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Screamplays
SCENE BY SCENE . . . SCREAM BY SCREAM
* Bedtime becomes a dread time for a little girl whose brave cat is her only protection against a grotesque elf . . .
* Four psychic investigators risk their sanity--and their lives--to match wits with the most horrifying evil ever to possess a house. . . .
* Alone in the wilderness, with a "five-minute headstart," beautiful young attorney Kim Sanders is running for her life from the serial killer called "The Butcher" . . .
You don't need a movie theater or a VCR to savor the best in cinematic terror and suspense. All you need is your own imagination and this collection of spine-tingling scripts by the titans of shock storytelling. Whether you're a movie buff or a thriller freak, you'll savor these seven full-length film and TV scenarios, including Stephen King's "General," Richard Matheson's "The Legend of Hell House," and Richard Laymon's "The Hunted," plus chilling works by Harlan Ellison, Joe R. Lansdale, and Ed Gorman.
With a fascinating introduction on fright films by #1 bestselling author Dean Koontz.
* Bedtime becomes a dread time for a little girl whose brave cat is her only protection against a grotesque elf . . .
* Four psychic investigators risk their sanity--and their lives--to match wits with the most horrifying evil ever to possess a house. . . .
* Alone in the wilderness, with a "five-minute headstart," beautiful young attorney Kim Sanders is running for her life from the serial killer called "The Butcher" . . .
You don't need a movie theater or a VCR to savor the best in cinematic terror and suspense. All you need is your own imagination and this collection of spine-tingling scripts by the titans of shock storytelling. Whether you're a movie buff or a thriller freak, you'll savor these seven full-length film and TV scenarios, including Stephen King's "General," Richard Matheson's "The Legend of Hell House," and Richard Laymon's "The Hunted," plus chilling works by Harlan Ellison, Joe R. Lansdale, and Ed Gorman.
With a fascinating introduction on fright films by #1 bestselling author Dean Koontz.
- GenresHorrorAnthologies
545 pages, Paperback
First published September 23, 1997
4 people are currently reading
147 people want to read
About the author
Richard Chizmar
252 books3,456 followersRichard Chizmar is a New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Amazon, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author.
He is the co-author (with Stephen King) of the bestselling novella, Gwendy’s Button Box and the founder/publisher of Cemetery Dance magazine and the Cemetery Dance Publications book imprint. He has edited more than 35 anthologies and his short fiction has appeared in dozens of publications, including multiple editions of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. He has won two World Fantasy awards, four International Horror Guild awards, and the HWA’s Board of Trustee’s award.
Chizmar (in collaboration with Johnathon Schaech) has also written screenplays and teleplays for United Artists, Sony Screen Gems, Lions Gate, Showtime, NBC, and many other companies. He has adapted the works of many bestselling authors including Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Bentley Little.
Chizmar is also the creator/writer of the online website, Stephen King Revisited. His fourth short story collection, The Long Way Home, was published in 2019. With Brian Freeman, Chizmar is co-editor of the acclaimed Dark Screams horror anthology series published by Random House imprint, Hydra.
His latest book, The Girl on the Porch, was released in hardcover by Subterranean Press, and Widow’s Point, a chilling novella about a haunted lighthouse written with his son, Billy Chizmar, was recently adapted into a feature film.
Chizmar’s work has been translated into more than fifteen languages throughout the world, and he has appeared at numerous conferences as a writing instructor, guest speaker, panelist, and guest of honor.
He is the co-author (with Stephen King) of the bestselling novella, Gwendy’s Button Box and the founder/publisher of Cemetery Dance magazine and the Cemetery Dance Publications book imprint. He has edited more than 35 anthologies and his short fiction has appeared in dozens of publications, including multiple editions of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. He has won two World Fantasy awards, four International Horror Guild awards, and the HWA’s Board of Trustee’s award.
Chizmar (in collaboration with Johnathon Schaech) has also written screenplays and teleplays for United Artists, Sony Screen Gems, Lions Gate, Showtime, NBC, and many other companies. He has adapted the works of many bestselling authors including Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Bentley Little.
Chizmar is also the creator/writer of the online website, Stephen King Revisited. His fourth short story collection, The Long Way Home, was published in 2019. With Brian Freeman, Chizmar is co-editor of the acclaimed Dark Screams horror anthology series published by Random House imprint, Hydra.
His latest book, The Girl on the Porch, was released in hardcover by Subterranean Press, and Widow’s Point, a chilling novella about a haunted lighthouse written with his son, Billy Chizmar, was recently adapted into a feature film.
Chizmar’s work has been translated into more than fifteen languages throughout the world, and he has appeared at numerous conferences as a writing instructor, guest speaker, panelist, and guest of honor.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 16, 2017
This one could be the poster image for the term, "mixed bag." It consists of seven shooting scripts (not screenplays). One offering was sublime, one was "This was published? Really?" The remainder fell somewhere in-between.
First, a word about shooting scripts. As the name suggests, the work is divided into individual scenes to be filmed complete with suggested set-ups, camera directions, audio effects and visual effects. It is submitted as a work that is essentially ready to be shot. This is different from a screenplay that only tells a story that is divided into suggested scenes. Unless the writer deems that a certain cut or effect is ESSENTIAL, none of those instructions are included. It needs to be translated into a shooting script format in order to begin shooting.
Okay, first the sublime. One of my favorite horror movies is THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE. It is definitely an imperfect movie with many cut corners and an ending that rushes to a conclusion when a big showdown is expected. He book includes the shooting script written by Richard Matheson who also wrote the novel upon which the film is based. Sure enough, all of the "Why didn't they do this?" moments were included including a much better squaring off of the two adversaries at the end. I can only assume that budgetary concerns necessitated the alterations. I really enjoyed this one.
TRACK DOWN falls into the "I can't believe this was published" category. Although I've never read any of his other works, I've read many references that the writer, Ed Gorman, is highly respected in the horror field. If that is so, I can't believe that this story would have helped to foster that reputation.
The two by Harlan Ellison were good, as was the Lovecraft Meets The Wild West story, DEAD IN THE WEST, by Joe R. Lansdale. Stephen King's contribution, GENERAL, wasn't bad, but it seemed to be a "paint by the numbers" horror story. The final one, THE HUNTED, by Richard Laymon, was filled with FADE OUT / FADE IN transitions, very uninspired dialogue, a few twists I saw coming from a mile away, and plenty of titilation moments.
Unless you have a favorite author or story that has been included and you want to see how the ideas were translated into a proposed movie, there are much better collections out there. Now, though, whenever I watch THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE, I'll know what was left out!
First, a word about shooting scripts. As the name suggests, the work is divided into individual scenes to be filmed complete with suggested set-ups, camera directions, audio effects and visual effects. It is submitted as a work that is essentially ready to be shot. This is different from a screenplay that only tells a story that is divided into suggested scenes. Unless the writer deems that a certain cut or effect is ESSENTIAL, none of those instructions are included. It needs to be translated into a shooting script format in order to begin shooting.
Okay, first the sublime. One of my favorite horror movies is THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE. It is definitely an imperfect movie with many cut corners and an ending that rushes to a conclusion when a big showdown is expected. He book includes the shooting script written by Richard Matheson who also wrote the novel upon which the film is based. Sure enough, all of the "Why didn't they do this?" moments were included including a much better squaring off of the two adversaries at the end. I can only assume that budgetary concerns necessitated the alterations. I really enjoyed this one.
TRACK DOWN falls into the "I can't believe this was published" category. Although I've never read any of his other works, I've read many references that the writer, Ed Gorman, is highly respected in the horror field. If that is so, I can't believe that this story would have helped to foster that reputation.
The two by Harlan Ellison were good, as was the Lovecraft Meets The Wild West story, DEAD IN THE WEST, by Joe R. Lansdale. Stephen King's contribution, GENERAL, wasn't bad, but it seemed to be a "paint by the numbers" horror story. The final one, THE HUNTED, by Richard Laymon, was filled with FADE OUT / FADE IN transitions, very uninspired dialogue, a few twists I saw coming from a mile away, and plenty of titilation moments.
Unless you have a favorite author or story that has been included and you want to see how the ideas were translated into a proposed movie, there are much better collections out there. Now, though, whenever I watch THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE, I'll know what was left out!
July 17, 2013
Screamplays is a great collection of movie scripts that have been written by the authors of the original stories. There is some amazing art throughout the book by Glen Chadbourne to add to the visualization you get when you read a script. The production is amazing from Cemetery Dance, as normal, with an oversized book. It also features some of the greatest horror writers of our time. The first story “General” by Stephen King is a short story about a cat named General. King’s style of writing is very clear here and fans of his will not be disappointed. “The Legend of Hell House” based on the novel “Hell House” by Richard Matheson is Matheson’s own version of what a movie would be if Hell House were to be turned into a movie. One of the longer scripts in the book, it is extremely well written and fun to read. “Moonlighting” and “Killing Bernstein” by Harlan Ellison are relatively short, but quite chilling. Murder is the theme behind both of these tales. “Dead in the West” by Joe R. Lansdale was one of my favorites. Set in a western theme, this story is about a town who is paying the price of a crime with blood. “Track Down” by Ed Gorman is a thriller about a father who lost his daughter to a senceless killing and the revenge he is taking on the killers. He also drags his nephew into the mix. Finally, “The Hunted” by Richard Laymon is Laymon at his best. Laymon’s usual mix of sex and terror is the theme behind this story. The Hunted is a game. You will have to read to find out who wins. Overall this collection of scripts is a great read and contains only great stories. I didn’t find myself bored during any of the scripts. Most people are probably not used to reading a movie script, but the layout is quickly picked up along with most of the lingo used. I highly recommend this to any fan of horror, Stephen King, Richard Matheson, or any of the other authors in this collection.
November 7, 2014
Since this is a collection of screenplays, it's sort of difficult to read them in the same way you'd read a collection of short stories. If you're willing to put up with stage directions, there is some good storytelling featured, however.
Here's my star ratings for each of the individual screenplays featured:
General - 4 stars (released in 1985 as part of the movie "Cat's Eye")
The Legend of Hell House - 5 stars (from the 1973 film)
Moonlighting - 1 star (dreary and unoriginal)
Killing Bernstein - 2 stars (some interesting ideas)
Dead in the West - 3 stars (could be a fun movie with a few edits)
Track Down - 2 stars (premise is interesting, but needs some rewrites)
The Hunted - 3 stars (better than a lot of gritty movies I've seen)
Here's my star ratings for each of the individual screenplays featured:
General - 4 stars (released in 1985 as part of the movie "Cat's Eye")
The Legend of Hell House - 5 stars (from the 1973 film)
Moonlighting - 1 star (dreary and unoriginal)
Killing Bernstein - 2 stars (some interesting ideas)
Dead in the West - 3 stars (could be a fun movie with a few edits)
Track Down - 2 stars (premise is interesting, but needs some rewrites)
The Hunted - 3 stars (better than a lot of gritty movies I've seen)
June 30, 2014
The tales in Screamplays are definitely worth 4 stars, but for me trying to read them in screenplay format kept taking me out of each story. Gorman's "Track Down", Lansdale's "Dead in the West" and King's "General" were my favorites of the bunch.
September 1, 2012
Worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews