The Scream
On a cold night, a woman goes to an abandoned field to release her emotions in a primal scream. 
On a cold night, her scream comes back to haunt her.

These days, writing horror shorts that grab audiences is notably harder than it looks. Not only do you need a unique premise that hasn’t be done before, but unless your name is Guillermo del Toro, your tale’s got to be shootable on a shoe string budget, too.

Steven Blow’s The Scream hits that sweet spot. And – despite being dialogue free – it’s a role any talented actress would (metaphorically or literally) die to play!

The set-up for Scream is one we’ve all experienced in life.

You know that moment where things get too frustrating to handle, when you lose all interest in coping… and just want to lash out and vent?

Protagonist Sachi’s reached that point. Wandering out to a grassy field, she scrolls through texts. Though we only read fragments, the DMs spell out relationship doom:

"I'm sorry. Look, it won't happen again. I swear."

Followed by: "Stop ignoring me. You always give me the silent treatment. Grow up."

Uh-oh. Sachi starts to write a bitter text back to the jerk, but…  

Her phone beeps low battery, then shuts off. 

Left with no other outlet, Sachi wanders further into the field. Stares up at the unforgiving sky and…

SCREAMS. You know what kind of scream that is. The kind of primal outpour of emotion and let-it-all-hang-out rage. It’s the kind of scream we all need sometimes. 

Once Sachi’s done, she feels a moment of satisfaction. Who wouldn’t? Breathing deep, she closes her eyes and smiles.

Until: her scream echoes back at her. 

What?!?  Erupting from different sides, the scream repeats from the distance, grows louder. And it SEEMS to be pursuing her. 

At first confused, Sachi FREAKS. What follows next is a surreal pursuit; Sachi fleeing whatever’s mimicking her. Or maybe it’s the Scream come to life itself?!?

Far from civilization, no-one can save Sachi. The best she can do is run….

Google the Classic paintings of Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World and Edvard Munch’s The Scream. Fuse them together, and you get Steven Blow’s The Scream. No, we won’t tell you how Sachi’s story ends. But if produced by a director skilled in depicting growing dread, The Scream could become a classic, too.