first taste: the things

here's the other screenplay that i'm working on: a sequel to john carpenter's version of the thing, which was in turn based on a short story called who goes there? by john w. carpenter, and was a kind of remake of a film called the thing from another world., which starred james arness as a hulking, vampiric stalk of broccoli. in a fit of brilliance, i've called it the things.

i still think that the thing is carpenter's best work, and one of the best horror films of all time. i enjoyed the 2011 prequel (called, for some reason, the thing), but the fx were distractingly bad, and it had a sketchy ending (whatever happened to kate lloyd? and why didn't sam carter's alien doppelganger remember in which ear the real sam wore an earring, when doppelgangers seem to remember everything else?), but i watched carpenter's version many, many times through the years. i love the idea and the characters and especially the distrust and dread and horror that carpenter makes us live in every frame.

i read the original story before carpenter's film, and liked it, too. if you haven't read it, do - it's well worth it, and raises questions that i wanted answers to. unfortunately, carpenter's film wasn't much of a commercial success at the time (a lot of folks found it depressing - especially the end), and the prequel was a flop, so a sequel seems unlikely, at best. if there was, it would probably come as a reboot series from netflix, amazon prime, or one of the other streaming services.

so, as you've probably guessed, this script isn't about any hope of a film or a series - it's just my own thoughts about what the things are, how they work, and what might have happened next, after macready and childs share that drink.

again, sorry that the formatting didn't carry over from youmescript. i hope you enjoy your first taste of the things:
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EXT. NIGHT - SPACE

As credits roll, we see the solar system from space, a far-flung group of planets circling a tiny, pale star.

ZOOM IN past the sun, Mercury, and Venus, until Earth fills frame. We glide under the planet to look down on Antarctica.

ZOOM IN through heavy clouds to the night side of the continent.

INSERT: ANTARCTICA 1982 WINTER

Still looking down from above, an ICE FIELD fills frame. It looks blue in the darkness. A TINY FIRE appears, almost lost in the vast, barren terrain.

ZOOM IN slowly on the fire. We see a cluster of ramshackle buildings burning – the remains of Outpost 31.

EXT. NIGHT – OUTPOST 31

INSERT: U.S. OUTPOST #31

In the light cast by the fire, two tiny figures struggle through the deep snow, one chasing the other. They run away from the fire, into the darkness, casting long shadows across the snow. Both are on the verge of collapse.

CHILDS runs toward camera, his steps a series of mad stumbles. WE HEAR THE SOUND OF HIS BOOTS MURNCHING THE KNEE-DEEP SNOW, ALONG WITH HIS TORTURED BREATHING. Both sound close and dead, as if the world is a soundproof room. Everything else is eerily silent.

INSERT: Over his shoulder, silhouetted by the fire, we see MACREADY coming.

CHILDS falls to his knees. His BREATH BILLOWS out in clouds. He looks back toward MACREADY, then turns and stares into the darkness ahead of him. He looks down at his knees.

Beat.

CHILDS takes a deep breath and forces himself to stand. He lurches forward, on the run again.

A few moments later, MACREADY stumbles by. Frost rims his beard and parka. He is exhausted, but has a determined look on his face. He carries a RIFLE.

INSERT: Behind MACREADY, the bulk of OUTPOST 31 COLLAPSES, billowing smoke, flames, and embers into the sky. We watch it burn as he stumbles off-camera.

Long beat.

SUDDENLY, O.C., WE HEAR A THING ROAR DIRECTLY INTO OUR EARS – that close. It sounds like a combination of a large carnivore, like a tiger, and mewling.

Beat.

O.C., We hear a VIOLENT STRUGGLE.

Beat.

We hear a SINGLE GUNSHOT. The sound hangs in the air. SMOKE FROM THE RIFLE DRIFTS BY, high in the air, white against the night sky.

FADE TO BLACK:

EXT. DAY – THE SMOKING REMAINS OF OUTPOST 31

SEVERAL SOLDIERS in WINTER CAMOUFLAGE are spread out across the outpost, weapons drawn, quick and alert as they check the buildings for signs of life. TWO HELICOPTERS are in the background, blades winding down.

COMMANDER
(shouts as he walks)
Give me a perimeter sweep. I want this place locked up tighter than a preacher’s daughter on prom night.

SEVERAL SOLDIERS (OC)
Sir yes sir!

COMMANDER
(strides up to SMOLDERING FIRE, looks down with disgust; CAMERA looks up at him from ground level, as if we are THE THING looking up at him through the SMOKE AND FLAMES)
What the hell do you call that?

ADJUTANT
(looks over COMMANDER’S shoulder, raises eyebrows)
What we came for.

BOOM SHOT of CHILDS-THING, burned in the act of shape-shifting. There is a neat, round bullet-hole in the CHILD-THING’S head, and a DOG-THING growing out of its arm. Near it is what appears to be a loose pile of BROWN BLANKETS.

Suddenly, part of the CHILDS-THING flares up and collapses with a LOUD POPPING NOISE. COMMANDER stumbles backward and falls over the PILE OF BLANKETS. They tumble over to reveal MACREADY, covered with frost and inert.

ADJUTANT
(kneels next to MACREADY, checks pulse and eyes)
Survivor!

COMMANDER
Are you sure?

ADJUTANT
(looks from MACREADY to CHILDS-THING and back)
What do you want us to do with them, sir?

COMMANDER
We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.
(beat)
Put’em on ice.

FADE TO BLACK:

EXT. DAY – THE NEW OUTPOST 31

HELICOPTER SHOT across the ocean, past ice floes, then the wilds of Antarctica.

We come to a LARGE, DUG-INTO-THE-GROUND SCIENTIFIC OUTPOST. It is composed of several prefab outbuildings and a large, central geodesic dome. Prefab hallways and tunnels lead away from the dome to the other buildings, like the spokes of a wheel.

INSERT: U.S. Outpost #31 – Present Day

Cut to:

INT. OUTPOST 31. EVENING. HALLWAY IN A SECTION OF THE CAMPUS THAT IS OUTSIDE THE DOME.

[This section of the complex has a lived-in look, as well as some architectural incongruities, as if sections have been added piecemeal over the past 35 years. The hallway is similar to a modern hospital hallway, with tile floors and colored bands on the walls directing one to various areas. Areas outside the dome are not very well-lit; electricity is at a premium here.]

JANITOR, wearing his complete HAZMAT suit, wheels his CART to a WIDE DOOR set in the hallway and opens it by holding his thumb to a WALL-MOUNTED DEVICE that takes a small blood sample via a DISPOSABLE NEEDLE. He pushes the cart inside.

INT. Outpost 31. NIGHT. Inside the shower room.

[It resembles the shower rooms typical of high schools. Near the exit is a shelf of large, white, folded towels. Above them hngs a crude paper sign that reads, 'Reduce water use! Only take 1 towel!' The shower room is lit by a single light source in the ceiling. Steam partially obscures our view.]

JANITOR and TWO OTHER MEN shower, exchanging small talk. One at a time, the other men finish their showers and leave. They grab towels from the shelf as they go. JANITOR lets the hot water run over his head, burning away the sweat. Silence, but for the sound of the water.

Beat.

WE HEAR A MUFFLED NOISE from the next room, like something heavy falling, but somewhat distant.

JANITOR
(Calls out, smiling.)
What you guys doin’ in there, movin’ furniture?

Beat.

JANITOR slowly turns off water and stands perfectly still.
Silence. JANITOR looks alert. This facility is manned by dozens of scientists and soldiers, all cooped up for months at a time. It is never this quiet.

JANITOR
(grabs towel, wraps it around his waist)
Hey! What you guys doin’ in there?

Beat.

JANITOR walks slowly past lockers and exercise equipment to a door marked MEN’S DORM. It is dark, except for the light above the door. He slowly reaches for the door handle, but stops when there is a HEAVY THUD against it from the other side.

JANITOR
(drops his hand and slowly backs away)
Uh-uh... I seen this movie.

Cut to:

We look over JANITOR’S head as the door to the sleeping quarters bangs open. There is a STROBING LIGHT in there, as if the power is shorting out, and darkness and SMOKE. Inside, there
is movement, but we can’t tell what it is.

Cut to:

JANITOR as seen from the middle of the sleeping quarters. He has a look of mindless, instinctive terror, like a mouse that spots a snake.

In the intermittent light, we see PARTS OF MEN, some still trying to crawl away, attached to some VAST MONSTROSITY in the center of the room. Every part of it is in motion.

The CREATURE opens a huge, needle-toothed mouth in the middle of it all and MEWS LIKE A KITTEN FROM HELL.

Cut to:

JANITOR turns and runs as a red, ropy TENTACLE shoots out of the room after him. He throws himself at a FIRE-ALARM-LIKE PANEL on the wall as the TENTACLE wraps around his ankle, his towel falling aside.

ANGLE DOWN ON:

Janitor's back. He grabs hold of the handle on the alarm with both hands. The TENTACLE pulls, and the JANITOR hangs suspended between it and the alarm handle.

Closeup on:

JANITOR’s face, sweating, filled with terror and pain. He knows he is a dead man. He tries and tries to throw the alarm switch, pulling with everything he has.

Closeup on:

The TENTACLE begins to DISSOLVE THE JANITOR’s leg, becoming one with it.

Pull back to:

JANITOR’s eyes go wide as he feels himself taken over, the conversion from man to Thing racing through his body. He THROWS UP violently.

Suddenly, just before the alarm switch can make contact, the THING yanks JANITOR away from the alarm panel and into the sleeping quarters. The door slams shut with a RESOUNDING BOOM.

FADE TO BLACK:

first taste: midsummer night

i've never written a screenplay before, but i'm fiddling with 2 relatively new amazon tools in the hope of finishing my first.

loosely based on a book of uk mythology that my wife purchased for me and the amazing anais mitchell's version of the song tam lin, it is a darwinian horror story (big surprise) and a cautionary tale about the current pace of change and its effect on the planet. plus faeries, trolls, goblins, and the vatican.

i'm using amazon's storywriter for the script itself (and like it, so far, except for the occasional garbling of words when i type too fast) and just began using amazon's storybuilder, which is somewhat similar to scrivener, which i liked but could never quite catch the flow of.

for the past couple of years i've mostly used google docs to write and google sheets to organize plots, character outlines, etc. not necessarily the fanciest tools, but they're simple and they work (plus free).

(update: amazon has abandoned both of these tools, so i'm back to using google sheets in place of storybuilder and youmescript.com for the writing. i'd say, "curse you, amazon!", except they're the reason i first got published, and they've been terrific and helpful ever since, so...)

apologies that the formatting didn't travel well. anyway, here's your first taste of midsummer night:
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INT. NIGHT - A SINGLE-ROOM MEDIEVAL COTTAGE

A BANKED FIRE smolders behind the hearth. There is no other light. An IRON HORSESHOE hangs above the threshold. A FATHER and MOTHER are asleep on a PALLET in the corner. The FATHER snores. There is a single WINDOW, really just a square opening with a hinged shutter, open just a crack. Beneath it is a rough, HOMEMADE CRADLE, in which a BABY sleeps.

A LOG POPS in the fire. The WIFE rolls over in her sleep, then settles back into slumber. All is quiet.

Beat.

A golden, glowing WILL O' THE WISP flutters in the open window, erratic as a butterfly. It hovers near the FATHER and MOTHER's faces, bathing them in soft light. The FATHER brushes it away, still asleep, as if it was a fly. The WILL O' THE WISP pulls away, circles the cradle, then flies back out the window.

Beat.

The window opens silently, bathing the cradle in BLUE MOONLIGHT. A MISSHAPEN SHADOW falls over the cradle.

EXT. NIGHT - OUTSIDE THE COTTAGE

The WHITE COB COTTAGE is bathed in moonlight and surrounded by newly fallen snow. A forest of impossibly tall and black evergreens stands behind it.

We hear the BABY CRY, far away and echoey, and then the scream of the MOTHER from inside the cottage.

MOTHER (O.S.)
Tam Lin!

EXT. NIGHT - WINTER; A PITCH - BLACK FOREST, SNOW EVERYWHERE

AEDEN DOYLE, a teen-aged boy, sprints across frame from right to left. All that we can see of him are his boots.

EXT. NIGHT - WINTER; A GRASSY FIELD, SNOW EVERYWHERE

AEDEN sprints across frame from right to left. His coat has a long, ragged tear down the back.

EXT. NIGHT - WINTER; A CLEARING IN THE FOREST, SNOW EVERYWHERE

[[[All dialogue in the Sidhe language will be denoted by this type of parentheses, and subtitled.]]]

There is a large BONFIRE; the flames throw weird, geometric shadows on the surrounding black evergreen trees.

OBERON (V.O.)
[The babe is unchristened. We have every right to claim it.]

EXT. NIGHT - WINTER; AN ENORMOUS FOREST, WITH EVERGREEN TREES MORE THAN A HUNDRED FEET TALL.

AEDEN runs, a tiny, pale shadow against the pitch black trees. He is carrying something in both arms, wrapped in BRIGHT BLUE CLOTH.

EXT. NIGHT - WINTER; A CLEARING IN THE FOREST, SNOW EVERYWHERE

MICHAEL DOYLE
Aeden is young. He doesn't understand...

OBERON (V.O.)
[He has stolen what is rightly ours.]

EXT. NIGHT - WINTER; A PATH IN THE FOREST

AEDEN, still running, looks back over his shoulder. His eyes go wide with terror. He screams soundlessly.

EXT. NIGHT - WINTER; THE BONFIRE.

MICHAEL
He's frightened. So was I, when I was his age. My father taught me some things, but when I first saw you...
(looks off camera at Oberon)
You and your kin are... overwhelming.

OBERON (V.O.)
[He has broken the law, Michael Doyle. He is bound, as blood of your blood: A life for a life!]

EXT. NIGHT - A FIELD.

AEDEN runs across the field. BLUE AND YELLOW LIGHTS are reflected on his back, bouncing, but we can't see what is casting them. There are SOUNDS OF PURSUIT, growls and shrieks and roars, getting louder.

EXT. NIGHT - THE BONFIRE.

MICHAEL
There's too much he doesn't know. I haven't had time...

OBERON (V.O.)
[We are bound to the pact. Rome requires a human emissary. The Hall must have a Caretaker...]

EXT. NIGHT - A FIELD.

AEDEN, exhausted, still running. He carries a BABY wrapped in bright blue swaddling clothes. Wisps strike at his head and pull at his scarf, but he bats them aside. A HUGE TERRIBLE CLAW reaches for the boy from out-of-frame behind him.

EXT. NIGHT - THE BONFIRE.

MICHAEL
(falls to his knees, sobbing)
I can't! I CAN'T! Yer Grace, have mercy!

OBERON (V.O.)
[The babe is our rightful fealty. For this crime, the blood price must be paid. Pass on the duty and save your son's life!]

MICHAEL
(openly weeping)
God forgive me!

OBERON (V.O.)
[Say it!]

MICHAEL
(Speaking in Latin)
Onus istud non mi. Potest deus misericordiam consecuturus.

EXT. NIGHT - A FIELD.

AEDEN trips and falls in a heap, tumbling in the snow. The BABY flies from his arms.
EXT. NIGHT - THE BONFIRE.

MICHAEL
Aeden!

OBERON (V.O.)
[Go to your god, Michael Doyle. We will teach your son...]

BLOOD gushes from MICHAEL'S neck as his throat is slit by something too fast for us to see. His face becomes calm, his mouth hangs slack, and he falls face-first into the fire, which erupts in sparks and flame around him.

OBERON (V.O.)
[...all that he needs to know.]

EXT. NIGHT - A FIELD.

As the camera pulls back, AEDEN sits up, panting and covered in snow. He pushes his scarf down off his face and looks around. There is nothing but grass, trees, wind, and the SOUND OF AN OWL. The swaddling clothes are unraveled across the snow, but the BABY is gone.

FADE TO BLACK