SYNOPSIS:
A young woman, DANNI, moves into a grungy apartment and discovers all the windows have be covered-over with newspapers. The newspapers have magical symbols scrawled over them. That night, while Danni sleeps, a DARK SHADOW falls across the windows of her bedroom.
After talking to her new neighbour, RYAN, the two decide to remove all the newspapers and clean the windows so she can enjoy the view of the city lights. While both are aware of the symbols, neither of them place any importance on the markings.
They clean the windows using industrial solvents. That night Danni sleeps on Ryan’s couch, due to the fumes from the solvents. Next morning, Danni offers to cook Ryan dinner as a thank you, but he has plans.
That night, Danni is woken by a thunderstorm. She sees the DARK SHADOW as a silhouette against the lights of the city. She immediately calls Ryan and begs him to come over to see it. However, the Dark Shadow is gone by the time he arrives.
In the morning, Danni discovers scratches on the outside of her bedroom window. Danni, Ryan and CASEY (Ryan’s friend) discuss the find. Casey asks about the symbols that were on the newspaper, believing they are related to the Dark Shadow. Danni is frightened by the idea, but Ryan believes the solvent fumes are the cause of what she saw.
That night, despite covering all the windows, Danni is attacked by the Dark Shadow. Hearing the attack, Ryan rushes to her apartment door. But he is unable to get in, and must listen, helpless, as Danni is torn to shreds.
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A brutal reminder of the principle, 'Chesterton's Fence', which states: “Do not remove a fence until you know why it was put up in the first place.”
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Here’s the ‘logistical’ details:
locations
- rundown apartment building with an elevator and two apartments
- apartment one: dinghy and (initially) empty
- apartment two: cleaned up and lived in
actors
- lead (woman, 30s)
- neighbour (man, 30s)
- neighbour’s friend (nonbinary, 30s)
- neighbour's date (man)
- elevator passengers (2x women), and
- dark shadow
effects etc
– shattering window
– the Dark Shadow