*MAN*SLAUGHTER - Script

When it came to writing a screenplay, I didn’t really have much issue with the writing part as I’ve been doing it in my free time since 4th grade. The formatting, though, of a screenplay is completely new to me so I had to find some samples that fall under the thriller genre and compare them to see which features of it are more commonly used within thriller screenplays. Some features I noticed are that transitions are included, there are no quotation marks, the date/time and/or setting are established at the start of the scene, and that character names are in all caps.

SCREENPLAY 

 

NIGHT OF NOVEMBER 7TH, 2025 

ATLANTA, GEORGIA 

 

An empty vinyl record player rests on a table, the camera directly above it. Footsteps approach and soon, the hands of an off-screen woman places a vinyl inside the record player and readjusts the tonearm to start playing the vinyl.  

*SONG NAME* starts playing over the scene. 

MONTAGE START 

The woman places a tablecloth over a long table and covers the camera which is placed at the opposite end of the table. 

(CUTS) 

The woman puts napkins on both sides of each table and adds a fork and knife to each napkin. 

(CUTS) 

The woman then adds plates in front of two seats of the table. 

(CUTS) 

The woman brings out a centerpiece of flowers and places it in the center of the table. 

(CUTS) 

The woman carries over two candles to the table and places it on both sides of the centerpiece of flowers, lighting them both. 

(CUTS) 

The woman transports two glasses to the table and rests them atop of the dinner table. 

(CUTS) 

The woman brings over a wine bottle and wine opener but before getting to open it, the oven beeps and interrupts her. 

(CUTS) 

While the camera faces the oven door from inside, the oven beeps and the door opens, the woman taking out a rotisserie chicken and closing the oven door afterwards. 

(CUTS) 

The woman places the chicken atop the kitchen counter and pours sauce over it before transferring it to a plate and bringing it to the dinner table. 

(CUTS) 

The woman begins chopping a cucumber on a chopping board with an empty bowl besides it. When one of the pieces fall to the floor, the woman bends down to pick it up and rises back up. 

FLASHBACK SEQUENCE 

The woman still carries the knife in her hand but now, blood covers the knife, her hand, her arm, and the floor below her. A dead man is bleeding out on the floor in front of her, the lighting darker and the background music distorted. 

PRESENT TIME 

The woman looks up towards the trash can. The camera angle is directly in front of the trash can but still shows the entire kitchen. The woman is seen approaching the trashcan, throwing away the cucumber, and inside lays bloody cleaning gloves along with bloody towels. The woman returns to the chopped vegetables and drops them into the empty bowl, picking it up and approaching the direction the camera is in. 

The camera angle switches back to show the woman place the bowl of vegetables on the dining table when her phone suddenly buzzes. She opens the notification and her phone screen displays Tinder messages with the only notification being from a man named Jackson who texted her saying, “Hey Elena, I’m outside.” 

Below the man’s message are several other men’s opened messages, all their last texts saying that they have arrived at the woman’s house.  

The woman is seen smiling eerily and the title card appears. 

*MAN*SLAUGHTER [title card] 

The angle remains the same as the shot before the title card. The doorbell rings and ELENA turns her head towards the front door. 

The camera now tracks ELENA as she walks down a hallway towards the front door.

[END OF OPENING/2 MINUTES]