Possible Short Film Ideas

Possible Short Film Ideas

Film Idea 1: “Reap What You Sow”

·        Genre: – Horror

·        Narrative: – Linear (with a few audio flashbacks)

Plot:

Kenny McDonald's excessive alcoholism has distorted his mind, and led to him coming home one night, blind drunk. His drinking problem has greatly exacerbated his already abusive behaviour towards his spouse. After a heated argument with his sober wife, Carol McDonald, he murders her in cold blood. 

A week on from the body being buried in the garden, he begins to hallucinate and becomes horribly delusional. Following a series of eerie unnatural events, he becomes convinced that his late wife is haunting him from beyond the grave. He slowly begins to edge into insanity as he hears her voice in his head, and her heartbeat under the soil in the garden. But are the hauntings real, or just is it all part of Kenny’s hallucinations?

The film opens with blackness, and the sound of an ear-splitting scream. A panning shot starting from behind a bush shows Kenny digging large whole in his garden in the middle of the night, then dumping a body shaped object wrapped in a white veil into said hole. A low angle shot of the camera being covered with soil is seen, then blackness. A week on, Kenny is then shown slumping into his armchair and turning on the TV, as if everything was normal, until the newsreader he is watching suddenly turns into his wife and starts reporting on her own murder. She frequently repeats the words "Why Kenny?" over and over again randomly during the report. Some eerie sounds and fast-paced editing occur as he looks at the screen in confusion and fear, until he shakes his head and shuts his eyes, at which point the newsreader returns to normal and the sounds abruptly stop. He frantically turns off the TV and stands up, shaking his head in disbelief. 

The next shot shows him entering the kitchen, along with a close-up of him grabbing a bottle of wine, and then taking a swig. He turns around and sees what appears to be the ghost of Carol. He freezes as she slowly points at him. Kenny drops the wine bottle and we see a close up of it smashing as it hits the floor. He quickly glances at the shards and looks back up to find that Carol has vanished. An eye-line match shows him frantically looking around the room to no avail. A close up of him holding his hand against his forehead is followed by a close up of him sweeping up the shards. The scene ends with the camera dollying behind a cabinet to blackness. 

The next scene then opens from behind another cabinet in Kenny's bedroom, showing him in his now roomier bed. The camera rotates around him as he reads a book, and seems abnormally calm. His calmness is interrupted however when the eerie noises return, along with the "Why Kenny?” He shakes his head and the noises halt again. He puts the book down on the cabinet and lies motionless. He looks slightly to his left and the camera is situated in front of him, so that a change in depth of focus reveals that the ghost of Carol is laid in the bed next to him. Kenny swings around and she has once again vanished. His bedside light then begins to flicker, shown by dolly shot closing in on it. The bulb then suddenly pops and the room goes completely black. Some sinister sounds are heard, and the film ends.

There may also be a scene in which Kenny talks to his neighbour, Wade Gorman over the garden fence. Wade is suspicious or Carol’s sudden absence, but Kenny quickly conjures up an excuse: “She’s on holiday with her sister.” Wade remains suspicious and calls the police later the same day. Assuming this scene is present in the final film, there may be an additional scene at the end where the police discover Kenny’s corpse, which appears to have been hurled out of the upstairs window.

·        Hero: – Carol McDonald [She is murdered by Kenny and precedes to haunt him relentlessly from beyond the grave to exact her revenge. Despite her seemingly malicious behaviour, she is the true victim, and so despite not being the film’s main character, she is in fact the hero; or perhaps more accurately, the anti-hero.]

·        Villain: – Kenny McDonald [Kenny is the main character of the film. His murder of Carol however categorises him as the film’s villain.]

·        Donor: - The Newsreader [The newsreader provides Carol, the hero, with a means of haunting Kenny by tormenting him in order to exact her revenge.]

·        Helper: - Wade Gorman [Wade was aware of Kenny’s abusive behaviour towards Carol, but was never brave enough to confront him. Following Carol’s disappearance, he becomes extremely suspicious and calls the police. The officer arrives at the McDonalds’ house that evening, only to find Kenny’s corpse in the back garden. Kenny seems as though he had somehow fallen from the upstairs window. Wade therefore helped bring justice to Kenny, and aided Carol’s struggle towards the afterlife.]

Film Idea 2: “Recover”

·        Genre: – Drama

·        Narrative: – Non-Linear

Plot Summary:

Sean Howard is a man in his late 20’s, whose life seems to have fallen apart very quickly. He falls into deep depression, has drug and alcohol problems, and is almost bankrupt. He spends what remains of his cash on psychiatrist Dr Rebecca Maynard in the hopes that she can help him get his life back on track.

The film opens on Sean’s second visit to her office. Throughout the film, she will attempt to decode the cause of Sean’s troubles and help to reverse them. Sean will tell her a series of events from his past in the form of short flashbacks. These include: his neglectful parents, his dead-end job, his girlfriend leaving him, his decent into alcohol and drugs, and even a suicide attempt. Rebecca gives Sean words of advice, and tell him not to be concerned for the past, but for the present. She successfully convinces him to kick his drug and alcohol addictions, and provides him with a small bottle of pills to help deal with his depression.

Sean is then seen at home a little later the same day. He stands in front of a table covered in alcohol and drugs, and angrily swipes them all onto the floor. He opens the curtains and the bright light from outside inundates the shot in whiteness, which acts as a graphic match to a week later. Here Sean has completely cleaned his house (and himself) and has finally managed to get his life back under control. Sean spots the bottle of pills Rebecca had prescribed lying on the floor. He throws them into a bin, seen through a low-angle shot from inside the bin. He closes the lid and the screen turns black.

·       Hero: - Sean Howard [Sean is rather an anti-hero in that he is a rather powerless and weak individual. He is the film’s main character, and is heavily victimised.]

·        Villain(s): – Alan and Bethany Howard [Sean’s parents. They are the root cause of Sean’s troubles due to the psychological impact that their neglect and abuse had had upon him. Sean was not planned, and so his parents blame him for their financial shortcomings. Due to their role is Sean’s psychological state, they are arguably the main antagonists of the film.]

·        Donor/Helper: - Dr Rebecca Maynard [She is the psychiatrist Sean hired to help get his life back on track. She is a very intelligent and perceptive woman, and quickly decodes the cause of Sean’s troubles. She provides him with very helpful advice (as well as medication) to allow Sean to recover. She successfully manages to repair Sean’s life, and so could arguably be the real hero, despite not being the main character.]

·        Princess: - Amy Pitcher [Sean’s ex-girlfriend. She broke up with him after his alcoholism caused him to treat her poorly, and his drug problems had nearly bankrupted them. In the film, Sean requests Rebecca’s help so that he can get his life back on track and restore his relationship with Amy.]

Film Idea 3: "Lily"

·        Genre: – Thriller (I think)

·        Narrative: – Linear

Plot Summary:

After receiving a severe knock on the head, 18 year old Lily Ashton is rushed to the emergency room, where she is in a coma for approximately a week. She wakes up to find that she has developed a psychic ability. Specifically, she can foresee the death of anyone she touches; all of which come true. However, when she touches her boyfriend Brett Fletcher, she sees a vision of herself murdering him and becomes determined to disprove it.

The film opens with Lily being rushed to the emergency room, although the scene is disorientated with flashing lights and blur. The screen fades to black and reopens with Lily waking up from her coma with Brett and a doctor at her bedside. Brett is happy to see that she is awake, while the doctor checks Lily temperature by placing his hand against her forehead. This triggers Lily’s first vision as she sees the doctor being knocked down by a car. She thinks nothing of it and Brett escorts her home. In the hospital corridor, Lily accidentally bumps into a rather nervous looking man, who she foresees dying of a heart attack.

At home the following morning she hears a news report on the radio saying that a man had had a heart attack while driving, and had hit a local doctor. Lily begins to panic and Brett attempts to calm her, touching her in the process. As a result, Lily foresees herself stabbing Brett. She explains that she has been having visions (though deliberately neglects to mention the vision she had of killing him).

Another week or so on and Lily has been becoming increasingly hysterical due to her visions, causing Brett to question the strength of their romantic relationship. He argues that she is no longer the person she was and suggests that she seek help. She is angered and grabs a knife from a knife-rack in the kitchen and attempts to attack him in a delusional state. Lily admits that she had seen herself kill Brett, and that there is no way to disprove the prophecy. Brett convinces her to put the knife back, and she does. He argues that all she needs to do is control herself, and the prophecy can never come true. Lily however remains sceptical.

The film ends with a short scene the same night consisting of a single shot. The shot reveals that the knife Lily had replaced is now gone. The screen then fades to black.

·       Hero: - Lily Ashton [She is the film’s main character, and although she is perhaps not entirely resistant to mental trauma, she is indeed a good person. Her attempts to kill Brett are fuelled by psychological damage caused by her visions. She comes to the conclusion that her visions will come true, regardless of actions taken to prevent it. As a result, it is possible that she did indeed murder Brett and the end of the film, and so in this sense, she is perhaps and anti-hero.]

·        Villain: - Lily Ashton (again) [Her attempts to murder Brett might also categorise her as the film’s villain, despite arguably also being the victim.]

·       Helper: - Brett Fletcher [As Lily’s boyfriend, he attempts to comfort her throughout her visions, and tries to convince her that they do not necessarily have to come true]