Horror Film Plot- Initial Plan and Treatment

Media Studies: Horror Film Plot- Initial Plan

·       Set in a dystopian style world – (trailer starts off with the impression that this is the genre, and not horror)
·       There is a set amount of words you can say in a day.
Ø Saying any more, or any less will result in something terrible happening to the individual involved
Ø People use ways of tracking how many words they speak aloud, usually by tallying.
Ø It is unsure what actually happened, but it is common knowledge that it is a fate worse than death.
Ø There are some theories that the higher parties of this world have conjured this rule up out of nowhere, to reinforce their power, but these people aren’t confident enough in their accusations to actually risk breaking this rule.
Ø All that anybody knows is that when it happens, the person disappears/ is taken when nobody else is looking.
·       Gwen has a strong bond with their only Shauna, which plays a big part in the plot when the Shauna breaks the rule and vanishes.
·       This is where paranormal things start to happen.
Ø Gwen is visited by what we know is the Shauna, but not in their true human form. The Shauna now has the characteristics of some sort of ghost or spirit. We mostly just hear their voice.
Ø The Shauna starts to persuade Gwen to do the same and break the speech rule.
Ø The reasoning of the Shauna is that they are in distress and only being joined by Gwen will bring peace, and that they are promised happiness.
Ø The Shauna is very vague when asked about the peace and happiness, and what they mean.
Ø Gwen, after some contemplating asks their parents about it, and they say that it is just the grief of losing the Shauna that they are imagining this.
Ø The protagonist doubts this for a while but then starts to wonder if they are right, so starts to resist the Shauna.
Ø More paranormal stuff starts to happen, to try to get Gwens attention, which works, but Gwen still does not want to break the rule, because of the uncertainty of what could happen.
Ø The Shauna starts to trick Gwen into mis counting how many words they are saying, resulting in them breaking the rule.
Ø We see the sisters sitting together peacefully, and being allowed to speak as much as they want, but Gwen seems a bit disgruntled, showing signs of wanting the rest of the world to join them into being free from speech restraints, possibly opening it up to a sequel.

Treatment
Name: Lost For Words
Logline: Lost for words is a dystopian style horror set in an world where its citizens are restricted to speak a certain amount in a day, and when someone close to them breaks this rule, Gwen finds themselves making an unclear decision.

Synopsis: GWEN’s sister, SHAUNA disappears when she breaks the speech rule unintentionally. Gwen is visited by her in a ghost like form, who attempts to persuade to join her and break the rule. In the end Gwen breaks the rule and joins Shauna and they live now in a world with no restrictions. 

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