SCREENPLAY:
NOTE TO SELF
written by ROBERT BRUINEWOUD
GENRE: paranormal, survival thriller
LOGLINE:
A reclusive artist gets caught up in a desperate battle for survival after learning the spirit of an occultist has been hiding within her for three decades and now plans to takeover her body permanently.
INTRODUCING NOTE TO SELF:
Note to Self is a fresh take on the possession thriller. Beginning as a psychological thriller with paranormal elements, Note to Self experiences a dramatic reversal and becomes a gruelling survival drama.
DRU (her, 30s) is an artist living in the hills near where she once was lost as a child. Having come to accept her solitary existence, Dru’s quiet life is upset when a video message from ‘herself’ appears on her laptop. Her confusion grows when she realises it was recorded the night before, despite having no memory of doing so, or any idea of what it’s about.
Dru’s concerns for her sanity are partially allayed when the delivery she was asked to accept on behalf of ‘herself’, actually arrives. However Dru decides to disobey ‘her’ instructions and hides the delivery. She leaves a note requesting more information. Not happy with ‘her’ answers, Dru decides to open the delivery. In among the occult artefacts, is an envelope with warnings and a university’s contact details. When she contacts the university, Dru learns the delivery may hold the necessary elements to take permanent possession of their body, while killing her in the process.
Next morning, Dru wakes with multiple injuries, including a deep gash in her side. Terrified, Dru finds her laptop and is told by ‘herself’ that she must dispose of the body of their attacker and deliver the parcel.
Dru manages to dispose of the evidence, but it is an arduous task that takes most of the day and so she is unable to get the parcel. Dru leaves a message for ‘herself’, promising to retrieve it the next morning. However Dru is drugged by ‘herself’, who then abducts her estranged father.
This sets Dru, already sick, injured and exhausted, on a gruelling journey to retrieve the parcel, find her way back to where she was lost as a child, and rescue her Dad from the vicious occultist who has toyed with her life over the past thirty years.
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Note to Self draws some inspiration from H. P. Lovecraft’s short story, “The Thing on the Doorstep” in which an evil wizard possesses a man’s wife, before taking his body. Another source of inspiration may have been the Rick & Morty episode “Night Family”, in which Rick’s machine allows his family’s unconscious bodies to perform tasks while they sleep.
Note to Self is available to read at:
• Script Revolution or
• you can contact me via the contact form.