CONSUMPTION (2013)
Short Screenplay
Written by Darin Fauver & Clint Horvath · Story by Omar Feliz
Log-Line
An employee of a high-powered building cannot leave because he's being stopped by the Shadow Man.
Synopsis
HAL sits at his desk. He stares intensely at the computer screen. The render bar on his computer screen’s almost complete.
Hal slides his finger across his cell phone display.
SFX: Ping!
Hal gathers his things, shuts off his computer screen, light and door.
Hal locks main door and walks through the hallway.
Hal pushes the elevator button going down.
DOORS OPEN.
Hal looks at his watch and around the elevator.
RAIN sounds the lot. Hal walks pass a MAINTENANCE GUY towards his car. In the distance, he see’s the SHADOW MAN. He unlocks his car, gets in, starts it and reverses.
He drives towards the exit. The gate’s down. He drives to the next exit. That gate’s down. He drives to the third and that’s closed.
He parks his car in his space. He gets out and locks it.
SFX: STATIC DIAL TONES.
Hal enters the building. He walks pass rows of computers. Their screens flicker and shake with noise.
The desk at command center his covered in sliding glass. Hal approaches the desk and slides the glass over. He peaks his head inside. The shadow man appears in the reflection.
Hal walks. At the end of the hallway the Shadow Man appears and chases him. Hal runs.
Hal runs through the halls. The Shadow Man appears on the televisions that hang overhead. He watches as Hal runs pass the televisions.
Hal runs.
SFX: PHONE RINGS.
Hal looks at his phone. The screen displays, “Private”. He swipes the answer button. The button won’t swipe.
Hal runs pass a stairwell. The Shadow Man sits and watches him pass by.
Hal approaches a dead end. He turns around. The Shadow Man stands and stares at him. He walks towards Hal.
SECURITY GUARD stands and looks around. He takes out his walkie-talkie and signals Command Center.
Command Guard opens the H.A.L. Systems program and does a master reboot.
On the monitor in the elevator the Shadow Man has his back turned. He turns around and it’s Hal. He looks close in the camera very sternly.
BEHIND THE STORY
Omar, the man with the story, had this idea to make a short film. So Darin, Omar, and I walked around the facility we worked at together to find all the locations. We spend two days going through each floor. Omar and I were added a couple of years prior. Darin being the veteran in the company knew places to go that most wouldn't. Omar had the wardrobe, we had the gear, all we had to do is schedule the day to do it, which would have been after work on a non-game day.
Omar is brilliant with coming up with stories off the fly. We spent a couple of lunches together to listen to his idea. One day when Omar was off, Darin and I wrote the screenplay to make sure it flowed correctly. Upon Omar's return, he wasn't thrilled with the script. Instead of revising it, it was just scrapped. It's too bad. This would have been a short scary thriller with no budget and a lot of fun to do.
Overall, when working in a group you must learn to trust each other. It might not be 100% of what you were thinking, but it's important to learn the process and finish it. There's so much to learn and frankly, the story may have some twists and turns you weren't expecting.
***Image was created using artificial intelligence with Midjourney***