It Comes at Night and the Art of Opening Strong
Setting the Stage
A few days ago I finally broke the plastic on my Blu-ray of It Comes at Night (2017) and sat down for blind watch. I had managed to avoid any spoilers or trailers and...
In Defiance of Dying Easily: Understanding Violence
Greetings fellow Scream Writers! Way back in June, Kelly Warner wrote about “The Expectations of Blood and Gore” and looked at the different approaches – suggestive, built up, bloodbath – that writers can use...
Location as Character with The Witch (2015)
Welcome back, Scream Writers. Have you ever noticed that some films are set in locations that feel as much, if not more, of a character than the rest of cast? Just think of The...
Restricted Point of View in The Invitation
Question Scream Writers: What do Shutter Island (2010), Memento (2000), and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) all have in common?
Answer: Each of these films make good use of an “Unreliable Narrator.” That is,...
Pace and Originality in Fede Alvarez’s Evil Dead
Welcome back, my Scream Writers. This week’s article was originally going to cover another screenplay—one that I will leave unnamed. However, when I had found myself making up excuses to avoid reading what I...
Bucking Traditional Wisdom and Forging a Sonic Scape in Oz Perkins’ The Blackcoat’s Daughter...
Welcome to the very first Scream Writing, your one stop shop for advice on writing the horror screenplay. Today we’re going to be talking about 2015’s, filmed in Canada, The Blackcoat’s Daughter (original: February); directed...