However, many scripts also fall apart in the second act, as the screenwriter fails to heed the imperative, ‘Raise the stakes!’. Many horror screenplays start out well, establishing a disturbing set of circumstances that hint at trauma to come. You want to get your central narrative up and running as quickly as possible, without any distractions. A pithy prologue can be a useful device to set the mood, but if it goes on for more than a couple of pages, or is too remote from the main action, it can represent a false start. They introduce too many minor characters or jump around too much. Some horror scripts stumble out of the gate as they try to set up an overly complicated set of circumstances. The main action tends to be constricted in time and space and this tight focus helps increase tension. These are all relatively straightforward scenarios and, it’s worth noting, dependent on limited locations. Rocky and her friends attempt to burglarize a blind man’s home and discover he has killer defenses (DON’T BREATHE)Ī gang of misfit kids decides to investigate the clusters of mysterious deaths and disappearances that happen once every 27 years in their small town (IT) Start Simple – Build a basic Log-line, develop premise.Ī great white shark traps surfer Nancy on a rock 200 yards from shore as the tide rises (THE SHALLOWS).Ĭhris pays what he hopes will be a brief visit to his white girlfriend’s family only to discover they have no intention of letting him leave (GET OUT) The most appealing horror movies are based on a simple yet effective premise that can be relayed to the audience via Act One. There should be tangible shifts from one act to the next, and, whether you opt for a slow burn or peaks and troughs, there should be a steady increase in tension until the climax. Sometimes.Ī horror script should be uncanny page-turner for the reader. The aim is to scare the pants off the audience before rewarding them with the emotional payoff of the protagonist’s survival…. Along with this simple structure, the narrative has a specific purpose that sets the tone from the top. The three acts can be boiled down to the protagonist 1) encounters a threat 2) struggles with that threat 3) escapes the threat. The horror paradigm is relatively straightforward and easy to follow.
Contradicting, isn’t it? Not exactly, here are some tips in finding originality within the horror genre. Writing a genre screenplay might sound painless, but it’s challenging to do with originality and flair.
Then, all you have to do is fill in the blanks with the specifics of your narrative, showcasing your skill and inventiveness in the process. Within film, a paradigm is a typical model formed by pre-established audience expectations.
When you write a spec screenplay, strategize to work within a recognizable genre paradigm.
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