My first shortfilm script, 9 pages, apoctolyptic
EXT. RIPSTRAAT – MORNING
Various shots of a silent neighborhood in a soft morning glow, of the streets
INT. BEDROOM – MORNING
The alarm on the phone goes off and he turns it off, the camera follows his hand to his upper body, where you see that he has just woken up. He gets up and walks toward the window where he opens the curtain and stretches. Bram looks at the time on his phone.
BRAM
Oh, shit
He quickly gets dressed and grabs the school bag that is next to the bed and quickly leaves his room. He looks at the closed door on his right.
BRAM
I’m going to school mom!
He walks toward the stairs and is already on the 2nd step before he looks back once and waits for a reaction even though he actually doesn’t have time for it.
BRAM
Mom!?
Bram walks toward the room and opens the door but to his surprise there is nobody in the room, there are some clothes scattered through the room. After he looks a bit in the room Bram thinks ‘oh well’ while he looks at his phone and rethinks why he was in a hurry anyway.
INT. HALLWAY / LIVING ROOM – MORNING
Bram walks down the stairs and walks without looking through the door, while on his left the front door is wide open in a straight line through to the kitchen without looking at the living room. Where he quickly grabs himself an eierkoek and takes a big bite and then calls into the room (without looking).
BRAM
(unintelligible)
I’m leaving!
After that he makes his way through the different rooms to the garage, where Bram with one hand grabs his bike and with the same hand in which he holds the eierkoek opens the door.
EXT. CARPORT, RIPSTRAAT – MORNING
Bram gets on his bike with in one hand his eierkoek and rides out from under the carport.
EXT. RIPSTRAAT -> SURROUNDINGS – MORNING
He cycles around a bit, the surprising thing is that there is nobody at all on the street. (a few clear shots of things that will later in the film no longer be there) While he calmly eats his eierkoek. At first according to Bram nothing is wrong, because it is often quiet. But the further he cycles the more suspicious he finds the silence. After 3 empty streets he stops for a moment.
BRAM
Hello?!
He looks around a bit.
BRAM
Is there anyone?!
Bram realizes that to find out where everyone is he needs to go to a place where it is normally very busy: the center
EXT. SURROUNDINGS -> THE HOVEL – MORNING
On the way Bram still does not meet anyone, as he rides toward the Hovel on his bike he is shocked by the absence of people. He throws his bike carelessly on the ground without taking his eyes off the empty center. Only now Bram’s appearance becomes known to the viewer. All shops closed and no human to be found. He looks into the first best shop to see if maybe someone is inside. He does this a few more times until he gives up. He walks calmly out of the Hovel, out of frame, in this world in which he turns out to be the only one.
EXT. BUS STOP -> GOIRLE – MORNING
Bram sits at an empty bus stop on the bench thinking silently. He takes out his phone and starts calling people he knows and even calls 112, but they also do not pick up, as a last attempt he tries one more person, the ringtone stops, which gives him false hope, but results in voicemail. This is the moment he realizes that he is COMPLETELY ALONE. (a short compilation of the following possible things: 1. He walks through a red light. 2. He sits alone on a swing in a playground. this sequence ends with Bram shouting very loudly in a square, first out of freedom, but then out of frustration.
INT. GARAGE (DIARY LOCATION) – DAY
Bram puts his phone down in an amateur way and presses play (from phone)
BRAM
Yeah, what should I say, there is just absolutely nobody anymore, well see. I- I have already been to all the shops and stuff but everyone is gone.... Also nobody picks up at all, not even 112!.. I will go back tomorrow to see if I can find someone, or something like that
Bram presses the off button causing this fragment to end.
EXT. RIPSTRAAT – DAY
Bram walks out of the door from under the canopy to the front. He walks partly the route he also biked in the beginning, but now there is something gone that was there before, but Bram does not notice this. He walks slowly out of frame into the distance.
EXT. KLAVERLAANTJE – DAY
He walks around without still anyone in the area. ‘BLEEHHH’ is heard in the distance, Bram looks around and then walks toward the sound.
He sees a small enclosure with a few goats and chickens.
When Bram looks at the feeding bowl he sees that it has not been refilled for a while. Bram walks to the fence and crouches next to it where a small goat walks toward him.
BRAM
(while he pets the goat)
You are left behind here too huh
This is the first moment where Bram does not feel completely alone, this is the first moment of peace he has had since he has been alone. It abruptly switches to a POV from the bushes in which Bram is visible, at first he sees nothing, but due to a short sound he quickly looks toward the camera, still searching. Now again from the normal point of view Bram carefully walks toward the bush.
BRAM
Hello?... is someone there?
He gently pushes the front branch of the bush to the side, a bird flies out of the bush, to Bram’s shock. He turns with a sigh back around and walks away from the bush. It switches again to the POV which is now more behind a tree a bit back, the image now has a bit more movement and in the background you hear a soft monster/alien breathing and a light growl, this continues until I exit the frame.
INT. GARAGE (DIARY LOCATION) – EVENING
Bram puts his camera down a bit rushed and moves his head close to the camera, as if he has to be quiet.
BRAM
(whispering)
This is day 2, and I now really know for sure that there are no more PEOPLE... but I am in any case not the only living being on earth anymore, because I found a few goats.....
He almost wants to turn the camera off.
BRAM
And oh yeah.. when I just wanted to leave there some stupid bird scared me....
(awkward silence)
Well, uhh, good night then
Bram turns the camera off again.
INT. GARAGE (DIARY LOCATION) / EXT. GOIRLE – DAY
Alternating shots of the silent environment, with and without Bram. In which at first some things are in a different place than later in the compilation, to increase the mystery, at the beginning of the compilation he does not notice anything yet but the longer it goes on the more Bram notices it, even though he does not think about it seriously. This is alternated with the following (every other day in different clothes, increasingly irritated/tired):
BRAM
This is day 3, I still have not seen anyone-
Day 4, still nobody seen-
Day 5, nobody seen-
Day 6, nobody-
Day 7, still nobody-
Day 8, guess...
Day 9-10-11- nobody- nothing-
Fade to black.
INT. GARAGE (DIARY LOCATION) – EVENING
You see Bram setting up his camera from his own phone, he is more lively, but still tired.
BRAM
Hi, this is day 13, I have now not seen anyone for almost 2 weeks. But today there is change in that
He takes out a small video camera and shows it while turning it on.
BRAM
I found this today on the street between a pile of trash, I watched the video that was on it, and then I knew for sure you had to see this too.
He messes a bit with the camera until he moves the screen toward the phone and then presses play. A chaotic video plays in which you see a girl walking through her dark house with a flashlight in her hand, making you barely see anything, she sounds very panicked, until she suddenly hears a loud sound, turns around, and the video abruptly stops.
BRAM
Yeah, that was it, this is all that was on it
Says he while pressing all possible buttons to make sure there is nothing else on the camera
(from the real camera) he turns his phone off and places the camera on the table.
MATCH CUT TO:
INT. BEDROOM – DAY
You see Bram sitting on the floor next to a box with all kinds of books and other family related things. He flips through a few photo albums, there are some close-up shots from the past, together with his father and mother, Bram likes seeing this. He puts the book back and looks further in the box, he comes across different things. But he eventually stops when he sees a cassette tape where ‘mom and dad’ is written on it. He jumps up and walks with the cassette tape in his hand to the table and searches in the drawer for the walkman, which he finds almost immediately. He quickly puts the tape in, presses play and hears:
DAD (CASSETTE TAPE)
Does it work?
MOM (CASSETTE TAPE)
Yes, I think so
DAD
Well Bram.. if you hear this we were probably cleaning up again. And then we thought.. why do we never just record something?
MOM
You think later you can still say what you want to say.. that there is enough time... but you actually never know...
DAD
That is why this... we are proud of you.. not because of what you might achieve later, but because of who you are...
Short silence
MOM
If there is ever a moment where you think someone should know what you feel.. do not wait for it.. just say it.. people think too often “I’ll do it tomorrow”
DAD
And before you know it.... tomorrow suddenly becomes today
They softly laugh together
MOM
Well.. that was it really.. we love you....
DAD
Always...
The cassette clicks and stops. This is Bram’s emotional low point while he is still sitting in the same place.
FADE TO BLACK.
INT. GARAGE (DIARY LOCATION) – DAY
He sets his phone down for the last time, he seems to know that. He places the phone so that it is clearly in frame. The found camera is also slightly visible in frame.
BRAM
I don’t know why I’m still recording this, but it is at this point...
He looks at the calendar off screen.
BRAM
3 whole weeks since I woke up and had no one to talk to.
He stays silent for a moment
BRAM
Hopefully someone finds these videos, or maybe this phone will lie here for 100 years... But if someone finds this, I want to say I was here.....
BRAM
The weird thing is.. eventually you get used to everything.. to the empty streets... to the silence... to EVERYTHING.. except the absence of people
There is another short silence, after which he picks up the cassette tape and gets a bit emotional, but hides it
BRAM
A few days ago I heard my parents again.... it has been so long since I heard someone speak to me. I had already completely forgotten the voices of other people, after only hearing my own...
Bram
That is why I hope that whoever sees this, does not have to watch this alone, I have found out that silence is actually not beautiful. Not when you have no one to share it with.
BRAM
I think that is why it is important tha-.....
Suddenly the light goes out
BRAM
Damn that stupid light!
At first it is completely silent, with sometimes flickering light. Then faint footsteps and very light breathing can be heard.
BRAM
Hello?...
Bram stands up from the chair causing the phone camera to fall to the ground. It is now centered with on the left side Bram’s heels and a small part of his legs and on the right side the dark garage. Bram walks slightly forward.
BRAM
Is there someone?...
The light flickers once, there is nothing visible.. it flickers again, now the silhouette of an alien/monster. He is larger than a human and has an insect-like body structure with a tail slightly moving. Silence.
CUT TO BLACK.
(i translated it using CHATGPT from my own language, so it could be that it translated something wrong. feel free to leave your toughts)
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