1980S HORROR FILM II
A WORKING TITLE
DRAFT NO. 198 BY HALEEMA SOHAIL & SHANZA AZFAR
FADE IN:
1.INT. BEDROOM – REAL WORLD (2025) – AFTERNOON
A small, dimly lit bedroom. Phone charging. Laptop asleep.
Outside traffic hums
ZARA (18) sits on the floor, back against her bed. There’s a
cardboard box in front of her labeled:
“OLD STUFF. DO NOT THROW.”
She hesitates before opening it. Like she already knows she
shouldn’t.
Inside: old cables, game discs, dusty CDs in cracked jewel cases.
One CD stands out.
No labels or handwriting. A blank silver surface, smudged with
fingerprints.
Zara turns it over.
A faint etching, barely visible under the light “1995.”
She frowns.
ZARA
(low, to herself)
Okay… that’s not ominous at all.
She glances at her laptop. Then back at the CD. Curiosity takes
over.
2.INT. BEDROOM – CONTINUOUS
Zara slides the CD into her laptop.
The drive whirs, too loud in the quiet room.
The screen flickers.
For a second, it’s black.
SMASH CUT TO:
3.INT. SITCOM LIVING ROOM – 1990s – DAY - 4:3 ASPECT RATIO
Bright. Overlit. Artificial.
A perfectly staged living room. Floral couch. Laugh track ready
spacing. Everything is slightly too clean.
MAYA (early 20s) lounges on the couch, holding a game controller.
AISHA (early 20s) stands by a shelf, flipping through CDs.
A canned LAUGH TRACK plays.
AISHA
You ever notice how every CD in this house belongs to none of
us?
(laugh track)
MAYA
That’s because they’re emotional artifacts, Aisha.
You don’t own them.
They own you.
(laugh track, longer)
Aisha squints at a CD.
AISHA
This one’s blank.
MAYA
Then it’s probably the best one.
(laugh track)
They smile but the smiles linger half a second too long.
Something’s off.
CUT BACK TO:
4.INT. BEDROOM – REAL WORLD – AFTERNOON
Zara blinks.
She leans closer to the screen.
ZARA
What the hell…
The laugh track plays faintly through her laptop speakers.
She reaches to lower the volume.
It doesn’t change.
CUT TO:
5.INT. SITCOM LIVING ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Aisha slips the blank CD into a stereo.
The room FREEZES for a fraction of a second.
The laugh track cuts out mid chuckle.
Silence.
The stereo clicks on by itself.
A warped version of a cheerful 90s theme song plays. Too slow.
Like it’s melting.
Maya looks at Aisha. For the first time, uncertain.
MAYA
Hey.
That wasn’t—
Did you—
Aisha doesn’t answer.
She’s staring straight ahead.
At the TV which is the camera. breaking the fourth wall.
CUT BACK TO:
6.INT. BEDROOM – REAL WORLD – AFTERNOON
Zara’s breathing slows.
She’s not smiling anymore.
ZARA
(quiet)
They didn’t write shows like this.
On screen, Aisha finally speaks softer now
AISHA (ON SCREEN)
Maya…
do you hear that?
Maya listens.
The faint sound of traffic.
Maya’s face tightens.
MAYA
That’s not from the street.
The laugh track suddenly BLASTS, aggressive, drowning the moment.
Zara flinches.
CUT TO BLACK.
The laughter continues.
Silence.
A single line appears on screen: “THIS WAS RECORDED LIVE.”
Darkness.
Her reflection stares back at her from the black screen.
Close up of Zara’s pale face.
[TITLE CARD]