I decided to wait until we were done filming to make this post since revisions to the plot were still occurring during filming. There was not a concrete plot until the very end.
The plot of the opening has changed more than I thought possible, honestly. Although I will not be making another “official” script for this final opening, it’s difficult to keep up with our plan of action without at least a synopsis of what our final plot is. For this reason, I feel that the plot should be cleared up at least one last time with a semi-detailed overview that’s close to a script. Also, you can be sure that this is the last revision of our plot since we’ve finished filming now and have no desire to go back and re-film.
I’m going to have a bit of fun with this, by the way and get a bit descriptive writing-y in this overview, so it’ll be kind of like an actual script and kind of not.
The final Plot
There is an insert shot of a green clock propped up on a will, its red hands ticking as the seconds pass by. We are then presented with a faucet, dripping slowly in the foreground and we see a character lying on a bed in the background. He is Lionel. Dressed in a hospital gown, it seems like he was admitted into the hospital.
He begins to stir as he hears the dripping faucet, looking over to the source of the sound before leaning to his left to reach over and turn it off. He returns to the bed, facing upward as his confusion shifts from the dripping sound to his surroundings. Lionel sits up in his bed and looks once again to his left, noticing the strong silhouette of an old lady lying in a hospital bed plastered to the curtain. The curtain seemed to be separating his room from hers.
Although still confused at his surroundings, Lionel decides that he should at least explore to begin to understand where he was. He swings his feet off his bed, standing briefly in front the silhouette before strolling over to the other side of the room; there is another opening to the curtain that he can exit through. Upon reaching that side of the curtain, Lionel quickly opens it, anxious to exit the hospital room only to be met with a dummy sitting in a wheelchair directly outside.
Lionel jumps back, startled at the sight of the dummy, who he mistook to be a person. He takes a moment to calm himself, realizing that he only saw a dummy. However, directly after he calms his nerves, Lionel hears a crash behind the curtain before seeing shadows flash beneath the curtain. He opens the curtain once more, very apprehensively. Upon opening the curtain again, he sees an empty wheelchair. He jumps back in shock, realizing that the shadows he saw beneath the curtain were the feet of the dummy scurrying in the opposite direction.
Deeming that that exit it now unsafe, Lionel walks back to the other opening in the curtain, from where he can see the silhouette of the old lady. He peeks into the room, attempting to see if the lady is asleep so that he might sneak into the room unnoticed. To his surprise, he opens the curtain to find the room empty. The lady that was supposed to be in the bed is no longer there.
Although perturbed, Lionel’s attention is caught by a picture frame lying on a counter in that room. As he walks over to it, he notices that the picture is of him and a mysterious girl he does not recognize. As he continues to scan the disturbing room, he notices a fluorescent light near the floor, glowing on the curtain at the other side of the hospital room. He moves towards it, curious of its source.
As he does so, he feels that he is being watched. As he reached the other side of the bed, Lionel turns to his left, looking at where he previously was to find nothing. He could have been sure that someone was there.
He continues to descend, looking at what he now sees is a computer. The screen’s light had been projected onto the curtain. A document is open displaying rows of words. Lionel picks it up to read and decipher it.
Unbeknownst to him, a dark silhouette is now projected on the curtain he has his back to, looming over him. It is oddly shaped like the girl in the picture frame.
Lionel continues reading the document on the on the computer as the silhouette opens its arms wide, sneaking up behind him without a sound. Before Lionel can notice her presence, the silhouette grabs Lionel aggressively, dragging him backwards. In shock, Lionel drops the computer, unable to fight back against the surprise attack.
The audience can then see the computer in Lionel’s absence. The document screams “I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE” in bold, all caps lettering. We are left to wonder who this document belongs to as the screen fades to black.
Lucid Elucidation's Explanations 