THE MONKEY’S PAW (9-page short horror screenplay) by Steven Sallie

In this modern telling of the short story by W. W. Jacobs, three wishes are granted to the owner of The Monkey’s Paw, but the wishes come with a price for interfering with fate.

You may be familiar with the title – there’s been numerous versions of this tale (based on the classic short horror story) in literature, film and TV. My personal favorite retelling is probably from The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror version from many years ago.

In writer, Steven Sallie’s cleverly chilling retelling, the message is the same as it is in the original: be careful what you wish for. And in this version, middle-aged couple, Henry and Katherine, learn this the hard way.

One day, Henry receives a visit from an old military buddy named Sergeant Morris, who brings with him a gift.

Henry’s wife, Katherine, and adult son, Mike, treat it like one big joke. But Sergeant Morris is dead serious. Haunted, even. He, himself, has used the monkey’s paw and witnessed its mystical power. And after using up his wishes, he’s passing this “gift” off to Henry.

Despite Katherine’s disgust, Henry makes a wish: he wishes for $30,000 to pay off their mortgage. But, at his wife’s request, Henry throws the severed primate appendage in the garbage.

The next day, they receive terrible news: their son, Mike, has died tragically in a work accident. As a settlement to the family, his job sends Henry and Katherine 30 large. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Neither does Katherine, grieving the loss of her son.

I won’t give away too much of the rest of the story, but it ends with a macabre yet heartbreaking twist – this one isn’t for the feint of heart.

The source material is a classic cautionary tale that most people are probably familiar with, but writer, Steven Sallie, modernizes the tale and makes it feel fresh. I highly recommend this to any filmmakers looking to take on a project that is sure to gain views based on the source material’s popularity.

BUDGET: Low. The story is essentially one-location (a house) and four actors, but there is a funeral scene. I’m sure this can be altered or cheated – this can be easily cheated with a POV shot from inside a grave, the two main characters looking down. Or however way the filmmaker feels best.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Steven Sallie has been writing screenplays for a few years now and loves it. He has several short scripts in various stages of production. His most recent, First Glance is available on Youtube and also at the Liftoff First-time Filmmaker Festival. Steven can be reached at stevensallie55 (a) gmail.

Read: THE MONKEY’S PAW (9-page short horror screenplay)

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About the Reviewer: Michael J. Kospiah is the award-winning screenwriter of critically acclaimed indie-thriller, The Suicide Theory (79% Rotten Tomatoes – available on Amazon Prime, Itunes, Google Play, etc) and 2020’s upcoming Aussie thriller, Rage. His horror feature, They Never Left is currently in development.

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Over on the Original Scripts page are twenty original scripts for your reading pleasure.

-Don

BATS CAN SEE (13-page short horror screenplay) Written by Yuvraj Rajwanshi

A visually impaired painter with an unusual gift soon discovers that her paintings bear resemblance to a forthcoming mishap.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But a painting can convey a stronger message than words can describe. And that message can be interpreted in many, many ways, depending on the person interpreting the art. The paintings in this tale, however, seem to be very specific in what they’re conveying, leaving no room for interpretation…

Gwen is a very talented artist despite her visual impairment: she can accurately paint portraits of her subjects simply by touching them. And her process is unusually quick, as made evident in the opening scene with her subject, a young woman named Nina.

The thing about Gwen’s portraits is that she’s not painting them with exact poses in mind or considering backgrounds or concepts for them – it’s almost as if each brush stroke has a mind of its own, creating works of art based on sheer instinct. And once Gwen finishes her painting of Nina, we see a pair of headlights in the work, as if a car were about to hit her. Sure enough, Nina does end up dead. And, as the painting depicts, it seems to be because of a hit-and-run incident involving an automobile.

Nina’s friend, Rose, investigates the death of her friend with the help of her friend, Mick, who’s part of a news production team that just happen so happens to be reporting on the tragic hit-and-run. But Rose doesn’t have to do too much investigating – Gwen finds her after hearing about the tragic news.

Are Gwen’s painting’s predicting the future? Or are her paintings, in some cosmic, other-worldly way, causing these incidents to happen somehow?

With a very clever premise and a mysterious character in Gwen, this mind-bender will keep audiences guessing and interpreting what they’ve just seen, as if looking at one of Gwen’s paintings, themselves. I highly recommend this to any filmmakers looking to shoot something on a low budget with minimal cast.

BUDGET: Low. Four actors, simple locations (a house, a park, street and a cafe). There is one scene with an ambulance and a small crowd.

ABOUT THE WRITER: While pursuing a career in engineering at the age of 19, Yuvraj Rajwanshi is also a talented, aspiring writer who loves to read novels and screenplays. He has read over 50 novels and numerous short stories and scripts. His love for reading stories inspired him to write down his own ideas and turn them into his own stories. Yuvraj loves to write in the suspense, thriller and horror genres, but continues to expand his repertoire while exploring writing in other genres. Yuvraj can be reached at: yuvrajwanshi2000(a) gmail.

Read: BATS CAN SEE (13-page short horror screenplay)

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*This screenplay may not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.

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About the Reviewer: Michael J. Kospiah is the award-winning screenwriter of critically acclaimed indie-thriller, The Suicide Theory (79% Rotten Tomatoes – available on Amazon Prime, Itunes, Google Play, etc) and 2020’s upcoming Aussie thriller, Rage. His horror feature, They Never Left is currently in development.

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Over on the Unproduced Scripts page are eleven scripts up for your reading pleasure. This is the slow season, so now is the time to revise your script and get it out there.

As mentioned, award season is fast approaching and studios are posting scripts for Oscar contention / consideration. Bookmark the Scripts Studios are posting for award consideration page to keep up on the last scripts coming out this award season.

– Don

Award season is upon us. For me, it doesn’t kick off until the first studio posts the first script up for award consideration. It’s been a slow start, but Amazon Studios has begun releasing scripts for Oscar contention. Thanks to Richie Solomon for the heads up on these scripts which you can find on the Scripts Studios Are Posting For Award Consideration page.

– Don

Off Grid (short, Sci Fi script in pdf format by John Staats (JEStaats) writing as A Prime Customer has been audio produced by Anthology Zone

When it’s either Prime or premium for basic services.

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Listen to Off Grid on Anthology Zone to hear other stories.

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ABOUT THE WRITER: As a fly-fishing fanatic and skier living in the Arizona desert, John Staats finds plenty of time for writing. His feature Impasse was a 2019 Filmmatic Season 4 Drama Screenplay Finalist and has been published as an e-book on Amazon. In addition to features and shorts for the screen, John has found a niche writing for the illustrated page (comics!). John can be contacted at jestaats (a) hotmail.

The Anthology Zone podcast is a fresh mix of short stories. The episodes for season one are an eclectic group of comedies and dramas presenting the everyday challenges of ordinary people. The stories are brought to life by talented writers, directors and actors. The writers are from the US to the UK; the cast and directors are based in Los Angeles where the episodes are produced.

THE NEXUS (10-page short dramedy screenplay) Written by JOHN MCCARTHY

A discouraged wannabe screenwriter finally finds inspiration in the least likely of places.

This one’s for the writers! Anyone who’s chased a dream in entertainment, whether it’s acting, screenwriting or music, knows how difficult it can be to attain that showbiz dream while living in a small town.

In writer, John McCarthy’s wonderful ode to both film and the state of Wisconsin, our lead character, John (surely named after and based on the writer himself) is a film fanatic with dreams of becoming a screenwriter. But he’s a long ways from Hollywood: he lives in Wisconsin. And, on this snowy night, he sits alone at a bar with a screenwriting book and another one called, “1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die”.

A mysterious stranger decides to saddle up in the seat next to him and strike up a conversation, noticing the screenwriting books. During their conversation, John expresses his doubts of realistically pursuing his screenwriting dream.

But the stranger seems to have a sea of knowledge about Wisconsin’s influence in film.

The stranger then rattles off a laundry list of movies, sort of like “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”, naming films with odd Wisconsin connections such as “Wayne’s World”, “Bridesmaids”, “2012” and even films you’d least expect to find a connection, such as “Love, Actually”.

With fantastic dialogue and a character we want to root for, “The Nexus” isn’t a story just for writers – it’s a story for anyone who’s had a dream and is in need of inspiration. And, as this John “character” finds out, sometimes inspiration comes when and WHERE you least expect it.

BUDGET: Low/shoe-string. Two characters at an empty bar.

ABOUT THE WRITER: John McCarthy is a retired graphic designer from Madison, Wisconsin. He grew up in the Milwaukee area and was raised by a family of movie fanatics. A proud father and grandfather, he’s also the owner of Yorkie named Holly (after Holly Go-lightly from Breakfast At Tiffany’s). These days, John paints, writes and binge-watches movies. John can be reached at: jtjunior (a) charter.net

Read: THE NEXUS (10-page short dramedy screenplay)

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*This screenplay may not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.

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About the Reviewer: Michael J. Kospiah is the award-winning screenwriter of critically acclaimed indie-thriller, The Suicide Theory (79% Rotten Tomatoes – available on Amazon Prime, Itunes, Google Play, etc) and 2020’s upcoming Aussie thriller, Rage. His horror feature, They Never Left is currently in development.

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Great Again by Michael J. Kospiah

After falsely reporting a hate crime, Wendell believes he’s being followed and harassed by a mysterious man. But will anybody believe him this time?

You know you’ve read something great when it keeps resonating with you days later, and such is the case with the timely new short by experienced writer Michael J. Kospiah. Great Again tells the story of Wendell, who in a moment of madness decides to claim that two white guys in MAGA hats mugged him, in broad daylight, in Harlem… when CCTV footage clearly shows that he’s lying.

Wendell meets his eyes with him – he takes a moment to nod.

But in this case when Wendell cried wolf, it appears that he may have accidentally woken the wolf up, as he starts to see a malevolent figure in a MAGA hat following him everywhere. Did I mention that the mysterious figure has a large knife? No, well you can understand why Wendell is so spooked by his shiny new stalker.

His girlfriend, Lisa, isn’t convinced by his sightings of the Maga hat man, she never see’s him despite Wendell seeing him just moments before. But things really escalate when the MAGA hat man follows them home and knocks on their door. Lisa is close to calling the Police, but a once again not finding any sign of the stalker she refuses to pander to Wendell’s paranoia.

Wendell jumps back, Lisa appearing behind him.

That’s enough for Wendell who takes matters into his own hands and stalks out of the house with his gun to confront the man in the hat… only to find his petrified neighbour staring down the barrel of the pistol.

When the Police arrive, matters take a turn for the worse and we are presented with an ending that is both a tragic twist and yet somehow inevitable.
Great Again, is certainly of the now, touching on racism, fake news, Black Lives Matter and the Jussie Smollett case. It weaves its themes expertly and deftly giving you reason to pause, think and consider. Something you’ll find yourself doing repeatedly in the days after you’ve read it.

The characters are well drawn, their world compelling and their dialogue authentic which is why this fantastic script won the recent One Week Challenge on SimplyScripts. This deserves to be filmed.

About the Writer: Michael is a NYC-based, award-winning screenwriter. His critically-acclaimed feature film, The Suicide Theory (79% Rotten Tomatoes score) won awards at Dances With Films and Austin Film Festival and received a limited US theatrical release, 3-year run on Netflix and can now be seen on Amazon Prime, Itunes & Google Play. His latest feature film, Rage continues to collect film festival awards and will be available early 2021 after picking up worldwide distribution. His feature films, “Her Lost Winter” (co-writer), They Never Left and “Dancer” are slated for production 2021. Michael can be reached at: spesh2k (a) msn.com.

Read: Great Again based on Nightmare at 20,000 Feet – S5E3

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*This screenplay may not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.

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About the Reviewer: Anthony Cawood is an award-winning screenwriter with one feature produced and a further four features optioned or in pre-production. In addition to features, he has over forty short scripts produced/sold/optioned – including ten filmed. Also occasionally pens screenwriting articles, interviews with writers and filmmakers, and even a short story or two. He can be reached on his website AnthonyCawood.co.uk.

Cherokee Nation Film Office (CNFO) looking to connect with Native American screenwriters.

CNFO works to increase the presence of Natives in every level of the film and TV industries. We have launched the first-ever all-Native directories of talent, crew, consultants and film-friendly business and support services that are within the Cherokee Nation and/or are Native. You can learn more about the native talent directories here. These directories are one-stop-shop for productions looking to hire Natives.

It is our goal to start a conversation with you to spread the word these directories exist and are open for all Natives to join. Would you be willing to share to your audience that CNFO directories are looking to register screenwriters?

To register, just log onto www.cherokee.film and sign up under our “Directories” tab.

Contact Preston Smith, Cherokee Nation Film Office Database Specialist with questions about submissions or any other information that is needed.