Recently, I saw "The Hills Have Eyes" remake. I was very dissapointed with how the horror genre that I used to love and adore so much was creating this type of movie where gore and disturbing images are replacing suspense and mystery. I suppose that this change has been happening over the past two decades. Because of the reaction that I had to this movie, I have decided to continue working on my movie script, which has been on the backburner for awhile. Below are the scenes that I had originally written awhile back, along with a new scene. Enjoy! I will post more tidbits along the way...
The Thing That Should Not Be
OPENING SCENE[/B]
- Scene opens on an old country home.
A retired widower has just sat in his favorite evening chair after putting a tea kettle on the stove. He picks up a newspaper and begins to read. As the sun slowly creeps over the mountains, the room grows dark and the man turns on a lamp that is next to his chair. The shadows on the wall dance as the lamp wobbles until it comes to a stop. The man can smell the tea as it brews while he removes his glasses and massages his tired eyes. Suddenly, the man can hear a faint crying. As he listens more closely, he can tell that it is the sound of a baby. He gets out of his chair, throws the paper into the seat, and slowly walks around the room listening to the crying.
As he approaches an old wooden door, the crying seems to grow louder. The man pauses and puts his ear against the door while grabbing the handle. The tea kettle is whistling softly now, but the man pays no attention to it. He pulls his head away from the door, and slowly turns the knob. As the door swings open with a creaking sound, an old staircase vanishes into darkness. The tea kettle begins to howl as the man cautiously descends into the darkness. The crying begins to weaken into a whimper, until finally; all that is heard is the whistling of the old tea kettle.
- The camera slowly zooms into the dark staircase until all is black.
As the kettle whistles, another sound begins to accompany it. The gut wrenching screams of a man begin to roar up from the darkness, and the cellar door slams shut.
- Opening credits begin to roll while Metallica's "The Thing That Should Not Be" is played.
TROUBLE AT THE OLD COVE[/B]
- Open scene on a beach house. The sky is slightly overcast with rolling clouds as the sun peaks through. The soft crashing of waves can be heard in the background. The scene changes to a young boy talking to his mother inside of the house.
The boy is bored and wants to play outside. "Please mommy, I want to go outside" he whines as he stomps his bare feet on the floor. With a reluctant look on her face, the mother asks "have you finished your chores". The child responds with a spastic nod that brings a grin to the mother. "Alright, go ahead" she says, "but don't stay out too long. Your father will be home soon, and we'll have to be ready to leave once he gets here". "Alright, alright" the boy yells as he's running out the front door.
The boy runs down the beach as broken waves roll over his feet. Moments later, the mother leaves the house and calls for her son. After several unanswered calls, she decides to go and look for him. She follows the direction that his footprints are leading, but the trail ends a few yards later where the waves had washed over the shore. She's not certain how far he has gone, and won't be sure until she finds him. So, she continues to jog down the beach. Several minutes later, she comes upon the old cove. There was a small cave in it that had formed from the tides coming in and out. It had been there for as long as anyone could remember, and at night, when the winds blow into just right, it creates the most peculiar sounds. Many people have tried to go all the way to the back of it, but it is just too dangerous because of the constant changing of the tides. One might be able to reach the end of it, but there's an almost certainty that they would not be able to get out unscathed. Death would be imminent.
However, now the tides were low, and the cave was revealed. The mother glanced into the darkness and could hear the echo of the ocean, but nothing that made her believe that her son was inside. She decided to go further down the shoreline when she thought she heard something else from inside the cave. She stood still and listened more closely and second time. Now she was sure that she had heard the laughter of a child, a boy. She called for her son, but without an answer, she decided to go into the cave and find him. She cautiously stepped over slick stones that were sticking up from the sand. As she ventured deeper into the cave and was shaded from sunlight, her clear calls began to disperse into echoes. As she went further into uncertainty, she grew more fearful for her safety, but more determined to find her son. The source of the laughter was becoming closer, and the woman felt relief flow through her.
- Camera shows the mouth of the cave. The woman's son runs by, heading back to the house.
The waves, now crashing violently on the shore, mask any sound coming from the cave. The tide is rising. As the woman scrambles over things that she cannot see, the laughter halts. The woman pauses and nervously calls for her son. There is no response, only silence. She can now hear the waves growing louder and knows that she must hurry. Again, she cries for her son. With no response, she frantically stumbles around, with arms waving, hoping to find the child. As she is whimpering and calling his name, she freezes. Something has brushed up against her. It was cold and wet. It might have been the cave wall, but she is certain that she is not near it. She can hear something moving now; something in her proximity. Her eyes dart around, but in the darkness, all she can see is the light coming from the mouth of the cave. As she kneels shaking, she remains still and stares at the light.
Suddenly, the light disappears. Something is standing between her and the entrance; something big, and far too large to be her son. Around her legs, the water is rising. She knows that it is not because of the waves. It is because of the entity whose silhouette is growing larger. It is moving toward her. She becomes increasingly frightened as she scrambles further back into the cave. After falling several times and crying for help, she runs into something. It is cold and wet. This time, it is the cave wall. She has reached the end of the cave. Now, there is nowhere else to go. She is trapped, and she knows it. All she can do is sit there as the hulking matter lurches toward her. From outside, the waves begin to roll into the cave. The cove is being filled by the ocean, and the sky is growing darker as black clouds roll across. The son is back at the house, calling for his mother. There is no one home. A car pulls up in the drive way, it is his father. As the man walks inside, he asks the boy, "where's your mother". "I don't know."
- Camera shows the cove. It is now completely submerged in water.
SOMETHING IS COMING[/B]
- Camera shows a man sitting at a table. He is looking at pictures in an old photo album, which is illuminated by a solitary table lamp. The lamp’s shade casts a seaweed glow on the walls and ceiling of the study. A bookshelf with various collections of books can be seen along the wall, which is riddled with picture frames. In his hand is half a glass of scotch on the rocks. The man leans back in his chair and begins to swirl the ice cubes in his glass. The sounds made by the ice cubes blend with the sounds of the rolling waves outside of the man’s beach house as he begins to match the rhythms of the ice cubes with the waves.
As the man listens to the sounds of his glass and the waves, he begins to hear an abnormality in the rhythm. The motion of the waves becomes more rapid. The man listens more closely and can identify something else making sounds from the ocean. The man stands from his chair and pauses a moment to make sure that the sounds are still occurring. After a few seconds, the man approaches his window and looks out at the sea. His intoxicated eyes begin to focus and peer around the shoreline. In an effort to take a closer look, the man opens the window and leans out. At this point, the man is struck with terror and his eyes grow wide.
- The camera shows a view nearly one hundred feet above the water’s surface, which is slowly and steadily approaching the man’s house. The man can be seen leaning out the window, still with a gaping look of shock upon his face.
As the sound of a large object moving through the water grows louder, the man quickly draws his head back, which collides with the window. The man falls to the floor as the moonlight coming in through the window begins to dissipate. The man turns toward the room’s door and struggles to get to his feet. He stumbles half-way to the door when the ceiling begins to collapse from an immense force. As the avalanche of wood, nails, and the unknown begins to catch up with the man, he makes one last rapid dash for the door, tears it open, and lunges into the hallway right as the room caves in behind him. The man stands after the dust from the debris settles. The only thing that can be heard is the beating of his heart, which steadily pounds at a rapid pace. As the man’s head and eyes dart around the hallway, his attention is swiftly drawn to the window. He begins to scream manically as the moonlight from the window is shadowed away and the ceiling in the hallway collapses on him.
The Thing That Should Not Be
OPENING SCENE[/B]
- Scene opens on an old country home.
A retired widower has just sat in his favorite evening chair after putting a tea kettle on the stove. He picks up a newspaper and begins to read. As the sun slowly creeps over the mountains, the room grows dark and the man turns on a lamp that is next to his chair. The shadows on the wall dance as the lamp wobbles until it comes to a stop. The man can smell the tea as it brews while he removes his glasses and massages his tired eyes. Suddenly, the man can hear a faint crying. As he listens more closely, he can tell that it is the sound of a baby. He gets out of his chair, throws the paper into the seat, and slowly walks around the room listening to the crying.
As he approaches an old wooden door, the crying seems to grow louder. The man pauses and puts his ear against the door while grabbing the handle. The tea kettle is whistling softly now, but the man pays no attention to it. He pulls his head away from the door, and slowly turns the knob. As the door swings open with a creaking sound, an old staircase vanishes into darkness. The tea kettle begins to howl as the man cautiously descends into the darkness. The crying begins to weaken into a whimper, until finally; all that is heard is the whistling of the old tea kettle.
- The camera slowly zooms into the dark staircase until all is black.
As the kettle whistles, another sound begins to accompany it. The gut wrenching screams of a man begin to roar up from the darkness, and the cellar door slams shut.
- Opening credits begin to roll while Metallica's "The Thing That Should Not Be" is played.
TROUBLE AT THE OLD COVE[/B]
- Open scene on a beach house. The sky is slightly overcast with rolling clouds as the sun peaks through. The soft crashing of waves can be heard in the background. The scene changes to a young boy talking to his mother inside of the house.
The boy is bored and wants to play outside. "Please mommy, I want to go outside" he whines as he stomps his bare feet on the floor. With a reluctant look on her face, the mother asks "have you finished your chores". The child responds with a spastic nod that brings a grin to the mother. "Alright, go ahead" she says, "but don't stay out too long. Your father will be home soon, and we'll have to be ready to leave once he gets here". "Alright, alright" the boy yells as he's running out the front door.
The boy runs down the beach as broken waves roll over his feet. Moments later, the mother leaves the house and calls for her son. After several unanswered calls, she decides to go and look for him. She follows the direction that his footprints are leading, but the trail ends a few yards later where the waves had washed over the shore. She's not certain how far he has gone, and won't be sure until she finds him. So, she continues to jog down the beach. Several minutes later, she comes upon the old cove. There was a small cave in it that had formed from the tides coming in and out. It had been there for as long as anyone could remember, and at night, when the winds blow into just right, it creates the most peculiar sounds. Many people have tried to go all the way to the back of it, but it is just too dangerous because of the constant changing of the tides. One might be able to reach the end of it, but there's an almost certainty that they would not be able to get out unscathed. Death would be imminent.
However, now the tides were low, and the cave was revealed. The mother glanced into the darkness and could hear the echo of the ocean, but nothing that made her believe that her son was inside. She decided to go further down the shoreline when she thought she heard something else from inside the cave. She stood still and listened more closely and second time. Now she was sure that she had heard the laughter of a child, a boy. She called for her son, but without an answer, she decided to go into the cave and find him. She cautiously stepped over slick stones that were sticking up from the sand. As she ventured deeper into the cave and was shaded from sunlight, her clear calls began to disperse into echoes. As she went further into uncertainty, she grew more fearful for her safety, but more determined to find her son. The source of the laughter was becoming closer, and the woman felt relief flow through her.
- Camera shows the mouth of the cave. The woman's son runs by, heading back to the house.
The waves, now crashing violently on the shore, mask any sound coming from the cave. The tide is rising. As the woman scrambles over things that she cannot see, the laughter halts. The woman pauses and nervously calls for her son. There is no response, only silence. She can now hear the waves growing louder and knows that she must hurry. Again, she cries for her son. With no response, she frantically stumbles around, with arms waving, hoping to find the child. As she is whimpering and calling his name, she freezes. Something has brushed up against her. It was cold and wet. It might have been the cave wall, but she is certain that she is not near it. She can hear something moving now; something in her proximity. Her eyes dart around, but in the darkness, all she can see is the light coming from the mouth of the cave. As she kneels shaking, she remains still and stares at the light.
Suddenly, the light disappears. Something is standing between her and the entrance; something big, and far too large to be her son. Around her legs, the water is rising. She knows that it is not because of the waves. It is because of the entity whose silhouette is growing larger. It is moving toward her. She becomes increasingly frightened as she scrambles further back into the cave. After falling several times and crying for help, she runs into something. It is cold and wet. This time, it is the cave wall. She has reached the end of the cave. Now, there is nowhere else to go. She is trapped, and she knows it. All she can do is sit there as the hulking matter lurches toward her. From outside, the waves begin to roll into the cave. The cove is being filled by the ocean, and the sky is growing darker as black clouds roll across. The son is back at the house, calling for his mother. There is no one home. A car pulls up in the drive way, it is his father. As the man walks inside, he asks the boy, "where's your mother". "I don't know."
- Camera shows the cove. It is now completely submerged in water.
SOMETHING IS COMING[/B]
- Camera shows a man sitting at a table. He is looking at pictures in an old photo album, which is illuminated by a solitary table lamp. The lamp’s shade casts a seaweed glow on the walls and ceiling of the study. A bookshelf with various collections of books can be seen along the wall, which is riddled with picture frames. In his hand is half a glass of scotch on the rocks. The man leans back in his chair and begins to swirl the ice cubes in his glass. The sounds made by the ice cubes blend with the sounds of the rolling waves outside of the man’s beach house as he begins to match the rhythms of the ice cubes with the waves.
As the man listens to the sounds of his glass and the waves, he begins to hear an abnormality in the rhythm. The motion of the waves becomes more rapid. The man listens more closely and can identify something else making sounds from the ocean. The man stands from his chair and pauses a moment to make sure that the sounds are still occurring. After a few seconds, the man approaches his window and looks out at the sea. His intoxicated eyes begin to focus and peer around the shoreline. In an effort to take a closer look, the man opens the window and leans out. At this point, the man is struck with terror and his eyes grow wide.
- The camera shows a view nearly one hundred feet above the water’s surface, which is slowly and steadily approaching the man’s house. The man can be seen leaning out the window, still with a gaping look of shock upon his face.
As the sound of a large object moving through the water grows louder, the man quickly draws his head back, which collides with the window. The man falls to the floor as the moonlight coming in through the window begins to dissipate. The man turns toward the room’s door and struggles to get to his feet. He stumbles half-way to the door when the ceiling begins to collapse from an immense force. As the avalanche of wood, nails, and the unknown begins to catch up with the man, he makes one last rapid dash for the door, tears it open, and lunges into the hallway right as the room caves in behind him. The man stands after the dust from the debris settles. The only thing that can be heard is the beating of his heart, which steadily pounds at a rapid pace. As the man’s head and eyes dart around the hallway, his attention is swiftly drawn to the window. He begins to scream manically as the moonlight from the window is shadowed away and the ceiling in the hallway collapses on him.
Who made you God to say "I'll take your life from you"?