The Surreal

Script

BLACK SCREEN:

CUT TO:

CLOSE ON - A screw driver being jammed into a door so it opens. It’s quite clear someone is breaking in

CUT TO:

CLOSE ON - A set of black boots walk the darkened corridor.

CUT TO:

A FILING CABINET. The draw is opened and a set of gloved hands search through, skimming the names on the files. We do not see who the hands belong to.

The hands stop at a file with the name VICTORIA WOODS on it and remove it, then, begin flicking through.

CLOSE ON – the file:

• information about her mental state

• Picture of her

• Info about where she goes to college

• Address

• Medical information

• Information about her father

• Age

• Symptoms of a breakdown

He flicks back to the picture and we ZOOM in SLOWLY.

CUT TO BLACK:

TITLE CARD: The Surreal

LIGHTNING and THUNDER strikes.

FADE IN:

EXT. COLLEGE – EARLY EVENING

ESTABLISHING – the TOWER BLOCK of the COLLEGE. Very few lights are on and it has an abandoned feel to it.

WE PAN DOWN the building until we are at the GROUND FLOOR. VICTORIA, 20, WALKS INTO FRAME and we stay with her until she enters the building.

CUT TO:

Basic Information
Name: victoria
Nationality: British
Hometown: Bobstown
Current Residence: Sunnyview mental hospital
Occupation: STUDENT
Siblings (describe relationship): n/a
Spouse (describe relationship): n/a
Children (describe relationship): n/a
Grandparents (describe relationship): n/a
Grandchildren (describe relationship): n/a
Significant Others (describe relationship): n/a
Relationship skills: poor
Physical Characteristics: skinny, dark circles around the eyes.
Height: 5’ 8
Weight: 55 kg
Race: white
Skin color: White
Shape of Face: oval
Distinguishing features: dark eyes
How does he/she dress? shabby
Habits: (smoking, drinking etc.) none
Health: mentally unstable
Style (Elegant, shabby etc.): shabby
Greatest flaw: mental state
Best quality: ability to lie
Which character from a thriller film is your character most likened to?

ELIZEBETH BURROUGHS – Don’t say a word (2001) / Tara - Shrooms (2006)
Intellectual/Mental/Personality Attributes and Attitudes
Educational Background: college
Intelligence Level: high
Any Mental Illnesses? Yes – post traumatic stress and others
Character's short-term goals in life: keep safe
Character's long-term goals in life: keep safe
How self-confident is the character? Not very
What would most embarass this character?
How the Character is Involved in the StoryCharacter's role in the thriller (Protagonist/antagonist etc.): protagonist
Scene where character first appears: opening
Relationships with other characters:1. Character's Name: -- (Describe relationship with this character and changes to relationship over the course of the film). Johnny Valentine – aka FBI agent. Long time ganster who was double crossed by Victoria’s father and wants revenge, poses as an FBI agent to capture her.

protagonist and antagonist examples...

A protagonist is the centre character in a story whose actions depict both good and bad qualities in that, they may be trying to get revenge on a person that has wronged them in the past but they will probably have to kill that kill this person in order to exact it.

An antagonist is primarily the character who is against the protagonist but does not necessarily have to be human, i.e. could be a force of nature, an animal or simply just turned by the unfortunate circumstances he/she has become involved with.

Reservoir dogs (1992, Quentin Tarantino) is a film about seven criminals in the aftermath of a bank robbery gone wrong. The characters are all strangers to each other and only refer to each other by synonym names, like Mr Blonde. They each have central skills to pull off the heist that has been set up by a crime lord which they are all familiar with.
Mr White shows signs of being a protagonist from the beginning, caring for a member of his team that has been shot, despite even knowing his name. He constantly defends himself and others whom he believes to be innocent in being a snitch and prefers the less violent approach to solving what went wrong rather than go in guns blazing. Although technically they are all antagonists, seeing as they have just committed a major crime, he seems the more human of the group and shows the most regret for it.

Jaws (1975, Steven Spielberg) is a classic example of the antagonist character not being a human. The film revolves around a new police chief in Amity, an island resort town somewhere in New England. He has a wife named Ellen and two sons named Michael and Sean which gives a sense of normality and draws sympathy towards our main protagonist. On a summer morning, police chief Brody is called to the beach, where the mangled body of summer vacationer Chrissie Watkins has washed ashore. This is where the plot thickens. It is discovered that a great white shark is roaming the waters of this ‘summer paradise’ and killing the locals who swim there.
We see in most scenes the victims from the shark’s point of view, sneaking up to them from beneath the murky water and accompanied by the unforgettable bone chilling music that scared many off going the beach ever again. The element of surprise is key in this film as the actual shark is never seen until close to the end of the movie, a moment that had people jumping from their seats in absolute horror.

Natural born killers (1994, Oliver Stone) the film revolves around the misadventures of Mickey and Mallory Knox - outcasts, lovers, and serial killers. They travel across Route 666 conducting psychedelic mass-slaughters but not for money, not for revenge…just for kicks. Glorified by the media, the pair become legendary folk heroes; their story told by the single person they leave alive at the scene of each of their slaughters.
It’s difficult to see these two characters as actually being human. The only true emotion they seem to have is the unconditional love that they have for each other. Mallory has very child like qualities but in no way needs to be looked after and Mickey is very head strong and easily irritated by stupid questions. The movie is fast paced and one big adrenalin rush that keeps up with their violent personalities. Mickey and Mallory Knox are antagonists for their pure hatred and malicious behaviour but at the same time it’s just an extreme example of media satire and modern day violence.

What is a thriller?

Thriller is a broad style of film that often has overlapping sub genres. (For example horror thriller) They often include characters who are protagonists that are in a fast pace action filled battle against a higher and better equipped villain. The story is usually shaken up by cliff hangers and false implications.

Thrillers will commonly take place in remote and isolated areas, such as a desert, or in a larger more popular setting, like a city, to increase the desperation of the main character and the tension the viewer will feel from witnessing this. Thrillers will tend to promote excitement and guarantee suspense that will have you on the edge of your seat or leave you questioning the reality we live in. either way, the possibilities seem to have little boundaries in the corrupt conspiracies that are conjured up.

In ‘Lucky number Slevin’ (2006, Paul McGuigan) little or no answers are given away until the ending and the rest of the film is spent building up to the twisted climax, which makes no sense while you are watching. A seemingly simple case of mistaken identity is blown out of proportion and thrown out the window once revealed it was our main protagonists plan all along. This is a classic case of misleading the viewer so the ending is a complete surprise.

Thrillers are popular in main stream cinema and will often have big budgets, big stars and collect big bucks at the box office.

Other sub genres may include:

Crime thriller
Drama thriller
Sci-fi thriller
Conspiracy thriller
Disaster thriller
Echo-thriller
Erotic thriller
Legal thriller
Political thriller
Psychological thriller
Spy thriller
Supernatural thriller
Techno thriller
Action thriller
And many more