A VOICE IN DARKNESS

Short Film Concept by Garrett Gilchrist

From an idea by Harry Pottash

In the first half of the movie we meet this guy. He's a regular guy, a nice guy, he's got a wife or girlfriend that he loves. He's got a friend that he's known since elementary school who's a good guy but a drug addict, and our guy is always trying to tell his friend to clean up, to play it straight, and there's this drug dealer the friend's been taking for granted, hasn't been paying, the dealer is just this little kid, 15 maybe. We learn this because we can hear our guy's thoughts as voiceover throughout. Very little actually happens but his thoughts tell us things, because he can sense fear in his friend's eyes. He's walking and he passes a pretty girl he recognizes that he had a crush on in high school, but she doesn't see him, and he doesn't say anything. He goes to work, and he's an assistant at this little research lab, he's a nobody but the main scientist is trying to get funding for behavioral research on frogs. The scientist leaves for a break or for the day and our guy has to administer microwave radiation and then shocks to the frogs. He doesn't like doing this. He shocks one of them too harsh, and in the wrong timing with the radiation, and it gets cut, like with a knife, it starts to bleed. He doesn't know what he's done, he feels awful. He tries to shut off the machine, hits the wrong buttons and electrocutes the frog, and himself. He almost blacks out for a moment but recovers, really shaken and sick, and he checks the frog's vitals and it's dead. Now he really feels sick, and decides to give it up for the day. But just before he's about to go, the frog recovers somehow. He doesn't want the scientist to find out what happened so he takes the frog home in his pocket, goes to buy another one at a pet shop which is also a bait shop, it's near a dock and pier where fishermen go, the only one open at that hour. He buys a frog and the two frogs start to fight really viciously, so he lets the electric-shocked one go loose and keeps the new one. Now as he's leaving he sees in the alley, a drug deal taking place, recognizing his friend as the buyer and the kid as one of the sellers, there is a small gang of kids there, some older, one very old. The friend is trying to get out of paying them again, and one of the kids pulls a knife on him and they take his wallet out, see what's in it. Couple twenties, a fifty, some condoms. The friend says something wisecracky and gets a gun pulled on him. At this point our guy walks in to try and stop them, and they point the gun at him -- who's this fuck? The friend jumps them and a fight suddenly breaks out on the dock. The gun goes off accidentally, hits our guy. The frog hopes away. Our guy falls off the pier and drowns.

We hear him think about what it means to die, and he thinks about the people he loves.

Fade to black.

This is part two. Our guy somehow regains consciousness. Everything is wet and blurry. He's not sure if he's alive or not. He feels like he's floating. We watch some of this through his eyes, all of it at first. We hear a foghorn go off, and see a fishing boat pull up. The guy at the wheel thinks it's a dead body. Our guy is trying to call for help, but realizes with surprise that he can't talk. We see his eyes move, slowly. The fisherman realizes he's alive and drags him into the boat. Our guy looks like a corpse, his skin is blue and white. The fisherman dries him off and says his skin is ice-cold. For some reason, our guy thinks, he doesn't feel cold. The fisherman tries to joke and chat with him, asks him if he needs to go to the hospital. Our guy just stares at him, because he can't say anything. From what we see it looks like an expression of hate. The fisherman gets frightened and doesn't say anything anymore, just dumps him off at the pier and paddles away. Our guy thinks to himself, says how everything looks different, strange. He stands for a moment and then loses balance, falling like a rag-doll to the ground. He realizes he's not in control of his body, he's totally helpless. We see him blink in and out of consciousness, in and out of black, what we mostly hear is a hearbeat or the throbbing of a brain, but we realize he's gotten up and is walking. But his thoughts reveal that he's not sure if he's actually doing what he's doing, he feels numb, not in control, like he's just watching it all, not able to do anything about it. We see the electroshocked frog again, and it looks at him quizzically. He notices it's eating something bloody. Looks like frog guts. He walks slowly, jerkily, through the streets and sees the drug-dealing kids in the parking lot behind a fast food restaurant. They're holding his friend's wallet and laughing, they've gotten burgers. Our guy wonders what they did to the friend, they must have robbed him. What happened? Is he okay? Then the kids notice him, and freak out in fear. One of them drops his burger. Another says he has to go home and runs for it. The others just stand there, their mouths agape. And our guy does look frightening, like a walking corpse. His thoughts say he's trying to be nice to them, ask them what happened, but he doesn't say anything. He just walks, jerkily, closer to them and they get really freaked. Another bolts. The main kid pulls a knife and our guy bats it away. He thinks, I didn't do that? Did I do that? One of the kids, the one who had the gun, is crying. He thinks, it's all right kid, I won't hurt you, please. But he SLAPS the kid hard across the face, we see him hit the kid, punch the kid over and over and toss him to the pavement, and the kid runs away bloody with a limp, crying. Our guy thinks, no, this isn't me, I didn't do that, what's happening to me? What's going on? And the main kid is just standing there in shock and just begs for our guy not to kill him. The kid says his friend is fine, they didn't do anything, they just ran to avoid the cops. And our guy's hands stretch out and he's thinking about what kind of homes these kids come from, what sort of trauma they must have had in their lives for them to become what they are. And this guy's hands clutch around the kid's neck, and the kid gasps, mister, I'll give you anything you want, I have connections, I can give you money, drugs, whatever, and the kid can't breathe now. And our guy's thinking, NO! DON'T DO THIS! PLEASE! DON'T HURT THE KID! And his hands clutch around the kid's neck and crush it, and with a twist he snaps the kid's snipe and the kid falls down dead. And "our guy" grabs the kid's knife. Fade to black again. Our guy has lost consciousness again, like sleeping but not quite, he says. Maybe like narcolepsy where you have to sleep but it doesn't do anything for you, empty sleep, but if someone wakes you up you just feel more and more tired. He's awake and he's in a bar. He can't remember the last time he was in a bar. Before he met his wife, it was. He wonders where she is, hopes she's all right. He feels like he's dreaming. Over at a table, talking and laughing with two other girls and a guy, is the girl he had the crush on in high school. She leaves the table to go get herself another drink and notices him sitting at the bar. She smiles and asks him if it's Halloween already. He laughs, in his thoughts. We see the "real" him laugh too, hollowly. She recognizes him now, says his name, the name of the high school and the class they were in together. And he's thinking yes, yes, I had such a crush on you. We see "him" nod. She asks him if he's had a rough night. She says it looks like he's been swimming. She touches his arm and notices it's ice-cold. She asks him if he's all right. He doesn't say anything, but she doesn't seem to care much. She's very talkative and superficial, which his thoughts notice. Her drinks come in and she says she has to go back to her table, but he can join them if he likes. "He" hands her his business card out of his pocket -- it's soaked and runny with blue ink. She smiles at him. He follows her to the table and sits down, just sitting silently staring at her as everyone talks and laughs all around them. She stares at him too, a little frightened but on some level excited by that fear. Her male friend makes fun of our guy's appearance. Our guy doesn't say anything, and a sudden silence comes across the table. Everyone is getting really freaked-out by our guy. He wants to say something witty, something nice to break the mood, but he can't, he's still trapped. The girl he had a crush on, now worried and scared, says she has to go. She apologizes and grabs her coat. Everyone at the table wishes her warm greetings and suggests when they could meet again. Our guy just sits there in shock, and starts to feel really depressed and angry at himself, he was almost coming on to that girl and it's his own fault because he loves his wife, and he realizes he needs to get back to her. The table is still silent. Get up, he thinks, get up. "He" gets up and leaves the table. When he leaves, conversation resumes between the guy and the two girls. We see him walking through the streets and then see the girl, in the distance. He almost seems to be following her. He is walking faster than she is. She looks behind her and notices him, gasps and walks faster. Our guy thinks, what's going on? He's confused now. And "he's" walking much faster now and he thinks, hey, don't walk faster, you'll scare the girl, you'ce scared her enough as it is. But she is running now, and "he" is chasing her. She screams for the police, and he thinks, no I'm not going to hurt you. But "he" has pulled out the kid's old knife now, and he's thinking, no, stop, what are you doing? Put that knife down! Put it down! And reluctantly, "he" stops and puts the knife back into his coat. We hear his thoughts and he's relieved by this. But "he" has cornered the girl in an alley now. She's crying, and she begs for mercy from him, not to hurt her, she's got money in her purse, she'll give him all of it, just don't hurt her. And we hear his thoughts and he's near tears himself, he's really sad and scared and he doesn't know what to do and it's all so awful and he feels trapped and he doesn't know if he's awake or asleep, alive or dead and we see that "he" has pulled out the knife and is stabbing her over and over and over and over, covering himself with blood, and inside he's crying and screaming and she's screaming ....

Fade to black again. He is breathing heavily, trying to recover, trying to tell himself to wake up, wake up, he wants this dream to end, why won't it end ... He's awake and he's sitting behind some trash cans. We hear police sirens in the distance. It looks like he's hiding. And now we pan down and see the girl's dead body cradled in his lap, and inside he's screaming but on the outside we don't see anything. And "his" neck cranes down and he bites the corpse's neck, eats a big chunk out of it, and he's thinking he's going to be sick, he's amazed at how much blood there is, and "he's" eating her, actually devouring her cannibal-style. And there are flies swarming all around her and he can only think about how sick he is, how ill he's feeling, and he tries to think about anything but this, think about happier times, think about the beach, think about his honeymoon, and he's thinking about the most wonderful moments in his life as we watch "him" devour this corpse, and finally he can't take it and just gets sick and doesn't think anything, he doesn't know what to think and his voice babbles on and finally fades out to nothing. Fade to black again and he's walking through the streets, there's blood all over him and people are stopping and staring at him, shocked. He thinks about how embarrassed he is, how silly it is to be seen like this. Well, he thinks, maybe silly is the wrong word. And he's near what he recognizes as the head scientist's house. And "he's" sneaking through the bushes looking through the windows and sees the scientist's older wife fixing dinner and setting the table ... it's a beautiful house and he sees the scientist come down the stairs, talking on a cordless phone, and the scientist seems really unhappy, which makes our guy sad, thinking it's because his research funding has been turned down again, which is of course true. The scientist angrily shuts the phone off, sets it down and notices dinner, which makes him smile. The scientist sits down, sets his napkin in his lap and licks his lips. The wife walks over to the window our guy is staring into to shut the curtains, takes one look at our guy, and screams. The scientist drops his silverware and runs over to hug the wife and ask what's wrong. But our guy is already running away, and the scientist doesn't see him. He runs and runs and runs. He was never able to run this fast before. He runs and runs straight past his own house and thinks, STOP! "He" doesn't stop. STOP, he thinks again, THAT'S MY HOUSE! And on that, "he" stops, and looks at the house with a quizzical, doglike look. Yes, he thinks, that's right, take a step forward, walk toward the house. "He" walks slowly, jerkily, toward the house and he congratulates himself on being able to control "himself." "He" looks through the side window and sees his friend there, with his arm around our guy's wife, consoling her. She is crying. Our guy thinks, what's he doing there? "He" stands up straight and stares at the door, again like a dumb animal. The keys are in your pocket, he thinks. No response. THE KEYS ARE IN YOUR POCKET. "He" looks in his pocket, and sure enough, there they are. IT'S THE RED ONE, he thinks ... he has to shout because his thoughts aren't coming through quite so loud anymore. "He" selects the red one and opens the door. We hear the friend talking to our guy's wife, saying you have to get through it. There will be grief and it might seem like you can't bear it, but you will, and you'll move on, and be stronger for it, and no one is truly dead if you love and remember them. And she's saying, but he was all I had, I don't know what to do ... I was looking in the mirror before and I hated my face, I wanted to tear off my own face .... Our guy is shocked when she says this. He wants to console her too. But his friend is there - neither he nor she has noticed our guy yet - and he says NO, don't say things like that, don't even think them ... you can't do that, he wouldn't want you to do that, he'd want you to be strong, to go on without him. And she says, you're right, but it's just so hard, and she cries. And he says, it'll get easier, and hugs her. Now "our guy" loses his balance and stumbles over a little table near the door. The table falls with a crash. Oops, he thinks. The friend gets up - who's there? The wife stands, frightened. The friend says, it's all right, I'll handle this. And the friend picks up a poker iron by the fireplace and walks slowly into the doorway area with it. And then he sees our guy, and gasps. The friend, shocked, says our guy's name in disbelief. And the wife comes running, saying what is it, what's wrong? And then she sees our guy and gasps in shock and horror ... he looks like the undead. Blood is running from his mouth and all over his clothing, and he is staring at them with nothing whatsoever behind his eyes. And he's thinking how much he loves her, and trying to tell her not to be frightened, and it's coming out pretty soft now, and "he" walks toward her, holding his arms out, and he's thinking, honey, everything's going to be all right now. And she screams. And "he" stops in his tracks. He thinks, what is she screaming about? What's wrong? And now the friend has stepped in front of the wife to protect her, and is saying, it's all right, everything's going to be all right, just back away a little. And "he" walks forward a step, and she screams a little. The friend holds up the poker saying it's all right, we're going to get you to a hospital. And he's thinking, why are you acting like this? You were my friend ... And now "he" grabs the poker and holds it menacingly, and "he" growls like an animal. And inside we hear he's scared again, and he's screaming PUT THE POKER DOWN. DON'T HURT THEM, DON'T ... and now "he" hits the friend hard in the stomach with the poker and inside he screams, NO! and the friend topples over, almost losing consciousness, and the wife screams and drops to her knees, trying to help the friend, asking if he's all right. And now "he" hits the friend hard across the face with the poker, breaking the friend's nose and knocking him out, and he keeps on hitting him. The wife screams, saying no more, don't hit him anymore, he didn't do anything ... she's standing, staring at her husband, backing away, saying "don't come any closer." The friend looks like he's dead now. And our guy is thinking, no, please, I love you ... And she's backing toward the fireplace, frightened as all hell, and she's asking our guy, is that you? What's happened to you? What are you? She fumbles for another poker iron without looking down, still staring at him. And "he's" just following her, and everything in "his" eyes says he wants to kill her. And inside he's screaming NO, PUT THE POKER DOWN. DON'T HURT HER. IF YOU HARM A HAIR ON HER HEAD I SWEAR THAT I WILL ... and now WHAM! She hits him in the side of the head with the poker iron and he is knocked sideways ... now she hits him again and again until he drops to the floor. And she drops to her knees and stares him in the eyes and says "I'm sorry. If you're in there, I'm sorry." And he thinks, I'm sorry too, and he loses consciousness again. Fade to black and we hear a car engine turning on, and "his" eyes open with a shock. He is in the same place he was a minute ago. The floor is stained with blood. He sees no one around him and opens the door to look outside. His wife has packed the car up with all her things. She is leaving. She notices him in the doorway. She has been crying. She holds her hand to her mouth, sobs, and drives away. He follows her clumsily, then stops as she drives off too fast to catch, becoming just a blip in the distance. We hear his thoughts very softly now, almost subliminal. He is thinking -- I understand you now. You don't love her, you don't love anything. You can't love, you can only destroy. And you're going to keep on destroying aren't you? You're going to keep on killing everyone you see, everyone in the world until there's no one left for you. And then what are you going to do? -- and his voice is fading away now, the unoccupied body of "our guy" walking like a monster with murderous intent into the horizon. Inside we hear, fainter and fainter -- Do you even care? Can anyone hear me? I SAID, CAN ANYONE HEAR ME? My name is ... I live at ..... and I'm in very serious trouble. If anyone can help me ... PLEASE ... HELP ME ... SOMEBODY ... ANY ....

It is at that point that the sound of our guy's thoughts die out, replaced only by a dull hum, the beating of a heart, the throbbing of a brain, white noise, room tone, static. Nothing.

The unoccupied body smiles, and walks off into the distance.

THE END