This is your chance to discuss the week’s amateur scripts, offered originally in the Scriptshadow newsletter. The primary goal for this discussion is to find out which script(s) is the best candidate for a future Amateur Friday review. The secondary goal is to keep things positive in the comments with constructive criticism.
Below are the scripts up for review, along with the download links. Want to receive the scripts early? Head over to the Contact page, e-mail us, and “Opt In” to the newsletter.
Happy reading!
TITLE: Swine’s Blood
GENRE: Crime/Drama
LOGLINE: A rookie detective must put aside his contempt for religion to tackle his first assignment, a serial killer who targets catholic priests
WHY YOU SHOULD READ (from writer): “Greetings! I’m just out of college and unemployed! So what do I do with my free time outside of job hunting? Well writing among other things, but more specifically screen writing. Now this is only my second script I’ve ever written and also my first draft. My first script isn’t what you would call… stellar, but I believe I’m really honing my skill and finding my voice in this craft. But perhaps another set of eyes can confirm or deny this illusion of mine. Thanks for your consideration!”
TITLE: Templar
LOGLINE: In order to save himself from an inquisition in 1307, a Templar knight must infiltrate a fortified citadel in the Holy Land to steal the Holy Chalice from a ruthless warlord.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ (from writer): “Templar recently made the Semifinals in the 2013 Bluecat Screenplay Competition.”
TITLE: Derelict
GENRE: Serial killer thriller/police drama
LOGLINE: As a ruthless serial killer terrorizes the city, an alcoholic cop turned psychotic bum scours its underbelly for the Holy Grail of designer drugs in a misguided attempt to clear his head for the sake of his troubled teenage daughter.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ (from writer): “This originated as a spec sequel to SE7EN and took on a life of its own after several rewrites and an option that went absolutely nowhere.”
TITLE: Redemption
GENRE: Action/Thriller
LOGLINE: An innocent young girl with a troubled past fights to survive murderous attempts on her life by the man who destroyed her family.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ (from writer): About the script: This script was originally written last year and sent for coverage where it received a pass. I followed the reviewer’s advice, did a full page-one rewrite. And, although I can’t give you their name, the script was read by a creative executive from a very reputable production house, as well as several of his readers, and he labeled it “great”. Unforeseen circumstances interceded, and our engagement ended. But not before he expressed his desire to work together in the future.
Will you give this script a chance to redeem itself?
TITLE: Beth Aven
GENRE: Supernatural horror.
LOGLINE: When an angelology professor and his wife lose their daughter to tragedy, they are invited to a mysterious retreat which promises communion with the dead. The cost? Only one of them will survive.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ (from writer): “A lean 87 pages, BETH AVEN is written for the $1 million / limited location model. In style and tone, it is THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT meets THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE. It is intensely character-driven, but delivers the actions and scares inherent to the genre. At its core it is the tale of parents who’ve lost their only child, and the harrowing journey to the gates of death that will mark their lives forever.”
