can you hear the choir

[FIRST DRAFT]

written by
jacob saul
AUDIO ONLY:
A lively church choir can be heard. Men, Women & Children all
lending their voices into a homogenised mass.
The sound feels like it's fading further and futher away,
like it's off in the distance. As it drifts further a string
score fades in, sharply bashing on the strings the words
appear on screen - one at a time.
'CAN YOU HEAR THE CHOIR?'

EXT. DARTMOOR. DAY. - 1.19:1 B&W

The empty moorland in sharp focus, completely baron. No life.

Pause. The strings slowly fade out to only the diegetic harsh
wind and distant choir.
THE GENTLEMAN steps into frame and stops for breath. His
mouth vacant, sealed over with smooth skin - late 30s,
Victorian attire. After a pained sigh he marches forth, the
camera pans across as he moves, revealing a small church atop
a steep hill, the singing choir still emitting from it. We
hold still as he pursues the building.

EXT. OUTSIDE CHURCH. DAY - 1.19:1 B&W

THE GENTLEMAN reaches the church, he waits for a second, his

eyes darting around taking it all in - the choir now in full
force. After a moment he heads towards the door.

CU. His tight hand around the motionless stubborn doorhandle,

locked.
Retreating back he finds a window and cups his hands trying
to get a peak.
MS. The door and THE GENTLEMAN both in shot, with him still
looking through the window the door clicks. Unlocked from
within.
CU. The doorhandle rotates with a creak as the door starts to
groan.

INT. CHURCH. DARK. - 1.19:1 B&W

Silence, the choir ceases. Only the groans of the door can be
heard.
 2.

The camera a ways into the church looking towards the door,
pitch black. The door peels open showing THE GENTLEMAN's
silhouette as he steps forward.
The camera tracks his side as he ventures in, the deeper he
gets into the building the more out of line the pews become.
His head never grows still, always looking at different
places around the room, soaking in every last detail of the
seemingly vacant building.

After a few strides he halts. At the front of the church,

kneels THE PRIEST - 60s white hair, traditional dog collar
and black suit. A CU reveals him to be sweating profusely
with his hands in prayer shaking in front of his face, under
his breath he mutters the Lord's Prayer accompanied with the
occasional shake of the head.

Before getting his attention THE GENTLEMAN sees a large pile

of worn shoes to the side of the altar. Fifteen or maybe
twenty pairs at his first guess.

THE PRIEST
I trust you locked the door behind
you...?
THE GENTLEMAN turns to see the open door, the wind can be
heard whistling through the old bricks. He goes to remedy his
mistakes before THE PRIEST struggles to his feet.
THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
Not to fear, we are dead anyway.
After a small chuckle to himself he turns, gesturing with his
hand.
THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
We've missed you.
Silence.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
Some of us thought you were dead.
Closing his eyes, nodding he picks up a bible from off the
floor and starts to dust it off, then placing it in the
pocket on the back of the front pew.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
But I had more faith. So I take it
you met our little friend?
THE GENTLEMAN's eyebrows crease.
 3.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
HA! I'm used to shouting into the
void, had a wife for fourty years.

THE PRIEST finally turns to see the mouthless GENTLEMAN, nods

and circles his own mouth with his finger.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
Ah... I forgot you're... He told me
you were the man sentenced to
silence but I was skeptical, last
time I make that mistake I assure
you.
In front of the same pew, a number of Bibles can be seen on
the floor, focus pull. He continues along picking them all
up. Struggling as he goes, occasionally stopping to gesture
towards THE GENTLEMAN who remains stationary.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
He can sort that out for you
y'know. Oh, he's promised all
sorts, swore he'd get me a choir.

He pauses as he stops to listen.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
Nope, can't hear it. I didn't see
him either, at first. People would
describe him with such certainty
and confess the attrocities they'd
done to appease gim and I thought,
well, I thought they were mad,
crazy, lunatics...
THE PRIEST looks off to the middle distance, almost smiling
but not quite as he paces his words.
THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
Until i opened my eyes and let him
in.

THE PRIEST resumes.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
I must confess, the gaps between my
worships have been growing like a
tumour.

Silence. He puts the pile of Bibles down onto the pew and
leans on them, seemingly changing topic.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
Do you believe?
 4.

THE GENTLEMAN ponders before shaking his head, THE PRIEST

chuckles to himself and lightheartedly jests.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
Fool. You cannot see what is right
in front of you. You have such...

His face crinkles as he taps his head as if that would knock

the word into him.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
What's the word?
(Under his breath.)
Narrow? No, no.

He begins to close the distance between the two, gesturing to

the shoes on his walk around.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
I see you have met my congregation.

He starts to laugh, it holds. Twisting and contorting until

it's mutated into tears, audienced by a look of confusion on
THE GENTLEMAN's face.

With a few sharp inhalations of air from THE PRIEST and a

kiss of the cross around his neck he pulls himself together,
wiping away the tears. Hitting his head in the moment of
anagnorisis the words slip out of his mouth.
THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
TUNNEL VISION! Tunnel vision.

His smile acts as a pat on the back and he gestures for THE
GENTLEMAN to come towards him.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
Please sit sit, be comfortable in
your final moments.

They both sit in pews apart from one another as THE PRIEST
pulls something out of his pocket.
THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
I have a question for you Mr Tunnel
vision.

His hand opens like a flower, showing a set of rusty old

keys. As he saus 'this old place' his eyes dance up towards
the ceiling.
 5.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
You see these? Only set we've got
for this old place, mainly rely on
people's good will. Wouldn't steal
from a church now would you?

He leans in.
THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
Although, it begs the question...
Who locked the door?

THE GENTLEMAN almost flinches sharply turning to see the door

has succumbed to the dark. As THE GENTLEMAN continues looking
at the door THE PRIEST looks at the pile of shoes, it holds
for a moment as he ponders before continuing talking to talk
- a hint of sadness plagues his face. His eyes never leave
the shoes.
THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
I might beg for a different deal...
Oh, how I long to join them. As a
child I never wanted this to
suffocate me.
He pulls out his dog collar, still being careful to keep it
prestine

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
I wanted to be a dancer, to move my
body to music. Make people watch,
make them feel. Express what no
words ever could...
That's why I asked him for the
choir, to sing, make music and
dance for an eternity.

He puts the dog collar back in.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
But I found my own chains.

Pause.
THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
After so many years, I'm all but
redundant. Can't be a Priest if
you've not got a congregation.
He turns his head towards THE GENTLEMAN but his eyes stay
fixated on the shoes. He pushes out his words while holding
back the tears.
 6.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
He spat out their shoes.

The tears collect in his eyes but he stays on task.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
I know what you're thinking, you
think your special and different.
You think that no matter what
happened to them, surely it won't
happen to you because if you were
lucky, these words might have just
saved your life.

Pause.
THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
But you're not, lucky. You know
he's there, yet you reject it. You
know what's lurking in the dark but
you pass it off as nothing more
than a child's imagination making
the shadows dance. You feel it, yet
you deny it. You see this world
with such tunnel vision.
THE PRIEST pulls him in close.
Just accept it. Let him in. And for
goodness sake.
He whispers in his ear.
THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
Open your eyes.

MS of THE GENTLEMAN looking just past the camera, he takes a

sharp inhale of air as his eyes start to water along with a
slow pull on the string score. With the slow pull on the
strings, the edges of the frame begin to stretch, widen and
tease what was hidden out of sight.

INT. CHURCH. DARK. - 16:9 B&W

The shot holds on THE GENTLEMAN. Out of focus behind him,

obvious through framing but dimmed in lighting, stands a pale
white face with long greasy hair and bulbous black eyes
accompanied by a hysterical smile - like it's in a constant
state of screaming. All this in the new found space on
screen.
A tear rolls down THE GENTLEMAN's cheek before he stumbles up
and out of the pew shaking his head in disbelief.
 7.

He scambles to the altar, almost intoxicated with fear. Never

quite composing himself, even when throwing his body down to
its knees to pray.
THE PRIEST
Oh my child, I did the same, and
yet...
He gestures around.
WS. POV looking at THE PRIEST and THE GENTLEMAN from the
shadows. THE PRIEST stands and continues picking up the
bibles.
THE GENTLEMAN's face as he prays, tears in his eyes - his
hands shaking. He ignores everything THE PRIEST says. Out of
focus in the background the face can still be seen. The face
is never in focus and always confined to the edges of the
frame.
THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
(Coyly)
Could you take your shoes off for
me please? It would save me a job
later and no point ruining such a
marvellous pair with so much blood.

THE PRIEST looks down, not having the heart to see what comes
next. Out of sight the face starts to move. Slow methodic
steps, with the sound of bones breaking and stone shattering
all lumped into one move forward, both men jump and shudder
with each one.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
My apologies, you could have died
in blissful naivety... and I stole
that choice from you.

WS. POV looking out from the shadows, now looking directly
down the middle of the pews - headed towards THE GENTLEMAN.
The camera smoothly moves half a metre forward before jolting
along with the crunch of bone as the step lands. There are
distinct pauses between each step but both men still shudder.
THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
If it's any conselation, I will be
kinder to the next.

THE GENTLEMAN still praying, looking up to the heavens with

the last shred of hope. He shudders with another step
forward, clenching his eyes shut - pushing the tears out.
 8.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
If they want to die painfully
damning GOD TO ALL HELL BECAUSE HOW
COULD HE LET THIS HAPPEN?!
WS. Looking at THE PRIEST in the pews holding a bible, with
the face out of focus.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
Then I will let them scream the
wrong name.

WS. POV. Nearly at THE GENTLEMAN as he turns and stands, eyes

still clenched shut as he faces it. His whole body jumps with
another bone-crunching step forward.
THE GENTLEMAN resumes praying.

THE PRIEST sees the face reach THE GENTLEMAN so he clenches

his bible and looks away, facing the darkness.
WS. POV. A thin pale arm extends towards THE GENTLEMAN, the
hands are the only part of the creature we see in full focus.
The arm appears to be loose rotting skin hanging loose around
the bone, all this pushing wiry sharp fingers towards THE
GENTLEMAN.
THE GENTLEMAN's short messy hair is now populated with the
creature's sharp, boney fingers feeling around. Caressing.
Enjoying.
A focus pull from THE PRIEST to the other pale hand with one
finger extended, headed to THE GENTLEMAN's face. We track
along as it creeps closer and closer. THE GENTLEMAN
petrified, trying to angle his head away.
The tip of the sharp finger teasing it's way across his face.
We hear a deep, growling, deranged and pained laugh come from
the creature - never knowing for sure. The tip of the finger
starts to press where THE GENTLEMAN's mouth would be, the
skin starts to give way with his screaming muffled by the
unsealing skin.
THE PRIEST's reaction, hearing the shrieks of pain pollute
and echo around the church. Wincing, pained expressions, at
one point contemplating turning to help before reinforcing
his turned back.
The hand tightens on the back of THE GENTLEMAN's head.

CU. The finger halfway through splitting open THE GENTLEMAN a

mouth, blood pouring from the wound. The finger persists on,
tearing apart the flesh.
 9.

THE PRIEST covers his ears.

WS from the shadows. The cries of pain slowly becoming
clearer and clearer as the mouth opens up before it falls to
silence.

Pause.
The wind whistles through the bricks.
THE PRIEST lowers his hands and turns around to inspect the
damage.
THE GENTLEMAN falls to the floor.
Slow push in on THE GENTLEMAN's face against the cold stone.
He lies there weeping, spitting out mouthfuls of blood. The
odd cry of pain pushes through. The bone-breaking steps can
be heard again as the creature moves away.
THE PRIEST stands up and rushes to the creature like a
teacher's pet.
THE GENTLEMAN's POV, everything out of focus. THE PREIST
speaking to the creature.
THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
I'm sorry I-I can't finish him off
like the other...
All diegetic sound muffles.

CU. THE GENTLEMAN's eyes bloodshot and fading away.

MS. THE PRIEST looking hopeful with a smile creeping up his
cheeks.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
Yo-you mean I can-
He shakes his head.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
I can see them again? Our souls can
dance?
A full smile branded across his face.

THE PRIEST (CONT'D)
(under breath)
I thank you, I thank you, I thank
y-
 10.

The creature's pale hand grabs THE PRIEST's face, leaving

smears of blood while tightly grabbing his cheeks.

THE GENTLEMAN's POV. The two silhouettes at the end of the

church, one arm extended out. THE PRIEST screams, a blend of
pain, turmoil with hint of relief and excitement round it
out. His body fades away and his empty clothes fall to the
floor.

Fade to black as THE GENTLEMAN passes out.

Pause.

Audio only: The stubborn door rattling as someone tries to

open it. No use.
FADE IN:

INT. CHURCH. DARK. - 16:9 COLOUR

A pair of shoes sit on the stone, a pair of hands pick them

up and throw it onto the pile. They kneel down at the altar
and the camera pans round to see it's THE GENTLEMAN dressed
in THE PRIEST's clothes, he's calm... collected. His lips
torn flesh.
The door rattles again, he smiles as it unlocks.
THE GENTLEMAN faces forward, the door opens behind him to
show a silhouette. On the edge of the frame we see the face,
right next to the open door. THE GENTLEMAN giggles to himself
as he takes a deep inhale, about to speak.
CUT TO BLACK.