MJB SCRIPT REVIEW | INSIDIOUS

“𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄…” | 𝗠𝗝𝗕 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 - 𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦

So, this is an interesting one. Not a title I expected to see in the top 100, but it’s on virtually every script list I found. Celluloid horror fest and deep seated creator of nightmares, this is a cracking choice and has me seriously intrigued; INSIDIOUS.

Plot in a nutshell: Desperate parents Renai and Josh try to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further, battling demons in the boundaries of their own home.

I loved this film when I first saw it. The appearance of the Demon behind Josh in the kitchen is one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen put to celluloid. The beats in this film keep you completely on your toes and the script wears these elements proudly on its sleeve. Truly inspiring piece of writing, which is why I’m glad to see this script appear so often on top horror writing lists. Eager to get this monkey crunched…

So, what did I learn from INSIDIOUS?

1. Dialogue - the first twenty or so pages follow Josh, Renai and their kids as they settle into their new life, post move. The family atmosphere is so relatable, with real affection and writing that clearly comes from a place of understanding this dynamic. You recognise the conversations between the parents and the children. It’s all plausible, it’s all possible and there’s even a wisp of dreams and hopes in there. It’s a good set up, showing us that these folks are coming from a happy place. Not a satisfied place, as with any family unit. But they are certainly getting along. No fractures. Yet.

2. Dialogue 2 - …but, when the scares and strain do come, the dialogue becomes the progenitor and the true heart of this script. The fears, the inescapable worries, the moments of pure terror. The action directions help, but here, dialogue is king. The ability to lead the story and reveal events through the characters words is a masterful move.

3. Dialogue 3 - wonderful little moment between one of the nurses, Kelly, and Renai on p.37-38. Real pathos, compassion and a moment of hope that someone does still care. Beautiful.

4. Actors - once again, we have some fine examples of clear cut character types here. There is practically a personality for everyone out there in this script. Elise in particular is a stunning role for an older actress, with her touchstones landing on many different levels. She isn’t just a straightforward exorcist. She’s a giver of hope, family friend, doctor, nurse, teacher, matriarch… frankly the list goes on. Big shout out to Renai too, a vast map of emotion and undercurrent just waiting to be slipped into. Runs the gamut of beats from loving wife and mother, to terrified mess on the floor (and everything in-between). As for comedy performances out there, you could do worse than film duologues of Tucker and Specs too. Some really lovely work with those guys. Can’t begin to imagine how much fun you could have using these two characters in improvisation classes. Screams for improv use.

5. Action Directions - from the very first sentence, these action directions live and breathe the genre they are portraying. Every line is written with the intent of building a tense atmosphere. If the script were describing a small child skipping through flowery fields, swinging a basket of chocolate eggs, it would be doing it from the perspective of the unseen bear trap hiding in the grass. This is horror action direction writing. This is getting that you need people to understand how deeply evil this tale is. The writer gets this and he especially gets that the action directions are the opening bleed into that. Creepy as hell.

6. Action Directions 2 - p.54 holds a very clear example for writing a dream sequence, first person perspective, with voiceover. Handy.

7. Story - I can see why this script appears in top 100 lists. Just like the eminence and doom that hung around The Exorcist and its primary subject of exorcism, this brings to the fore the very real terror surrounding astral projection. Little known (and often scoffed at by disbelievers), it brings a very real terror into dreams and sleep. Not since Freddy Krueger have we appreciated how dangerous sleep can be. So we follow our family (so relatable, of course) and a house (Poltergeist, The Entity and The Amityville Horror leading the way) into a situation with a specialist (everything from The Exorcist to, funnily enough, Poltergeist) and we have our story. The pattern has been used before, but here, it is based around a topic that very few people have any idea about. And that is where the tropes become powerful. How little control we have when we are asleep. That’s it, that’s the power. But the story around this is gripping, with every element being used to its very finest detail. The terror escalates and eventually leads into a stunning finale.

8. Finale - took me awhile to realise how clever the setup of this finale is. We spend the entire script with this family, trying to work out what’s happening to their son. By the time the experts have been called in, the family has unravelled to the point that any sudden truth could completely turn the tables and knock them on their collective asses. Which it does, when it turns out that this event has happened before to the father, when he was young. And that he has passed on, not only the ability to travel in his sleep, but the vulnerability to be becoming possessed…and that he is the only one who can do anything about it! That’s a finale twist! Not since Darth Vader breathed the words “I am your father” have we had our collective heads spun out. It’s one thing to inherit powers, but no parent wants to inflict their demons on their children. Which is literally the case in this one. So when Josh heads into The Further, there is impetus to the terror. A certain sense of hope for the audience that this guy might just do it. And that if he doesn’t, things are going to go really, really wrong.

9. Finale 2 - just as you think everything has been resolved (in a frankly breathtaking, whip fast thrill of a climax), the script pulls that wonder of storytelling; the double twist. The ending that leaves you wishing it wasn’t the ending, because it’s the ending you didn’t want. Terrifying and gutting, it leaves you desperately wanting to see what happens beyond the fade out. Wonderful.

Tight, tense and a proper horror script, this is an enriching and inspiring read. For anyone looking to put dread and terror into their script, this is a beautiful example. Thoroughly deserved positioning on the must read lists and worthy of a reread any time.

Just don’t doze off while you’re doing it…

Link to the script:

https://thescriptsavant.com/movies/Insidious.pdf