Read the five scenes. Vote on your favorite one. Winner gets a review!
Okay, guys. Sorry for the delay on getting this up. But I promise you it’s for a good reason. I’m not going to get into the details but myself and the writer of a certain earth-shattering insane script that may or may not be over there in my Top 25 are in the process of putting the movie together. Contracts are being signed. Directors are being Zoomed with. I’ll have more to report in the newsletter. Stay tuned.
Onto the Showdown!
The Blood & Ink Contest has caused some confusion so I want to make all of this as clear as possible. I created a Horror Screenplay Contest (The Blood & Ink Screenplay Contest) where you had to pitch your concept to get in. You only got in if I approved of your concept.
97 concepts got in. Those writers are now writing their scripts, which will need to be finished by February.
In the meantime, to keep all 97 participants writing, I’ve been doing showdowns. Blood & Ink Participants can either participate in these showdowns or skip them. It’s up to the individual.
This month, we’re doing a “That Scene” Showdown, where the writers submit one of the best scenes from their script. 38 of you participated. These are the top 5 scenes (subjectively speaking, of course) from those 38. Your job is to read as much of each scene as possible and vote for your favorite in the comments section.
You have until Sunday, at 11:59PM PACIFIC TIME to vote.
Happy Halloween and GOOD LUCK TO THIS SHOWDOWN’S SCREENWRITERS!
P.S. I’m going to try and have a newsletter out by Sunday night. So if you don’t receive it by Monday, make sure to e-mail me.
Title: Slumlord
Genre: Horror
Logline: A transient carpenter, tracked down and compelled to take over the decaying complex his ordained father managed before his mysterious death, learns all the tenants are failed exorcisms secretly contained by the Catholic Church. With the unsecured residents set for relocation, he must fortify the building and monitor the conspiring demons during their final week.
Context: This is day one of the protagonist’s task of securing the building and preventing the tenants from escaping before the Church evacuates them to a new location. JAKE (33), with the help of his father’s longtime assistant, SISTER WINSLOW (48), is conducting a general inspection of the building, the units, and the tenants, to see what he’s up against. We’ve seen that Lillian Thorne is likely responsible for the death of Jake’s father. Jake is unaware. The scene takes place early in Act Two.
Full Scene Link: Slumlord Scene
Title: The Devil in 5D
Genre: Horror
Logline: (Temp til someone sends me the real one) A young woman begins to suspect that the devil is living in her apartment complex.
Context: None
Full Scene Link: Devil in 5D Scene
Title: Karoshi: The Drive
Genre: Horror
Logline: A reporter investigates the stories of people who are literally working themselves to death, then realizes she can’t eat or sleep or rest either, so she must keep working on the story, hoping to undo the curse before it kills her too…
Context: Maria, a reporter, has been asked to check on a colleague Derek, who is working on the story of the taxi driver who crashed – because Derek just submitted a draft of the article that’s over 400,000 words long! And seems to still be working on it…
Full Scene Link: Karoshi Scene
Title: Transcranial
Genre: Horror
Logline: To disprove the existence of the Devil (and perhaps by implication, of God), a ruthlessly ambitious neuroscientist creates an artificial demonic possession. But his breakthrough unleashes something new, an undeniably supernatural force that could destroy humankind…and only his own ultimate sacrifice may be able to stop it.
Context: The scene takes place in the aftermath of neuroscientist Richard’s successful simulated demonic possession of Daniel, the young experimental test subject. Daniel has now been dialled down, and is ostensibly back to normal.
Sarah, a devout Catholic, resigned to having her religious beliefs regularly denigrated by her scientific peers, is about to conduct the exit interview with Daniel, to ensure that he is okay.
Richard and James remain in the observation room. Richard is able to communicate with Sarah via an earpiece.
The scene begins with Sarah entering the main experimental chamber where Daniel is sitting, waiting….
Full Scene Link: Transcranial Scene
Title: It’s The Worst Time of the Year
Genre: Psychological Horror
Logline: Two successful, single business women from the big city get trapped in a Hallmark movie nightmare where it’s always fall — but weirdly somehow also always Christmas. They’re forced to open a bakery, enter the pie contest, solve the weekly town murder, and date the impossibly hot plaid-wearing widower — all while trying to find a way to escape before increasingly aggressive townspeople trap them in this hellscape, force them to give up their lives and drink pumpkin spiced lattes….forever.
Context: In this scene, Sarai, a bull headed New Yorker who doesn’t take shit from anyone, has been trapped in this Hallmark town that demands compliance and cheerful participation in your assigned roles. After multiple failed attempts at escape, she tries to exert control by resisting the system and refusing to play into the Hallmark narrative. As Sarai refuses to comply, the townspeople are essentially brought in as oblivious enforcers of the rules.
Full Scene Link: Worst Time of Year Scene
