Of The Dark
INT. JULIA’S HOUSE- NIGHT
Stairs fly toward us. We hear footsteps, loud and fast.
A young woman enters frame as she sprints up the staircase.
Terrified.
She reaches the landing at the top of the stairs and bolts into one of the rooms, slamming the door shut in our face...
...SMASH TO
TITLE: OF THE DARK
INT. THERAPIST OFFICE- DAY
CLOSE UP on the young woman's face. This is JULIA NICHOLS. She's nearing the middle of her twenties, pretty in an understated, effortless way, with a pair of bright, kind eyes that are etched with loneliness and anxiety.
The therapist's office is scarcely decorated, just a couple of chairs and a few plants.
JULIA
I, uh...I guess I'm here because I'm afraid. Not all the time. Not even most of the time. Just--at night. When I'm alone in my house.
(laughs)
I'm a grown-ass woman and I'm afraid of the dark.
INT. KITCHEN, JULIA’S HOUSE- NIGHT
JULIA is washing dishes in the kitchen sink. All the lights are on.
JULIA (V.O)
It's just...when I look out the window, into the darkness...the unknown--I can feel it all around me, penetrating me, driving me just a little bit crazy.
JULIA looks out the open window in front of the sink, at the black of night. Her eyes widen with fear.
JULIA (V.O)
And then--when I hear something--a twig snapping, or leaves rustling, or any odd noise...
Outside the house, there is the sharp snap of a twig...
INT. THERAPIST OFFICE- DAY
JULIA runs her fingers through her hair nervously. She doesn't like talking about this.
JULIA
...my mind will wrap around this idea...
JULIA'S therapist, THOMAS (60s), eyes his patient closely.
THOMAS
What idea?
INT. KITCHEN, JULIA’S HOUSE- NIGHT
JULIA (V.O)
The idea that there is someone - a man - waiting in the darkness, about to come inside.
JULIA backs away from the kitchen sink, scared shitless, her hands dripping with soap.
Another snap comes from outside--
--and JULIA bolts away from the kitchen, speeding down a hallway.
INT. THERAPIST OFFICE- DAY
THOMAS scribbles something in his notebook.
THOMAS
What are you afraid this man is going to do?
JULIA
I don't know...kill me, rape me, rob me...it's not really about what he'd do to me. It's just the idea of an unknown presence, hiding from me…
(laughs)
I know, it's crazy.
THOMAS
Let's not use that word, please. When did this fear start?
JULIA
I guess after college. When I got my own place. Which was a year and a half ago, I think.
THOMAS
Alright. So you hear a noise. You become fearful of a man in the darkness. What do you do next?
JULIA
I go to my room.
INT. JULIA’S ROOM- NIGHT
JULIA races up the stairs.
JULIA (V.O)
Actually, I run to my room.
She runs into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
THOMAS (V.O)
And then?
INT. BEDROOM, JULIA’S HOUSE- NIGHT
Afraid, JULIA sits up in her bed, the covers wrapped around like a protective shield. She's staring wide-eyed at the closed bedroom door.
JULIA (V.O)
And then I get into bed. I pull the blanket around me. And I just watch the closed door. For ten minutes. And as long as that door doesn't open in those ten minutes...I know I'm safe. I know there's no one coming from the darkness.
INT. THERAPIST OFFICE- DAY
JULIA looks embarrassed and nervous. She continually runs her fingers through her hair.
THOMAS
Do you ever see things, Julia?
JULIA
(defensive)
No! No. I'm not crazy.
A quick flash to the driveway of JULIA'S house at night, where a man stands in the darkness.
THOMAS
Please Julia, let's not use that (word).
JULIA
(over)
I'll use the fucking word if I fucking want! Because I'm not crazy! I've never seen things that aren't really there.
THOMAS
OK, Julia. I believe you. But you have called the police twenty-three different times in the past three months. And in those calls, it sounded like you saw someone.
INT. BEDROOM, JULIA’S HOUSE- NIGHT
JULIA is curled in her bed, horrified. She's screaming into her phone.
JULIA
Please come quickly! There's a--I saw a--there's a man standing in my fucking driveway! Jesus, I think he's trying to get inside!
INT. THERAPIST OFFICE- NIGHT
JULIA shakes her head.
JULIA
(flustered)
That was--it wasn't because I saw something...it--I get this certainty that there really is a man in the darkness, and I needed to make sure the police got to me quickly, and--and--look, I don't fucking see things, OK?!
THOMAS
(nods)
OK, Julia. So our time is almost up. I know this is court-mandated therapy and you probably don't want to be here, but I think we're making progress.
INT. JULIA’S CAR- NIGHT
JULIA is driving home in her car.
THOMAS (V.O)
I'm gonna give you a little homework assignment for tonight, though. If you hear something and you think a man is coming for you, I want you to count for ten seconds...and then you can run to your bedroom. And try not to call the police. Will you do that for me?
EXT. JULIA’S HOUSE- NIGHT
The night's cloak of darkness wraps around the small bungalow.
JULIA parks her car as close to the house as possible, leaps out, runs to the front door, quickly disables the security system, and rushes inside...
INT. JULIA’S HOUSE- NIGHT
Quick cuts show JULIA flipping on all the light switches in the house.
EXT. JULIA’S HOUSE- NIGHT
Every single light in the house is turned on, but the yellow glow shining from the windows barely penetrates the night's blackness.
JULIA (V.O)
I'm not afraid of the dark. There is nothing out there. I'm not afraid of the dark.
INT. LIVING ROOM- JULIA’S HOUSE- NIGHT
JULIA is sitting on a couch at one end of her living room, staring at the other end--where a large window is located.
JULIA
I'm not afraid of the dark.
INT. KITCHEN NIGHT- JULIA’S HOUSE- NIGHT
JULIA paces the kitchen floor, cell phone to her ear.
JULIA
Hey Sarah, you wanna come over? I have a bottle of vodka with our names on it!
(beat)
You have work tomorrow? Yeah, OK, that's understandable. Another time, then.
INT. LIVING ROOM, JULIA’S ROOM- NIGHT
Fear is clawing its way to the surface. JULIA closes her eyes, trying to calm herself.
JULIA
I am not afraid of the dark.
INT. KITCHEN, JULIA’S ROOM- NIGHT
Another phone call.
JULIA
Beth, I'm feeling like binge-watching some Friends tonight! You wanna come join?
INT. LIVING ROOM, JULIA’S ROOM- NIGHT
JULIA’S eyes are squeezed shut as she desperately tries to overcome her fear.
JULIA
I am not afraid of the dark.
We PUSH IN on the window, on the darkness outside it.
INT. KITCHEN, JULIA’S ROOM- NIGHT
Last try.
JULIA
Hey Dylan...do you think, uh...could you come over? I'm feeling...a bit off, I guess. I just--I'd love it if you could come over. Please.
(beat)
You have a cold? Oh, that sucks. No, no! It's fine! Really, I'll be fine! Hope you feel better. I'll, uh, I'll talk to you later.
JULIA ends the call, pockets the phone. She runs her fingers through her hair, holding back tears.
INT. LIVING ROOM, JULIA’S HOUSE- NIGHT
JULIA opens her eyes.
JULIA
There is nothing out there.
INT. JULIA’S HOUSE- NIGHT
JULIA picks up a full laundry basket from the floor of her bedroom.
She walks out of the bedroom, down the stairs, making her way to the basement door.
She opens the door and pauses at the head of the stairs, looking down into the darkness.
JULIA definitely doesn't want to go down there, but she summons her courage, flips the light switch, and descends into the basement.
INT. BASEMENT- JULIA’S HOUSE- NIGHT
JULIA carries the laundry basket down the basement stairs, moving trepidly toward where the washing machine and dryer sit.
The basement is unfinished, dank, full of boxes and random pieces of furniture, soaked with shadows, the only illumination coming from a few haphazardly hung light bulbs.
JULIA dumps her laundry basket into the washing machine, then sets the basket on the floor. It's taking everything for her to be down there, surrounded by patches and corners of darkness, where anything could be lurking...
JULIA grabs a bottle of detergent from a shelf and pours some on her laundry. She closes the lid and starts the cycle.
She walks back toward the stairs and then stops. Her eyes scream with fear.
Standing in a dark corner of the basement, covered in shadow, barely visible...is a MAN. Tall, head tilted hungrily forward, standing completely still...
JULIA is frozen. Her eyes are locked on the figure. Underneath her obvious terror, there is a small level of uncertainty...is the man really there? Is she seeing things?
JULIA
(quietly, to herself)
OK...nothing's there, Julia...count to ten. One...two...three...four...five...six...seven...
The man in the darkness takes a step forward.
JULIA screams. Following that bloodcurdling pitch we are consumed by silence...
JULIA runs away, as fast as she can, up the basement stairs, down the hallway, up the stairs to the second floor...all the while we hear nothing.
And then JULIA flies into her bedroom and swings the door shut...
...the bang of the door slamming into its frame rips us back into the world of sound.
INT. BEDROOM, JULIA’S HOUSE- NIGHT
JULIA leaps into her bed and coils herself around the blanket. Her breathing is frantic. Her eyes are wild.
She pulls out her phone, dials 9-1-1, and is about to press the call button when she hesitates.
She looks at the closed door and then back down at the phone.
We PUSH IN on JULIA’S terrified face as she clutches the phone in one hand and the blanket in the other.
We PUSH IN on the closed door, letting the possibility of what might lie behind it simmer.
Several tense moments pass...
Never taking her eyes off the door, JULIA sets her phone on the bed. She's not calling the police tonight.
And then the knob slowly turns. Just as the door starts to open we SMASH TO BLACK.
THE END.