Paranormal Activity is a classic haunted house movie, but it is fully shot by webcams and security footage, giving it a unique look and feel. You’re Next turns a basic serial killer movie on its head by making one of the “victims” a better killer than the supposed villains. Scream would be a basic slasher film, but the characters’ unique knowledge of horror film “rules” was so inventive it spawned four sequels and endless imitators. Even changing the setting alone can be enough to make a movie unique. 30 Days of Night is a basic vampire movie, but it’s set in Alaska, where night lasts a whole month. [1] X Research source
What horror movies scare you? What scenes do you still remember? When have you been scared lately? What is it that really scared you, and how can you replicate that fear in others?[3] X Research source
How does the writer create tension on the page without music or actors? Is the screenplay itself scary? How do you format scares and different, tense scenes? At what page or minute does each scare occur? What parts fail, and how would you fix them? What parts succeed, and why?[5] X Research source
Celtx and Writer Duets are free programs with auto-formatting for scripts. If you want to write professionally, you should consider buying Final Draft Pro, the industry standard scriptwriter. [6] X Research source
Beginning: Open on a scary event. This is usually the villain’s first victim– the murder or event that sets the movie in motion and shows the villain’s “style”. In Scream, for example, it is Drew Barrymore’s character and boyfriend getting murdered. [8] X Research source The Set-Up: Who are your main characters, and why are they in this “horrible” place? The teens might head to the Cabin in the Woods, or the family moves into the creepy old house in Amityville. Either way, we get to know the future “victims” of your script. The villain or evil may be present, but is lurking in the background. This is the first 10-15% of your movie. The Warning: Roughly a third of the way into the script, a few characters realize that not everything is as it seems. Many of them will ignore or miss the signs, but the viewer knows that the evil is growing around them. The Point of No Return: The characters realize they are stuck in this horror. The first character dies, the villain appears, or they get literally trapped, like in The Descent. There is no more ignoring the danger. This is usually halfway through the story. The Major Set-Back: At 75% or so, the characters believe they have won. Suddenly, however, the villain comes back even stronger than before. This false sense of security lulls the characters into near-certain doom. The Climax: Your main character(s) makes a final push to survive by escaping or defeating the villain. The adrenaline is high, and you need a climactic fight/scare/moment to cap everything off. [9] X Research source The Resolution: All is well, and the main character has survived. The villain appears dead, and everything is good again. . . at least until the sequel or very ending, when evil often resurfaces (Drag Me to Hell, V/H/S).
The Exorcist’s opening isn’t the scariest thing in the world, but the odd, primordial location hints at the ancient, malevolent demon that lurks underneath the surface throughout the movie. Scream boasts one of the most famous, and chilling, openings in horror history. It is basically a short film showcasing the killer’s first villain. Writer Kevin Williamson gives us everything – tone, gore, humor, and terror – while showing us that no one is safe. There are exceptions to this rule. Cabin in the Woods starts mundanely in an effort to lure the viewer into a false sense of security, for example.
The Poltergeist takes its time making you feel for the “average American family” at the core of it, making their later terrors feel like they could happen in anyone’s home, anywhere. Nightmare on Elm Street spends a good 15-20 minutes at the kid’s school, then another few minutes at a standard slumber party, building up sympathy for the main characters. You’re Next goes the opposite direction, setting up the dysfunctional, annoying, manipulative family at the heart of the movie so that you root for the killers (who are being hunted) by the ending.
The Conjuring doesn’t kill a single person, yet is considered by many a modern classic. The tension comes from what is not on screen. When you see the shaking cabinets, shadowy feet, and hear strange noises, the viewer’s imagination does all the work for them. Halloween succeeds largely because we don’t know where Michael Myers is at any time. He could be behind any corner, in any room, because the writer wisely leaves him in the background in order to build tension. Because he so rarely “jumps out,” we never know when to expect him. [11] X Research source Many horror films rely on “jump scares,” when a loud noise or quick jump startles the viewer immediately. However, modern movies are using “fake” scares to build tension, having good guys (or pets) pop out to lull the viewer into a sense of security.
It is often best to imagine this moment as a mini-movie with a beginning, middle, and ending. Think of one specific scare and then work backward to make the scene shine. [12] X Research source
The Night of the Living Dead has a tense, action-filled attempt at escape, a chance to get everyone out of the farmhouse. The characters even make it to the car, and avoid all the zombies, until their rushed, faulty plan literally blows up in their face. Shaun of the Dead, a horror-comedy that sticks to horror structure, finds the main characters successfully boarded up until one of their greedy friends lies about being bitten.
Funny Games’ main character decides, despite her hatred for the villains, that all she can do is run. What follows is a tense, cat & mouse scene of hopeful escape. Dawn of the Dead finds the desperate survivors willing to fight for their freedom, taking the battle straight to the zombies instead of waiting.
Read horror writers like Edgar Allen Poe and Stephen King to learn about creating tension through words alone. You may have to bend some screenplay conventions to build a tense, terrifying scene on the page. Remember, however, that your first goal is to write a script that accurately portrays the movie that is eventually made. [14] X Research source
The entire Final Destination series is built on 4-5 of these moments each movie. While the don’t always work, each one has at least one death that viewers will never forget. Psycho is a great movie, but without the shower scene it likely would have fallen out of collective memory years ago. The scene was so jarring, so surprising, that it is still discussed and satirized today. [17] X Research source
Pure tension gets old, and eventually doesn’t feel tense anymore. Try placing a joke or two shortly after a big scare scene early in the movie. This helps the audience “get over” the rush of the first scare, letting you start building tension again for the next one. [18] X Research source
