Film Script – Twisted

Scene 1 Int. Blacked out room - unknown

The Psychopath is tied to the chair after being beaten his eyes are wild and mocking as he has a low cackling laugh. Sharp non diagetic violin sounds as he sits ups and there is a close up on the Psychopath as he sits up.

Psychopath: (playfully)

Aren’t you getting tired yet?

Cuts to low angle medium close up of Psychopath, his eyes look to his left, licks his lips sadistically.

Psychopath: (mockingly)

 You do realise you’re looking at this from the completely wrong angle right?

Cuts to close up to side of Psychopaths face as he is punched from Henry whose face is still consumed in the blackness.

Psychopath: (sarcastically)

I’m not actually a bad guy if you get to know me.

Cuts to medium close up between the Psychopath and Henry.

Henry leans in very close to Psychopath.

Henry: (growling)

You are a sick little fuck

Cuts to close up to the bound hands behind chair, his hands are wriggling rhythmically.

Close up to Psychopaths face.

Psychopath: (playfully)

 You know I prefer the pink fluffy cuffs

Cuts to low angle medium close up of Henry; his rise in anger begins to make him shake as he clutches the Psychopaths shoulder.

Henry: (furiously)

You’re a real funny guy. A real (punch) funny (punch) fucking (punch) guy

Cuts to high angle close up of Psychopath shaking off the punches his eyes darting around the room, then his eyes lock in on Henry, as Henry leans in closer.

Psychopath: (playfully)

Funny how Henry? Like a clown, like I amuse you? (laughs)

Cuts to medium long shot between the two. Psychopath is hysterically laughing as Henry paces back and forth behind the psychopath then places leans over the shoulders of the Psychopath and without looking at him begins to speak.

Henry:

So why’d you do it?

Psychopath:

 Do what?

      Scene 2 ext. Alleyway - dusk

Cuts to medium long shot to flashback of Psychopath he is pinning a woman to the wall by the throat, she is repeatedly struggling and squealing as his grip tightens and he brings the knife to her cheek.

Psychopath: (playfully)

C’mon now don’t, don’t struggle

Cuts to medium close up to the Psychopath holding the woman, she freezes as the knife moves to her face and looks away.

Psychopath: (angrily)

Look at me, no, no, no, look at me. Tell me where to find her and I’ll let you go.

Cuts to close up of woman’s face as she stares at the knife eyes frantic and then stares into his face. Narration from Henry.

Henry:

And so she told you.

Psychopath:

 And so the piggy squealed.

Cuts to over shoulder shot as Psychopath slits throat fade back into black room.

Scene 3 int. Blacked out room - unknown

Cuts to medium close up to Henry staring into face of Psychopath the Psychopath having a sadistic and mocking sneer.

Psychopath: (mockingly)

I think you might be bending reality a bit there pal; I guess you think Mary was my fault as well?

Scene 4 int. House – night

Cuts to medium close up of Mary tracking her walking through her house into the kitchen, she looks up freezes and drops her keys to the ground and takes a step back.

Cuts to medium long shot of Psychopath sitting upon the kitchen worktops playing with a knife in his hands; switches to a close up shot of his face as he looks up with a big grin.

Psychopath: (stretching the word I’m) 

Honey I’m home

Cuts to medium close up of Mary as she shudders at him being there.

Psychopath:

What’s the matter honey? Surprised to see me?

Mary: (shaking voice)

How... how did you get in here?

Close up of Psychopaths face smirking

Mary: (shaking voice)

Look I can get you help, just... just put the knife down and we can talk.

The Psychopath jumps off of his seating spot and leers towards her knife pointed at her. The camera goes to a medium long shot and tracks both their movements as she screams whilst chasing her through the house, the camera slows at it turns a corner to find the Psychopath slowly sinking the knife into her chest.

Scene 5 int. Blacked out room – unknown

Henry violently shaking places his hand back upon the Psychopaths shoulder slowly moving it to the back of his head and yanks him back by the hair preparing to beat him in the head again. Camera cuts to close up of psychopath.

Psychopath: (challenging)

Have you ever asked yourself Henry how it was I got into the house, how I knew exactly who it was that would tell me where to find Mary, and how you even knew it was me doing all of these acts of a madman. Think back Henry, really think back for a moment, open your eyes.

Scene 6 ext. Alleyway - dusk

Cuts to medium long shot to flashback of Henry he is pinning a woman to the wall by the throat, she is repeatedly struggling and squealing as his grip tightens and he brings the knife to her cheek.

Henry: (playfully)

C’mon now don’t, don’t struggle

Cuts to medium close up to Henry holding the woman, she freezes as the knife moves to her face and looks away.

Henry: (angrily)

Look at me, no, no, no, look at me. Tell me where to find her and I’ll let you go.

Cuts to close up of woman’s face as she stares at the knife eyes frantic and then stares into his face.

Woman:(hysterically)

Henry Please!

Cuts to over shoulder shot as Henry slits throat and camera fades straight into the home scene.

Scene 7 int. House – night

Cuts to medium close up of Mary tracking her walking through her house into the kitchen, she looks up freezes and drops her keys to the ground and takes a step back.

Cuts to medium long shot of Henry sitting upon the kitchen worktops playing with a knife in his hands; switches to a close up shot of his face as he looks up with a big grin.

Henry: (stretching the word I’m) 

Honey I’m home

Cuts to medium close up of Mary as she shudders at him being there.

Henry:

What’s the matter honey? Surprised to see me?

Mary: (shaking voice)

How... how did you get in here?

Close up of Henrys face smirking

Mary: (shaking voice)

Look Henry I can get you help, just... just put the knife down Henry and we can talk.

Henry jumps off of his seating spot and leers towards her knife pointed at her. The camera goes to a medium long shot and tracks both their movements as she screams whilst chasing her through the house, the camera slows at it turns a corner to find Henry slowly sinking the knife into her chest.

Scene 8 int. Blacked out room – unknown

Cuts to medium close up as Henry awakes on the floor in shock, his eyes wild and frantic, camera then cuts to a medium long shot of Henry sitting upright and the Psychopath sits up behind him, a pitiful look on his face, eerie violins play again).

Psychopath:(mockingly)

Bad dreams honey?

Cuts to medium close up as Henry turns his head startled by the sight of him starts to get up, the camera tracks his movement as he rises to find the Psychopath is now in front of him clutching him by the throat.

Psychopath: (Screaming, Mary’s voice being used over the top)

You killed her, you twisted psycho!

Cuts to a black screen where we can hear a struggle and grunts as the two begin to fight, Henry wailing that it’s not true, and then light enters the screen to a medium long shot of Henry stabbing the Psychopath in the chest with a knife.

Cuts to close up of knife sinking in and Henry cradles the Psychopath in his arms.

Scene 9 int- daytime

Cut to medium close up, Henry cradling a nurse in his arms, a blade protruding from her corpse as the Psychopath begins to narrate.

Psychopath:

Looks like somebody’s has been a naughty boy again.

Cuts to close up of woman’s face and then to a shot reverse shot of Henry’s shocked face, cutting to a blurred medium long shot of Henry rising and staggering out of the room.

Final cut to first person view as Henry staggers down a corridor where the blurred images of to workers approach grabbing him and pinning him down, an overwhelming sound of static plays over the shot.

End

History of 'Psychological Thrillers'

‘The lodger’ was a British psychological thriller made in 1926 by Alfred Hitchcock. It is a black and white silent movie, and the rating is a 12. This can show that it may not be as scary or thrilling, and due to the lack of technology but at the same for its release it was frightening at the time.

‘The Most Dangerous Game’ was produced in 1932 by Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack it is a 78 minute movie. Keywords for this movie are “madman, escape, psychopath, slaughter” these are typical conventions of a psychological thriller, however the certificate rating of 12 show that only frequent violent scenes are used, therefore we are unable to see the emphasise on murders or horror scenes.

'Rebecca' was a famous film made in 1940 by Alfred Hitchcock, it is a black and white movie, due a lack of technology it doesn’t appeal to a younger generation. The music however flows with the genre because it creates the tension and suspense needed to make it fit with the style of film.

‘The sinister urge’ is a 1961 psychological thriller directed by Edward D. Wood Jr. there is no certificate rating for this movie, however the caption for the poster to this movie is “compulsive killer strikes terror” and “a psycho with the urge to kill”. 

‘Brimstone and Treacle’ was released in 1982 by Richard Loncraine. It has a certificate rating of 18 this means that extreme violence is allowed to be shown, including blood and gore, also bad language, and even sexual scenes such as rape, which is actually part of the movie. The DVD cover looks very gothic and thrilling as there is a lady screaming and a man praying on a black background.

Silence of the Lambs’ 1991 by Jonathan Demme is probably one of the most infamous psychological thrillers. This movie includes a psycho villain and a Hannibal, and a certificate rating of an 18. The perspective of the movie is very good as it incorporates a lot of aspects needed that may not have been used in earlier films. For example it shows ripped of human skin being eaten.

Se7en Poster Analysis

Treatment

Henry (protagonist) has captured the psychopath who murdered his wife and has him bound to a chair. After beating the psychopath in the head, he begins to taunt Henry about the situation and his wife. As Henry grows increasingly angry proclaiming all of these brutal and vial acts that the psychopath has committed we are taken to flashbacks of these crimes. The first is taken to the psychopath holding up a woman by the throat against a wall promising he won't kill her if she tells him where the wife is. After revealing the location and pleading the psychopath slits her throat and drops her to the ground.

We are then placed back into the dark room where the psychopath is cackling out loud, saying that he has but a fragment of the truth, then receiving another punch, it flashes back to a scene in the home of Mary. The psychopath is seated on the kitchen table surface playing with a knife in his hands. Mary walks into kitchen shocked to see the psychopath there, telling him to leave, she'll get help for him. He chases her through house  into hallway where he slits her throat (camera does not show this, only shows him cradling her body).

We go back to the dark room, where the psychopath no challenges Henry on his misguided facts of how everything really happened. The psychopath then narrates over a new set of flashbacks where it is revealed that Henry was the actual murdering psychopath, and the flashbacks are the exact same apart from it being Henry in the other place and occasional flickering in the editing changes the setting to a medical ward and then back to the house setting with the women changing from Mary to a nurse.

Back in the black room Henry wakes on the floor and sits up disconnected from the world and as he rises so does the psychopath behind him. Taunting him the psychopath begins to dance around Henry as Henry draws a knife and the screen goes black, slowly as we hear a violent struggle the room begins to slowly gain light, until the knife pierces the psychopath in the chest and Henry cradles him the same he did with his wife. A door in the distance opens allowing natural light to flood in, where we are then transported into reality as he is actually cradling a nurse in his arms in a hospital room. It suddenly becomes apparent to him that he has had another violent episode in his ward, showed through quick flashbacks and as the camera becomes disorientated like Henry it tracks him moving through the corridors of the hospital trying to escape as the sound of the psychopaths voice leads him, ending with the blurred outlines of two workers grabbing and pinning him to the ground as he screams out.

Poster Analysis 

Tzvetan Todorov

Todorov has five main beliefs of narrative that are structured in this order:

1. A state of equilibrium (the digesis of the world is at peace and harmony)
2. Distruption of the equilibrium caused by an event (ususally a negative event)
3. Recognition of the disruption of the equilibrium
4. People try to repair the damage created by the disruption
5. A return to restoration and a new equilibrium is established

All of these five points can be applied to any type of film, for example a romantic comedy such as 'The Proposal'. An equilibrium of the two people working together, the woman is threatened to be deported unless she marries a U.S citizen, both recognise this problem, she makes him pretened to get engaged (repair) then a new disruption is revealled, then again love conquers all restablishing an equilibrium.

Vladimir Propp Continued

In addition to the way the narrative is layed out for the audience, specific stock characters are almost always represented in the tale. 

If we take the 'Lord of the Rings' triology as an example.

The Hero: 

 The hero is the character that is tasked with a great burden and adventure that they   must undergo in order to reach an equilibrium, in this case the hero would be 'Frodo Baggins'.

The Villain:

The villain is the main antagonist of the narrative that makes a personal vendetta against the hero and all who oppose them, using whatever powers they have to do so, in this case the villain would be 'Sauron'.

The Donor:

The Donor is the character who helps the hero by either providing the hero with a magical item to help them on their quest, now there are many in the 'Lord of the Rings' triology but the main character that helps the hero throughout his journey would be 'Gandalf'.

The Dispatcher:

The Dispatcher is the person that presents the hero with a task to undergo, and sends them on their way to the destination. For this role, the character 'Elrond' would be considered.

The False Hero:

The false hero is someone who either falsely assumes the role of the hero in the narrative, or alternatively is the character who people could percieve to be the hero of the story when in fact they are not, for example we believe Aragorn to be the hero in the narrative for all the good he does.

The Helper:

The helper provides constant support for the hero throughout the narrative and never gives up on them, providing moral support and boosts that strengthen our hero, in this case 'Sam'.

The Princess:

The princess is the reward for the hero, a trophy and symbol for the triumph over the villain, and presented to the hero at the equilibrium and resolution of the narrative, in this case the hero does not have a princess to claim, but instead the secondary/false hero gets his princess 'Arwen'.

The Father:

The father is of the princess and ususally has a strong dissaproval to the person trying to win her heart, 'Elrond'.

Vladimir Propp - Theory

The theorist Vladimir Propp had a fascination with the way that, that the narratives of folk tales were told, and identified these thirty one characterics/conventions of folk tales that can be applied to films.

1. A member of a family leaves home (the hero is introduced as a unique person, whose needs may not be met by remaining)
2. An interdiction (a command NOT to do something e.g.'don't go there', 'go to this place'), is addressed to the hero.
3. The hero ignores the interdiction.
4. The villain appears and (either villain tries to find the wanted item, or intended victim encounters the villain).
5. The villain gains information about the victim.
6. The villain attempts to deceive the victim to take possession of victim or victim's belongings.
7. The victim is fooled by the villain, unwittingly helps the enemy.
8. Villain causes harm/injury to family member (by abduction, theft of magical item, spoiling crops, causes a disappearance, expels someone, casts spell on someone,  commits murder, imprisons/detains someone, threatens forced marriage, provides nightly torments). 
9. Misfortune or lack is made known, (hero is dispatched, hears call for help alternative is that victimised hero is sent away, freed from imprisonment).
10. Seeker agrees to, or decides upon counter-action.
11. Hero leaves home.
12. Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, preparing the way for his/her receiving magical helper (donor).
13. Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test).
14. Hero acquires use of a magical item (it's directly transferred, or offered by other characters).
15. Hero is led to the whereabouts of an object they have been searching for.
16. Hero and villain fight in direct combat.
17. Hero is branded (wounded).
18. Villain is defeated (killed in combat, defeated in contest).
19. Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken, slain person revived, captive freed).
20. Hero returns.
21. Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, eat or undermine the hero).
22. Hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is hidden).
23. Hero unrecognised, arrives home or in another land.
24. False hero presents unfounded claims.
25. Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by endurance and will)
26. Task is resolved.
27. Hero is recognised (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her);
28. False hero or villain is exposed.
29. Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome)
30. The villain is punished.
31. The hero marries and ascends the throne.

Influential film extracts 

These following clips of feature films are to reflect the same style of editing techniques, camera shots and also content presented by the protagonist and antagonist when it comes to making my short film.

From this clip the influence of the antagonist being histerical and toying with the protagonist throughout, provoking the anger within is a powerful idea I hope to be able to present in the narrative and eventually lead to a violent confrontation.

From this clip we can deduce the concept of the antagonist being almost as a mentor teaching and progressing the narrative.

Short film analysis

The reason this film has been selected for analysis is due to its depiction of isolation in those with mental illness. The central character is on his own and placed in a dark uncomfortable environment for the film; the colour scheme in this film is also highly saturated of colour, leaving it with a dark and depressing vibe. The reason this short film links towards my own production is because I would like to use the same style of colour used and create the same environment and atmosphere of isolation.

Target audience for films I have viewed

The films I have viewed revolve largely around a central character that is isolated from the rest of the world, and are internally tormented for the way they are and also by others around them. The main theme of these films is of a mental illness which causes termoil in that individuals life, which relates strongly to my own short film idea. So the main audience for the films I have viewed can be from any social group seeing as mental illness does not discriminated between those it affects; furthermore the films are more appropriate for those that know of someone close to them that suffers from mental illness.

These videos help for people to identify different characteristics in to look out for in the people they know and help relate to what a person can be suffering from. Also people who actually suffer from a mental illness are the audience for these short films because they themselves can see that others around either suffer also, or are doing something to raise awareness for mental illness and trying to remove the stigma from it.

Rick Altman's Theory - Syntactic Approaches

Syntactics are more concerned with the realtions between the elements and structures of narritives in genres. For example romantic comedies all follow the exact same sequence of events in the structure of their narrative; characters that are binary opposites of one another meet by unexpected chance and instantly clash, these interactions and meetings continue to happen for the first thirty minutes, and they then are drawn to one another either by a sad event occuring to one of the character's or the sexual tensions ends and they come together. From this point one of the characters will do something to portray the other, they will fall out of love and then the other performs a romantic act to win back the love. If a genre doesn't follow the structure they are supposed to such as in romantic comedies individuals in the audience will be confused and disreguard the product.

Rick Altman's Theory - Semantic approaches

The semantic approach to to film is the idea of generic conventions. The audience expect when they watch a product such as a film or television show certain conventions have to be placed into it, for example we expect to see in the genre stock characters such as the vulnerable blonde woman, and a large either masculine murderer or ominous and enigmatic spirits at work; the sound effects are set to be very sharp pitched sounds that are loud and build up the tension just as much as the actual footage, we expect to see if the antagonist in the product is human a melee type weapon such as a knife, and in terms of location and shooting styles we expect many close up shots to create a trapped atmosphere and they tend to be set in abandoned environments. Without these conventions the audience would not consider the film to be the genre it claims to be and therefore be confused by what they were actually viewing.

The audience for short film

Demographics

The main demographic groups for short film are from group A - C1. These skilled professionals are looking for potential in rising film makers, usually to recruit them into the industry to begin to produce feature films and show; alternatively from observing these shorts a person could be offered a place on a professional film making course.

From the perspective of students, they are usually placed in group E but there financial backgrounds (in terms of their parents careers) are normally based between group A - C1. So students at school, college or university are a general audience for short film because they study these short films for inspiration and technical tips on how to create their own products. Short films general audience also tends to be anyone interested in media, this is reinforced by the fact that most short films are viewed on websites such as YouTube and are searched for by people seeking media inspiration.

Succeeders

These tend to be people high earning and achieving people who earn a large sum of money and believe they have control over situations. The reason they would be interested in short film, is to find an individual to invest their money into to produce a successful product in which they can return a profit.

Aspirers

These tend to be relatively young people such as degree graduates that are aiming to get higher and further in their life and career. These people would be looking into doing heavy research into the media industry, in particular the film industy aspect so that they could gain knowledge and inspiration for their own creations.

Individualists

These generally tend to be people who wish to stand out from the crowd and make their own mark on the world. So members from this social area could be looking into short film to create their own original piece to present to obtain recognition.