Does page count matter when writing a horror screenplay?

[Kid_Filmmaker]

By me being the one directing the film, does it matter if my screenplay is only 72 pages long? Especially if it's a horror story/film? Or should I go ahead and try to tack on ten more extra pages to the script to make it a full 80 pages like the normal standard goes for horror scripts (80-110 pgs)?I mean because I've tried to add more scenes to the film to get it to 80 pages but honestly, I feel if I add more scenes to the script, it's going to appear as if I'm just trying to fill up scenes/pages to my screenplay. I feel honestly like I have the entire story covered in the 72 pages.

 

[Egg Born Son]

Short is often sweeter for horror. Certainly don't go adding 10 pages of filler that you're only going to want to remove again in the edit. Only expand the script if it needs the work, if you feel a character is underdeveloped or a plot item lacks dramatic motivation. Is your film a talkfest or do you have 72 pages of action description? Whereas talking often comes out a page a minute, action can leap off the script at 2 minutes a page. 30 seconds of screaming could take as little as one line in your script. Work on your script if your movie is underdone, not because of some page count.

If you feel you have the story covered in 72 pages then you probably have. Read through it and make sure that your protagonist's path through the obstacles is challenging, that every opportunity to explore character and plot has been utilised. Make sure the obstacles to your protagonist's goals are sufficiently challenging and revealing about their character. Make sure that it is even interesting to other people, that your pitch gets people excited and they remain so after reading it. If so, then no problem.

The other angle to consider is maybe it is too long. Does the idea actually carry a feature or has it run out of legs at 72 pages? Is it really a long short, a novella size? Perhaps you have 30 or so pages to cut from the script to result in the meanest, tightest little half hour to forty minute horror script ever? Horror is probably one of the few genres where you could put two or three half movies on a DVD and get some interest. Just throwing ideas out there.

 

[Kid_Filmmaker]

Short is often sweeter for horror. Certainly don't go adding 10 pages of filler that you're only going to want to remove again in the edit. Only expand the script if it needs the work, if you feel a character is underdeveloped or a plot item lacks dramatic motivation. Is your film a talkfest or do you have 72 pages of action description? Whereas talking often comes out a page a minute, action can leap off the script at 2 minutes a page. 30 seconds of screaming could take as little as one line in your script. Work on your script if your movie is underdone, not because of some page count.

If you feel you have the story covered in 72 pages then you probably have. Read through it and make sure that your protagonist's path through the obstacles is challenging, that every opportunity to explore character and plot has been utilised. Make sure the obstacles to your protagonist's goals are sufficiently challenging and revealing about their character. Make sure that it is even interesting to other people, that your pitch gets people excited and they remain so after reading it. If so, then no problem.

The other angle to consider is maybe it is too long. Does the idea actually carry a feature or has it run out of legs at 72 pages? Is it really a long short, a novella size? Perhaps you have 30 or so pages to cut from the script to result in the meanest, tightest little half hour to forty minute horror script ever? Horror is probably one of the few genres where you could put two or three half movies on a DVD and get some interest. Just throwing ideas out there.

Yeah, I honestly feel that I have covered all the basis of the film in the 72 pages from the protagonist's path through the obstacles and everything. We know who the characters are, what they're hiding (or one of them is hiding anyway lol), we know (or I know, I mean "we" as in the potential viewers) who or in my story's case "what" the evil is in the story, what the evil wants and we get to see from page 16 on down, nothing but back to back to back action styled horror. It's some dialogue too but it's more horror and fear and no gore. It goes off of just good ole' horror. I didn't want to go on adding pages and scenes just to be adding them because as I believe I said before, it would look or seem like "oh she just added this scene just to fill up to 90 or pages and it was unnecessary", so I didn't want that.....I think with the film I have now it lasts for about an hour and seventeen minutes because 77 minutes equals 1 hour and 17 minutes....I think that's good enough for a horror film, or at least it should be....

 

[Batutta]

77 minutes is too short for a finished film. Most distributors won't look at anything under 85. Depending on how you shoot though, 77 pages could easily turn out to be 85 minutes when credits are included. Horror movies are generally big on mood and suspense and drawing out shots to build tension so you'll probably be fine.

 

[Egg Born Son]

If it's 60 minutes of back to back action horror, you might need to flesh it out. You need juxtaposition and contrast or your audience will become numb to your shocks. Notice how between scenes of running from the killer the protagonists often gather for a chat, often the tone will become light hearted and maybe even jokes. Then BAM the killer is back! Without giving the tension a rest periodically the audience remains in a state of heightened tension and ratcheting it up has minimal effect. If you can get them to relax then the next stressful scene will have bigger impact.

As Battuta said, mood and suspense are key to horror, otherwise it is an action movie with a horror vibe. The basic mechanism of drama is tension-release. The anticipation of waiting for the bad guy to strike is where the tension is. The release is when he strikes. There is no tension in the actual wounds (harm-consequence), only the anticipation of the harm.