But if their script didn’t even make the top 5, it’s probably got its fair share of issues.”

You know what my first thought is? “Okay, so this person isn’t a total newb. Let’s say, for instance, that I received an e-mail from someone who said their script had made the semi-finals of the Nicholl. If I’m being 100% honest? These are the kinds of things that get you tabbed as an amateur. And we have a movie tagline (“Some secrets won’t stay buried.”). We’ve got a blueprint of the apartment the story takes place in on the first page. We’ve got “quarter-finalist” of a screenwriting competition written on the title page. Wow, so we got some interesting stuff to discuss today. So fingers crossed, hoping this query email piques your interest! I’d sincerely appreciate your feedback on “Ghost Story” - not to mention feedback from the rest of the ScriptShadow community as well - because really I want to make it better. Imagine “Insidious,” but with the real world aesthetics of “The Lunchbox.” It felt great when “Ghost Story” made the quarter-finals in Screencraft’s 2015 Horror Screenplay Contest.įor the past year, I’ve been paying the bills developing concepts - two action-thrillers, and one superhero-urban fantasy - for a local production company. What sets “Ghost Story” apart is its matter-of-fact approach in presenting supernatural events in a real and believable way. “Ghost Story” is a slow burn horror-thriller in the vein of “The Shining” and “Paranormal Activity,” but without the latter’s found footage aesthetic. I’m a horror film connoisseur, and someone who swears by the holy trinity of horror cinema: “The Exorcist,” “The Shining,” and “Alien.” Although horror is my genre of choice, I’ve also secured paid gigs writing a crime-thriller, and a Hitchcockian suspense-thriller.įollowing months of depression after failing to get my first horror screenplay produced, I went about writing a story which was far more contained, thereby cheaper to produce, and thus “Ghost Story” was born. Why you should read (from writer): I’ve been making a living as a screenwriter here in Mumbai for the last five years, before which I studied film in Los Angeles, and even worked on a few movies as a production assistant. Premise: Soon after moving into their new apartment, a young couple’s idyllic life begins to unravel in the most horrific ways due to the presence of a malevolent spirit.

Ghost story by peter straub review