Short Screenplays

Singing Water

Characters:
Young Woman
Sleepwalker #1
Sleepwalker #2
Sleepwalker #3

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Ext. Lakefront (Water, Levee, and Walkway) [calm, waveless, windless, no people]—Night 

Employ a sequence of various shots of a lakefront. Emphasis on the darkness and stillness of the water just offshore; the vacant, concrete sidewalk/walkway that curves around the shore, illuminated with streetlights; the levee seen from a position some yards from the shore in the lake; the concrete steps leading into the water, etc. Position these shots carefully and exactly as they will be utilized again.

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Int. Bedroom—Night

A Young Woman in a t-shirt and pajama pants sleeps soundly in a small, dark, and nearly silent bedroom.

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Shots of various inanimate objects in the bedroom—a still ceiling fan, a framed photograph of a young girl at a beach/lake, some opened/cleaned ears of oyster shells strewn haphazardly on a desk, paint brushes soaking in a glass of water, her cell phone charging next to her with the ‘always display’ setting turned on, displaying the time (or a digital alarm clock on a nightstand by the bed).

The cell phone (or digital clock) displays the time: “2:51.” Then, a drone-like score fades in as the time on the phone/clock changes from “2:51” to “2:52.” The sleeping Young Woman shuffles under her bedsheets. Then, still unconscious, the Young Woman arches her back (or abdomen) off the bed slightly before turning over and rising to her feet in an awkward, slow fashion. Her posture slinks askew, back slightly hunched over, head drooped and tilted, arms defunct at her sides, knees semi-buckled. Her eyes are closed (or slightly open but locked still, dazed and frozen in their sockets, looking at nothing). 

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Ext. Lakefront—Night

Shots of the lakefront, levee, and etc. used in the opening—still vacant of people, the lake dark, quiet, and still, lamplights illuminating the concrete sidewalk and adjacent steps that lead/disappear into the water.

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Ext. Residential Street—Night

Streetlamps illuminate a quiet street of small houses/apartments. Minimal cars line the road and no human activity is discernible outside or inside the houses or in the surrounding neighborhood—the street absent of moving cars, no sounds of cars and/or people in the distance, no flashing lights from house windows, etc. All inhabitants living on the street appear to be asleep in their dark homes. Down the street in the distance, the front door of one house opens. Moving disjointed, slow, and awkwardly languid, the Young Woman emerges from the house, leaves her front door open, walks across her yard, and sulks down the street toward the camera. The unconscious/sleepwalking Young Woman appears to disregard all standard/conventional pathways, such as the sidewalks or the road, but rather she seems to follow a single geological direction. Before the Young Woman eventually shuffles herself dazed, defunct, and unnaturally down the street and out of frame, the camera holds a few seconds longer until Sleepwalker #1, barely discernible in the distance and darkness, moves similarly toward the camera, like the Young Woman, just momentarily. 

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Ext. Lakefront (Water)—Night

Long shot of the calm, dark stillness of the lake from the shoreline (employ an extremely slow zoom into the darkness/blackness of the water out in the distance briefly?). A droney score builds/continues/intensifies. No human activity or sounds of human activity (cars, music, shouting, etc.) are perceptible. 

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Ext. Lakefront (Levee)—Night

Long shot of the levee from a location some yards from the shoreline in the lake. Again, no people/human activity or sounds of human activity (cars, music, shouting, etc.) are perceptible. Then, after some time, the shadowy figure of the sleepwalking Young Woman slowly emerges over the crest of the levee and continues downslope, still moving slow, postureless, and unconscious, toward the camera’s location. 

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Ext. Lakefront (Walkway)—Night

Shot of the concrete sidewalk (and/or concrete steps) that runs along the edge of the lakewater, illuminated by streetlamps. No people or human activity is discernible in the shot except for the nondiegetic sounds of the heavy/shuffling/unnaturally-paced footsteps of the sleepwalking Young Woman, slowly becoming louder.

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Ext. Lakefront (Levee)—Night

The sleepwalking Young Woman continues to move toward the camera, located at some distance in the lake. The darkened levee remains quiet and void of activity behind her as she approaches closer and closer to the edge of the lake where she crosses over the concrete sidewalk (cut back to shot of concrete sidewalk where she enters, moves across, and exits across the frame?) and nears the concrete steps that lead into the dark lakewater. The Young Woman begins descending the concrete steps into the water. 

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Ext. Lakefront (Water)—Night

The sleepwalking Young Woman, still garbed in her sleepwear, continues down the concrete steps into the lake where she continues to walk farther and farther out into the dark water. The sleepwalking Young Woman ventures into knee-high waters and continues trudging forward. The sounds of the water sloshing as she walks accompany the score.

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Int. Long, Industrial Hallway (Storage Unit Complex)—Unknown

The sound of the sleepwalking Young Woman’s footsteps sloshing through the lakewater remains audible. A long, industrial hallway looms before the sleepwalking Young Woman, wearing the same sleepwear. Utilizing slow-mo to emulate the resistance/pace of moving through water, the Young Woman slowly walks down the long, dimly lit section of the hallway toward the shadowy darkness that pools at its ‘end.’ The sloshing sounds of the woman trudging through the lakewater from the last shot are synchronized with the Young Woman’s slow-mo movements down the hallway. 

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Ext. Lakefront (Levee)—Night

The sleepwalking Young Woman, now shoulder/neck deep in the lakewater, continues walking farther out into the lake toward the camera, nearly exiting the frame, before halting in-place. 

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Int. Long, Industrial Hallway (Storage Unit Complex)—Unknown

All prior noises (lakewater, wind, score) abruptly fall silent. The sleepwalking Young Woman continues to walk toward the darkness at the end of the hallway in slow-motion. A high frequency white-noise fades in and intensifies as the Young Woman enters the shadows at the end of the hallway. She continues walking forward into the darkness until she disappears completely into the blackness.

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Ext. Lakefront (Levee)—Night

The Young Woman slowly sinks/submerges herself beneath the surface water. No indication of struggle or effort is perceptible; she merely slips calmly and noiselessly underwater and remains there as the ripples of her submergence dissipate back into calmness. With the sleepwalking Young Woman now out of frame, Sleepwalker #1 is now discernable, descending the levee. Simultaneously, from another corner of the night, slightly farther away, Sleepwalker #2 emerges from behind the crest of the levee—likewise moving toward the lake. 

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Ext. Lakefront (Walkway)—Night

Long shot of the seemingly vacant, inactive strip of concrete walkway at the edge of the lake. Sounds of Sleepwalker #1’s and Sleepwalker #2’s disjointed and unnatural movements louden as they approach closer to the lake. Far in the distance and barely visible in the darkness, the faint figure of Sleepwalker #3 crosses the concrete walkway and begins to descend the steps and enter the water. Sleepwalker #2, now much closer, enters and occupies/obstructs a large portion of the shot, as they travel across the walkway, descend the concrete steps, and continue out into the water in their sleepwear. 

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Ext. Lakefront (Water)—Night

Sleepwalker #1, now waist deep in the water, continues to venture out farther. The Young Woman’s body finally resurfaces and floats lifelessly, face-down in the water, obviously drowned. Sleepwalker #1, now neck/shoulder deep in the lake, halts and calmly slips underwater next to the floating body of the Young Woman. Sleepwalker #2 slowly approaches the edge of the lake, descends the concrete steps, and enters the water. A droney score intensifies to a climax and abruptly stops.

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Black

The soft sound of lakewater sloshing against the shoreline fades in. A few seconds of just black screen and the shushing of waves pervades. 

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Ext. Lakefront (Water)—Night

The soft sounds of waves sloshing against the shoreline continue as a droney score fades back in. The drowned bodies of the Young Woman, Sleepwalker #1, and Sleepwalker #2—all face down and lifeless—float atop the dark, still water. Employ a slow zoom into the distant, dark waters of the lake. 

END.

The Woods 

Characters:

CAT

FRIEND #1 (young woman)

FRIEND #2 (young woman)

FADE IN: 

EXT. FIELD NEAR WOODS—NIGHT 

Among the ambience of night, three young women (FRIEND #1, FRIEND #2, and CAT)  talk excitedly while sitting around a campfire. Empty beer bottles and cigarette butts lie at their feet. Their unintelligible conversation fizzles out into a chorus of soft chuckles. Then, the crackling fire becomes audible. 

FRIEND #1 sips from her beer. 

FRIEND #1

(feigning an accent and smiling)

Well, I don’t know about you, guys, but I’m thinking it’s about that time. 

FRIEND #1 sets down her beer, digs in her campbag, and pulls out a pipe and a bag of weed. She opens the bag and begins to pack a bowl. 

FRIEND #2

I’m down. 

FRIEND #1 

(howling softly) 

Woo! 

CAT, nondescript, 20s, feels the outside of her pants’ pockets inquisitively before pulling out her cell phone. The phone’s light brightens CAT’s face then turns off. CAT reinserts the phone into her pocket, looking stoically at the fire. FRIEND #2 notices. 

FRIEND #2

Everything alright, Cat?

CAT

Hm? Yeah, I’m good. 

FRIEND #2 eyes CAT warmly, one side of her mouth turned up in a half-smile, subtly gesturing that CAT can speak more openly if she wants.

FRIEND #1, still picking apart the weed, looks up from her lap at CAT momentarily.

CAT

I don’t know—guess it just feels a bit weird doing stuff like this without him. Still processing everything, you know? But honestly, I’m fine. It needed to happen. Just not entirely comfortable talking about it all just yet, I guess. 

CAT stares into the fire—discomfort slightly twisting her face into a mock-smile.

FRIEND #1 returns her gaze to the pipe and weed crumbs in her lap, looking up at the others in short intervals while packing it. 

FRIEND #2

Well, you know we’re here for you. If you ever need to get out or distract yourself or get out of your own head or anything, just let me know, okay? We’re here for you. 

(pauses briefly) Well… I’m here for you at least. 

(jokingly) Let’s be honest, Liz is too much of a space cadet to really be anywhere.

FRIEND #1 (Liz)

(smiling) The fuck you say, bitch? I’ll shank you in the cunt if you don’t watch it.

(soft laughter among the group) No, but seriously, we got you, lovely. Always will.

CAT

(smiling gently)

Thanks, y’all. 

FRIEND #1, setting the now-filled pipe aside, closes the bag of remaining weed before placing it next to her. After, she picks up the pipe and begins rummaging through her campbag. 

FRIEND #1 

Speaking of getting out of heads, could I borrow a light from someone? 

FRIEND #2 tosses a lighter over the fire to FRIEND #1. FRIEND #1 lights and drags on the pipe then exhales. After, FRIEND #1 hands the pipe to FRIEND #2.

A muffled buzzing reverberates. CAT pulls her vibrating cell phone from her pocket and looks at the screen. The incoming call displays an unsaved number. 

CAT 

Shit. One second.

CAT stands and begins to walk away from the group, still looking at her phone, eyebrows pinched with questioning.

FRIEND #2 

Who’s that? 

CAT 

Not sure. It has this area code though. Might be my mom using her new boyfriend’s phone.

FRIEND #1 

Damn, another new one? Your mom gets it.

FRIEND #2 

(jokingly) Try and hurry back. You know Liz won't wait that long.

CAT, now a short distance from her friends, answers her phone but continues to walk away, slowly inching toward the woods. 

CAT 

Hello?

(pausing, then slightly dragged out) Helloo? 

(listening, then unexpectedly tense) Oh. Hey.

(listening) Yeah. Who told you?

While CAT listens/remains on the phone, she appears more uncomfortable/tense in body language: her eyes press shut hard as though in discomfort/pain and reopen; she scratches the back of her head aggressively with her fingertips; her face twists and locks into a wince).

CAT

(still on the the phone)

No, I’m with some friends.

(listening) What? No, I’m not telling you that. 

(listening, then flustered) Because I don’t. I shouldn’t even be talking to you.

CAT, growing more upset, walks aimlessly into the woods—the light of the fire in the field behind her slowly dims with the newfound darkness and thickening underbrush. Just beyond the edge of the woods, CAT notices a HEAP OF LAUNDRY—mud-caked, damp, and bespeckled with weeds/leaves—but quickly disregards it, moving forward into the forest.

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EXT. WOODS—NIGHT  

CAT, visibly tense/uncomfortable/upset, continues to walk through the woods while talking on her phone.

CAT

Please—just stop. I’ve already said everything I have to.

(listening for some time) Because it wasn’t just that night. You made me feel scared and nervous too many times, and you did nothing to acknowledge or fix them. I hope you can make yourself happy and never hurt someone like that again, but I just can’t—I’m scared of you. It’s a weird realization to have and—

(listening, then audibly upset) No, not just me. You screamed at the dog the night before your birthday. She was terrified, and you didn’t care at all. I was crying, and you didn’t care at all. You went weirdly far with it, and I think that shows how fucking cruel you really are to those weaker than you. 

(listening) I’m glad you are, but no, I can’t forgive you. Please don’t talk to me.

CAT hangs up and crumbles to the ground, squatting low, quietly crying in her arms. After decompressing with steady, deep breaths, CAT stops crying, rises, and begins to meander back the way she came, wiping her eyes and nose with the sides of her hands. After a few steps, CAT notices that the path ahead of her now appears impassable, barred by dense undergrowth. 

CAT stops and turns around. Using the light of her cell phone (screen), CAT surveys her surroundings. Every direction appears blockaded by the thick, untamed vegetation. For a while, CAT simply stands in place, looking all around her. The light of the fire by now has completely vanished and her friends are no longer audible. CAT turns the light of the phone toward herself and scrolls through her contacts. CAT taps the screen then holds the phone up to her ear. The faint sound of ringing is heard repeatedly. 

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EXT. FIELD NEAR WOODS—NIGHT 

FRIEND #1 and FRIEND #2, in the background, are seen talking to each other, still sitting/smoking/drinking around the fire. A phone in the foreground lights up and vibrates quietly. The incoming call goes unnoticed. 

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EXT. WOODS—NIGHT 

CAT, still holding the phone to her ear, gets her friend’s voicemail—a muffled/barely-audible and robotic “You have reached...” is heard briefly before CAT quickly hangs up. 

Immediately, CAT calls a second time, only to hear the voicemail again. 

CAT sighs, spins around, and curses under her breath. 

CAT 

(shouting loud and long at the sky) 

HEYYY! 

CAT stops and listens. After a few seconds of quiet forest ambience, SOMETHING screams back in response—the noise muffled, aggressive, and animalistic/masculine—from a far distance away. 

CAT, disturbed, remains motionless for a long time—staring deep into the forest. 

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Non-contextualized panning/tracking/zooming nature shots cohesively intensifying and swelling to a peak alongside non-diegetic audio overlain—a von Trier moment of artsy (sur)realism used to generate real-time space and dramatic tension. 

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EXT. WOODS—NIGHT 

CAT, already in motion and using her phone as a light, walks through the forest where, after some time, she stumbles across a dirt path that appears to travel through the woods. 

CAT then begins walking down the trail. 

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EXT. NATURE TRAIL IN WOODS—NIGHT 

CAT, after venturing down one direction of the trail for some time and continuing to use her phone as a light to see the ground in front of her, notices that the trail at some distance ahead ends at what seems to be a large, open field—the woods thinning out and appearing less dark and claustrophobic. With still a good distance between her and the open field, CAT continues down the path through the forest. 

CAT, after moving some steps closer toward the field, is halted by the artificial light of a (BEDSIDE) LAMP, hovering/floating a couple feet off the ground, that clicks on and illuminates a small area of the nearby woods off-trail.

The (BEDSIDE) LAMP, brass and supporting an off-white/opaque shade, casts everything immediately surrounding it in a soft orange-yellow glow within the encompassing darkness.

CAT stands motionless, stunned by the strange new light of the (BEDSIDE) LAMP. 

CAT

Hello?

(pausing shortly, then louder) Hello? 

(pausing) Liz?

CAT attempts to call FRIEND #1 again, but it immediately goes to voicemail.

After, CAT texts FRIEND #2: “Are you guys fucking with me?” followed with “Please help. Brandon called. Trying to find my way back.”

Then, the (BEDSIDE) LAMP, after a few long seconds, clicks off.

CAT stares hard into the woods where the (BEDSIDE) LAMP gleamed, now shrouded again in darkness. 

CAT remains arrested in-place, listening for a long time to the near-silent ambience of the woods, awaiting a reply that never comes. No other sound(s) that could indicate a person/thing are made available; only darkness and quiet accompany CAT. 

CAT, somewhat disturbed, turns her gaze from the now darkened (BEDSIDE) LAMP—its location inside the woods—back toward the trail and open field, still at a distance ahead of her. 

CAT briskly starts walking toward the direction of the field. CAT casts brief, sharp glances backwards and around her as she moves, until finally, she arrives at the trail’s end where she exits the woods and enters the field. 

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EXT: LARGE OPEN FIELD SURROUNDED BY WOODS—NIGHT 

[EMPHASIS HERE ON THE (SLIGHTLY) BRIGHTER LIGHT IN THE FIELD TO CONTRAST THE DARKNESS OF THE WOODS] 

CAT continues across the field toward its center. 

Released now from the claustrophobia and darkness that reigned within the forest, CAT slows her pace until she comes to a complete stop. CAT looks back at the woods and remains in the field’s center for a long time, embracing the new visibility and openness that it allots her, although still unnerved by the (BEDSIDE) LAMP. CAT, able to see somewhat better now than she could inside the woods, puts her phone back in her pocket. 

CUT TO: 

Another shorter/weirder artsy shot(?) 

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EXT. LARGE OPEN FIELD SURROUNDED BY WOODS—NIGHT 

CAT, after staring at the woods from where she came and attempting to calm herself for some time, turns around and looks across the field where, at its opposite end, another dense woods stands. Although the field appears completely imprisoned by the surrounding woods, across it—opposite from the path CAT previously traveled—another path/trail is seen to begin, signified by a WHITE OPEN DOOR/DOOR FRAME that appears to provide an entry into the otherwise impassable wall of trees and undergrowth at the margin of the other forest. 

CAT remains in the center of the field—looking at the WHITE OPEN DOOR that leads into the woods in front of her—and keeps her back toward the woods where she came. 

DISEMBODIED (MALE) GRUNT/SHOUT #1 loudly resounds from the woods behind CAT. 

CAT, jolted by the sound, spins around toward the direction from which the SHOUT came. 

CAT stands rigid, silent except for her shaky breathing, and stares—anxious and unblinking—yet sees nothing in the woods. In a vain attempt to better her vision and see through the darkness easier, CAT rubs at her eyes quickly and harshly before yanking them open once again. CAT watches the woods for some time. 

DISEMBODIED (MALE) GRUNT/SHOUT #2, erupts over CAT, this time louder, clearer, and sourced at a shorter distance away, now from CAT’s side [coming from somewhere much closer in proximity than the initial one]. 

[Whatever it is seems to have moved out the dark woods, where it initially was heard, and into the open field (where it continues to advance toward CAT).] 

CAT, in response, immediately jerks her head to the side from where the SECOND SHOUT came. CAT then shifts herself, turning her fear-buckled footing toward that direction before anchoring in-place once again. Surveying that entire side of field, CAT finds no one; the field, aside from CAT herself, appears completely secluded and vacant. CAT, flooded with anxiety and disbelief, stands immobilized. CAT continues to stare across the open, empty field in silence. For a while, there’s only tension and waiting; the sound of the wind superimposes itself over the other noises of the surrounding feral nightscape for a moment then fades. 

DISEMBODIED (FEMALE) SCREAM (CAT’s voice screaming “STOP!”) resounds directly behind CAT. 

CAT

 (grabbing at the back of her neck and slightly ducking) Fuck! 

CAT spins and sees nothing behind her. Then, CAT immediately launches into a full sprint. Drunk with hysteria and adrenaline, CAT bolts across the field where she eventually hurls herself, unwaveringly, through the WHITE OPEN DOOR and into the other forest. After CAT enters, she disappears completely inside the darkness that lies beyond.

[A long time is spent here until we hear CAT’s footsteps fade. Employ a weird, slow tracking shot that turns/pans across/zooms into the woods until closing in on something (a tree/the ground/the tops of trees/the sky) until the shot is completely black. 

CUT TO/FADE TO: 

BLACK 

A tense ambient droning fades in. The sound of CAT’s footsteps slowly begin to fade back in alongside the score. A long time is spent with nothing but black screen and the sound of CAT running through the forest; the sounds of crunching leaves, twigs snapping, and feet pounding against dirt denote this, until suddenly, the sound changes, shifting from the sound of crunching leaves and feet pounding against dirt to the sound of footsteps running on concrete or tile or carpet, until it becomes apparent that the setting/composition of the forest(floor) has changed noticeably. 

CAT continues to run on this new floor/surface for some time until the sound of her footsteps slow in pacing and eventually stop altogether. CAT, still unseen on-screen, digs in her pockets. (Use a brief second more of just black-screen (and silence?) here (to imply) that CAT is pulling out her phone.) 

CUT TO: 

INT. DARK HALLWAY—NIGHT 

CAT, having just pulled out her phone for light, finds herself in a dark hallway. 

CAT, confused, points the phone light behind her where the hallway appears to stretch long and indefinitely into the darkness. CAT turns back around where, at some distance further ahead, she notices a (slightly cracked open?) WHITE DOOR—a bright light behind it seeping around its edges and cutting into the hallway. 

CAT approaches the WHITE DOOR. At its threshold, CAT opens it.

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INT. BRIGHTLY-LIT, SEMI-DISHEVELED BEDROOM (ALL WINDOWS ARE CURTAINED OR HAVE BLACK CURTAINS BEHIND THE GLASS TO MAKE OUTSIDE COMPLETELY BLACK/CONCEALED)—NIGHT 

Employ a slow-mo panning/tracking shot across a seemingly mundane young man's bedroom. Without overt emphasis, the shot reveals the same (non-mud-caked) HEAP OF LAUNDRY on the floor next to the bed. The same (BEDSIDE) LAMP, previously seen in the woods, illuminates the room with an orange-yellow glow. The bedsheets on the mattress appear to have been pulled roughly off of one corner.

[Still in slow-motion] CAT, immediately after seeing the room, steps back, horrified and disgusted, and runs back down the length of hallway from which she came, until she disappears completely into the blackness.

END (Version One)

~Alternate Ending~

[. . . .] 

CAT approaches the WHITE DOOR. At its threshold, CAT opens it.

CUT TO: 

INT. BRIGHTLY-LIT, SEMI-DISHEVELED BEDROOM (ALL WINDOWS ARE CURTAINED OR HAVE BLACK CURTAINS BEHIND THE GLASS TO MAKE OUTSIDE COMPLETELY BLACK/CONCEALED)—NIGHT 

Employ a slow-motion panning/tracking shot across a seemingly mundane young man's bedroom. Without overt emphasis, the shot reveals the same (non-mud-caked) HEAP OF LAUNDRY on the floor next to the bed. The same (BEDSIDE) LAMP, previously seen in the woods, illuminates the room in an orange-yellow glow. The bedsheets on the mattress appear to have been pulled roughly off of one corner.

Then, the mattress begins shaking violently.

CAT, in horror and disgust, rushes to the bed to grab the bedposts and stop it from shaking. The shot cuts right before her hands clutch the bedposts.

CUT TO:

EXT. WOODS—NIGHT

CAT, mid-crumbling to the ground (after the phone call with her abusive ex), slams her palms against the dirt. [The motion of CAT throwing her arms downward to grab the bedposts is synchronized with her downward collapse to the forest floor.]

Employ a slow zoom-out shot of CAT, breathing loudly, with her hands on the ground for a few seconds.

CUT TO/FADE TO: 

EXT. FIELD NEAR WOODS—NIGHT 

FRIEND #1 and FRIEND #2, in the background, are seen talking to each other, still sitting/smoking/drinking around the fire. A phone in the foreground lights up and vibrates quietly. FRIEND #1 notices the light of the phone, approaches it, picks it up, and puts it to her ear.

FRIEND #1

Cat? 

ENDS (Version Two)