An excerpt from my script review for Smile which will be available 02/18/25:
1.) Marketability of the Idea
I hate washing my face.
Not that I enjoy being dirty, I understand the benefits of good hygiene, but I’m talking about the act itself.
No matter how impractical the thought, there’s this nagging anxiety (however small) in the back of my mind that when I rinse the soap out of my eyes my reflection won’t be the only thing in the mirror.
Remember why audiences love horror…
“I know that the thing under my bed doesn’t exist. But I also know that if I keep my feet under the blanket, it won’t grab my ankle.” ― Stephen King
Washing my face.
Bending over to spit out the toothpaste.
Walking past the open basement door at night, shadows obscuring the stairs.
Carrying the laundry up from the basement and turning off the light…I’d be lying if I said my pace didn’t quicken up those steps.
(This one I blame the ending of Blair Witch since the washer and dryer are in the unfinished part.)
Some of you may remember this story in my review of The Shining, comparing it to Danny in the cement tube on the playground outside the Overlook.
My summer job was loading baggage into airplanes. Doing it in the early morning, before the sun came up, there was an uneasy darkness at the other end of the bin where it was easy to imagine I wasn’t alone in that cramped space.
Listen, I know all of these thoughts are impractical, and it’s not some debilitating feeling where I can’t function, just that it leads to a conscious apprehension in the back of my mind, however ludicrous.
Smile is one of the reasons I hate watching horror films.
Sure I can read them all day long, but watching them, particularly the ones that deliver jump scares in mundane situations, and it heightens my already silly fears.
We’ll talk more about what went right and wrong in the next section, but…
I rinse off my face faster, spit the toothpaste out quicker, divert my eyes when walking past the steps at night, take two steps at a time up with the laundry, and willingly ignore the empty part of the bin.
Why?
I know there’s nothing there that will get me, but I also know if I do all these things the monster won’t grab me either.
As you consider writing your own horror script, what mundane tasks make you wonder or worry that things may not be what they seem?
Writing from this personal aspect will enhance your story, because you’ll write your fears into the character, making their plight feel real.
In other words…do you hate washing your face too?
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