Seth Coleman

Seth Coleman (colset08@evergreen.edu)

Patrick Fooks (carnivalkidd@hotmail.com)

"Robert Wilson Riding Hood"

Treatment

At the end of a long, dark, and dismal corridor the figure of an Old Little Red Riding Hood can be seen emerging from a bright light. As she slowly walks down the corridor the sounds of machines can be dimly heard and every time we see her in this place she is younger and more innocent. The next image is the Wolf, a seemingly well-spoken and good-natured gentleman, beginning to tell part of a story in a plain but elegant room. The images belonging to that story appear in the form of a child Little Red Riding Hood strolling through the woods where she confronts the wolf, more bestial he is in the study. The story goes back and forth between the corridor, the study, and the forest, getting progressively darker and more frightening with the return to each. The Little Red Riding Hood in the forest is pursued into a visually and aurally mechanical setting where she is eventually caught.

Cast list

OLD LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD (LRRH):

She is a frail older woman. Her hair is long and gray and she walks with stuttering steps. She wears red.

MIDDLE-AGED LRRH:

She is a middle-aged woman. She walks with the comfort of a woman who has seen her number of years. She wears red, too.

YOUNG LRRH:

She is still bright with the youth of a child but the uncertainty of youth still pervades her. She is less confident, but still a hopeful youth. Again, she wears red.

CHILD LRRH:

She is a joyful innocent youth with pigtails and a skip in her step. However, she is more wary and fearful than her predecessors and is easily frightened. She is the epitome of the prey. Of course, she wears red.

THE WOLF:

The wolf is at first sophisticated. He speaks with an English accent or at least is very careful about his pronunciation. As he progresses though, his elegant surface disappears and his true bestial nature comes to dominance. During the dream sequences the Wolf is more bestial. Hair covers his body, his ears come to a point, and his teeth are long and sharp.

He is a monster, a bogyman, a bump in the night. He is the predator.

Screenplay

INT. CORRIDOR-NIGHT

The corridor is long and there are many doors. There are a few lights but they flicker and do not penetrate the gloom of the hallway. At the end of hall there is a bright white light that Old LRRH is slowly hobbling down.

INT. STUDY-NIGHT

The study is bare, wooden floors and walls. It is elegant but Spartan. The Wolf is sitting in a plush armchair wearing a smoking jacket and smoking a cigarette with long filter. Next to the chair sits a nightstand with a cup of steaming tea on it. He speaks with an air of cultivation and a little whimsy.

WOLF

So I said that it was her perfect right to take a package, which is what I understood she was carrying, to the home of an old relative, but that I, too, had the right to have some fun. After all, a person has the right to have some fun.

INT. CORRIDOR- CONTINUOUS

Middle-aged LRRH has taken the place of the other and she is halfway down the corridor closer.

EXT. FOREST-DAY

Child LRRH is strolling happily down a forest path. She is carrying a basket with a heart on its lid so that when it opens the image of the heart separates into two halves. The forest is bright, and the branches sway in there is a slight breeze. The scene is completely silent. The Wolf’s voice penetrates the scene partway through.

WOLF (VO)

I said that it was her perfect right to take a package, which is what I understood she was carrying, to the home of an old relative, but that I, too, had the right to have some fun. After all, a person has the right to have some fun.

The Wolf’s speech repeats throughout the rest of the piece.

INT. STUDY-CONTINUOUS

The Wolf continues his speech, but there is a slight agitation creeping into his voice.

EXT. DARK FOREST- CONTINUOUS

The forest has grown bigger; the trees are older and more ominous. Child LRRH is walking more cautiously as she is in a more unknown place. Meanwhile the voice of the Wolf is repeating.

INT. CORRIDOR- CONTINUOUS

Young LRRH is now walking. She is still closer than her predecessor. The voice of the Wolf still repeats.

INT. STUDY

The wolf is serious about his monologue now and is saying it with more conviction. He stops talking breathing heavily and takes a sip of his tea.

EXT. DARK FOREST- DUSK

Child LRRH is now walking in slight fear and there are unheard noises all around her. Suddenly, the figure of the Wolf appears ahead of her. He is a silhouette, barely recognizable as even human. LRRH stops cold in her tracks.

INT. CORRIDOR- CONTINUOUS

Child LRRH is now standing in the hall, very, close to the end with a look of fear in her eyes. She is paused, waiting.

INT. STUDY- CONTINUOUS

The Wolf is quite agitated now and he stops his speech. He then takes a long drag off his cigarette and exhales. He smiles maniacally.

EXT. DARK FOREST- DUSK

She waits a moment then turns and bolts and Wolf’s speech starts again this time with a metallic grind to his voice. She runs as fast as she can in the opposite direction. The Wolf’s figure chases her through the murky wicked forest.

INT. CORRIDOR- CONTINUOUS

Child LRRH is running away, down the corridor.

EXT. INDUSTRIAL PARK- CONTINUOUS

The chase continues, in which the Wolf is revealed as an almost human pursuer and the Wolf grabs her hand and the distorted speech stops. He howls in triumph.

INT. STUDY- CONTINUOUS

The Wolf is violently pouring out his speech; he tears his clothes and froths at the mouth, crazed. He tosses the nightstand over and his blood red tea pours onto the floor.

EXT. INDUSTRIAL PARK- CONTINUOUS

LRRH hits him with the basket. While he is stunned she gets up and climbs a ladder.

EXT. ROOFTOP- CONTINUOUS

The moon and stars are out and a peace settles over our LRRH. She strolls across the roof, with a carefree ease. After a moment she chooses another ladder to climb down.

EXT. ALLEY- CONTINUOUS

LRRH climbs down the ladder and hops onto the solid asphalt ground.

WOLF (VO)

After all, a person has the right to have some fun.

She turns around to see the wolf directly in front of her, a ravenous look of hunger and desire on his face. Screeching, grinding, abrasive noises accent the wolf’s springing attack. The basket flies out of LRRH’s hands during the assault, violently smashing onto the ground. She falls helplessly to the ground in a pool of oily water.

INT. CORRIDOR- CONTINUOUS

Child LRRH stands at the far end of the corridor. She takes a single step into the light and disappears.

Continuity script

The sound in this piece is at first quiet, but as it progresses it becomes more abrasive. Unless otherwise noted there should be a continued degradation of noise. It is all the sounds of machines at work or the sound of metal in various states of tearing.

CORRIDOR