Daddy Still Loves Us is an upcoming horror film.
Project Details
- This will be my first original horror film, as I will no longer be writing sequels/prequels/remakes of other existing horror movies. I plan to come up with an imaginative, unique, disquieting entity all my own, with a fresh story and characters.
- Not only since I'm writing my own story, but also because I'm an aspiring actor, I will cast myself in the lead role.
- Not much about the plot has been conceived just yet, however the story will revolve around an adolescent boy (played by myself) who has recently lost his father and is struggling to come to terms with the grief that follows, along with his mentally unstable mother's descent into madness and alcoholism. While I haven't yet decided how the horror of the story will come to fruition, the pain of losing a loved one will serve as the basis for what culminates in an emotionally harrowing nightmare.
- While no casting choices have been made -- since I will of course think of the story and characters beforehand -- I plan on casting Drew Barrymore as my protagonist's mother.
- The two lead characters will be living in a suburban neighborhood, channeling the false sense of security that helped make genre classics such as Halloween, Get Out and It Follows resonate.
- Much like The Babadook, Hereditary and Don't Look Now, three of the horror genre's greats, my first original piece will use the effect of grief to explore the horrors that arouse in the mind once a loved one is taken in a tragic event (be it natural or supernatural).
- Before I commence working on this project, which I will take very seriously, I am going to read up on how to best create a horror film, using "3 Ways to Write a Horror Movie" on wikiHow as my guide -- just for the sake of following an organized path that will shape my narrative to its best form.
- This page will mark the first of my strictly original horror films, as I will be writing my own horror stories from now on, going my own creative path after having written a biopic about the Manson family (The Family) and two installments to the iconic Friday the 13th franchise (Friday The 13th and The Death of Jason Voorhees).
Outline
- Finding my frightful idea:
A shy, adolescent boy lives a peaceful, comfortable lifestyle in a suburban neighborhood with his loving mother and stern but caring father whom he idolizes. Tragedy, however, strikes after his father is killed in a car accident.
- Tap into your Worst Fears:
Fear of losing a loved one.
- Sketch out 5 main plot points:
- Beginning: A typical American family living in a quiet suburban neighborhood come to a life-changing upheaval when one of the family members is suddenly killed on his way to/from work.
- The Set-Up: My main characters are Marcus and Lynda Aarons. They’re in this “horrible” place because the unexpected death of their strongest member of the support system has left them in severe despair and irrevocable emotional damage.
- The Warning: Marcus begins to develop a change in personality and his relationship with his mother is slowly deteriorating as she allows the pain to diminish her into an alcoholic, almost catatonic shell of her former self. Lynda believes that Marcus is making things worse by trying to talk about how much he misses his father, as she would rather drown her deep-seated emotional discomfort in alcohol.
- Point of No Return: Marcus realizes the death of his father has led to more than just typical depression. The loss is somehow creating an entity of its own, destroying the minds of both he and his mother, and his friends start to catch on to the issues at hand. Mysterious noises at night, the feeling of someone behind him, lurking in the dark, behind bushes, watching him, yet possibly somehow less threatening than the monster his mother is molding into.
- The Major Set-Back: Marcus believes he has conquered his own emotional trauma, with his friends helping him out and convincing him to finally seek professional guidance, and finally pouring the earth onto his dad‘s coffin to represent finality. But subsequently, the mysterious noises and peculiar sense of impending doom manifest and grow stronger, revealing itself to be more than mere paranoia.
- Climax: Marcus desperately tries to escape from the manifestation of suppressed grief, ignoring it or running as fast as possible to his favorite childhood places, like playgrounds, ice cream shops, etc. As the entity grows stronger, he cannot fight off the urges any longer. It’s time to satisfy the twisted cravings.
- Resolution: One may not be available for Marcus. We’ll see.