Paper Dolls (Sample)

Page 1

FADE IN: Two quotes appear on a black screen. "The fallen angel becomes the malignant devil. Yet even the enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone." -Victor Frankenstein "I am alone and miserable: man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me....This being you must create." -The Monster Both from Mary Shelley Wollencraft's Frankenstein. EXT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT A warehouse, old and seemingly abandoned sitting in some some woods. It's quiet, save for the sounds of the woods in the night. Crickets chirping, wind rustling through the trees.... Suddenly, the roar of a car makes itself known, starting quiet and becoming louder. After a bit, a car pulls up to the warehouse. It's an older model and most likely used; the sort of car that doesn't draw attention to itself. The car parks itself in front of the building and is shut off. Out of the car comes MENSON (52, a man aged by the years and even more so trials and tribulations), dressed in an old trench coat. (Some blood stains are on it, but this is downplayed here.) Menson goes over to the passenger seat, opens it, and takes out a box from a bakery. He starts walking towards the trunk when he stops at the back seat and puts the box on the hood of the car. Menson opens the back seat door. INT. CAR - NIGHT In the back seat is EVA (19, a girl charming enough to break your heart), who is dressed in night clothes; buckled up, and sleeping peacefully against the opposite door. A blanket that is covering her is falling off her, so Menson reaches over and lovingly adjusts it. Eva stirs a bit in her sleep, but doesn't wake. Menson smiles warmly at this sight. This whole scene is reminiscent of a parent tending to a child who fell asleep on the drive home. EXT. CAR - NIGHT Menson starts going for the trunk, looking for a specific key on his key ring.


2. He begins humming to himself, careful not to wake Eva up. He's at the trunk, still looking for the right key. He holds it up towards the moonlight to see if it's the right key. It's not. He goes to another key and holds it up. It's the right one. He goes to the trunks lock and starts unlocking the trunk. Menson unlocks the car's truck. Inside is the bloodied and brutally murdered bodies of EVA'S PARENTS- TIM and JAN (40's, terror still on their faces). INT. EVA'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT A nice, cozy living room. The kind you could find in a nice home in some nice little neighborhood. This is the home of two parents and their grown daughter. Eva's parents are on the couch in front of the TV, barely watching TV as they discuss something and look at pamphlets of restaurants, shops, a large mall, and a bus tour. Their voices are quiet; they do not want to wake someone in the other room. TIM So are we going to the chinese place? JAN I dunno, do you think she'd want chinese two years in a row? TIM I'm pretty sure she could eat it everyday. JAN Yeah, no kidding. TIM Are we gonna have the waiters come out singing? JAN You know she hates that. Tim smiles mischievously. TIM We're her parents. embarrass her!

It's our job to

JAN I just remember here hiding under the table that one time.


3. TIM (To self) Didn't think she would do that. Tim looks at his wife and notices her slightly-troubled look. TIM (CONT'D) What's wrong? Jan looks up, banishing her troubled expression. shakes her head.

She slowly

JAN Nothing...I feel like we should be getting her something else too. Tim smiles wrly. TIM We're taking her to the biggest mall in the state and giving her a grand to spend however she wishes. That's plenty. Jan smiles and speaks in a friendly, "I know" manner. JAN I know, I know. But I just feel like I should at least give her something small. A creak from someone stepping on a wooden floor is heard from the hallway, immediately getting Jan and Tim's attention. They turn to see Eva sneaking by them. JAN (CONT'D) Eva! Eva stops. Jan quickly covers up the pamphlets. EVA Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Jan is trying to seem like she's not trying to hide a secret, but is barely succeeding. JAN What are you doing up? EVA I was thirsty. I was going to get something to drink. That's it.


4. TIM We just want to be sure you get enough rest for tomorrow. Ah, right.

EVA My birthday.

Eva playfully peers over the side of the couch. EVA (CONT'D) Which begs the question- what do you have planned for your grown daughter? Better not be pony rides or something likeJan covers up the pamphlets and gives Eva an assertive look besides her firm smile. JAN Just one last surprise before you head off to State's hallowed halls. Weren't you going to get something to drink? Eva begins going for the kitchen. EVA Fine, fine. JAN And you should be careful sneaking out here when we're alone. We could've been making out for all you knew! Tim shoots Jan a look, not believing what she just said. Jan sees this and playfully nudges her husband on her shoulder. JAN (CONT'D) What? She said it herself. She's a big girl! She knows about that stuff! Eva, at the door, glances at her mother. EVA Doesn't mean I wanna picture it. JAN Nothing with caffeine! be asleep right now!

You should

Eva goes through the door. Just water.

EVA Don't mind me.


5. Eva shuts the door behind her. Jan turns to her husband, who is still giving her the surprised look. Jan scoffs playfully at this. What?

JAN I give you ideas?

Tim smiles. TIM Maybe. Tim growls playfully and embraces his wife, making her laugh in surprise. There's a knock on the door, instantly killing the moment. TIM (CONT'D) Oh, I'll get it. Tim gets up and starts heading for the door. the clock. JAN It's awfully late.

Jan glances at

Who could it be?

Tim glances through the door's window. TIM Uh, can I help you? Menson is heard on the other side. MENSON (O.S.) I'm sorry to bother you, but my car stalled down the road. My phone's dead and you're the first house I saw with its lights on. INT. EVA'S KITCHEN - NIGHT A nice little kitchen for a nice little family.

Pretty clean.

Eva is getting a glass out of the cupboard when her mother comes in and grabs a cordless phone that's nearby. EVA What's up? JAN Some guy's car stalled down the road. He's asking for the phone.


6. Jan leaves the kitchen. As the conversation continues, Eva pours water in her glass from the kitchen faucet and listens to the conversation as she drinks the water. JAN (O.S.) (CONT'D) I'm sorry about that. The phone in here broke last week. MENSON (O.S.) It's okay. Life is best enjoyed in slow paces. TIM (O.S.) True. MENSON (O.S.) Uh, so, you folks have someone else living here? I thought I heard someone. TIM (O.S.) That's just our daughter. Menson falls silent.

Nothing is said for a few moments.

TIM (O.S.) (CONT'D) Uh...hey...you alright? A crash is heard in the other room as Tim cries out. startled.

Eva is

JAN (O.S.) Tim! A struggle is heard; crashing of furnature, Tim grunting as he tries to fight Menson, cries of pain from Eva's parents. Eva gets a butcher's knife from the knife rack. Eva!

Run!

JAN (O.S.) (CONT'D) Get out!

Eva reaches for the kitchen phone, but discovers/remembers that her mother took it. By now, the struggling in the other room has stopped. Eva turns around, only to see Menson, trench coat and hat obscuring his identity and blood on his clothes. She stabs Menson in the right arm, causing him to recoil and cry out in pain. Eva runs to the kitchen door and steps out of it, stepping in a pool of blood. The sight of her parents lying dead within the chaos that was once her living room makes her freeze in her tracks in horror. Menson catches her from behind and puts a chloroform cloth to her mouth.


7. As she passes out, Eva is still trying to put up a fight. She struggles and cries out as best she can; but the struggling becomes more sluggish and the words grow quiet until they stop entirely. In the end, she drops the knife as she goes limp. INT. GIRL'S ROOM - NIGHT A room dressed up like a young woman's bedroom. Everything in here is a older; owned by a young woman who lived around two decades ago. The room is neat, no one being allowed to use it. All is obscured by darkness right now. Eva's eyes snap open. She looks around her room, still coming down from her fear high. It's dark, so she can't tell that she's not in her room. The reality of her lying safely in a bed slowly sinks in and she gradually calms down, thinking everything to be a nightmare. EVA (Quietly) Jesus... Eva reaches over to her nightstand, intent on turning on her lamp. EVA (CONT'D) (Quietly) One helluvaShe's reaching for a pull cord on the lamp, but to her surprise finds none. EVA (CONT'D) Huh? She continues to feel around the lamp, finding a twist switch instead of a cord (also to her surprise). She turns the light on. She looks at the lamp in confusion for a few moments. This isn't her lamp... The big surprise comes when she turns to the bedroom and finds that it's not hers. She looks at the room and soaks in the situation a bit before saying anything, and even then she's too shocked to say much. EVA (CONT'D) This isn't my... She gets out of bed and starts frantically looking around. She's a terrible mix of confused and scared as she tries to figure out what's happening.


8. Then a terrible thought hits her and she stops moving entirely. The quiet, echoing sounds of the struggle she heard from her kitchen are heard in her mind. Shock and confusion dissolves into horror. Eva looks at her feet, fearful of doing what she's going to do. Slowly, she lifts a foot and looks at the bottom of it, finding some of her parents' dried blood on it. Her eyes go wide. Her legs almost give out, but she catches herself. She staggers to the bed and grabs onto a post like a life line. She's not looking at anything with her wide, shocked eyes; nothing aside from space. Slowly, grief sinks in and she begins to quietly cry. After a few moments of crying, the sound of footsteps in the hallway beyound the door are heard; quiet, but slowly getting louder. Reminded of the threat of harm, Eva snaps out of her sorrow and begins to to look for anything in the room she could defend herself with. She catches sight of a heavy statuette on a shelf and grabs it. Eva hides behind the door, listening intently to the footsteps as they grow louder. (She's still sad, but she's still ready to attack whatever comes through the door.) Soon, the footsteps are right outside the door... Then they go past the door, now becoming quieter. When they are almost gone, Eva allows a quiet sigh of relief. Eva looks around the room, thinking about what she could possibly do. She looks around and only finds one vent- way too small for her. She slowly turns to the door, dread on the brain as that seems to be the only way out. She goes to the door and presses her ear against it, hearing no more footsteps outside. She tightly grasps the statuette and grasps the door knob, though she doesn't twist it at first. She takes a few moments to find courage, then slowly turns the knob (as not to make any noise) and carefully opens the door a little bit (just enough for her to peek through). INT. HALLWAY - DAY A desolate warehouse hallway. Old, metal walls, and only traveled by a few. The metal occasionally groans and the vents sometimes clatter to release air. Eva looks out into the hallway, finding it empty. Eva carefully slips out, being all too careful for anyone out to hurt her, and quietly closes the door behind her.


9. She cautiously walks down the hallway, keeping an eye out for attackers and becoming unnerved by the quiet. Eventually, she happens upon a dead-end hallway with lots of doors. Eva tries to think of where to go next, obviously stressed by this. Suddenly, from the hallway behind her, footsteps echo, growing louder by the moment and sending Eva into a panic. For a moment, she looks at the doors, debate on whether or not she should go through one and which she will. She goes for a door, checks it- locked. The footsteps are louder. She goes to another door, locked. The footsteps are louder and Eva is more scared. She goes for a third door- it's unlocked. The person will be around the corner in a few moments. Eva quickly, but carefully, opens the door. INT. CLASSROOM - NIGHT An abandoned/ransacked class room. It hasn't been used in a while and the furniture is in disrepair. Furniture is old and some have collapsed from age. The whole place is dusty; almost stale. This is a classroom for teaching people how to be civilized. There are posters on the walls about things such as recognizing social cues and proper etiquette. Eva slips into the room and carefully shuts the door behind her. After a few seconds of thought, Eva ducks behind the door. She listens to the footsteps as they grow louder, scared and gripping the statuette in a death grip. After a few moments, a door in the hallway opens and closes and the footsteps stop. Eva waits for more footsteps for a few moments, but there is only a quiet. She allows a quiet sigh of relief. Eva turns to the room, a little confused at what she just walked into. She carefully goes through the class room, looking at the the scenery, slowly getting more and more creeped out than confused. A book on a desk catches her attention. It's a hardcover copy of Great Expectations, albeit it's cover and pages doodled and defaced. Eva looks at the doodles a bit (mostly of disturbing, vague human images). She closes the book and then notices something written on one of the sides of the book in permanent marker- "Menson." EVA (To self) "Menson?"


10. Behind her is the scratch on the chalk board. around and her eyes go wide.

Eva spins

Something has been written on the chalkboard- "I'm telling!" Scared, Eva runs out of the opposite door, dropping the book behind her. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT Another hallway.

More than one door here.

Eva runs out of one of the doors.

She eyes another door.

INT. GARDEN - NIGHT A make-shift indoor garden. A few rows of potted plants on tables and some paths running to both doors on either side of the room. Sun lamps hang in the air; only a handful working and a few flickering as their bulbs near the point of burning out. The plants kept here are either withered, knocked over, or growing uncontrollably. All the water pipes here are rusted and some drip water, adding to puddles in the pathways. The whole place just seams moist. Eva peeks into the room and, seeing the coast is clear, slips into the room, carefully closes the door behind her. She leans against the door a bit, coming down from her fear high. Slowly, she becomes more calm. Eva looks up at the room, a little calmed by the sight of the plants. Carefully, she gets up and begins walking through the room, looking at her surroundings while still being on guard. At one point she happens upon a plastic table with smaller, potted sweet pea plants, each with a little sign with a crazed woman's name on it (Duchess, Hollow, Rabbit). Eva allows herself to become distracted by this, as if trying to escape the nightmare for just a little bit. She slows down, eventually to a complete stop. Only a few of the plants are actively cared for. Most are dying or have long since died. Eva notices that Hollow's pot has been smashed, as if by a bully's hand. Eva becomes focused on the plants, or rather the names on them.... Unbeknownst to Eva, RABBIT (a crazed woman here who wears a rabbit mask) peers up from a row next to the one Eva is in, shadows obscuring her appearance. Rabbit darts down the path and towards the door Eva came through. Rabbit goes through a puddle, making Eva jump. Eva turns around, turning to the plants, and ducks down a bit as she's looking for any signs of life. In the process, her arm is cut by a sharp piece of the plastic table that is sticking out. She flinches and clasps her wound, but still focuses her attention to the plants.


11. However, the sudden pain causes her to drop the statue onto the ground, causing it to break. There are only (running) footsteps going through puddles and towards the other door. Eva looks at the busted statuette on the ground, then around her for anything that could be used as a weapon. She looks over to a nearby table, sees a pair of cutting sheers, and takes them. Rabbit gets to the other door and runs out of it, shutting it behind her. Eva gets a glimpse of the woman as she leaves through the door Eva came in, but doesn't see her face. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT Another hallway.

More than one door.

Eva runs through the hallway, scared and frantically looking at other doors that she could escape through. She runs to a door and opens it.


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