going to school with either of the victims. Terra notices there’s something wrong with the way the drywall is being hung. Buck charges out from behind the slab and slices her throat. It’s too dark to identify the person. Erik has to stay and take care of Terra until paramedics arrive. Buck gets away.
INT – AUTOPSY ROOM – NIGHT
Erik and the ME make a strange discovery in the bodies of one of the victims. One of the other victims comes back from the dead. Says something to Erik that Jim said to Erik the night he was murdered. How could she have known this?
INT – CHRISTINE’S HOUSE – NIGHT
We learn that Erik is Christine’s father. She asks him about the drive-in. He never talks about it. Sometimes, he wonders if he should’ve died instead of Jim. Christine doesn’t say anything about her involvement with the reopening.
ACT 2 – THE POINT OF NO RETURN
EXT – DRIVE-IN – DAY
Marcos drops Christine and Alyxx off for the employee meet and greet. His car makes a distinct clunking noise.
Marcos doesn’t know if Christine working at the drive-in is a good idea. Especially since she hasn’t told her parents. Christine says this has always been a problem in their relationship. He’s too controlling. Doesn’t want her to succeed. She confesses her secret pregnancy to him. It wasn’t his baby. He’s angry and confused. Their relationship is over.
INT – PRINT LAB – DAY
Erik finds out the true identity of the mother murdered in the home invasion.
INT – ERIK’S OFFICE – DAY
Erik looks up the murdered mother in the yearbook he took from the victims’ attic. He recognizes the mother. It’s the girl who was with Buck the night of Jim’s murder.
EXT – LOBBY – DAY
Javier is dropped off in front by his mom. Banners and celebratory decorations hang out front. He’s reminded of all his responsibilities. He’s doing this for the family. It’s going to be a big deal. She hopes he’s not such a big deal that he’s too good to ride the bus. It’s at the bottom of the drive and up the highway a couple of miles. Have fun movie star.
He turns and sees Zoe. Immediately falls for her.
Zoe is fired up about the job. Buzz around the reopening. Size of the crowd. Like they’re going to be famous themselves just by working there.
Christine sees Zoe. They know each other, and they’re both uncomfortable.
INT – DENVER MENTAL HEALTH HOSPITAL – DAY
Erik speaks with a doctor who has knowledge of Buck’s situation. Learn that Buck was obsessed with performing a burial ceremony for his father. Buck eventually abandoned the idea and had been a model patient for the past ten years. If Erik wants details, he should probably talk to the doctor who handled Buck’s case for 25 years.
INT – DRIVE-IN LOBBY – NIGHT
Shin welcomes everyone. Reminds them of the history of the drive-in, including the legend of Muse. Tells them all to be mindful of the spirits and to keep an eye out for anything unusual. Report it to management. Jokingly tells them if anyone has any reservations, this is their chance to back out now.
Hannah is busy on her phone the entire time. She’s a social media influencer wannabe. Using her job at the haunted theatre and its legend to promote her brand.
Lauren feels like she’s the only one working at the drive-in because she actually needs a job.
Learn that Zoe is also the daughter of a police officer. But her father is much more over protective and doesn’t want her working at the drive-in. Might look bad.
EXT – DRIVE-IN – NIGHT
It’s a double date. The teens hang out on the roof of the lobby. Buck confronts them… he wants one of the girls. The teens try to defend themselves, but Buck is too much. He kills three of them. The fourth is seriously injured. Buck takes her hostage.
INT – MANAGER’S OFFICE – NIGHT
Shin and Jade have it out. Jade feels used. Shin doesn’t care. She’s been playing the sympathy card her entire life and now she’s grown a conscience about exploiting Jim’s murder? What was that ghost story setup? Fireworks show? It’s the Fourth of July. And don’t worry, Shin’s got a friend. This is supposed to be a serious exploration of the story and people involved with the night of Jim’s murder. It’s not supposed to be some Ghostbusters nonsense. Shin reminds her that those shows work. Jade and Shin trade threats. Jade storms out of the office.
INT – DRIVE-IN LOBBY – NIGHT
Everyone realizes that their phones are blocked.
A drive-in theater intermission ad plays on the screen in Lot 1. What does it mean? Is this Jade or Shin trying to get a reaction? Either way, Christine’s not impressed. The ad stars the three teens who were just murdered on the roof.
INT – MANAGER’S OFFICE – NIGHT
Shin’s on the phone. Supposed to film some introductions to be used in the show. Establishing shots of the theater when it’s empty etc. Where is everyone? Cancelled? No one cancelled anything?! Shin – She did what?
Shin ends the conversation. Calls someone else. It’s me. You and I need to have a little talk. As soon as you get this.
EXT – DRIVE-IN – NIGHT
Zoe and Javier discover blood all over the pavement. Is this a prank? Part of the show? Where is the film crew? Are hidden cameras set up to capture more organic reactions from the participants?
INT – DRIVE-IN LOBBY – NIGHT
Christine and Alyxx bond with Lauren.
Headlights appear. The clunking sound. It’s Marcos. He picks up Christine out front.
Zoe sees someone standing at the white van. She thinks its police surveillance that her father has ordered. Wants to confront them. Javier wants to go where Zoe goes.
INT – DOCTOR’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Erik arrives to interview Buck’s doctor.
Erik finds the doctor tied to a chair with limbs cut off and tourniquets used to keep him from bleeding to death too quickly. Erik has to find a new plan to figure out Buck’s next target. Erik uses his pocketknife to cut the doctor loose from the chair.
INT – TICKET BOOTH – NIGHT
Marcos has calmed down enough to have a mature conversation with Christine about the state of their relationship. They say their good-byes.
MIDPOINT – The Monster is worse than we thought:
EXT – TICKET BOOTH – NIGHT
Muse confronts Marcos. Performs a bizarre danse macabre. Guts Marcos. Christine sits in the ticket booth, not far from the grisly attack, but she is oblivious to it.
EXT – DRIVE-IN – NIGHT
Zoe and Javier stand at the truck. Zoe demands the surveillance team inside come out and face her.
INT – TICKET BOOTH – NIGHT
Buck corners Christine. Toys with her. She thinks Buck is part of the film crew. Slowly realizes that he might be dangerous. Knows that psychopaths like to frighten and elicit reactions from victims so she remains calm and even.
Hears the clunking noise of Marcos’s car. It drives past the booth. Christine tells Buck that’s her bf waiting on her. She goes after the car. It stops. Starts again. Draws her away from the ticket booth without letting her get close. Car takes off and leaves her behind.
Ticket booth is empty. Buck is gone.
INT – MANAGER’S OFFICE – NIGHT
Christine goes to see Shin. What’s going on? Just had an unsettling encounter. If she didn’t know better, think it was Buck. It was. He sent a written statement to the parole board asking for Buck’s release. Signed it as Jade. Is he crazy? Thought it would be good for the show. Didn’t think Buck would actually show up at the theater? For Christ’s sake, he killed one kid 30 years ago. How could you do this? He didn’t kill you, so what’s the problem? Christine’s done. She storms out.
Shin gets back on the phone.
INT – DRIVE-IN LOBBY HALLWAY – NIGHT
Shin’s trying to get just one of the camera guys to come tonight. Shoot it on a phone, I don’t care. Just get someone over here. Walks into Muse. He hangs up. Muse does the danse macabre. Shin runs.
INT – STORAGE CLOSET – NIGHT
Muse pursues Shin into the crawl space. Traps him and beheads him.
INT LADIES ROOM – NIGHT
Christine finds Alyxx and Lauren in the bathroom. They need to get out of here. Hannah enters. They try to warn her. Buck traps them all inside. Hannah goes into self-preservation mode. Lauren focuses on getting back to her daughter. Christine formulates a way out of their trop. Alyxx panics, but Christine, Alyxx and Lauren all make it out. Hannah remains trapped inside.
Buck jams screwdriver under the door. The girls pound on the door from the outside. Buck tries to grab Hannah. She gets away but stumbles into the mirror. It breaks. She picks up a large piece of shattered glass to defend herself. She charges him. They fall to the ground. When Buck rolls over, the shard of glass is lodged in the side of Hannah’s neck. He tells her to relax, and he’ll makes sure that she dies quickly. She yanks the glass out of her neck and bleeds out.
EXT – DRIVE-IN LOT 1 – NIGHT
Zoe and Javier open the van. Discover it’s full of pyro. Find Jerry’s body.
Zoe knows they must be proactive to get out. Positive vibes to get out alive. Javier melts down… he’s fast… he can run out of here. Get to the bus stop. He can go for help. What about the others? He can send help, but he’s not going back inside. What’s Zoe going to do?
ACT 3 – FULL OUT HORROR
INT – LOBBY – NIGHT
Christine, Alyxx and Lauren work on a plan. The nacho cheese is bubbling over. Lauren goes over to shut it off. Shin’s head is in the cheese, oozing from all orifices. Lauren screams. The rest of Shin’s body comes crashing through the ceiling.
Zoe pounds on the glass. Barbra pounds on the door from the employee hallway. The girls let them both in. They need to stick together. Zoe tells them about the pyro van and how Javier took off for the bus stop. Maybe he can flag someone down on the highway?
It might be a minute before help arrives… assuming Javier didn’t get caught and killed. Alyxx wants to wait. Christine wants to be proactive.
Christine takes the lead. They need to get help, but that will involve risks. Alyxx thinks Christine sounds reckless and she’s going to get them killed with her plans… Lauren knows that they need to work as a team if they’re going to get out of this alive. Zoe knows they need to keep moving to survive… staying put, sharing feelings and praying isn’t going to work. Barbra hides her fear with gallows humor.
Christine digs in and is willing to put Alyxx in her place, if that’s what it takes to save her. Lauren takes on role of mediator. When the interpersonal relationships start to deteriorate, Zoe keeps the focus on what’s most important right now… everyone getting out alive.
They should go back to the bathroom and see if Hannah’s phone is still there. It’s the only one that still had outside reception. Barbra volunteers to go inside.
EXT – LADIES ROOM – NIGHT
They post lookouts at the corners. Barbra goes in. Screams from inside. Barbra appears at the door, bloodied head to toe. Tells the other to run as she gets yanked back inside.
Christine yells for them to run to the pyro van. She’s hoping they can find a weapon.
EXT – HIGHWAY – NIGHT
Javier runs for his life. Headlights approach from behind. He turns, tries to wave them down. Car slows but ultimately passes him by.
Hear the clunking of Marcos’s car in the distance, but no lights. Javier runs faster. Sees the bus stop ahead. Headlights approach. Marcos’s car gets closer. The clunking is louder. Javier screams and waves at the bus. The bus pulls up at the stop. The driver peers through the windshield. Sees Javier. Opens the door. Javier is almost there.
Marcos’s car hits Javier and he flies into the bus windshield, collapses to the ground. He hits his head on the concrete, but he’s still conscious.
Marcos’s car stops. Reverses over Javier’s head, turns around, and heads back the way it came.
The bus driver gets out to try and help Javier.
INT – VAN – NIGHT
Alyxx thinks they should stay locked in the van. No one has seen them, so maybe they’re safe if they stay quiet.
A drive-in intermission ad plays on the screen. It stars Javier, Marcos, and Hannah.
Christine thinks they need to get help. They find road flares.
The only way anyone will see them is if they get the flares up high in the air. They have to get to the top of one of the movie screens.
Buck discovers them in the van. Attacks the van with a sledgehammer. The girls are going to have to fight Buck to get out.
EXT – VAN – NIGHT
The girls attack Buck with a flare. They hurt him but he quickly gains the upper hand. Buck swings his sledgehammer at Christine. Alyxx jumps in front and absorbs the brunt of the impact with her hip. As Buck prepares to swing again… Muse appears. Confronts him.
Lauren, Christine and Zoe pick up Alyxx and run for the movie screen.
Muse takes the sledgehammer and takes a couple of good whacks at Buck’s skull. He goes down.
INT – MOVIE SCREEN – NIGHT
There’s a ladder that leads to the top. Alyxx can’t make the climb with her injured hip. Christine works to formulate how they can haul Alyxx up the ladder. Alyxx knows there’s no time to worry about her. The others need to get those flares lit. Alyxx just needs a good hiding place.
They place her in the corner and cover her. Christine and Alyxx say good-bye, knowing it could be the last time.
Lauren, Zoe and Christine get under the ladder. There’s something on the ladder. Up above and concealed in the shadows. Christine shakes the ladder. The body of Jade falls. The rope around her neck snaps tight so that she hangs just a few feet from the ground. It scares the hell out of everyone.
The girls push past the body and climb the ladder. As they near the top, they can hear Muse below. Christine yells at Muse. We’re up here! Come and get us! The girls hear noise at the base of the ladder. The ladder vibrates violently. Stops. All three girls make it to the top.
EXT – HIGHWAY – NIGHT
Erik is at the scene of Javier’s attack. He’s dead. Bus driver says it wasn’t just a hit and run. This driver was targeting the kid. Running the plate number reveals that the car belong to someone Erik knows. His daughter dates the guy. What did the driver look like? He was dressed in some kind of clown costume. Erik asks which way driver headed.
Erik points with his cane in the direction of the drive-in. Just then, a flare lights in the distance. Then another. And another.
EXT – MOVIE SCREEN – NIGHT
The girls hear the clunking sound of Marcos’s car. Christine is horrified. The car pulls into the middle of the lot and parks. No one gets out. The girls jump up and down but there’s no movement inside.
Christine has to warn Marcos. She takes off. Lauren and Zoe talk… decide they have to help Christine.
INT – MOVIE SCREEN – NIGHT
Christine makes her way down the ladder. The body still swings just below her. As Christine gets closer to the ground, she jumps from the rungs.
She jumps up face to face with the dead body… but it’s not Jade. It’s now Alyxx. Christine breaks into tears.
EXT – DRIVE-IN LOT 1 – NIGHT
Christine runs hysterically to Marcos’s car. She rushes up to the driver’s side. She realizes too late that it was a trap.
INT – MOVIE SCREEN – NIGHT
Lauren and Zoe discover Alyxx.
EXT – DRIVE-IN LOT 1 – NIGHT
Lauren and Zoe run for Marcos’s car. No Marcos. No Christine. But there is a key fob in the center console.
The car starts. They decide to go get help.
EXT – HIGHWAY – NIGHT
Marcos’s car flies past the ticket booth and swerves onto the highway. A moment later, Erik appears coming from the opposite direction.
As Erik drives up to the movie screens, he sees the green KIA parked in Lot 2.
EXT – DRIVE-IN LOT 2 NIGHT
Buck tries one last time to perform the ceremony for his father. Sophie will act as his widow as he sends them both to hell.
Erik saves Sophie. Buck attacks Erik. Disarms him. Erik takes down Buck with his pocketknife.
Erik receives a message on his phone. It’s a drive-in intermission ad for a fireworks show.
INT – PYRO VAN – NIGHT
Sobbing. Can see Erik through the windshield. It’s Christine’s POV. She’s tied to the seat in the van. She screams for her father. He can’t hear her.
EXT – DRIVE-IN LOT 2 – NIGHT
Erik sees the van in Lot 1. Heads toward it. Can hear sirens in the distance. The police are on their way.
Erik now sees that someone is inside the van… Christine.
EXT – DRIVE-IN LOT 1 – NIGHT
He moves as fast as he can with his injury and his cane.
Muse watches. It’s Barbra.
She has her phone out… a “FIRE” button displayed on her screen. “For you,” she whispers.
Fireworks explode from inside the van. A giant fireball shoots into the sky.
Erik cries as he gets to the burning van. Falls to his knees.
Intermission ads play on the big screen. Jade makes popcorn. Alyxx fills the nacho cheese. Christine stands behind the register and helps a customer. She breaks the fourth wall. Watches Erik with a haunted stare.
Erik screams.
-
Brett Born’s Character Journey Track
What I learned doing this assignment is the more each character has their own distinctive voice, the better they work together to make the story more engaging.
Christine – Role: Leader
Traits: Loyal and self-assured.
Fears: Failure/Being trapped
Wants/Needs: She wants to be famous. She need to save her friends and family.
Likability/Rooting Factors: Her parents’ marriage is on the rocks. She has a romantic fantasy of being a movie star. She’s kind and protective to people close to her.
Reaction under stress: Deal with the problem and find a solution
Relationship with other characters: If you’re part of her inner circle, she keeps you close. Puts on a face for strangers… she likes to be liked.
Erik – Role: Target
Traits: Self-Reliant/Disciplined
Fears: Ending up alone
Wants/Needs: Wants to forget the past. Needs to see that the past is coming for him before it’s too late.
Likability/Rooting Factors: He’s a standup guy. Tries to do the right thing.
Reaction under stress: Takes charge
Relationship with other characters: Having a rough time with his wife. He treasures Christine above all others but doesn’t express himself well.
Lauren – Role: Rescuer
Traits: Protective/Selfless
Fears: That her baby will end up without a mother.
Wants/Needs: She wants to provide a good life for her child. She needs to get away from the drive-in.
Likability/Rooting Factors: Cares about others. Her baby is her priority.
Reaction to stress: Toughens up. Claws come out.
Relationship with other characters: She’s kind to everyone, but she’s close to no one. Everything’s about her child.
Alyxx – Role: Loner
Traits: Honorable/Loyal
Fears: Alone in the dark
Wants/Needs: Wants to be more outgoing. She needs to worry more about herself than her friend.
Likability/Rooting Factors: She doesn’t sugarcoat anything. Calls it like she sees it, even when it’s not popular to say.
Reaction under stress: Hyper vigilance about staying safe/Anger
Relationship with other characters: Christine is her ride or die. Respects Lauren. She suffers no fools.
Zoe – Role: Moral One
Traits: Ambitious
Fears: Being controlled or feeling caged
Wants/Needs: Wants to be a filmmaker. She needs to get off this current project.
Likability/Rooting factors: Empathetic. Relatable.
Reaction under stress: Get heroic. Impatient with others.
Relationship with other characters: Guys are intimidated. Girls love her tenacity.
Marcos – Role: Love Interest
Traits: Resilient
Fears: Clowns
Wants/Needs: Wants to be with Christine. Needs to pay attention to his fears.
Likability/Rooting Factors: He’s self-aware.
Reaction under stress: He becomes defiant.
Relationship with other characters: He’s madly in love with Christine.
Hannah – Role: Rebel
Traits: Arrogant
Fears: Total Isolation
Wants/Needs: Wants to be a famous social media influencer. Needs to be more concerned about her real world.
Likability/Rooting Factors: Unintentionally funny
Reaction under stress: Impatient/Disrespectful to others
Relationship with other characters: Wrapped up in her social media world so she’s stand-offish from the others.
Javier – Role: Complainer
Traits: Creative
Fears: Pain
Wants/Needs: Wants a girlfriend. He needs to escape the drive-in.
Likability/Rooting Factors: Want him to be the better version of himself that he’d like to be
Reaction under stress: Anxiety/Freaks out/Accident prone
Relationship with other characters: Doesn’t like large groups. Better in one on one situations. He likes Zoe.
Shin – Role: Obnoxious Owner of the Drive-In
Traits: Know-it-all narcissist
Fears: Being exposed as a coward
Wants/Needs: Wants to be respected and feared. Needs to learn to work with others.
Likability/Rooting Factors: He hides his enormous amount of self doubt instilled in him by his own family.
Reaction under stress: Falls apart. He panics.
Relationship with other characters: Adversarial. They all threaten his delicate ego. Only has use for people who will help him achieve his goals.
Jade – Role: The Carrier
Traits: Idealistic
Fears: Afraid of being fully alive.
Wants/Needs: She wants a life without her self-imposed boundaries. She needs to escape the past which haunts her.
Likability/Rooting Factors: She’s trying to do the honorable thing for everyone, including the dead. She’s trying to take back her life.
Reaction under stress: Survivor Guilt/ Sadness / Depression
Relationship with other characters: They all disgust her, but it’s because she’s disgusted with herself for going along with Shin’s plan in the first place.
Jim – Role: Sacrificial Lamb
Traits: Persistent
Fears: The quiet
Wants/Needs: Wants a date with Jade. Needs to do what Jade tells him.
Likability/Rooting Factors: He likes to have fun. Good sense of humor.
Reaction under stress: Denial
Relationship with other characters: Has a crush on Jade. Thinks Erik is a pompous pain in the ass.
Barbra – Role: Red Herring
Traits: Patient
Fears: Separation
Wants/Needs: Wants to feel appreciated and loved. Needs to close the drive-in forever.
Likability/Rooting Factors: She’s a frightened mom-to-be trying to make a plan for her future.
Reaction under stress: Gallows humor/Crying/Headaches
Relationship with other characters: Has a close bond with Christine. She doesn’t get along well with the others.
ACT 1 – SET UP FOR HORROR
-Atmosphere of Evil established: Flashback thirty years to the night of the first murder at the drive-in.
Character Intro: Erik plays his guitar. String snaps. He pulls out a pair of nail clippers, quickly fixes the string, tunes the guitar, continues playing.
Demand: Erik sits alone in the ticket booth. Car approaches with no headlights. Why is this person approaching in this manner? There is no one else around… why are they arriving at such an odd time?
Monster Reveal: Introduce Buck. He has a girl in his trunk. Trying to sneak her in, but something’s not right about the situation. His “outside food or drink” turns out to be the ashes of his father.
Denial: Erik knows the encounter with Buck was unsettling, but he’s not willing to make the jump to the idea that Buck’s a killer.
Character Intro: Jade is put in charge of managing the drive-in when the boss leaves. Jim flirts with Jade and convinces her to go out with him.
Demand: Jim encounters the girl laid out on the ground. She’s incapacitated. What has happened to her? Is she okay?
Monster Reveal: Buck has red paint on his face. He’s angry with Jim for interrupting him in the middle of some kind of ceremony.
Horror Situation: Jim comes face to face with Buck.
Reaction – Escape: Horrified moviegoers panic when they realize what’s happening.
Character Death 1: Buck stabs Jim to death in middle of the drive-in theatre.
Why: Jim interrupts Buck’s ceremony for his deceased father.
How: Jim is caught off guard. Had no idea Buck was a dangerous psychopath.
Denial: Jim’s in shock. Can’t believe he’s being stabbed to death by this stranger.
-Connect with the characters: Present day… reconnect with several of the characters including one who is a detective hunting a serial killer and one working to reopen the drive-in. Meet new characters planning a podcast/reality series that will document experiences at the alleged haunted drive-in.
Character Intro: Christine and Alyxx are harassed by Caleb. Alyxx wants to ignore him. Christine embarrasses him.
Character Intro: Lauren is holding her baby as she waits for her job interview.
Demand: Rideshare driver has mysterious passenger in the back. Can’t see his face in the shadows. Who is this person?
Monster Reveal: Buck is going to visit someone he’s not seen in a long time.
Horror Situation: Buck mentally torments the driver.
Reaction – First there’s denial that turns into fight back mode. Driver thinks Buck is playing then takes him seriously. Screams for him to get out of the car.
Demand: Buck arrives at his destination. A woman answers the door. They know each other and she is terrified. Who is she? What does Buck want?
Monster Reveal: Buck has been waiting a long time for this reunion.
Horror Situation: Buck takes a family hostage.
Reaction – Try to solve it: Detective called to crime scene to investigate the attack. The detective is Erik, the person who first encountered Buck at the drive-in thirty years ago.
Character Deaths 2&3&4: Three of the family members are killed. Father has throat cut. Mother is strangled. Daughter is stabbed. One survives.
Why: Buck feels betrayed by the mystery woman at the door.
How: Surprised by Buck’s reappearance. They had no idea he had been released from custody.
Horror Situation: Erik visits crime scene. Meets with Terra, the officer on scene. Walk through the living room where the victims are posed for display.
Reaction – Try to solve it: This looks personal. The killer knew the family.
Demand: Erik and Terra investigate the dark attic. Is there anything up here?
Monster Reveal: Buck is still inside the house. He was in the middle of something but was interrupted. Because it’s dark, Erik can’t see the attacker.
Character Death 5: Terra has her throat cut by Buck
Why: She and Erik corner Buck.
How: Surprised. Buck was hiding.
Denial: Erik can’t see Buck because it’s too dark. No reason to believe that this triple homicide is related to a murder from 30 years ago.
-The Characters are warned not to do it: Jen orders Christine to stay away from the theatre. Jade argues with Shin that reopening the theatre is a terrible idea.
Character Intro: Shin tries to lay down the law with Jade. He’s in charge and no one’s going to tell him how to do anything.
Demand: Someone stalks Christine’s house. Who is this? What do they want?
Monster Reveal: Only catch glimpses of Muse. Christine is Muse’s target.
Horror Situation: Muse stalks Christine at her house.
Reaction – Denial: Christine thinks it’s someone involved with the show. Decides that putting on the brave face is better than playing the victim.
Denial: Christine believes what she sees is somehow connected to the drive-in reality series.
Character Intro: Barbra shows up at Christine’s house to rehire her.
-Denial of Horror: Buck Kilgore has been locked away for thirty years. Muse is only a legend.
Horror Situation: Detective visits survivor of home invasion, and she says something only Buck’s first drive-in victim would know.
Reaction – Try to solve it. How could the victim have known this?
Reaction to first horror: Erik now believes that maybe the past has come back to haunt him. But how?
Character Intro: Marcos finds out that Christine was unfaithful and now she’s dumping him as he drops her off at the employee meet&greet.
Character Intro: Javier is dropped off by his mom. He’s reminded of all his responsibilities, his other job, and where to pick up the bus to get home later.
Character Intro: Zoe is overly enthusiastic about the drive-in… fired up about size of expected crowds and potential of notoriety from reality show. Wants to know where everything is and how it works.
Hannah is doing the job for a check and to help promote her brand as a social media influencer.
-Safety Taken Away: Cell phones have been blocked by an app downloaded from the management team. Even Shin’s phone is blocked. Can’t initiate any outgoing communication and only receive incoming messages from Muse. Jade is nowhere to be found.
Demand: No one can use their phones. But they all receive messages from someone unknown. The messages are various intermission ads from the drive-in movies of yesteryear. What does this mean?
Monster Reveal: Don’t see Muse, but Muse is sending the group a message. Can they decipher it before it’s too late?
Horror Situation: Muse sends Intermission ads to the group via their phones.
Reaction: Confusion – Who is doing this? Why is this happening?
Denial: Jade is playing a trick on them. Or Shin is the one doing it and lying about it to get their reaction to the bizarre messages.
-Monster: The nature of the beast – Buck attacks double dating teens after he finds them trespassing at the theatre.
Demand: A double date hanging out on the roof of the theatre lobby. Who watches them?
Monster Reveal: Buck confronts them. He needs one of the girls.
Horror Situation: Buck traps four teens on a rooftop.
Reaction: One escapes by jumping off the roof. Severely injured, she’s taken hostage.
Character Deaths 6&7&8: Three are killed. One is stabbed in throat. One stabbed in eye. One stabbed in chest.
Why: Buck needs a widow.
How: They are all taken by surprise.
Horror Situation: Some of the core group find blood evidence from the attack on the double date.
Reaction: Denial – Must be part of the podcast/reality show.
Denial: There is some doubt as to how staged this appoint murder scene is. The blood looks real. If this is part of the reality show, where’s the film crew? Is Shin using hidden cameras to get more organic reactions?
ACT 2 – THE POINT OF NO RETURN
-Isolated/Trapped/Abducted: Cars have been tampered with. Pyro guys have disappeared. Film crew hasn’t arrived as scheduled.
Horror Situation: The pyro guys are missing. The film crew is nowhere to be found. No one is able to make an outgoing call. No one knows where Jade is. Shin insists that he has no idea what’s going on.
Reaction: Denial – Shin believes Jade is sabotaging the opening of the drive-in because she has turned on the idea.
-One of us is killed: Muse murders Carlos outside the ticket booth.
Demand: Apprehension. Marcos leaves the ticket booth after saying good-bye to Christine. Someone is tracking him.
Monster Reveal: Muse kills Christine’s boyfriend.
Horror Situation: Marcos is confronted by Muse outside the ticket booth. Muse performs a bizarre danse macabre. Marcos has no idea what he’s facing.
Character Death 9: Muse guts Marcos.
Why: To hurt Christine
How: Marcos is blindsided by the danger
Horror Situation: Buck corners Christine in the ticket booth.
Reaction: Christine doesn’t realize this is actually Buck, but she now believes there is a real threat at the drive-in.
Their reaction at first horror: Christine knows from her father that psychopaths like to frighten and elicit reactions from their victims. Maybe if she appears un-phased, she can get out of this situation alive.
Response after first horror: She knows something is wrong and trusts her instincts. She goes to warn the others. Wants to check in with Shin to see if he’s behind this or if the danger is as real as she fears that it is.
Horror Situation: Erik pays a visit to Buck’s doctor. Finds the doctor tied to a chair.
Reaction: Try to solve it – It has to be Buck. He’s attacked the family and the doctor. Who is his next target?
Character Death 10: Doctor has had arms and legs cut off and left with tourniquets tied to his limbs so he’ll bleed to death slowly.
Why: Buck was angry with his diagnosis
How: Doctor would have been wary of Buck, but Buck blindsided him.
MIDPOINT – The Monster is worse than we thought: Muse stalks Shin and kills him. First time the group sees the Intermission ads play on the big screen starring the dead.
Demand: Shin’s had enough. He’s leaving to get some answers.
Monster Reveal: Muse kills Christine’s business partner.
Horror Situation: Shin is chased by Muse.
Character Death 11: Shin is beheaded.
Why: He is the money behind the reopening of the drive-in
How: Betrayed/Surprised
-Terrorized: Buck attacks the girls in the bathroom. He takes Hannah.
Demand: Three of the girls are trapped in the outdoor bathroom with only one way out. Buck stands in the way.
Monster Reveal: Buck is looking for that special girl to play the widow for his father.
Horror Situation: Girls are trapped in the bathroom by Buck.
Reaction: Escape – Hannah is dragged into the darkness. Christine, Lauren and Zoe make it out of the bathroom and back to the lobby.
Reaction to first horror: Hannah goes into self-preservation mode. Lauren focuses on getting back to her daughter. Christine formulates a way out of their trop.
Response after first horror: They agree on one thing… they need to stick together.
Horror Situation: Muse throws Shin’s corpse through the lobby ceiling.
Reaction: They need to find a way out!
Reaction to group after first horror. Christine takes the lead. They need to get help, but that will involve risks. Alyxx thinks Christine sounds reckless and she’s going to get them killed with her plans… Lauren knows that if they need to work as a team if they’re going to get out of this alive… hides her fear with sarcasm. Zoe knows they need to keep moving to survive… staying put and sharing feelings isn’t going to help anything.
Reaction as Horror Increases: Christine digs in and is willing to put Alyxx in her place if that’s what it takes to save her. Lauren takes on role of mediator. When the interpersonal relationships start to deteriorate, Zoe keeps the focus on what’s most important right now… everyone getting out alive.
Horror Situation: Zoe and Javier discover the body of Jerry, the pyro guy.
Character Death 12: Jerry’s body is found
Why: Muse has no plans to leave any witnesses behind
How: Betrayed
Zoe knows they must be proactive to get out. Positive vibes to get out alive. Javier melts down… he’s fast… he can run out of here. Get to the bus stop. He can go for help. Zoe finds the keys to the van in the visor. Javier gets behind the wheel. In a panic, he steers them right into Buck and Hannah. Backs over Hannah trying to escape. The survivors in the lobby watch this scene play out through the windows.
Character Death 13: Hannah is killed.
Why: In the middle of a chaotic situation and is killed accidentally by someone in panic mode.
How: Javier was trying to escape and drives over Hannah.
Monster Reveal: Another widow gone too soon. Buck is going to need another girl.
Horror Situation: Javier is yanked out of the van and killed by Buck.
Character Death 14: Javier is killed.
Why: Javier killed Buck’s widow.
How: Javier’s attempted escape plan fails.
ACT 3 – FULL OUT HORROR
-Fight to the death: Group tries to retrieve the only working cell phone from Hannah’s corpse. They fail, and Barbra is killed in the process. Javier tries to escape in his car, and he’s killed. The remaining survivors make a run for the pyro van in hopes of finding a weapon.
Horror Situation: Someone has to go back into the girl’s bathroom to retrieve Hannah’s phone.
Reaction: The remaining survivors need a new plan for escape.
Character Death 15: Barbra is killed.
Why: They are trying to get the only phone that isn’t blocked so they can call for help.
How: Attempted to put a plan into action that fails
Horror Situation: Survivors remain trapped in the lobby and the monster knows where they are. Zoe was inside the van and saw all the pyro. Christine thinks they need to get to the van and see if they can find something that they can use to help them.
Demand: The girls are trying to find a weapon to fight back against the monsters.
Monster Reveal: Buck won’t stop until he gets his widow.
Horror Situation: Last survivors trapped inside the pyro van as Buck pounds the outside.
Reaction: Fight back.
-Hysteria: Buck has the remaining survivors trapped in the pyro van. They formulate a plan to fight him.
How they fight back: They use items from the pyro van to fight Buck. They hurt him, but he has the upper hand.
Demand: The survivors must face Buck. But Muse has also reappeared. What will happen when the two monsters battle one another?
Monster Reveal: Muse wants Buck dead as much as anyone.
Horror Situation: Girls leave the van and confront Buck. Muse attacks Buck.
Reaction: Girls must now escape Muse.
Character Death 16: Buck is killed by Muse.
Why: Revenge for killing Jim
How: Surprised — Buck had no idea Muse existed.
Horror Situation: Face to face with Muse. Alyxx is wounded.
Reaction: They catch a break and are able to run.
-The thrilling escape from death: The girls escape with the road flares and race for the movie screen.
How they fight back: They need to climb to the top of the movie screen and light the road flares so that someone from the highway will see.
Horror Situation: Alyxx can’t make the climb up the ladder.
Reaction: The girls have to find a place to hide Alyxx and leave her behind.
Character Death 17: The survivors find the remains of Jade
Why: She was trying to reopen the drive-in
How: Betrayed and blindsided
Demand: Alyxx is cornered with nowhere to go. Will Muse go after her or stay on target for Christine?
Monster Reveal: Muse kills Christine’s best friend.
Horror Situation: Alyxx is trapped, and Muse is coming.
Character Death 18: Muse finds Alyxx and butchers her.
Why: To hurt Christine and terrorize the other survivors
How: Injury hobbled Alyxx so her best option was to hide, but she was found by Muse.
-Death returns to take one or more: Christine is tricked into coming down from the top of the movie screen. She’s taken hostage, along with her mom.
Horror Situation: Christine’s mom drives into the theatre lot.
Reaction: Christine must leave the safety of her position high above to go warn her mother.
Horror Situation: Lauren and Zoe chase after Christine to help her.
Reaction: They don’t find Christine, but they find an operational vehicle. They leave to go get help.
Horror Situation: Double Date survivor watches the girls drive away. She screams for help. The girls don’t see her. Buck finds her instead.
Reaction: Surrender. She doesn’t have the will to fight.
Demand: Buck has his widow. Will he finally have his ceremony?
Monster Reveal: Buck is stopped by Erik. But Buck will never stop until he succeeds in sending his father’s spirit to where he belongs… straight to hell.
End Point: Erik survives and captures Buck.
Insight from Survival: Buck’s immense rage toward his father drives him to survive.
-Resolution: Erik meets Muse, but he is too late to save Christine and her mother. Christine and the other unlucky victims become part of the haunting intermission ads which play on the giant screens.
Demand: Muse reveals their identity to Erik. But why does Muse want to hurt Erik?
Monster Reveal: Muse blames Erik for sending Jim to his death 30 years ago.
Horror Situation: Erik fails to stop the pyro van from exploding.
Reaction: Denial – He watches the intermission ad play on the big screen starring a cast of deceased victims, including Christine and her mother.
Character Deaths 19&20: Christine and her mother are inside the van
Why: To destroy Erik and see him live on with the misery Muse created.
How: Jen was blindsided, and Christine was betrayed and fell for a trap while trying to save her mother.
End Point: Christine dies. Erik lives. Muse survives and disappears.
Insight from Death/Survival: Muse didn’t kill Christine and her friends because she hated Christine. Muse wanted to destroy Erik as a person.
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Brett Born’s Monster Reveal Track
What I learned doing this assignment is how to focus on my villains and work on the why they do the things they do.
Buck Kilgore is a psychopath who practices a twisted form of mysticism that he uses to trap the souls of his victims.
Powers: Uses smoke in ceremonial acts to control sprits.
Limitations: He’s human… he bleeds, and he can die.
Weaknesses: Insecure loner who wants people to feel sorry for him.
Plan/Purpose/Appetite: He wants to perform a very special death ritual for his father.
Muse is a psychopath driven mad by the ghost of Buck’s first drive-in victim and seeks revenge for his death.
Powers: Cunning / Stealth / Tech Genius
Limitations: Their revenge plot must unfold at the drive-in
Weaknesses: Arrogance / Blinded by their desire for revenge
Plan/Purpose/Appetite: To avenge the death of Jim
ACT 1 – SET UP FOR HORROR
-Atmosphere of Evil established: Flashback thirty years to the night of the first murder at the drive-in.
Demand: Erik sits alone in the ticket booth. Car approaches with no headlights. Why is this person approaching in this manner? There is no one else around… why are they arriving at such an odd time?
Monster Reveal: Introduce Buck. He has a girl in his trunk. Trying to sneak her in, but something’s not right about the situation. His “outside food or drink” turns out to be the ashes of his father.
Demand: Jim encounters the girl laid out on the ground. She’s incapacitated. What has happened to her? Is she okay?
Monster Reveal: Buck has red paint on his face. He’s angry with Jim for interrupting him in the middle of some kind of ceremony.
Horror Situation: Jim comes face to face with Buck.
Reaction – Escape: Horrified moviegoers panic when they realize what’s happening.
Character Death 1: Buck stabs Jim to death in middle of the drive-in theatre.
Why: Jim interrupts Buck’s ceremony for his deceased father.
How: Jim is caught off guard. Had no idea Buck was a dangerous psychopath.
-Connect with the characters: Present day… reconnect with several of the characters including one who is a detective hunting a serial killer and one working to reopen the drive-in. Meet new characters planning a podcast/reality series that will document experiences at the alleged haunted drive-in.
Demand: Rideshare driver has mysterious passenger in the back. Can’t see his face in the shadows. Who is this person?
Monster Reveal: Buck is going to visit someone he’s not seen in a long time.
Horror Situation: Buck mentally torments the driver.
Reaction – 1st Denial & 2nd Fight. Driver thinks Buck is playing then takes him seriously. Screams for him to get out of the car.
Demand: Buck arrives at his destination. A woman answers the door. They know each other and she is terrified. Who is she? What does Buck want?
Monster Reveal: Buck has been waiting a long time for this reunion.
Horror Situation: Buck takes a family hostage.
Reaction – Try to solve it: Detective called to crime scene to investigate the attack. The detective is Erik, the person who first encountered Buck at the drive-in thirty years ago.
Character Deaths 2&3&4: Three of the family members are killed. Father has throat cut. Mother is strangled. Daughter is stabbed. One survives.
Why: Buck feels betrayed by the mystery woman at the door.
How: Surprised by Buck’s reappearance. They had no idea he had been released from custody.
Horror Situation: Erik visits crime scene. Meets with Terra, the officer on scene. Walk through the living room where the victims are posed for display.
Reaction – Try to solve it: This looks personal. The killer knew the family.
Demand: Erik and Terra investigate the dark attic. Is there anything up here?
Monster Reveal: Buck is still inside the house. He was in the middle of something but was interrupted. Because it’s dark, Erik can’t see the attacker.
Character Death 5: Terra has her throat cut by Buck
Why: She and Erik corner Buck.
How: Surprised. Buck was hiding.
-The Characters are warned not to do it: Jen orders Christine to stay away from the theatre. Jade argues with Shin that reopening the theatre is a terrible idea.
Demand: Someone stalks Christine’s house. Who is this? What do they want?
Monster Reveal: Only catch glimpses of Muse. Christine is Muse’s target.
Horror Situation: Muse stalks Christine at her house.
Reaction – Denial: Christine thinks it’s someone playing a joke.
-Denial of Horror: Buck Kilgore has been locked away for thirty years. Muse is only a legend.
Horror Situation: Detective visits survivor of home invasion, and she says something only Buck’s first drive-in victim would know.
Reaction – Try to solve it. How could the victim have known this?
-Safety Taken Away: Cell phones have been blocked by an app downloaded from the management team. Even Shin’s phone is blocked. Can’t initiate any outgoing communication and only receive incoming messages from Muse. Jade is nowhere to be found.
Demand: No one can use their phones. But they all receive messages from someone unknown. The messages are various intermission ads from the drive-in movies of yesteryear. What does this mean?
Monster Reveal: Don’t see Muse, but Muse is sending the group a message. Can they decipher it before it’s too late?
Horror Situation: Muse sends Intermission ads to the group via their phones.
Reaction: Confusion – Who is doing this? Why is this happening?
-Monster: The nature of the beast – Buck attacks double dating teens after he finds them trespassing at the theatre.
Demand: A double date hanging out on the roof of the theatre lobby. Who watches them?
Monster Reveal: Buck confronts them. He needs one of the girls.
Horror Situation: Buck traps four teens on a rooftop.
Reaction: One escapes by jumping off the roof. Severely injured, she’s taken hostage.
Character Deaths 6&7&8: Three are killed. One is stabbed in throat. One stabbed in eye. One stabbed in chest.
Why: Buck needs a widow.
How: They are all taken by surprise.
Horror Situation: Some of the core group find blood evidence from the attack on the double date.
Reaction: Denial – Must be part of the podcast/reality show.
ACT 2 – THE POINT OF NO RETURN
-Isolated/Trapped/Abducted: Cars have been tampered with. Pyro guys have disappeared. Film crew hasn’t arrived as scheduled.
Horror Situation: The pyro guys are missing. The film crew is nowhere to be found. No one is able to make an outgoing call. No one knows where Jade is. Shin insists that he has no idea what’s going on.
Reaction: Denial – Shin believes Jade is sabotaging the opening of the drive-in because she has turned on the idea.
-One of us is killed: Muse murders Carlos outside the ticket booth.
Demand: Apprehension. Marcos leaves the ticket booth after saying good-bye to Christine. Someone is tracking him.
Monster Reveal: Muse kills Christine’s boyfriend.
Horror Situation: Marcos is confronted by Muse outside the ticket booth. Muse performs a bizarre danse macabre. Marcos has no idea what he’s facing.
Character Death 9: Muse guts Marcos.
Why: To hurt Christine
How: Marcos is blindsided by the danger
Horror Situation: Erik pays a visit to Buck’s doctor. Finds the doctor tied to a chair.
Reaction: Try to solve it – It has to be Buck. He’s attacked the family and the doctor. Who is his next target?
Character Death 10: Doctor has had arms and legs cut off and left with tourniquets tied to his limbs so he’ll bleed to death slowly.
Why: Buck was angry with his diagnosis
How: Doctor would have been wary of Buck, but Buck blindsided him.
MIDPOINT – The Monster is worse than we thought: Muse stalks Shin and kills him. First time the group sees the Intermission ads play on the big screen starring the dead.
Demand: Shin’s had enough. He’s leaving to get some answers.
Monster Reveal: Muse kills Christine’s business partner.
Horror Situation: Shin is chased by Muse.
Character Death 11: Shin is beheaded.
Why: He is the money behind the reopening of the drive-in
How: Betrayed/Surprised
-Terrorized: Buck attacks the girls in the bathroom. He kills Hannah.
Demand: Three of the girls are trapped in the outdoor bathroom with only one way out. Buck stands in the way.
Monster Reveal: Buck is looking for that special girl to play the widow for his father.
Horror Situation: Girls are trapped in the bathroom by Buck.
Reaction: Escape – Hannah is dragged into the darkness. Christine, Lauren and Zoe make it out of the bathroom and back to the lobby.
Character Death 12: Jerry’s body is found
Why: Muse has no plans to leave any witnesses behind
How: Betrayed
Horror Situation: Muse throws Shin’s corpse through the lobby ceiling.
Reaction: They need to find a way out!
ACT 3 – FULL OUT HORROR
-Fight to the death: Group tries to retrieve the only working cell phone from Hannah’s corpse. They fail, and Barbra is killed in the process. Javier tries to escape in his car, and he’s killed. The remaining survivors make a run for the pyro van in hopes of finding a weapon.
Horror Situation: Someone has to go back into the girl’s bathroom to retrieve Hannah’s phone.
Reaction: The remaining survivors need a new plan for escape.
Character Death 13: Barbra is killed.
Why: They are trying to get the only phone that isn’t blocked so they can call for help.
How: Attempted to put a plan into action that fails
Demand: Javier freaks out. Sees a chance to escape. Gets Hannah killed.
Monster Reveal: Another widow gone too soon. Buck is going to need another girl.
Horror Situation: Javier makes a run for his car.
Reaction: New plan for escape.
Character Death 14&15: The car has been tampered with. Javier doesn’t make it far. Hannah and Javier are killed as the other’s watch.
Why: Buck needs his widow alive for the ceremony.
How: Hannah was taken by surprise. Didn’t know the threat until it was too late. Javier attempted to escape but the plan fails
Demand: The girls are trying to find a weapon to fight back against the monsters.
Monster Reveal: Buck won’t stop until he gets his widow.
Horror Situation: Last survivors trapped inside the pyro van as Buck pounds the outside.
Reaction: Fight back.
-Hysteria: Buck has the remaining survivors trapped in the pyro van. They formulate a plan to fight him. It fails.
Demand: The survivors must face Buck. But Muse has also reappeared. What will happen when the two monsters battle one another?
Monster Reveal: Muse wants Buck dead as much as anyone.
Horror Situation: Girls leave the van and confront Buck. Muse attacks Buck.
Reaction: Girls must now escape Muse.
Character Death 16: Buck is killed by Muse.
Why: Revenge for killing Jim
How: Surprised — Buck had no idea Muse existed.
Horror Situation: Face to face with Muse. Alyxx is wounded.
Reaction: They catch a break and are able to run.
-The thrilling escape from death: The girls escape with the road flares and race for the movie screen so they can climb to the top and light them, hoping someone from the highway will see the call for help.
Horror Situation: Alyxx can’t make the climb up the ladder.
Reaction: The girls have to find a place to hide Alyxx and leave her behind.
Character Death 17: The survivors find the remains of Jade
Why: She was trying to reopen the drive-in
How: Betrayed and blindsided
Demand: Alyxx is cornered with nowhere to go. Will Muse go after her or stay on target for Christine?
Monster Reveal: Muse kills Christine’s best friend.
Horror Situation: Alyxx is trapped, and Muse is coming.
Character Death 18: Muse finds Alyxx and butchers her.
Why: To hurt Christine and terrorize the other survivors
How: Injury hobbled Alyxx so her best option was to hide, but she was found by Muse.
-Death returns to take one or more: Christine is tricked into coming down from the top of the movie screen. She’s taken hostage, along with her mom.
Horror Situation: Christine’s mom drives into the theatre lot.
Reaction: Christine must leave the safety of her position high above to go warn her mother.
Horror Situation: Lauren and Zoe chase after Christine to help her.
Reaction: They don’t find Christine, but they find an operational vehicle. They leave to go get help.
Horror Situation: Double Date survivor watches the girls drive away. She screams for help. The girls don’t see her. Buck finds her instead.
Reaction: Surrender. She doesn’t have the will to fight.
Demand: Buck has his widow. Will he finally have his ceremony?
Monster Reveal: Buck is stopped by Erik. But Buck will never stop until he succeeds in sending his father’s spirit to where he belongs… straight to hell.
-Resolution: Erik meets Muse, but he is too late to save Christine and her mother. Christine and the other unlucky victims become part of the haunting intermission ads which play on the giant screens.
Demand: Muse reveals their identity to Erik. But why does Muse want to hurt Erik?
Monster Reveal: Muse blames Erik for sending Jim to his death 30 years ago.
Horror Situation: Erik fails to stop the pyro van from exploding.
Reaction: Denial – He watches the intermission ad play on the big screen starring a cast of deceased victims, including Christine and her mother.
Character Deaths 19&20: Christine and her mother are inside the van
Why: To destroy Erik and see him live on with the misery created… Muse’s ultimate goal
How: Jen was blindsided, and Christine was betrayed and fell for a trap while trying to save her mother.
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Brett Born’s Character Death Track
What I learned doing this assignment is the importance of the timing of the death scenes in a horror film.
ACT 1 – SET UP FOR HORROR
-Atmosphere of Evil established: Flashback thirty years to the night of the first murder at the drive-in.
Horror Situation: Jim comes face to face with Buck.
Reaction – Escape: Horrified moviegoers panic when they realize what’s happening.
Character Death 1: Buck stabs Jim to death in middle of the drive-in theatre.
Why: Jim interrupts Buck’s ceremony for his deceased father.
How: Jim is caught off guard. Had no idea Buck was a psychopath.
-Connect with the characters: Present day… reconnect with several of the characters including one who is a detective hunting a serial killer and one working to reopen the drive-in. Meet new characters planning a podcast/reality series that will document experiences at the alleged haunted drive-in.
Horror Situation: Rideshare driver picks up Buck. Buck mentally torments him.
Reaction – 1st Denial & 2nd Fight. Driver thinks Buck is playing then takes him seriously. Screams for him to get out of the car.
Horror Situation: Buck takes a family hostage.
Reaction – Try to solve it: Detective called to crime scene to investigate the attack.
Character Deaths 2&3&4: Three of the family members are killed. Father has throat cut. Mother is strangled. Daughter is stabbed. One survives.
Why: Buck feels betrayed by the mother character.
How: Surprised by Buck’s reappearance. They had no idea he had been released from custody.
-The Characters are warned not to do it: Jen orders Christine to stay away from the theatre. Jade argues with Shin that reopening the theatre is a terrible idea.
Horror Situation: Muse stalks Christine at her house.
Reaction – Denial: Christine thinks it’s someone playing a joke.
-Denial of Horror: Buck Kilgore has been locked away for thirty years. Muse is only a legend.
Horror Situation: Detective suspects that Buck is somehow linked to the attack on the family. He revisits the crime scene with Terra. They are attacked.
Reaction – Try to solve it: But how? It was dark, hard to identify the attacker. How could it be Buck? He should still be incarcerated.
Character Death 5: Terra has her throat cut by Buck
Why: She and the Detective corner Buck.
How: Surprised. Buck was hiding.
Horror Situation: Detective visits survivor of home invasion and she says something only Buck’s first drive-in victim would know.
Reaction – Try to solve it. How could the victim have known this?
-Safety Taken Away: Cell phones have been blocked by an app from the management team. Even Shin’s phone is blocked. Can’t initiate any outgoing communication and only receive incoming messages from Muse. Jade is nowhere to be found.
Horror Situation: Muse sends Intermission ads to the group via their phones.
Reaction: Confusion – What does it mean? Who is doing this? Why is this happening?
-Monster: The nature of the beast – Buck attacks double dating teens after he finds them trespassing at the theatre.
Horror Situation: Buck traps four teens on a rooftop.
Reaction: One escapes by jumping off the roof. Severely injured, she’s taken hostage.
Character Deaths 6&7&8: Three are killed. One is stabbed in throat. One stabbed in eye. One stabbed in chest.
Why: The teens are trespassing on what Buck’s considers to be his family property.
How: They are all taken by surprise.
Horror Situation: Some of the core group find blood evidence from the attack on the double date.
Reaction: Denial – Must be part of the podcast/reality show.
ACT 2 – THE POINT OF NO RETURN
-Isolated/Trapped/Abducted: Cars have been tampered with. Pyro guys have disappeared. Film crew hasn’t arrived as scheduled.
Horror Situation: The pyro guys are missing. The film crew is nowhere to be found. No one is able to make an outgoing call. No one knows where Jade is. Shin insists that he has no idea what’s going on.
Reaction: Denial – Shin believes Jade is sabotaging the opening of the drive-in because she changed her mind.
-One of us is killed: Muse murders Carlos outside the ticket booth.
Horror Situation: Marcos is confronted by Muse outside the ticket booth. Marcos doesn’t understand what he’s facing.
Character Death 9: Muse guts Marcos.
Why: To hurt Christine
How: Marcos is blindsided by the danger
Horror Situation: Erik pays a visit to Buck’s doctor. Finds the doctor tied to a chair.
Reaction: Try to solve it – It has to be Buck. He’s attacked the family and the doctor. Who is his next target?
Character Death 10: Doctor has had arms and legs cut off and left with tourniquets tied to his limbs so he’ll bleed to death slowly.
Why: Buck was angry with his diagnosis
How: Doctor would have been wary of Buck, but Buck blindsided him.
MIDPOINT – The Monster is worse than we thought: Muse stalks Shin and kills him. First time the group sees the Intermission ads play on the big screen starring the dead.
Horror Situation: Shin is chased by Muse.
Character Death 11: Shin is beheaded.
Why: He is the money behind the reopening of the drive-in
How: Betrayed/Surprised
-Terrorized: Buck attacks the girls in the bathroom. He kills Hannah.
Horror Situation: Girls are trapped in the bathroom by Buck.
Reaction: Escape – Christine, Lauren and Zoe make it out of the bathroom and back to the lobby.
Character Death 12: Hannah is dragged into the darkness
Why: Buck wants the trespassers out.
How: Surprised. She didn’t know that there was a threat until it was too late.
Character Death 13: Jerry’s body is found
Why: Muse has no plans to leave any witnesses behind
How: Betrayed
Horror Situation: Muse throws Shin’s corpse through the lobby ceiling.
Reaction: They need to find a way out!
ACT 3 – FULL OUT HORROR
-Fight to the death: Group tries to retrieve the only working cell phone from Hannah’s corpse. They fail, and Barbra is killed in the process. Javier tries to escape in his car, and he’s killed. The remaining survivors make a run for the pyro van in hopes of finding a weapon.
Horror Situation: Someone has to go back into the girl’s bathroom to retrieve Hannah’s phone.
Reaction: The remaining survivors need a new plan for escape.
Character Death 14: Barbra is killed.
Why: Trying to call for help
How: Attempted to put a plan into action that fails
Horror Situation: Javier makes a run for his car.
Reaction: New plan for escape.
Character Death 15: The car has been tampered with. Javier doesn’t make it far. He’s killed as the other’s watch.
Why: Disrupts Buck’s ceremony for his deceased father
How: Attempted to escape but the plan fails
Horror Situation: Last survivors trapped inside the pyro van as Buck pounds the outside.
Reaction: Fight back.
-Hysteria: Buck has the remaining survivors trapped in the pyro van. They formulate a plan to fight him. It fails.
Horror Situation: Girls leave the van and confront Buck. Muse attacks Buck.
Reaction: Girls must now escape Muse.
Character Death 16: Buck is killed by Muse.
Why: Revenge for killing Jim
How: Surprised — Buck had no idea Muse existed.
Horror Situation: Face to face with Muse. Alyxx is wounded.
Reaction: They catch a break and are able to run.
-The thrilling escape from death: The girls escape with the road flares and race for the movie screen so they can climb to the top and light them, hoping someone from the highway will see the call for help.
Horror Situation: Alyxx can’t make the climb up the ladder.
Reaction: The girls have to find a place to hide Alyxx and leave her behind.
Character Death 17: The survivors find the remains of Jade
Why: She was trying to reopen the drive-in
How: Betrayed and blindsided
Horror Situation: Alyxx is trapped, and Muse is coming.
Character Death 18: Muse finds Alyxx and butchers her.
Why: To hurt Christine and terrorize the other survivors
How: Injury hobbled Alyxx so her best option was to hide, but she was found by Muse.
-Death returns to take one or more: Christine is tricked into coming down from the top of the movie screen. She’s taken hostage, along with her mom.
Horror Situation: Christine’s mom drives into the theatre lot.
Reaction: Christine must leave the safety of her position high above to go warn her mother.
Horror Situation: Lauren and Zoe chase after Christine to help her.
Reaction: They don’t find Christine, but they find an operational vehicle. They leave to go get help.
-Resolution: Detective unmasks Muse, saves the one survivor of the double date, but is too late to save Christine and her mom. Christine and the other unlucky victims become part of the haunting intermission ads which play on the giant screens.
Horror Situation: Detective helpless to stop pyro van explosion.
Reaction: Denial – He watches the intermission ad play on the big screen starring a cast of deceased victims.
Character Deaths 19&20: Christine and her mother are inside the van
Why: To destroy Erik… Muse’s ultimate goal
How: Jen was blindsided, and Christine fell for a trap while trying to save her mother.
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Brett Born’s Horror Situation Track
What I learned doing this assignment is how to pace the horror situations to create more and more scares as the story builds toward the finale.
ACT 1 – SET UP FOR HORROR
-Atmosphere of Evil established: Flashback thirty years to the night of the first murder at the drive-in.
Horror Situation: Jim comes face to face with Buck.
Character Death: Buck stabs Jim to death in middle of the drive-in theatre.
Reaction – Escape: Horrified moviegoers panic when they realize what’s happening.
-Connect with the characters: Present day… reconnect with several of the characters including one who is a detective hunting a serial killer and one working to reopen the drive-in. Meet new characters planning a podcast/reality series that will document experiences at the alleged haunted drive-in.
Horror Situation: Rideshare driver picks up Buck. Buck mentally torments him.
Reaction – 1st Denial & 2nd Fight. Driver thinks Buck is playing then takes him seriously. Screams for him to get out of the car.
Horror Situation: Buck takes a family hostage.
Character Death: Three of the family members are killed. One survives.
Reaction – Try to solve it: Detective called to crime scene to investigate the attack.
-The Characters are warned not to do it: Jen orders Christine to stay away from the theatre. Jade argues with Shin that reopening the theatre is a terrible idea.
Horror Situation: Muse stalks Christine at her house.
Reaction – Denial: Christine thinks it’s someone playing a joke.
-Denial of Horror: Buck Kilgore has been locked away for thirty years. Muse is only a legend.
Horror Situation: Detective suspects that Buck is somehow linked to the attack on the family.
Reaction – Try to solve it: But how? Buck should still be incarcerated.
Horror Situation: Detective visits survivor of home invasion and she says something only Buck’s first drive-in victim would know.
Reaction – Try to solve it. How could the victim have known this?
-Safety Taken Away: Cell phones have been blocked by an app from the management team. Even Shin’s phone is blocked. Can’t initiate any outgoing communication and only receive incoming messages from Muse. Jade is nowhere to be found.
Horror Situation: Muse sends Intermission ads to the group via their phones.
Reaction: Confusion – What does it mean? Why is this happening?
-Monster: The nature of the beast – Buck attacks double dating teens after he finds them trespassing at the theatre. Some of the core group discover remnants from this attack.
Horror Situation: Buck traps four teens on a rooftop.
Character Death: Three are killed.
Reaction: One escapes by jumping off the roof. Severely injured, she’s taken hostage.
Horror Situation: Some of the core group find blood evidence from the attack on the double date.
Reaction: Denial – Must be part of the podcast/reality show.
ACT 2 – THE POINT OF NO RETURN
-Isolated/Trapped/Abducted: Cars have been tampered with. Pyro guys have disappeared. Film crew hasn’t arrived as scheduled.
Horror Situation: The pyro guys are missing. The film crew is nowhere to be found. No one is able to make an outgoing call. No one knows where Jade is. Shin insists that he has no idea what’s going on.
Reaction: Denial – Shin believes Jade is sabotaging the opening of the drive-in because she changed her mind.
-One of us is killed: Muse murders Carlos outside the ticket booth.
Horror Situation: Carlos is confronted by Muse outside the ticket booth. Carlos doesn’t understand what he’s facing.
Character Death: Muse kills Carlos.
MIDPOINT – The Monster is worse than we thought: Muse stalks Shin and kills him. First time the group sees the Intermission ads play on the big screen starring the dead.
Horror Situation: Shin is chased by Muse.
Character Death: Shin is beheaded.
-Terrorized: Buck attacks the girls in the bathroom. He kills Hannah. Muse throws Shin’s corpse through the lobby ceiling.
Horror Situation: Girls are trapped in the bathroom by Buck.
Character Death: Hannah dies.
Reaction: Escape – Christine, Lauren and Zoe make it out of the bathroom and back to the lobby.
Horror Situation: Girls discover remains of Shin. They all lose it.
Reaction: Have to find a way out!
Horror Situation: Detective discovers Buck’s doctor. Still alive, but he’s missing his limbs.
Reaction: Try to solve it. Where’s Buck?
ACT 3 – FULL OUT HORROR
-Fight to the death: Group tries to retrieve the only working cell phone from Hannah’s corpse. They fail, and Barbra is killed in the process. Javier tries to escape in his car, and he’s killed. The remaining survivors make a run for the pyro van in hopes of finding a weapon.
Horror Situation: Someone has to go back into the girl’s bathroom to retrieve Hannah’s phone.
Character Death: Barbra is killed.
Reaction: The remaining survivors need a new plan for escape.
Horror Situation: Javier makes a run for his car.
Character Death: The car has been tampered with. Javier doesn’t make it far. He’s killed as the other’s watch.
Reaction: New plan for escape.
Horror Situation: Last survivors trapped inside the pyro van as Buck pounds the outside.
Reaction: Fight back.
-Hysteria: Buck has the remaining survivors trapped in the pyro van. They formulate a plan to fight him. It fails.
Horror Situation: Girls leave the van and confront Buck.
Character Death: Buck is killed by Muse.
Reaction: Girls must now escape Muse.
Horror Situation: Face to face with Muse. Alyxx is wounded.
Reaction: They catch a break and are able to run.
-The thrilling escape from death: The girls escape with the road flares and race for the movie screen so they can climb to the top and light them, hoping someone from the highway will see the call for help.
Horror Situation: Alyxx can’t make the climb up the ladder.
Reaction: The girls have to find a place to hide Alyxx and leave her.
Horror Situation: Alyxx is trapped, and Muse is coming.
Character Death: Muse finds Alyxx and kills her.
-Death returns to take one or more: Christine is tricked into coming down from the top of the movie screen. She’s taken hostage, along with her mom.
Horror Situation: Christine’s mom drives into the theatre lot.
Reaction: Christine must leave the safety of her position to go warn her mother.
Horror Situation: Lauren and Zoe chase after Christine to help her.
Reaction: They don’t find Christine, but they find an operational vehicle. They leave to go get help.
-Resolution: Detective unmasks Muse, saves the one survivor of the double date, but is too late to save Christine and her mom. Christine and the other unlucky victims become part of the haunting intermission ads which play on the giant screens.
Horror Situation: Detective helpless to stop pyro van explosion with Christine and her mom inside.
Reaction: Denial – He watches the intermission ad play on the big screen starring a cast of deceased victims.
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Brett Born’s Show Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment is there are many layers required to keep characters fresh and interesting throughout a long-running series.
Assignment #1 – AHS
Viv
1. Has a miscarriage (Undeserved Misfortune)
2. Her husband cheats on her (Undeserved Misfortune)
3. She was raped by stranger in latex suit (Undeserved Misfortune)
4. There is something not right about her current pregnancy, but she doesn’t know what it is (Plot Intruding On Life)
5. She wants out of the house, but the real estate agent can’t find a buyer (Plot Intruding On Life)
Ben
1. Wife has detached herself emotionally (External Character Conflicts)
2. Stalked by one of the previous tenants of the home who claims to have killed his own family (External Character Conflicts)
3. Witnesses the murder of the student with whom he was having an affair, then he’s stalked by her ghost (External Character Conflicts)
4. One of his clients, who Ben considers dangerous, is pursuing Ben’s daughter (External Character Conflicts)
5. The maid keeps coming onto him, but he doesn’t want to cheat on his wife again (Moral Dilemmas)
6. Sleepwalks into dangerous situations (Plot Intruding On Life)
Assignment #2 – Devil’s 8
Gregg
1. His daughter disappears without a trace (Undeserved Misfortune)
2. HIs wife has left him (External Character Conflicts)
3. False abuse allegations put him at risk of losing his job and ruining him (Plot Intruding on Life)
4. Sister died in an accident when he was very young (Undeserved Misfortune)
5. He was the product of an affair and never knew his biological mother (Undeserved Misfortune)
6. Church target of attacks from dark forces (External Character Conflict)
7. Anger issues due to traumatic brain injury from a car accident (Undeserved Misfortune)
8. Bullied as a child (External Character Conflicts)
9. Wants to win back ex (External Character Conflicts)
10. How to fight back against attacks. (Moral Dilemmas)
Mareesha
1. Looked down on by adults because of her pregnancy (External Character Conflicts)
2. Father was murdered (Undeserved Misfortune)
3. Mother left her when she was young (Undeserved Misfortune)
4. Seeking an abortion because of who the father is. But she’s not sure if it’s the right thing to do (Moral Dilemmas)
Poe
1. Treated unequally in an all male work environment (Plot Intruding on Life)
2. Has to kill father in front of his child or child’s mother dies (Forced Decision They’d Never Make)
3. Victim of domestic abuse (External Character Conflicts)
Adam
1. Feels forsaken by God (External Character Conflicts)
2. Avoids his only son because he fears his son becoming like him (Moral Dilemmas)
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Brett Born’s Horror Plot
What I learned doing this assignment is how to breakdown the pacing of a successful horror film. Too many wrong beats can muddle the tension and the atmosphere that is trying to be achieved.
ACT 1 – SET UP FOR HORROR
-Atmosphere of Evil established: Flashback thirty years to the night of the first murder at the drive-in.
-Connect with the characters: Present day… reconnect with several of the characters including one as a detective hunting a serial killer and one working to reopen the drive-in. Meet new characters planning a podcast/reality series that will document experiences at the alleged haunted drive-in.
-The Characters are warned not to do it: Jen orders Christine to stay away from the theatre. Jade argues with Shin that reopening the theatre is a terrible idea.
-Denial of Horror: Buck Kilgore has been locked away for thirty years. Muse is only a legend.
-Safety Taken Away: Cell phones have been blocked by an app from the management team. Even Shin’s phone is blocked. Can’t initiate any outgoing communications and only receive incoming messages from Muse. Jade is nowhere to be found.
-Monster: The nature of the beast – Buck attacks double dating teens after he finds them trespassing at the theatre. Some of the core group discover remnants from this attack.
ACT 2 – THE POINT OF NO RETURN
-Isolated/Trapped/Abducted: Cars have been tampered with. Pyro guys have disappeared. Film crew hasn’t arrived as scheduled.
-One of us is killed: Muse murders Carlos outside the ticket booth.
MIDPOINT – The Monster is worse than we thought: Muse stalks Shin and kills him.
-Terrorized: Buck attacks the girls in the bathroom and kills Hannah. Muse throws Shin’s corpse through the lobby ceiling.
ACT 3 – FULL OUT HORROR
-Fight to the death: Group tries to retrieve the only working cell phone from Hannah’s corpse. They fail, and Barbra is killed in the process. Javier tries to escape in his car, and he’s killed. The remaining survivors make a run for the pyro van in hopes of finding a weapon.
-Hysteria: Buck has the remaining survivors trapped in the pyro van. They formulate a plan to fight him. It fails.
-The thrilling escape from death: Muse beats Buck with a sledgehammer. The girls escape with the road flares and race for the higher ground of the movie screens, hoping someone from the highway will see the call for help.
-Death returns to take one or more: Muse finds an injured Alyxx and kills her. Christine is tricked into coming down from the top of the screen. She’s taken hostage, along with her mom.
-Resolution: Detective unmasks Muse, saves the one survivor from the double date attack, but is too late to save Christine and her mom. Christine and the other unlucky victims become part of the haunting intermission ads which play on the giant screens.
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Assignment #2 – Devil’s 8 TV Relationship Maps
1. Gregg’s relationship with Priest / Ms. Jay / Sara
Surface – Priest: Colleagues / Ms. Jay: Mother & Son / Sara: Divorced Couple
Common Ground – Priest: Work to help others&Community service / Ms. Jay: Family / Sara: Married and had a daughter together
Conflict – Priest: Philosophical differences in dealing with conflict and threats / Ms. Jay: She never approved of his marriage / Sara: Relationship didn’t survive the loss of their daughter
History – Priest: Used to be with same church but Gregg left / Ms. Jay: Gregg’s sister died when he was young&Dad disappeared when Gregg was a teen / Sara: Fell in love too young
Subtext – Priest: Knows more about Gregg than Gregg knows about himself / Ms. Jay: Mother made Gregg a surrogate everything&Gregg resents her for it / Sara: Still in love with each other
Relationship Arc – Priest: Confidantes to reluctant partners / Ms. Jay: He has to care for her then she mentors him / Sara: Divorced to dating to separated again
2. Poe’s relationship with Cassandra / Sergeant Mack / Harper
Surface – Cassandra: Police&Psychic Detective / Sergeant Mack: Boss&Subordinate / Harper: Partners
Common Ground – Cassandra: Hunting the Red Light Stitcher / Sergeant Mack: Both are police officers / Harper: Both got into law enforcement because of parents
Conflict – Cassandra: She’s a child and Poe treats her like an adult / Sergeant Mack: Threatened by Poe’s intelligence / Harper: Poe is condescending to him
History – Cassandra: Poe is close with Cassandra’s mother / Sergeant Mack: Poe embarrassed him in front of the other officers / Harper: He was the only colleague who didn’t have a problem with a woman partner.
Subtext – Cassandra: Poe loves Cassandra as if she were her own daughter / Sergeant Mack: Sexualizes Poe which triggers her / Harper: He wants to prove that he’s as good as Poe
Relationship Arc – Casandra: Working together to Poe becoming a mother figure / Sergeant Mack: Adversaries to Sergeant becoming physical threat / Harper: Professional relationship to romantic
3. Mareesha’s relationship with Gregg / Dr. Hyde / Poe
Surface – Gregg: Social Worker&Client / Dr. Hyde: Doctor&Patient / Poe: Police Officer&Witness
Common Ground – Gregg: Shocking family deaths / Dr.Hyde: Her pregnancy / Poe: Her mother worked with Poe
Conflict – Gregg: Mareesha resents Gregg assuming a parental role / Dr. Hyde: She wants an abortion. Hyde doesn’t want her to do it. / Poe: Mareesha thinks Poe poses a threat to Gregg
History – Gregg: Helped her through a rough time after her mother left / Dr. Hyde: Was also her mother’s doctor / Poe: Briefly investigated the disappearance of Mareesha’s mother
Subtext – Gregg: He uses Mareesha to feel like he has a life again / Dr.Hyde: Hyde wants the baby / Poe: Poe is afraid for Mareesha
Relationship Arc – Gregg: Her advisor to her father to a destroyed relationship / Dr. Hyde: Her doctor to her stalker / Poe: Her adversary to her defender
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Assignment #1 – AHS TV Relationship Map
Ben’ relationship with Vivien – Tate – Hayden
Surface – Viv: Husband – Wife / Tate: Psychiatrist – Patient / Hayden: Teacher – Student
Common Ground – Viv: Marriage&Children / Tate: Tortured by personal mistakes they’d like to forget or pretend didn’t happen / Hayden: School
Conflict – Viv: Infidelity / Tate: Tate’s relationship with Ben’s daughter&Tate has violent thoughts and Ben tries to report him / Hayden: Still married to Vivien&Hayden’s pregnant&Ben helped to cover up her murder
History – Viv: Suffered through the loss of a child&Ben cheated on Viv / Tate: He and his mom lived in the house many years before the Harmon family / Hayden: Had an affair with Ben
Subtext – Viv: She blames and feels resentment&Ben feels shame / Tate: Tate needs an authority figure / Hayden: Hayden envies Ben’s marriage. She wants someone to take care of her. Ben wants to feel loved and needed.
Relationship Arc – Viv: Marriage to Separation / Tate: From professional to adversarial to mutual understanding / Hayden: Lovers to Enemies
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Brett Born’s Characters for Horror
What I learned doing this assignment is how to be more cognizant of each character’s specific role in the events of the story.
Concept: High school student with a secret seeks fame by creating a podcast to showcase her experiences at a haunted drive-in which has secrets of its own.
Group B: The employees attend a meet and greet at the drive-in the night before the grand reopening.
Dying Pattern A: Characters will be killed off one by one.
LEADER: Christine – Through her relationships and because of who she is, she joins efforts to reopen the drive-in to gain fame and build her personal brand.
RESCUER: Lauren – Single teen mom with strong maternal instincts that drive her to help others and stay alive so that she can see her baby again.
LONER: Alyxx – Christine is her only friend, and she will follow her friend anywhere.
MORAL ONE: Zoe – She brings the humanity to the situation and speaks her mind when she discovers truths.
LOVE INTEREST: Marcos – Christine’s bf who handles her betrayal of their relationship with grace and humility and never sees the threat coming until it’s too late.
REBEL: Hannah – She has no interest in working at the drive-in and is more interested in her role as a social influencer, but her rebelliousness will provide an opportunity to save them all.
OUT OF CONTROL/OBNOXIOUS: Shin – Always in everyone’s business, he owns the theatre and his disdain for his cousin is despicable as he uses her to help promote his business.
THE CARRIER: Jade – A victim of the events of the past, she has returned to the theater in an effort to reclaim her peace of mind, but her actions only invite the terror to return with her.
MONSTER BAIT: A double date looking to party in a secluded spot unleashes the ire of Buck, who doesn’t appreciate their presense.
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Brett Born’s Terrifying Monster
What I learned doing this assignment is a new way to analyze the character of the monster to maximize its impact on the audience.
The Monster:
Buck Kilgore – Psychopath who practices a twisted form of mysticism
Muse / The Ghost – Muse is a psychopath who has been haunted and driven mad by The Ghost.
The Ghost was one of Buck’s victims.
Their Terror:
Buck engages in conversations with his victims and toys with them before he attacks.
Muse performs a slow danse macabre before the kill.
Buck approaches his victims as if he means no harm. He enjoys the slow burn as his victims realize the dire situation.
Muse forewarns of an attack by sending videos of drive-in theatre intermission ads to the victims’ phones.
Victims are isolated in their homes. The drive-in hasn’t reopened and is located on the outskirts of town. The phones are blocked. Vehicles are booby trapped.
Buck and Muse both brutally murder their victims. Spirits may become trapped in the haunting intermission ads that play on the big screens.
Buck likes to kill up close and personal. His weapon of choice is a Butterfly Switchblade.
Muse is an opportunist and doesn’t have a specific weapon, although they do orchestrate a very special final kill.
Once Buck sets his sights on you, he’s relentless in his pursuit, whether it takes 30 minutes or 30 years.
Muse has a poltergeist for a partner. Muse has gone to great lengths to make sure that once you enter the drive-in, there is no way out alive.
Their Mystery:
With seemingly no way out, how do we escape this drive-in before being murdered by Buck or Muse?
Their Fear Provoking Appearance:
Buck paints the top of half his face with a red greasepaint. He streaks white lines (like wings) from the outside corners of his eyes.
Muse wears a mask featuring the faces of comedy and tragedy fused together like a monstrous conjoined twin.
Their Rules:
Buck hates disrespect, and he doesn’t want anyone at the drive-in, which he considers his property. Cross him, and he kills you… sometimes worse.
Muse doesn’t want the drive-in open for business ever again. If you’re trying to reopen the theatre, you die.
Their Mythology:
Buck was born into an abusive family. When he was young, they lived in a trailer on the land that is now the drive-in theatre. Buck’s only good childhood memory is a trip to the movies with his father. When Buck was a teen, his father was murdered. Buck wanted to perform a ceremony to release his father’s spirit, and he wanted to do it at the drive-in, which is land that he considered to belong to his family. The ceremony doesn’t go to plan and Buck murders one of the drive-in employees. Buck is locked away for nearly 30 years, patiently waiting for the day he can return and finally release his father’s spirit from this world.
Muse was very young and at the drive-in on the night Buck murders the employee. Muse was traumatized by the events and is haunted by the ghost of the young man that Buck murdered.
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“Trick ‘r Treat” Horror Conventions
What I learned doing this assignment is how to better understand the makeup of a horror film by analyzing its conventions, which in turn helps to develop new ideas by isolating weaknesses and putting a spotlight on missing elements.
Concept: Trick ‘r Treat is a horror anthology that follows a mysterious creature named Sam who stalks a town and punishes those who fail to follow his special rules for Halloween night.
Terrorize the Characters: On Halloween, characters face the brutal consequences of not following Sam’s rules.
Isolation: Emma is alone in her front yard late at night. A woman is assaulted and killed in the middle of a crowded street, but because it’s a Halloween celebration, no one believes she’s in real jeopardy. Steven and other victims of werewolves are taken deep into the woods. A group of children are trapped at the bottom of a basin outside of town. Mr. Kreeg is alone in his home.
Death: Emma is killed by a jagged Jack-o-Lantern lollipop. One child dies after eating candy laced with cyanide. Woman is torn up by vampire teeth. Group is killed by werewolves. Children are murdered by zombies.
Monster: Sam is a supernatural creature who wears a Halloween costume and roams the town to make sure that everyone celebrates Halloween respectfully. If they don’t… they die.
High Tension: Even though Sam’s rules are known only to him, the film does a good job of showing the audience when someone has just broken a rule and will soon be getting their comeuppance.
Departure from Reality: Most of the kills are executed by supernatural beings for which there is no defense, such as Sam, Werewolves, and Zombies.
Moral Statement: If you break the rules, there are consequences.
The film did a great job of balancing tongue-in—cheek horror with legitimate scares and even made you feel genuinely sad for the children in the school bus accident. It’s not easy in the horror genre to have a scary story that includes comedy and heart without coming off as campy or cheesy. The costume wearing pumpkin monster, Sam, was clever and perfectly fit the theme.
“Intermission” Horror Conventions
Concept: A high school student with a secret seeks fame by creating a podcast to showcase her experiences at a haunted drive-in which has secrets of its own.
Terrorize the Characters: The characters try to escape brutal deaths that lead to their spirits being trapped in the nightmarish intermission ads that play on the drive-in screens.
Isolation: Various private residences. The drive-in theater on the outskirts of town.
Death: Butterfly switchblade, sledgehammer, nacho cheese, fireworks
Monsters:
Buck Kilgore, a psychopath who doesn’t like trespassers on “his family property.”
Muse, a masked killer out for revenge
Ghost of the first victim
High Tension: Countdown to a deadly main attraction. Being stalked by three different faces of evil.
Departure from Reality: Supernatural elements. No way to call for help. Can’t use a vehicle to escape. Multiple crazies trying to kill kids whose only crime is selling stale popcorn.
Moral Statement: Be careful what you wish for, especially when chasing self-glory.
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Assignment #2 – Devil’s 8 Character Emotions
What I learned doing this assignment is the amount of consideration that needs to go into building the depth of the character’s emotions and how all of the traits of a character will play off one another. There has to be rhyme and reason so that the character’s actions will make sense.
GREGG PROFILE
A. Hope: To get his wife and daughter back / Fear: His daughter’s dead and wife doesn’t love him anymore.
B. Want: To discover and understand his purpose in life / Need: Find his personal connection with God
C. Base Negative Emotion: Self-Loathing / Public Mask: Saint
D. Weaknesses: Trouble asking for help / Impatient / Stubborn
E. Triggers: Criticism / Perception of being abandoned / Rejection
F. Coping Mechanism: Has to fix everyone else’s problems
POE PROFILE
A. Hope: To be the best at what she does / Fear: Being alone
B. Want: To believe in a higher power / Need: Respect
C. Base Negative Emotion: Emotional neglect / Public Mask: The Boss
D. Weaknesses: Problems maintaining personal relationships / Trust issues
E. Triggers: Disrespect / Isolation
F. Coping Mechanism: Battle all opposition
MAREESHA PROFILE
A. Hope: Reunite with her mother / Fear: Giving birth to a monster
B. Want: Revenge against those who have hurt her and her family / Need: Stability and love
C. Base Negative Emotion: Anxiety / Public Mask: Sedate
D. Weaknesses: Self-Deception
E. Triggers: Fear of change / Uncertainty
F. Coping Mechanism: Plots against perceived threats
ADAM PROFILE
A. Hope: Become God’s equal / Fear: Death
B. Want: Control and be worshipped by an army of adoring followers / Need: Forgiveness
C. Base Negative Emotion: Pride / Public Mask: God
D. Weaknesses: Desires control over others / Competitive
E. Triggers: Being ignored / Loss of control
F. Coping Mechanism: Manipulation
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Hi, I’m Brett. I’ve written 11 features, two pilots, and 7 episodes of Power Rangers.
I’ve been a big fan of the horror genre my entire life, and I want to learn new ways to take my horror stories to the next level.
I’m a big KISS fan and have a lot of band memorabilia, including Eric Carr’s original Hawk costume. Most people think it looks like a giant scary chicken-man, and I always enjoy the reactions from people when they first visit my studio and see the costume posed on the mannequin.
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Brett Born
I agree to the terms of this release form.
As a member of this group, I agree to the following:
1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.
2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.
I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.
3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.
4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.
5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.
6. Finally, I agree not to bring suit against anyone in this group for any reason, unless they use a substantial portion of my copyrighted work in a manner that is public and/or that prevents me from marketing my script by shopping it to production companies, agents, managers, actors, networks, studios or any other entertainment industry organizations or people.
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Assignment #1 – AHS Character Emotions
VIVIEN PROFILE
A. Hope: To trust her husband/Believe in her marriage again / Fear: Losing another pregnancy
B. Want: Sell the Murder House / Need: Feel in control of her life
C. Base Negative Emotion: Empty and Sad / Public Mask: Stoic
D. Weaknesses: Emotionally disconnected
E. Triggers: Betrayal / Loss of control
F. Coping Mechanisms: Denial / Isolates
BEN PROFILE
A. Hope: To be a happy family man / Fear: Losing his family
B. Want: Feel safety and warmth of a home / Need: Validation from Vivien
C. Base Negative Emotion: Shame / Public Mask: Confident Therapist
D. Weaknesses: Lack of self control and personal accountability
E. Triggers: Feeling unwanted or unneeded
F. Coping Mechanism: Cheats on wife / Self-pity
VIOLET PROFILE
A. Hope: Escape her pain / Fear: the unknown… new city… new house… new people
B. Want: Acceptance / Need: Be seen and loved
C. Base Negative Emotion: Lacks self-confidence, Anger / Mask: Too cool to care
D. Weaknesses: Depressed, Anxious
E. Triggers: Disrespect / Unjust Treatment
F. Coping Mechanism: Fights / Self-harm
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Assignment #2 – Devil’s 8 Intriguing Character Layers
What I learned doing this assignment is that you have to be mindful that you don’t give your supporting characters so much intrigue that they become more interesting than your main characters. It can be the difference between making a good show and a great show, ie AHS vs Breaking Bad.
Gregg Engell
Role: Unassuming Pastor who uncovers a dangerous cult and risks everything to stop it.
Hidden Agendas: Get back ex-wife, who has since remarried.
Competition: Gregg wants to expose Adam, the cult leader. Mareesha. Poe.
Conspiracies: Gregg and Mareesha infiltrate the cult. Stages an attack on his own church to frame Adam.
Secrets: Gregg was a satanist, directly responsible for death of his sister, Gregg was the product of an affair… never knew his real mother.
Deception: His ex-wife, Mareesha, the Priest, Adam, his parishioners
Wound: Older sister died when he was young. Daughter went missing and deemed a runaway. Unwanted divorce.
Secret Identity: Saint
Sandra Poe
Role: Special agent assigned to investigate ritual killing
Hidden Agendas: Investigating Gregg… he has a history
Competition: Gregg, Adam, Sheriff
Conspiracies: Works with Mareesha to gain favor with Gregg
Secrets: Once used a young girl’s special abilities to advance her own career
Deception: Gregg, Priest, Sheriff
Wound: Lost her son when he was little
Secret Identity: Martyr
Mareesha
Role: Teen who helps Gregg keep his center
Hidden Agendas: Kill the person or persons responsible for her father’s death
Competition: Gregg as a father figure, Adam for revenge, Priest scares her, she doesn’t trust Poe
Conspiracies: With Gregg to take down Adam, with Adam to take down Gregg
Secrets: She’s pregnant
Deception: Gregg, Adam, Priest, Poe
Wound: Loss of her parents
Secret Identity: Daughter of Cassandra, the clairvoyant
Adam
Role: Leader of a dangerous religious group
Hidden Agendas: Create an army of followers for personal gain and power
Competition: Wants Gregg dead, Conflict with Poe, Wants to harness Mareesha’s abilities, Priest
Conspiracies: With Mareesha so he can trap and kill Gregg. With Jess Rutschi to murder Mareesha’s father
Secrets: He has a son. Adam doesn’t want his son to know him because he doesn’t want his son to become like him.
Deception: Everyone
Wound: Forsaken by God
Secret Identity: Fallen Angel
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Assignment #1 – AHS Intriguing Character Layers
First three episodes of AHS…
Hidden Agendas: Hayden pretends that she is over her feelings for Ben so that he will come out to Boston and help her during the abortion. Real Estate agent only reveals one story from the history of Murder House and hides its dark history.
Competition: Violet must confront Leah, the school bully. Ben and Tate compete for Violet’s approval.
Conspiracy: Ben and Burnt Man murder and bury Hayden. Violet and Tate hatch a plot to scare Leah. Bianca, Fiona, and Dallas invade the Murder House and take Viv and Violet hostage with the intent to re-enact a double homicide from the 60’s.
Secrets: Hayden is pregnant with Ben’s child. We don’t know who the father of Viv’s baby is. Ben stays in contact with Hayden after telling Viv that the affair is over. Constance killed Moira. Violet cuts herself. The original tenant, Charles Montgomery, used to perform abortions inside the house and would conduct experiments with the remains.
Deception: Ben lies to Viv about needing to visit a former client in crisis so that he can travel to Boston to be with Hayden. Moira drugs Ben with an opiate. Many of the characters who interact with the Harmons are ghosts.
Wound: Viv gives birth to a stillborn. Ben has an affair with one of his students.
Secret Identity: Who is Latex Man? Who is the monster baby?
After watching the fourth episode of AHS…
Hidden Agendas: Chad and Patrick want the Harmon’s to leave Murder House. Tate wants to win favor with Ben so that he can be with Violet.
Competition: Tate is in competition with Ben for his daughter. Chad and Patrick want the Harmons out of Murder House and vice versa. Constance and Addie compete for the attention of Travis. Chad and Patrick are in a power struggle within their relationship.
Conspiracy: Tate and Violet hide their time together from her parents. Ben and Viv work with the realtor to make Murder House more appealing so they can sell it to an unsuspecting buyer.
Secrets: Patrick propositions Ben for sex. Something is very wrong with Viv’s pregnancy and the baby’s development. Latex Man murdered Chad.
Deception: Chad and Patrick pretend to be the house fluffers hired by the realtor. Tate uses Halloween to give the appearance that he’s alive because spirits can move freely about the Earth on Halloween.
Wound: Moira feels guilt over her mom’s suffering in the nursing home, and Moira can’t leave with her mom in death. Addie is victim to a hit and run, and Constance fails to get Addie’s body back to the Murder House before she dies so that her spirit will remain trapped there. The Montgomery’s baby is abducted and murdered.
Secret Identity: The House Fluffers are really the previous owners, Chad and Patrick. Addie trick-or-treats in her pretty girl costume. Latex Man continues to be a mystery. Monster baby is the resurrected Montgomery baby.
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Assignment #2 – Devil’s 8 Engaging Main Characters
What I learned doing this assignment is how much thought it takes to structure the journey of the main characters in such a way that the reveal is done in layers. It’s fun trying to figure out what to reveal first, what comes next, and how to keep surprising the audience.
The Journey:
Gregg leads an unassuming life. He’s the pastor of a small church and works as a social worker to help make ends meet. He will lose everything as he uncovers secrets of a dangerous religious cult that will make him a target for murder.
Main Characters: Gregg Engell, Sandra Poe, Mareesha, Adam
A. Role in the show:
Gregg – Pastor who discovers a Christian organization is not who they say they are.
Poe – Sheriff who believes Gregg and is willing to help expose the cult.
Mareesha – Victim of the cult and helps to keep Gregg from completely losing his center.
Adam – Leader of the cult who targets Gregg, what he stands for, and all that he cares about.
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise:
Gregg: Expertise – Knows the community and its people and has experience with dangerous cults.
Purpose – Expose the cult for what it really is and save as many people as he can.
Poe: Expertise – Has spent her career dealing with serial killers and unexplainable phenomenon.
Purpose – Take all the pieces collected throughout her career and put the puzzle together. She wants to figure out how everything connects.
Mareesha: Expertise – Victim of the religious cult and knows exactly how dangerous they are.
Purpose – Work with Gregg to expose the cult and help him keep his humanity.
Adam: Expertise – Leader of the religious cult and the mastermind.
Purpose – Achieve his ultimate goal, as well as ruin Gregg.
C. Intrigue: Secret Beneath the Surface
Gregg: Responsible for a death in his family. Willing to lie, cheat and steal, whatever means necessary, to expose the cult.
Poe: Works outside legal boundaries and uses her position to protect and aid Gregg.
Mareesha: She’s the reason that her parents crossed paths with the cult and were ultimately murdered. She’s pregnant and keeps the identity of the father a secret.
Adam: Not just the leader of an extreme religious organization, he’s sinister on an entirely different level.
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?
Gregg: Digs up a grave. With no real proof, Gregg has decided to expose a religious organization that he believes is actually a dangerous cult.
Poe: Used a young girl and her special talents to help advance her own career. Now, she is once again crossing lines to help Gregg.
Mareesha: She is driven by revenge. She doesn’t just want to expose secrets… she wants someone to pay with their life.
Adam: Prideful. Isn’t concerned about who he hurts or what happens to anybody who interferes with his plans.
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next?
Gregg: Doesn’t act like a man of God as he sets about on his mission to expose the cult. Stages an attack on his own church to try and frame the cult.
Poe: Opens cold cases on her own initiative. Takes a child psychic on an unsanctioned stakeout to catch a serial killer. Helps cover up Gregg’s wrongdoings.
Mareesha: Hatches her own revenge plots.
Adam: Always scheming to take down anyone who threatens him.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care?
Gregg: Undeserved misfortune – Loss of family members due to tragic events. Sacrifices his own well being to expose a dangerous cult in an effort to save others.
Poe: No matter what she does to prove her worth and earn respect, it’s never enough.
Mareesha: Dealing with an unwanted pregnancy.
Adam: He’s a product of the world in which he lives. Maybe under different circumstances, he could have been a good person. Has many pastoral qualities.
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Assignment #1 – AHS Engaging Main Characters
A. ROLE IN THE SHOW:
Vivien: The matriarch of the broken family.
Ben: The husband in the broken family. He’ll do anything to keep his family together.
B. UNIQUE PURPOSE / EXPERTISE:
Vivien: Purpose: She’s working to see if the family can stay together but doesn’t know if it will work.
Expertise: She has a miscarriage which is the catalyst in the deterioration of the marriage. The Murder House feeds on her tragedy.
Ben: Purpose: He illustrates the immense pain the couple feels through his bad actions.
Expertise: Psychiatrist who can understand his wife’s pain and express it in words, but he can’t connect with her emotionally.
C. INTRIGUE: WHAT SECRETS ARE BENEATH THE SURFACE?
Vivien: She is probably carrying the baby of another man.
Ben: He had an affair with one of his students, and now she is pregnant with his child.
D. MORAL ISSUE: WHAT MORAL BOUNDARIES ARE THEY CROSSING?
Vivien: She threatens the real estate agent with a lawsuit if the agent doesn’t do whatever it takes to unload the murder house on another unsuspecting buyer.
Ben: He has an affair with a student. He’s complicit to the murder of the student, who is carrying his child. He contemplates sleeping with Moira, the maid.
E. UNPREDICTABLE: WHAT WILL THEY DO NEXT?
Vivien: She has sex with Latex Man. She fights back against the intruders during a home invasion.
Ben: He sleepwalks and plays with fire. He helps to bury the body of his murdered student.
F. EMPATHETIC: WHY DO WE CARE?
Vivien: She has a miscarriage and has to carry the baby for two months before delivering a stillborn.
Ben: Feels sincere remorse for his infidelity and poor decisions. His deep pain stems from the loss of their baby.
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Assignment #2 – Devil’s 8 Three Circles of Characters
What I learned doing this assignment is a new way to analyze the relationships between my supporting characters and my main characters. Understanding each of the supporting roles helps me to better map the journey of the main characters. Also, I realized that one of my characters whom I thought was supporting, actually needs to be a main character.
A. Main Characters Circle:
Gregg Engell : Other than his unwavering belief in God, he possesses none of the other traits that make for a good Pastor.
Sandra Poe: Working as the only woman in an all male police department has made her both driven and self-reliant.
Mareesha: Isolated teen who has lost both parents and possesses a gift that is powerful, but frightening.
Adam: He’s charming and intelligent, but also deceptive, manipulative… and very dangerous.
B. Connected Circle: Priest, Hyde, Anastasia, Cassandra, Doyle, Ms. Jay, Harlow, Reg, Kristin, Poe’s Sergeant, Det. Banning, Octavio, Goat-Man, Jess Rutschi, Graves, The Sisters, Various victims, Red Light Stitcher, Ram Face, Vicki, Jazmin
C. Environment Circle: Dispatcher, Theatre patrons, Police officers, Christian nationalists, Parishioners, Satanists, Physical Therapists, Doctors, Nurses
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Assignment #1 : American Horror Story Three Circles of Characters
A. Main Characters Circle: Vivien, Ben, Violet
B. Connected Circle: Tate, Addie, Constance, Older Moira, Young Moira, Larry Harvey, Leah, Hayden, Fiona, Bianca, Dallas, Travis, Dr. Day, Det. Collier, Det. Webb, Maria, Gladys, Franklin, Marcy, The Twin Boys
C. Environment Circle: Students at High School, Teachers, Students at the Nursing Dormitory, People at Abortion Clinic, Nurses
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American Horror Story 5 Star Model
What I learned doing this assignment is not only do I have to think of the pilot as its own story, but I need to consider how every scene can help set the story and tone for the entire season… full of open loops and a multitude of reveals to come. In a way, a binge worthy series is like the daytime soaps used to be, except on steroids.
OUTLINE:
Show opens in a flashback at the Murder House. We meet a young girl, Addie, as she confronts twin boys planning to vandalize the house. Addie acts as harbinger of doom, and warns the twins about going inside, but they ignore her. She taunts them, “you’re going to regret it.” They are killed in the basement by a creepy baby monster.
We flash forward and meet one of the protagonists, Vivien. She’s at a doctor’s appointment. Her doctor is working to get her hormones back in order and we learn that her and her husband, Ben, have been struggling sexually. She returns home and thinks she hears intruders. She grabs a knife and investigates only to catch Ben in the act of sleeping with one of his students. She cuts his arm… Addie’s haunting taunt, “you’re going to regret it,” plays in VO, and show rolls opening credits.
Credits include a number of disturbing images of babies and very young children who have died.
The family is making a new start and moving to Los Angeles. We meet their daughter, Violet. Her relationship with her parents is strained. At first, it appears Vivien and Ben are getting along, but when he reaches for her hand, she yanks it away.
The family meets a real estate agent at the Murder House. Turns out the previous owners died in a murder-suicide, which happened in the basement. Violet loves this detail. Family buys the house.
First night in the house, Ben is trying to get back to normal romantic relations. Vivien is trying to be open to the idea, but she’s simply not ready, yet.
Violet starts school and gets bullied by three girls. Vivien is home trying to unpack when Addie wanders into the house. She is followed by her mother, Constance, who seems to know the house has a lot of ghosts. She offers sage as a house warming gift. Before she leaves, she steals some silverware and admire’s Vivien’s earrings.
Vivien cleanses the house with sage. Discovers a latex suit in the attic. Ben throws the suit away, but seems to have second thoughts.
Ben is a psychiatrist and treats one of his patients, Tate, at his home office. Tate is a troubled teen with violent thoughts who wants to shoot up his school. Violet is in the bathroom, cutting herself, when Tate walks in on her. He gives her advice on how to commit suicide.
Ben sleepwalks and lights the fireplace. Vivien pulls him out of it.
Vivien meets Moira, the caretaker of Murder House. She knew the previous owners. She knows the house. Vivien decides to hire Moira and introduces Moira to Ben. However, Vivien sees Moira as an older, tired looking woman. Ben sees Moira as young and vivacious. Violet spies on a counseling session between Ben and Tate. Tate is off his meds. After the session, Tate and Violet bond over their scars.
Ben gets out of the shower. Can’t find his razor blades. Leaves the bathroom. Catches Moira masturbating. He resists her and goes to his bedroom and masturbates too. Breaks down and cries after. Looks out the window and catches a Burnt Man watching the house. Runs downstairs, but Burnt Man is gone.
After Vivien catches Addie in the house again, Vivien and Ben meet with Constance and Addie. Vivien tells Addie to stay out of the house. Gets physical with her. As Constance and Addie leave, Constance lets Vivien know never to touch her daughter again.
Ben tries to report Tate to the police, but they aren’t interested. Moira makes a pass at Ben. Violet sees them.
Violet is attacked by the bullies at school, again. This time it’s more violent. Violet burns Leah.
Ben and Vivien have a big argument. They talk about the miscarriage. The fight ends in the first sex between them in almost a year.
Violet and Tate plan revenge on the bullies.
Vivien has sex with the Latex Man. She seems to think it’s Ben in the suit, but Ben is downstairs playing with fire. This time, Constance stops him from purposely burning his hand.
Leah is lured to the house by Violet. Leah is led to the basement where she is attacked by Tate and the creepy baby monster. The attack freaks out Violet. She rejects Tate and doesn’t want to see him anymore.
Ben goes for a run. He is stalked by Burnt Man. Ben confronts him. Finds out Burnt Man heard voices in the house that made him murder his own family by burning them to death. Ben knows that he and Burnt Man may have a connection.
Moira catches Constance going through Vivien’s jewelry. Tries to defend Vivien. This upsets Constance, who tells her don’t mess with her or she’s going to kill Moira… again.
Vivian tells Ben that she’s pregnant. He’s very happy but also, he is deeply concerned.
1) What is the big hook of the show? A broken family moves into a haunted house full of ghosts who will prey on their darkest secrets.
2) What makes these main characters intriguing and interesting? Ben and Vivien have suffered tremendously from the loss of a child, but despite their unhealthy ways of trying to cope, they seem to really love each other and want to be together, even as the Murder House tries to further destroy them.
3) What situation causes us to feel both empathy and distress for this character? Vivien has had a brutal miscarriage and is isolating herself as a form of protection. Ben has had an affair for which he clearly feels a lot of remorse, but he is hurt and feels alone.
4) What questions are created by this first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season? What is the monster in the basement? Who is Latex Man? What led to the murder-suicide of the previous owners? Who is Moira and what’s her backstory? What is the backstory of the next door neighbors, Constance and Addie? Why did Burnt Man murder his family and what’s his motive for speaking with Ben? Will Violet tell Vivien about seeing Ben mess around with Moira? How crazy is Tate and why does he seem to be at the house so much, even though Ben doesn’t trust him? Will Tate and Violet get back together? Will Tate find out that Ben tried to report him to the police and retaliate? What will be the fallout from Violet and Tate attacking Leah? Will Vivien be able to deliver this baby?
5) How does this pilot create the need to see every single episode? How are Vivien and Ben going to reconnect as a couple, fix their family and have this new baby when they have a house full of evil spirits that are conspiring against them? You can feel the intense love that Vivien and Ben have for each other, so the audience is cheering for them, even though there’s nothing about the show that even hints that it could have a happy ending.
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Brett Born
I agree to the terms of this release form.
As a member of this group, I agree to the following:
1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.
2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.
I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.
3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.
4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.
5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.
6. Finally, I agree not to bring suit against anyone in this group for any reason, unless they use a substantial portion of my copyrighted work in a manner that is public and/or that prevents me from marketing my script by shopping it to production companies, agents, managers, actors, networks, studios or any other entertainment industry organizations or people.
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Hi, I’m Brett. It’s hard to say how many scripts I’ve written, mostly because of the many, many rewrites. But I’ll say I’ve written 11 features, two pilots, and 7 episodes of Power Rangers.
I’m always trying to learn new things, but specific to this class, I’m looking forward to creating a complete show bible.
I’m a big KISS fan and have a lot of band memorabilia, including Eric Carr’s original Hawk costume. Most people think it looks like a giant scary chicken-man, and I always enjoy the reactions from people when they first see it.