Writing a Horror Movie Script: 10 Essential Steps

Alex Paul shares 10 steps for writing a horror movie script, including creating a hook, character flaws, fears, and a final showdown.

### 10 Steps to Writing a Horror Movie Script
* 🎬 "The hook" is the opening scene that sets the **tone and suspense** of the movie, such as a **car crash** or a **chilling event**.
* 🧟 "**Weakness or flaw**" introduces the characters' flaws, making them relatable and sympathetic.
* 😱 "Fear" is a **primal fear, phobia, or trauma** that the main character will have to face or overcome.
* 🚪 "No escape" isolates the characters in a situation where they cannot **easily run away**.
* 👻 "Foreplay" includes **fake-out jump scares** and **creepy situations** to build tension.
* 👹 "**Evil attacks**" in the middle of the script show the audience the **true horror** of the entity.
* 🕵 "Investigation" is when the main character starts to **learn more about the evil force**.
* 👊 "**Final showdown**" is the climax where the character confronts evil, usually facing their fear or **overcoming their flaw**.

what's up guys, my name is Alex Paul, and today we are gonna go over how to make a horror movie, starting with the script. So, the list I'm gonna go over is basically just a traditional structure of how you would write a horror movie, and I think this structure was super helpful for me when I was getting started with the writing process. It helped me organize my thoughts into a timeline that made sense. This 10-step list comes from a blog post, which I will link in the description box below. First on the list is the hook. You want to start your movie with something that sets the tone and immediately causes the viewer to feel the suspense. Examples of this are the father killing his daughter in the beginning of the Evil Dead remake, the introduction of Ed and Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring movie with the Annabelle doll, or the countless horror movies that start with a car crash. It is definitely a trope in horror movies that every horror movie starts with a car crash, and it's kind of true. There are a

ton of horror movies that start with a literal car crash. Second on our list is a weakness or a flaw. After the first suspense sequence or hook, we want to start introducing our characters' flaws. This will make us feel sympathy or relate to what's going on in our store. Examples of this are Samantha struggling financially at the beginning of House of the Devil, or Justine feeling out of place like she doesn't fit in at the beginning of Raw, or Kaylee being haunted by her past at the beginning of Oculus. All of these elements definitely make us feel for our main character and usually have some relatable qualities to them. This can also be something they overcome later in our story. Number three on our list is the fear. At this point in our story, we introduce a fear that our main character is going to either overcome or have to face later in the movie. This is similar to the flaw but usually has more to do with a primal fear, a phobia, or a trauma in their path that causes them to be afraid of certain

situations. A perfect example of this is Justine's fear of meat in raw. She's been a vegetarian her whole life, and now she is being initiated by eating raw animal parts. This definitely comes into play later in our story and has a huge payoff at the end that I will not spoil here, even though I want to. Step four in writing a horror script is to create no escape. No escape means we have isolated our main character or characters in a situation they cannot easily run away from. This is the hotel in The Shining, the cabin in Evil Dead, or the house that your family has just sunk their life savings into in every other horror movie. When you have no escape in a horror movie, it allows the viewer to forgive some of the stupid decisions that our main character is going to make. It's the why don't they just leave? Why don't they run out the front door? Why don't they just call someone to come save them? You have to create a situation where that doesn't seem possible, and the viewer can

feel that too. Number 5 on our list is foreplay. Foreplay can be some of these jump scares that turn out to be absolutely nothing. It's a creepy situation and maybe you get a shriek or a scream, but it turns out that the real horror is still coming. There are tons of examples of jump scares done very poorly, but this is an opportunity to really test your skill creating a scare that's not gonna piss off the audience, but still gets them to feel that tension in your story. There are a lot of examples of this type of scare coming early in the movie. It's basically something that happens in every. Number 6 on the list is evil attacks towards the middle of your script. You're going to want the evil force, whatever that may be if it's a demon or a ghost or a murderer depending on your story. You want to show the audience how evil that entity or that character can be. This is when the characters start to be killed off one by one. The Paranormal Activity starts to

heighten, and people start to believe that the ghost is real. This is when you can really drive home how scary this thing is and how evil it can be. In Bird Box, it's when Mallory's sister drives straight into oncoming traffic. Number seven on our list for writing a horror script is investigation, and this is when our main character starts to investigate. Whether it's by talking to a priest, talking to a professor, looking in books, or learning more about what's going on around them. In horror movies, this does not literally usually mean investigation, but sometimes it's more of a plot point where they sort of stumble into new information. In Hereditary, it's when our main character starts to look through her mother's things and starts making connections with all of the old people that showed up to her funeral. Be careful here because it's really easy to go overboard and come off as cheesy when you're trying to explain the evil thing. Try to show the audience rather than tell them everything. Number eight is the

final showdown or the confrontation. This is when all hell breaks loose, and you can go as crazy as you want to. This is the height of the action. Our character is going to face off with evil. Usually, we want our character to be facing their fear or overcoming their flaw while simultaneously confronting the monster, the ghost, or the murderer. In Hereditary, this is when the mom starts to sort of lose control. In Annihilation, this is when we have reached the lighthouse, we're inside, and we're about to face off with whatever this creature is. Remember to tie in those fears and flaw into this final battle. Number nine is the aftermath. This can either be a really happy moment or a moment that leaves us feeling like evil has won, depending on how you want to end your movie. This is the case in Raw when we're left feeling raw or in Bird Box when we're left feeling super happy because we've reached a utopia. Finally, number 10, and this is probably my favorite if it's done well, and that is evil lurks. This is that

twist ending at the end of the movie that makes you think that there still might be something evil out there. It's usually a setup for a sequel, but not always. Anyways, guys, thanks for watching. Again, the link to the blog post I've been going off is in the description box below, so if you want to see it in writing, that's where it'll be. Let me know what you want to see next because I can make this a series if it's something you're interested in, and I'll see you in the next one. [Music]

10 Steps To Writing a Horror Script - With Examples

Alex Fahl

The key to writing a horror movie script is to start with a strong hook that sets the tone and creates suspense, such as a shocking event or a terrifying encounter.

After the hook, it's important to introduce the main characters' weaknesses or flaws to make the audience sympathize with them, such as financial struggles or feeling out of place.

Then, the script should focus on presenting the characters' fears, which could be a primal fear, a phobia, or a past trauma, adding to the tension and anticipation in the story.

Creating a sense of "no escape" is crucial to trap the main characters in a terrifying situation.

Using foreplay, such as false jump scares, builds tension effectively.

Introducing the full force of evil attacks towards the middle of the script, with characters being killed off, intensifies the horror.

Creating a sense of normalcy and introducing the main character's ordinary life is crucial in the beginning of a horror script, as seen in "Bird Box" and "Hereditary.

" Building up the fear and the belief in the existence of the evil entity is a key turning point in the script, such as the moment when Mallory's sister drives into oncoming traffic in "Bird Box.

" The final showdown and confrontation with the evil force, where the main character faces their fear or overcomes a flaw, is a vital part of a successful horror script, as demonstrated in "Hereditary" and "Annihilation.

Ambiguous Endings in Movies: Setting the Stage for a Sequel

Some movies end with a twist that hints at the possibility of lingering evil, often setting the stage for a sequel.

The use of ambiguous endings is a common storytelling technique to keep the audience engaged.

The link to the original blog post is provided in the description for those who prefer a written format.