Screenplays for ProductionDarkest NightAn ordinary American family gathers at a remote place in the California Sierra mountains for Thanksgiving. Their reunion encounters a series of bizarre, supernatural, and deadly events. They're cut off from civilization and plunged into darkness by forces that defy natural laws and shut down modern technology. One by one, the family members die or disappear in weird and horrific ways. |
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The few who are left, including the main character, young Sandra and
her fiancé Ken, struggle
for survival amid family conflicts and dark terrors. She must find out what's happening
to them so they can escape this deadly trap.
Shocked, they finally they discover who their true tormentor is, as well
as how and why these terrible things are happening. Is it too late to
keep the rest of them from dying? Is the fate that awaits them even
worse than death or hell? A mystical book they find seems to hold the
key to controlling unseen dark forces that threaten to unleash ghosts of
an evil past.
Finally, only Sandra and Ken are left alive. Can they trust each other, or even
themselves, to contain the fears that threaten to destroy them? Suspense
and mystery keep you unsettled and guessing till the very end, when they
uncover and and confront their real enemy.
This is a psychological horror film with intense family drama, suspense,
action, and terror. It contains a minimum of gore, violence, and graphic
special effects. There are no cliché or oft-used thrill gimmicks. The
viewer is led step by step into a dark world of sinister and fantastical
events, where the familiar meets the supernatural, and your most
cherished loved one could be your mortal enemy.
On the surface, Darkest Night is an
entertaining and truly scary thriller. However, for those who want to
probe deeper, the story has multiple layers of family relationships,
character motivation, and
thematic depth. The film also provides insightful commentary on our society and
its most cherished
beliefs. Darkest Night could fare equally well at the local
Cineplex and the
festival art-film circuit.
Good Night Sweet Prince
A Hispanic high school girl discovers her white
boyfriend is part of a gang who murdered her best friend. She must make
a choice between love, safety, and silence, or going to the police. The
film' s story takes place in a working-class,
mostly Latino suburb of Los Angeles.
The main character is Maria
Lopez, who is in love with Bobby. They're both juniors at the local high
school and look forward to attending a big party celebration the next
weekend.
However, Maria has a "secret" friend, Andrea, who is not quite
conventional. Andrea is an older teenaged boy living as a girl. They are
extremely close and have been for many years. Andrea wants to attend the
party but feels she's too "abnormal" for such an event. Maria encourages
her to go as a girl and just have some fun meeting people.
Unknown to Maria, Bobby has a secret life with Jake and his friends who
are drug dealers. Bobby is rebellious and wants the money and macho
reputation that goes with Jake's crowd. Also, though Bobby puts up a big
"font" of romantic love for Maria, he just wants to have sex with her
and plans to drop her once he gets what he wants.
Maria is emotionally close to her family, especially her mother. Maria’s
Mom tries to warn her about Bobby, but she won't listen. Instead, she
makes plans with Bobby to attend the upcoming party and also bring
Andrea. What Maria doesn't know is that Jake and his gang plan on
crashing the event and taking it over.
The time for the party arrives, and everyone shows up, including Maria,
Bobby, and Andrea. They all have innocent fun till Jake and his thugs
show up. Immediately, everything goes wrong, and before anyone can
prevent it, he gets drunk and high then tries to rape Maria. Andrea
intervenes, so Jake forces her into giving him oral sex, while Maria
gets away.
The party ends badly, and afterward Bobby confesses a terrible
revelation to Maria. She is the only one outside his gang who knows the
awful truth. However, she now must face threats of violence from Jake,
even while she hides the reason for Andrea's mysterious disappearance
from her friend's distraught mother. Maria knows now that, if she tells
her secret, her life would be in danger.
What should she do? The hard choices Maria has to make determine the
rest of Good Night Sweet Prince and change her forever.
Produced Film: The Last Year
To read about Russ Williams' produced film The
Last Year, available on DVD, click here.