SCREENPLAY:
OUTSIDE MY WINDOW
written by ROBERT BRUINEWOUD
GENRE: horror – SHORT, 12-pages
LOGLINE:
A shy, young woman moves into a grungy apartment, only to be stalked by something floating outside her sixth-floor window.
SYNOPSIS:
A young woman, DANNI, moves into a grungy apartment and discovers all the windows have be covered-over with newspapers. The newspapers have magical symbols scrawled over them.
After talking to her new neighbour, RYAN, the two decide to remove all the newspapers and clean the windows so she can enjoy the view of the city lights. While both are aware of the symbols, neither of them place any importance on the markings.
A couple of days after cleaning the windows, Danni is woken by a thunderstorm. She sees the DARK SHADOW as a silhouette against the lights of the city. She immediately calls Ryan and begs him to come over to see it. However, the Dark Shadow is gone by the time he arrives.
In the morning, Danni discovers scratches on the outside of her bedroom window. Danni, Ryan and CASEY (Ryan’s friend) discuss the find. Casey asks about the symbols that were on the newspaper, believing they are related to the Dark Shadow. Danni is frightened by the idea.
That night, despite covering all the windows, Danni is attacked by the Dark Shadow. Hearing the attack, Ryan rushes to her apartment door. But he is unable to get in, and must listen, helpless, as Danni is torn to shreds.
THE VIBE:
A brutal reminder of the principle, Chesterton's Fence, which states: “Do not remove a fence until you know why it was put up in the first place.”
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If you’re a producer, director or production company interested in a script to play with, Outside My Window is available to read at Script Revolution or you can contact me via the contact form.
Here’s the ‘logistical’ details:
locations
• rundown apartment building with elevator and two apartments
- apartment one: dinghy and (initially) empty
- apartment two: cleaned up and lived in
actors
• Danni (woman, 30s)
• Ryan (man, 30s)
• Casey (nonbinary, 30s)
• Ryan’s date (man, 30s)
• elevator passengers (2x women), and
• the Dark Shadow
effects etc
• shattering window
• the Dark Shadow