IDEAS FOR A ZOMBIE SCRIPT

[Slugwriter]

I am Planning on writing a low-budget intended Zombie Film, which in a way is a mix of Paranormal Activity and Night of the living dead and a hint of The Last Man On Earth.

The Script follows two lovers who have recently moved into a suburban house in a neghboor hood ten miles away from any city or populated area. It is for sure a rich area. The script is set in flashbacks mainly.

The First Scene: They are attacked one morning by a zombie. From there, they watch the television which tells them to stay inside and barracade the entrances and that help will come eventually. Since their families live out of state, all they have to worry about is themselves, so they begin to barracade the house. Thankfully, they live so far away from any town or city, the infection has barely hit them.

Second Scene: Flashbacks before they move into the house. Showing their life before and how they found the house. Eventually the move in and meet their nieghbors. It's a stepford wife kinda neighborhood. The wife, one of the main characters, walks her dog the night before the infection spreads and sees a zombie but doesnt think anything of it.

Third Scene: Now, the house is fully barracaded and most of the entrances are barracaded. Then, the TV cuts out. They use the radio. Then, A man and his 7 year old duaghter bang on the door, asking to let it. They door, and they help barracade.

fourth scene: A Flashback showing how the Father and her duaghter got to the house after the infection spread.

This happens, going back and forth, introducing more characters: An electrician alcoholic. A female reporter who was in the area. A police officer. And a black male Felon who's escaped from the jail.

The film goes back and forth introducing characters and showing how they got there. Once all the characters are introduced. The Zombies turn the heat up and start attacking the house on a full scale. The nieghborhood is full of them. The Survivors fight, attempting to survive, learning to work together. In the end, the military does come and save them, but who lives and who dies is uncertain.

This of course is a early in development idea. But I know how I could it with a very low budget. I want the film to be creepy and fresh. Maybe even having the entire movie being recorded with a camera like in Paranormal activity, Quarantine and Cloverfield and Blair witch project.

Tell me ideas and characters I should add or delete. Tell me ideas and what you think I should do and how I should do it,

 

[Cracker Funk]

I want the film to be creepy and fresh. Maybe even having the entire movie being recorded with a camera like in Paranormal activity, Quarantine and Cloverfield and Blair witch project.

Two out of four of those movies you mentioned were really cool. The other two were stinkers. So, I'd be really careful about commiting to the actual-footage-shot-through-a-video-camera thing for a couple reasons. First -- it's only been done successfully twice (IMO).

Secondly, and this is the more important reason -- how does it fit your story. I guess it's been done successfully thrice, now that I think about it, if we include "District 9". However, as much as I enjoyed "District 9", it really annoyed me that they occasionally broke their own rules. Supposedly, we were watching a documentary, pieced together from news footage and security camera feeds, right? But then, every now and then, we saw a shot that was just normal movie narrative. Like, all of a sudden, we see the alien, in his shanty, talking to his son. How did they get that footage? Those moments really annoyed me.

So, my point is, if you're going to take that angle, you have to do it for the ENTIRE movie. And you gotta ask yourself, why? Why would ALL of these characters happen to be recording themselves with a video camera, in the midst of a zombie apocolypse? They wouldn't. So, it doesn't fit the story. So, I think in the case of this story, I'd stick with a traditional narrative.

As for the story itself, I'm looking for the hook. Dude, there are A LOT of zombie movies. So, what sets this one apart from the countless others? A hodge-podge group of people band together, inside a house, to ward off zombies. That sounds to me like your regular-old zombie flick, and I'm not sure how much interest you'll be able to gather with that.

You actually DID catch my interest when you compared it to "Paranormal Activity". Though I don't like the found-footage bit, I liked the idea of it being a couple, locked in their house, with no outside contact. The WHOLE movie is them, in their house. On the surface, it's a zombie movie, but REALLY it's a romance.

Their relationship is on the rocks. Or maybe it's not; maybe their about to get married. Or, maybe their contemplating raising a family. Except hubby just got a big promotion that involves moving to another city. Whatever -- you work out the details. The point is that this is a drama, a romance, as this loving couple works out the same issues that all other couples have to work out. Except every now and then, they have to fend off those pesky zombies! With each successive zombie-attack, their stronghold shrinks. First, a zombie breaches the barrier to the kitchen, so they lock themselves in an upstairs bedroom, succesfully barracading the door. But eventually a zombie comes through the window, so they crawl into the attic, etc., and in between the mayhem, they work out their issues.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's not yet been done. You can take my idea, or you can tell me it's absolute crap, but the point I get at is that this story needs something unique.

Good luck!

 

[Buddy Greenfield]

I might forego some of the flashbacks in favor just having a CARLOAD OF VICTIMS that run out of gas and then into zombie trouble, but at the last minute are saved by (and meet) your FELON.

Then together they find their way to the house where THE COUPLE AND A FEW NEIGHBORS are, so you can have two camps that must set their differences aside and work together. (Eventually someone at the house would say “Wait, I know you, you’re that escaped con I saw on the news!”)

IF you were to go kooky zombie style and not serious creepy mode, then maybe like… Night Of The Living Keg, or Gone Of The Keg or something where some partiers get this keg of infected evil micro brew and go zombie off it, then A: They attack OR B: We follow and root for them on their flesh eating bender.

I also say party because then you can feed and film AND have many at once one day for mass zombie footage, and/or possibly do the majority of it based around 1 location. Like have your main characters in the background facing away from the camera, then disguise them in zombie make up for some group zombie shots.

If possible, it might be cool to get various security cam footage of attacks, to use every now and then, or to set the tone.

I like Cracker's romance (once removed) angle. I'm more direct cheese, like Blind Date of the Dead

-Thanks-

 

[Cracker Funk]

Haha. I like both of those ideas, Buddy.

I you were to make a traditional, straight-forward zombie flick, I like the idea of making the hero a felon. "Pitch Black" meets "Night of the Living Dead".

I especially like the twist of making the zombies the heroes, and they're all shit-faced. Opens up a lot of territory for dark humor.

I like my idea, or Buddy's drunken-zombie comedy. Both of those have never been done before, so far as I know.

 

[Buddy Greenfield]

I'm sure there has been some beer zombie or booze vampie thing before
(Or like the Bob and Doug flick. ), but where there's beer there's a way.

-Thanks-

 

[Slugwriter]

I was planning on making the felon be one of the only survivors. Based off my original idea. See, the idea where a couple getted trapped in their house was my original idea. It would be cheap to make, and if done correctly, could make some serious dough. Paranormal activity was 20'000$ to make, and made over 100 mill. But, the only thing is, what are the chances that no other surviors would come along, and why wouldnt the couple want to help them. They are good people, like you or me. So I figured it'd be nice to mix it up a little. Maybe have a few characters come into play. Like a mix of four stories. The couple. The Felon. The man and his daughter. and the reporter. The idea is about the characters getting a whole bunch of weapons and having an all out war, but its centered about these characters who have problems of their own, which is shown through flashbacks, and are thrown into a fucked up situation. I want the audience to feel for our characters. Thats the number one idea.

But im starting to think maybe this couple idea is the best idea, then two survivors make it into a house. One of them, a 16 year old girl, and another, a strange man. In the end, the man is psycho and kills the 16 year old girl and now the couple must face the psycho guy, and worry about the zombies getting inside. In this script, zombies have a short term memory loss. They forget after 1 minute. But once forgetting, they usually stay in the same area, just wandering. One tiny noise, and they get back into action.

I wanted also to make a parody to zombie films about five kids who are obsessed with zombies, video games, comics and have all moved away from their families to another state. A zombie apocalypse happens, and they use their skills from knowing so much about zombies to fight them. This is 2/5ths comedy, 2/5ths coming to age and 1/5th tragedy. Where they learn that a zombie apocalypse isn't as fun as the imagined.


But lets stick to my first idea. Lets find a way for the couple to record all of this for a purpose. I need a good idea why, other than I just want the world to know.

And I thought All those movies, paranormal, cloverfield, blar witch, and quarantine were good.

I watch quarantine by myself in the dark and almost shit my pants. Which one didnt you like?

And I also want the radio and internet to go out and show how helpless they are once both go out. My way of showing how dependent we are with technology. And give us a feeling of disconnection from the world. Like them and that house is on an edge of a cliff and demons are outside waiting for them to crash. When all hope is lost, the military saves them lol

 

[Cracker Funk]

I want the audience to feel for our characters. Thats the number one idea.

Good. And if you stick with your original structure, as I've stated, my vote goes towards making the felon your hero.

But im starting to think maybe this couple idea is the best idea, then two survivors make it into a house. One of them, a 16 year old girl, and another, a strange man. In the end, the man is psycho and kills the 16 year old girl and now the couple must face the psycho guy, and worry about the zombies getting inside. In this script, zombies have a short term memory loss. They forget after 1 minute. But once forgetting, they usually stay in the same area, just wandering. One tiny noise, and they get back into action.

If you go with the couple idea, I can see a survivor or two making their way in. That could be interesting. Changes the social dynamics. Kinda like "28 Days Later", except instead of being a road-trip, they're stuck in one place. I'm not sure how I feel about one of them being psycho.

I can definitely see a scenario in which one of them buckles under the pressure of zombies attacking, and goes kinda nuts, but to make them a psycho from the beginning -- that's what Snyder would call double-mumbo-jumbo. The audience can only be asked to believe one implausibility at a time. Zombies attack? Sure, we'll buy that. Psycho-killer attacks? Sure, we'll buy that. But, zombies AND psycho-killer attack? Now you're asking too much.

What if it's father-daughter that make their way into the house? I know, that's cribbing from "28 Days Later" in a big way. But, while the dad in "28 Days Later" was your classic selfless hero, what if the dad in your story isn't? He's willing to protect his daughter at ANY COST. Eventually, his desire to protect leads him to make some rather harsh decisions, pitting him against our heroes. He dies of course, either by way of zombies or internal struggle, but either way, it leads to a really uncomfortable social dynamic when the only survivors are our couple and the girl.

I wanted also to make a parody to zombie films about five kids who are obsessed with zombies, video games, comics and have all moved away from their families to another state. A zombie apocalypse happens, and they use their skills from knowing so much about zombies to fight them. This is 2/5ths comedy, 2/5ths coming to age and 1/5th tragedy. Where they learn that a zombie apocalypse isn't as fun as the imagined.

Coming-of-age zombie flick. Good idea. I think "Zombieland" is sort of a coming-of-age movie, but there's plenty more territory to be explored, and I think your idea to make it about kids is awesome.

But lets stick to my first idea. Lets find a way for the couple to record all of this for a purpose. I need a good idea why, other than I just want the world to know.

Hmm, I don't know man. If a thought pops into my head, I'll of course share it, but at the moment, I don't see how you can work this element in.

And I thought All those movies, paranormal, cloverfield, blar witch, and quarantine were good.

I watch quarantine by myself in the dark and almost shit my pants. Which one didnt you like?

"Paranormal Activity" -- I really liked the acting. I felt for this couple. I thought it was often funny, and often very creepy. And, as much criticism as the ending got, I liked it.

"Cloverfield" -- LOVED it. So tense. Best use of the found-footage technique, in my opinion.

"Quarantine" -- I didn't hate it. It's got it's moments. There's just not much story there.

"Blair Witch" -- I need to re-watch it. I remember being amused by it, but not at all scared.

 

[Buddy Greenfield]

My 1st instinct is:

An escaped convict busts in on a reporter and her camera guy having an affair.

Being in the news they know (Recognize) he is the recently escaped convict.
He knows from watching the news (in prison) that she is married.
Then banging at the door, a woman in labor.

What starts out as a desperate hostage situation soon becomes the means for an unlikely reluctant hero to be trapped in the midst of a do or die news event of the century.

-Thanks-

 

[Slugwriter]

I will write two scripts; One about the five kids and the other, about the couple. Each around 80-90 pages, this way the script doesn't feel cramped or stretched out.

The couple story: Unlike other zombie films, I'm not trying to make zombies the center of attention. No long shots of them eating guts lol. They are mysterious, and the longer they are infected, the more deformed they become. Imagine White pale skin, white eyes, hair falls off, arms long with long fingers and fingernails. Creepy fucking things. A mix of I am Legend, Salems Lot, and just plain old zombies with a few touches of my own.

I want there to be many obstacles one after another. And not the kind of things you see in every zombie movie, but different things. The Mood must change the later is gets in the day, and the later the day gets, the more obstacles must be thrown. At the same time, I don't want this to be an action horror flick. And the further the day gets, the more you see the peoples spirit, hope and faith deteriate. Yet, their love is the thing that ties them together. Keeping them strong, keeping them fighting. Knowing that giving up is not an option. I want to test the characters, and the audience. This is a love story, and with love comes obstacles. But in this script, the obstacles are in the form of zombies and things they bring. Make sense?

For this idea, I want to hear your ideas for;
* How many characters should be in the script?
* Some obstacles that our characters must endure?
* How the story should go?
* If flashbacks should be used?
* If a child should be in the story?
* If a felon should be involved or is just ot unrealist. Since the nieghborhood they live in is ten miles away from an civilization?
* If there should be someone who goes crazy. Showing that humans are just ad dangerous as creatures, and we all know humans are real?
* What kind of weapons should they use?
*Should the script take place during one full dar or longer

 

[wheatgrinder]

Ideas for some of your questions..


Having a fixed time frame is great, the shorter the better. 24 hours is good.
Start out with the happy couple watching the early Saturday morning news as they plan what to do to on there last day of vacation in this cute weekend rental cottage in the country.

You could have some cool foreshadowing about, the "end of summer" or something to setup that in 24 hours, the 'dream" is over and its back to the slog.. or some such.

Use the TV news for exposition:
The news has a story about prison riot caused by some strange sickness, some prisoners feared escaped!
This introduces our superstar CONVICT\FELON.

You could go two ways with this. One way is that the reader\viewer KNOWS what really happened at the prison, that the felon was fighting off zombies, and got away and is just trying to stay alive. So you could have scenes of the prison carnage, etc.. However, the couple has no idea, they click off the news story in mid sentence, and go about their day.. (suggest a very cool transition)

This sets up the reader with dread, because we KNOW that something very bad is going to happen, we've already seen how bad it can be in the prison footage.. (great security cam footage option too)

Another approach is to NOT give the viewer that knowledge, rather the viewer discovers the information at the same time the couple does. The couple going about their day are literally SMASHED in the FACE with the reality of zombie attack.. this comes of as SHOCKING to the viewer and might give a good BOO moment..

Both approaches are good, but you can see how they are very DIFFERENT scripts.


have fun..

 

[wheatgrinder]

Slug ( you can call me wheat)

Since these are NEW scripts, try crafting from the outside in. Rather than just jump in and start writing your new script, create a perfect LOG line, develop that into an outline, get the story right by pitching the story (not a script, just a 10 min VERBAL telling of the story) to friends, tweaking it until they get the story, that they understand the plot.. in other words, focus on STORY, then turn that into "story events," then turn those events into scenes.. then, when its all done.. add the dialogue.. OUCH.. I know you love dialogue, so Id forgive you if dialogue ended up in the first scene drafts.. lol

 

[Slugwriter]

Well, at this moment, I am working on the story. The characters. They both are very important in my opinion. I still have months before I will even begin to put the first word on paper, since I am still working on my current screenplay. Which you were supposed to READ!! Lol. But, I appreciate all the advice and for showing me this website. I do love it. I have already learned things I didn't even know existed.