[Quick Summary: Trent, an insurance detective, must track down Sutter Cane, a horror author who has mysteriously vanished after turning in half his new novel.]
THE KEY REASON I BOUGHT INTO THIS SERIOUSLY WEIRD STORY:
1st thought: I am a not a horror fan.
2nd thought: I generally avoid horror scripts because most are simply to shock or showcase special effects (blood, gore, gross out) vs. character (fear, dread, dismay).
3rd thought: Thirty pgs. in, I couldn't stop following Trent in a Seriously Weird case with plenty of fear/dread/dismay. Why would I willingly go on this journey?
I believed his motive. And it's not money.
Surprised? Me too, because my belief turns on the casual scene below.
It's not a showy scene, but it's the one that convinced me Trent would go to the ends of the earth because he is driven by the hunt:
INT. ATLANTIC INSURANCE OFFICE - DAY
...A pair of rock-steady hands REACH IN and light the cigarette for him.
TRENT (O.S.): Nervous, Mr. Paul?
We REVEAL John Trent, leaning against the desk that Mr. Paul is sitting in front of. Another man, ROBINSON, sits behind it. Trent is clean, attractive, confident. Light years away from the man we know from cell number nine. He's doing what he likes doing best, catching people in a lie. [This last line in particular did it for me.]
...MR. PAUL (unsure): No...
TRENT: I'm glad you understand. I thought you would, that's why I knew you wouldn't mind if I checked your story out with your wife.
MR. PAUL (sees it coming): My wife?
TRENT: Yes, you see we had three nagging pictures of your wife tooling around town wearing articles which you claimed perished in the fire.
Trent throws a package of photos into Mr. Paul's lap.
TRENT (CONT'D): And you know what else? When I went to speak with her, she was more than eager to tell us what really went down. Especially after I showed her the pictures of Miss Rosa. Who seems to be wearing even more of the articles which you claimed perished in the fire.
MR. PAUL (dazed): Miss Rosa?
Trent throws another pile of photos into Mr. Paul's lap then leans in quite close.
TRENT: Two words of advice my friend. If you're going to pull a scam, don't make your wife your partner. And if you do, don't fuck around behind her back.
Trent smiles.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I liked the description "doing what he likes best" because it is Trent will seek to do, no matter the situation.
In the Mouth of Madness (1995))(2/21/92 draft w/revisions)
by Michael de Luca*
*Yes, that Michael de Luca. I've only known him as a mega producer, but he can really write.
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