The Script (still in progress)

[Ryan Taylor is walking through the forest after being told that the answer to the questions he’s been asking will be found in the house in the forest]

[As Ryan Taylor is walking through the forest, he has pen and a notepad in hand, thinking that if he takes notes of what happens in the forest, he can piece together the puzzle of what has happened in the years that have gone by]

Ryan: (internal monologue) What the hell has gone on in this town? Nothing that has happened makes sense.

[As Ryan Taylor is walking through the forest, the sound of sticks snapping and running can be heard relatively close to Ryan Taylor, and he suddenly looks up]

Ryan: Huh

[Ryan Taylor starts to quicken his walking pace; he’s starting to feel anxious]

[Ryan Taylor, still has his pen and notepad in hand, starts to slow his pace down, but he hears the running footsteps, until they suddenly stop, Ryan Taylor keeps walking, but stones and sticks start being thrown at him]

[Ryan Taylor turns around to his left]

Ryan: What the fu-

[Ryan Taylor sees a flowing gown run away, Ryan drops his pen and notepad and begins to run deeper in to the forest]

[Ryan keeps running for about 300 metre and comes to a stop]

Ryan: (Heavy breathing) (Internal monologue) What the fuck is going on in this place? What have I just seen? Nothing, nothing, it can’t be real; I’m losing my fucking mind

[Ryan lights up a cigarette to calm his nerves]

Ryan: (internal monologue) I’ve got to be close to this house by now, how far into this place can it be?

Prop List

Mise-en-scene in the house: Kitchen sink, family photo, lamp, settee, tv, chairs, pots and pans

Props for characters: pen, paper, torch, cigarettes, lighter

Aims and Context

The short sequence of the film “The Return” is in the genre of psychological thriller. This genre appeals to my target audience of 16-25 year olds, of both genders, middle class and either still in college or in a full-time job.

My aim is to keep the audience guessing throughout the sequence and to constantly increase the tension using the film language skills like cinematography, sounding and editing that I learnt in FM1 last year. I also want to put the audience through the emotions and feelings of the main protagonist, a good example of this which is one of the films I am using inspiration is Martin Scorsese’s ‘Shutter Island’

 In the psychological thriller genre, I have looked at the films “Se7en” (1995) and “Panic Room” (2002) by David Fincher and other films like “Mulholland Drive” (2001) by David Lynch and “Secret Window” (2004) by David Koepp. My work has been influenced by cinematography, particularly the David Fincher films. I also am using similar story features of another David Fincher film, “Fight Club” (1999). I want the audience to think that there is something not quite right with my main protagonist and for them to keep guessing that the world he is living in a cross between real and reality.

The story type I am using is The Quest in which the character is set a task to find someone or something. He accepts the challenge, searches for and finds someone or something. He is then rewarded, or not, for his success in the quest.

Narrative Structure

Act 1- Set Up

The protagonist, Ryan Taylor has been told that he needs to write a new book for his publisher. Ryan Taylor thinks that going back to his home town of Brightfalls may spark inspiration for his book. Ryan Taylor travels to Brightfalls and now sees it how it is now, rundown and basically uninhabited.

Act 2- Confrontation

Ryan Taylor is told that the town started to go downhill when he left as child. Ryan Taylor believes that everything that has gone wrong because of something that has happened in his past. Ryan begins to investigate what happened in his childhood and why this caused his family to leave. Ryan thinks that he could use this opportunity the write his book using his personal experience from investigating the problem. As he tries to find out what had happened he, he thinks he is going nowhere with his investigation but he finds a woman who has lived in the town for her entire life. She begins to tell him that a terrible incident in a home within the forest and she also tells him that no one has been to the forest after the terrible incident.

Act 3- Resolution

Ryan Taylor decides to that the only way to discover what has happened to the town and the secrets of his childhood is to go into the forest and see the scene of the incident that occurred as he was living there as a childhood. Ryan is warned by a number of people that he should not go into the forest as a horrible secret from his childhood. Ryan ignores these warnings and travels into the forest. As Ryan walks through the forest, he begins seeing apparitions running through the forest with him. Ryan eventually arrives at the house that was located in the forest and sees that it has been abandoned. Ryan decides that he should investigate inside the house and when he does, he finds pictures of himself as a child but he is being held by people that he doesn’t believe he knows. However, a man follows him in to the house and begins to tell him the story of what happened those many years ago and he explains to Ryan that the apparitions are Ryan’s real family and that the man murdered them and that Ryan’s return was always going to happen. Ryan starts questioning everything that has happened and the mysterious man slams the house door shut.

How does my story type fit into my film?

The story type for my film is ‘The Quest’. The main goal of ‘The Quest’ is that the main protagonist is set a task to find someone or something. He accepts the challenge, searches for and finds someone or something. He is then rewarded, or not, for his success in the quest. The way this fits into my film is that my main protagonist, Ryan Taylor, goal is to write a new novel however he decides that he wants to return to the town he grew up, but he discovers that the entire town has broken down and is a shadow of its former self and that the reason is because of his leaving and now Ryan Taylor sets out to discover why it happened.