Genre: Horror
Premise: A childhood folktale comes to life when children of the neighborhood start to go missing after playing hide and seek.
About: Camrus Johnson is on the rise. He is best known as an actor who had small parts in Quiz Lady and Batwoman. He also created two animated shorts that debuted at Sundance and Tribeca. He’s from Georgia and this script of his finished with six votes on last year’s Black List.
Writer: Campus Johnson (based on the novel by Daka Hermon)
Details: 109 pages
Actor/Writer/Director Camrus Johnson
Horror may be the only genre where you have literally no idea if it’s going to work until opening weekend. But I do know this. The simpler the idea, the better the chance it’s got. The Exorcist – someone is possessed. It Follows – something follows you. A Quiet Place – monsters hunt by sound. M3GAN – there’s an evil AI doll. The Nun – there’s an evil nun.
Today’s concept falls right in line with that simplicity. Hide and Seek! It’s a game where every audience member already knows the rules. And it does feel like a game that could be reincarnated into something really scary.
We’re in Atlanta and 11-year-olds Justin (leader), Nia (brains), and Lyric (lone white kid) are a group of young detectives. They used to have a fourth member to their team, a kid named “Zee.” But Zee disappeared during a game of hide and seek a year ago.
However, they just found Zee yesterday so he’s back home. Unfortunately, nobody can get through to him. He speaks in tongues and riddles. So we don’t know where the guy was during that time.
When “adorkable” Quincy and his bully sister, Carla, show up, Carla starts trash-talking the detectives that they’re all wimps and afraid to play Hide and Seek, believing in the old myth that if you lose the game, you disappear. So she forces them all to play and that they do.
After the game is over and the kids go home, Quincy arrives at Justin’s house and says that his sister has disappeared. Justin rounds up the crew and, upon doing so, Quincy disappears as well. They all suspect this has something to do with the game so they begin their search for their friend and his sister. What they discover is that there’s another plane of existence called “Nowhere” where the rules of the living are no longer applicable.
In all of my days operating Scriptshadow, I’ve only ever stopped reading a script a handful of times. You can add this one to the list.
I don’t see any redeeming qualities in this screenplay that anybody can learn from.
I knew I was in trouble when one of the kids’ limbs disappeared and then his head turned into a cloud of purple smoke.
I’m big time struggling to understand how this made the Black List.
What do we have here that is in any way redeeming to Black List voters? This isn’t a marketable idea. It’s not a cool idea. It’s not a heady idea. It’s not a clever idea. It’s not written in a unique voice. The execution is okay but far from exceptional. Why would people vote for this?
This is basically the definition of a writer-for-hire script. Nobody takes a job like this cause they have a passion for telling the story. I’d probably take the money too. Well, maybe not. Depends on how much it was. But why is a blatant writer-for-hire script making the Black List? Isn’t this list supposed to be about self-expression? Creativity?
The thing is, I do believe that there is a market for a Hide and Seek horror film. It’s got to be done right but just that title with a spooky poster… it would for sure sell tickets. I don’t know what this is, though. If I’m being generous, it’s somewhere between Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and It. But it’s not nearly as good as either of those films.
[ ] What the hell did I just read?
[x] wasn’t for me
[ ] worth the read
[ ] impressive
[ ] genius
What I learned: I’m going to remind writers of the importance of expectation in a script, specifically when you market your script as something MORE SERIOUS THAN IT IS. So if you make me think I’m going to read the next HEAT, but instead I get John Wick, I’m going to be upset. If you make me think I’m going to read the next John Wick, but instead I get The Lost City, I’m going to be upset. If you tell me I’m going to get The Lost City and instead I get Spy Kids, I’m going to be upset. Always be 100% clear about what kind of movie your script is to the reader. Cause if they have something in their head that isn’t what they end up getting, they’re almost always going to be disappointed.
