Dear, Amber By DaveIsGhost

Thriller screenplays such as: "I Know What You Did Last Summer"

Note_To_Self1989@hotmail.com David Stults

BLACK. OPEN TO: INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT We open on a dimly lit room with walls of books as far as the eye can see. In the center of the room there are a group of tables which are filled with people doing everything from reading books to typing on laptops. We turn a few times to look at the faces of some of the people before stopping on the face of SAM TAYLOR(male, about 17 years old, medium length blond hair, blue eyes). We room in on him to see him typing away on a laptop. A voice begins to speak and we quickly realize that it is Sams voice.. but his mouth isnt moving. The voice we hear is his thoughts. SAM (V.O.) Dear, Amber. I was hoping I would never have to write this letter. I know there is no right way to tell you this but, by the time you read this.. I will be gone. Please, know that you did nothing wrong and that I will always love you more than anything in this world. I know you will probably end up hating me.. but I did this to save you. The voice pauses as tears begin to well up in Sams eyes. SAM (V.O. continued) I have a secret. A dark past which I fear might be coming back to haunt me. I have never told anyone about what happened, but I want you to understand why I am doing what Im doing. Sam takes a deep breath and wipes away his tears before beginning to type again. SAM (V.O. continued) It all started 2 years ago...

2. CUT TO: INT. TAYLOR HOME - FLASHBACK - NIGHT We open in a pitch black room that is only illuminated by the occasional lightening flash coming through the window from the storm which rages on outside. We turn to show an empty bed which has the blankets all in a mess on top of it. On the night stand next to the bed is a picture of a family. We zoom in on the smiling faces one by one before coming to the familiar and slightly younger face of Sam. Just then thunder crashes outside the house as we hear screaming begin. We turn to focus on a large door which has light trickling in under the bottom of it. Shadows pass back and forth in front of the door before we finally hear the sound of glass breaking somewhere in the hallway. The lightening flashes again and we see something in the corner of the room. We turn toward the corner and zoom in. Just then lightening flashes again to reveal the frightened faces of Sam and ASHLEY TAYLOR(about 17 years old(in flashback), long strawberry blond hair, hazel eyes). Just then another scream rings out. MALE (V.O.) You fucking bitch! Sam lets out a cry of concern. SAM Mom! Ashley wraps her arm around Sam and presses her finger to his lips. ASHLEY You have to stay in here Sam. We both know what would happen if you walked out there. Sam shakes Ashleys hand away from his mouth. Just then another scream rings out.. the scream of a woman. SAM (V.O.) My Dad was a well liked Navy man. Everyone who looked at our family thought we were perfect, but behind closed doors.. we were so fucked up that there was no fixing us. My Dad loved to drink and then take his anger out on my Mom, Ashley and I. (CONTINUED)

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Just then a loud banging noise begins to ring out before their mothers screams become louder and louder. MOM (V.O.) Leave me alone! Your drunk! The banging noise gets louder and louder. DAD (V.O.) Little pig, little pig let me come in! Ashley wraps her arm around Sam again and pulls him in tightly. One final bang rings out before the screaming stops. ASHLEY I think he passed out. Ashley and Sam get to their feet and slowly tiptoe across the room to the door. They look at the bottom of the door for any sign of shadows but there is nothing. SAM We have to get Mom and get the fuck out of here. This is the last time Im letting him do this. Sam reaches out slowly for the handle of the door. His hand begins to tremble and shake as his fingers come into contact with the cold metal of the handle. Just then a loud crash of thunder rings out which causes the two teens to jump back quickly. The two of them let out a sigh of relief as Sam reaches out and puts his hand on the door handle again. We watch as he moves his hand down and is just about to unlock the door when a small noise is heard coming from somewhere in the hallway. ASHLEY Wait! Did you hear that? SAM Yeah.. what was it? ASHLEY I dont know. Just listen for a minute.

(CONTINUED)

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Ashley slowly moves closer to the door until her hands are pressed against it. We watch as she turns her head and inches her ear closer and closer to the large wooden door. Just then we hear a loud bang ring out as the door begins to move frantically. DAD (V.O.) Let me in!! Daddy just wants to talk to you kids. I want to tell you how much I love you. The two teens back away from the door quickly as it begins to crack and show signs of weakness. The lightening flashes again and we see Sam and Ashley look around the room for any thing to defend themselves. Ashley looks around for a few moments before running over to the window and pulling it open. Wind suddenly whips into the room as Ashley motions to Sam to come to her. Sam rushes over to the window. ASHLEY Go ahead and climb through. Be careful.. Im sure the roof is slick. SAM What about Mom? Another large crack is heard coming from the door. ASHLEY We will go around to her bedroom window and get her. Sam nods his head and quickly climbs out onto the rood of the two story house. Ashley his one leg out of the window when we the banging stops. Ashley stops and looks over to the door. DAD (V.O.) Come on kids. Let me in please! Im sorry for acting like this! Ashley climbs through the window and closes it behind her. EXT. TAYLOR HOME - ROOF - NIGHT SAM (V.O.) Thats when we heard it...

(CONTINUED)

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The sound of a shotgun stops the teenagers in their path. They look at each other with pure terror on their faces. SAM Mom! Sam screams before Ashley quickly puts her hand over his mouth and rushes him down and around the corner to the far side of the roof. The camera turns to show the frightened faces of the teens as they press their backs against the siding of the house. Just then we hear the sound of glass shattering. The camera moves slightly to show the other side of the roof where they just were. All of a sudden we see the upper half of a large muscular man with a crazed look on his face sticking out of the window which the teens went through just moments before. DAD Run, run, as fast as you can. You fucking cunts! We then watch as man pulls himself back in the window. Sam turns and peeks around the corner with one eye to see that their Dad isnt after them before he turns to Ashley. SAM Hes not following. Lets hurry and get Mom before he blasts his way in. We watch as the teens hurry further down the roof and over to another window. They look in to see a woman with blond hair and bruises on her face huddled at the end of the bed with a baseball bat in her hand. Sam reaches out and taps on the window just as we hear another shot ring out through the air. The woman turns to look at the window as the handle of the door is blown off. MOM Run! Get out of here. I love you... never forget that! Just then the door explodes into splinters flying everywhere. We watch as the father rushes into the room and grabs the woman by the hair. She tries her best to knock him away with the baseball bat.. but its no use. We then hear a terrifying scream ring out as the woman begins to be drug from the room by her hair. We turn back to look at Sam and Ashley. Tears are now streaming down their faces. After a few seconds, Sam wipes the tears from his eyes before a look of determination floods to his face.

(CONTINUED)

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SAM The lattice. We can climb down that way. CUT TO: INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT We open to see Sam still typing. Tears are now falling freely down his face. We turn to see the concerned faces of the people around him who are now staring at him. SAM Sorry. School paper about a sad book. The people smile slightly before going back to their own business. SAM (V.O.) We made it to the lattice and down the side of the house. We ran as fast as we could to Ashleys car before realizing that they keys were right inside the front door of the house. It took a lot of pleading but I convinced Ashley to let me slip inside and grab them. CUT TO: INT. TAYLOR HOME - FLASHBACK - NIGHT The front door of the house creaks open slowly. We see Sams eye appear through the crack to make sure that the coast is clear. After a few seconds he opens the door and quickly rushes over to a table near the stairs. He reaches out and grabs the keys into his hand. Just then a loud gun shot rings out. We then go into slow motion as we see the bloody body of Sams mother fall down the stairs. The body finally comes to a stop as her large, lifeless eyes come to focus on Sam. Sam covers his mouth to keep himself from screaming. The sudden sound of footsteps coming down the stairs brings Sam to life as he sprints out of the house and toward the car.

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CUT TO: INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT Sam cracks his knuckles before continuing to type. SAM (V.O.) We got into the car and took off as fast as we could into the night. The rain as falling harder than I had ever seen before. After about 20 minutes.. we finally began to feel safe. Thats just when we saw the bright headlights appear behind us. We tried not to panic and just assumed that it was another car.. that is until it got up right behind us and started to honk frantically. CUT TO: INT. CAR - FLASHBACK - NIGHT The sound of crunching metal is heard loudly as the car is shoved forward. Sam quickly turns around to look through the back window as the truck comes speeding into the back of the car again. SAM Fuck! We have to go faster. ASHLEY We cant go much faster. We will lose control. Just then the truck hits the back of the car again. Sam looks over to Ashley with a smile on his face. SAM The truck is horrible in snow and rain.. go faster. Ashley quickly glances over to Sam before we see a slight smile flash to her face. ASHLEY Buckle up..

(CONTINUED)

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Ashley presses the gas pedal to the floor as the car jolts forward. We then hear the truck begin to rev louder behind them. Sam turns to see that the truck is speeding up. We then turn to look ahead of the car to see a huge mud puddle across the middle of the road. ASHLEY Hang on! The truck is now right behind the car. As the car is just about to enter the giant puddle, Ashley slams on the breaks as hard as she can. She then cuts the wheel to spin left of center into the empty oncoming traffic lane. The truck hits the puddle and quickly begins to spin out. We hear a loud scream as the truck spints to the right before bursting through the guard rail on the side of the road. CUT TO: INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT We focus on Sam again as we see him continue to type. SAM (V.O.) I rushed over to the rail to look at the truck.. but all I saw was a ball of flames. I looked on in horror for a few seconds. Then the mud on the hill quickly began to slide down and cover the truck. That was the last I ever saw of my father. LOUD SPEAKER (V.O.) The Library will be closing in 10 minutes. Please finish up what you are doing. Sam looks over at the clock before turning back to the computer. SAM (V.O.) A few days later.. the news said that the car was found.. but there was no body. A large manhunt started to look for my father because he was wanted for murdering my mother but no one ever found (MORE) (CONTINUED)

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SAM (contd) him. I forced the memory out of my mind until we started getting strange messages and phone calls a few days ago. We are going to get out of here before he can get us. Please remember that I will always love you. I hope that someday this can stop and we can be together. Until then.. I will miss you. All my love -SamSam moves his mouse over to the print button and clicks it just as the lights flash to tell that the library is now closed. EXT. LIBRARY - NIGHT We watch as Sam walks over to a small mailbox and dropps the letter in. Sam lets out a sigh and wipes the tears from his eyes before making his way across the dark parking lot to his car. Sam unlocks his car and is about to climb inside when he decides to look into the back seat to make sure that no one is there. He lets out a sigh of relief before getting into the car and starting it up. The stereo quickly starts to blare "Fight Fire With Fire" by Kansas. Sam jumps before quickly reaching forward and turning the stereo down. He looks at the radio to see "Track 1" on the screen. SAM I didnt have a CD playing. Sam reaches out slowly and pressed the eject button on the stereo when he notices a zippo lighter sitting on his dash. He grabs the lighter and looks at it in confusion before sticking it into his pocket. We then watch as he reaches out and grabs the CD before bringing it to his face so that he can read it. We hear a gasp as Sam quickly throws the CD onto the passenger seat before putting the car into gear. We zoom in on the CD to see a message written on the front of it. ""Lets burn Mix". Daddys home! Lets play Son."

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INT. NEW TAYLOR HOME - NIGHT Sam rushes into the house with a look of worry on his face. We see that there are suitcases sitting at the bottom of the stairs. The house is in complete darkness. Sam reaches over to turn on the light but the switch doesnt work. The power is dead. Sam walks over to a closet beside the front door and pulls out a baseball bat before slowly making his way up the stairs and into the darkness. SAM (whispering) Ash? Ashley where are you? As Sam reaches the top of the stairs he pauses and begins to sniff at the air. Fear floods to his face as he recognizes the smell. SAM (to himself) Gasoline.. Sam turns to look around when he sees a small flickering light coming from a room near by. Sam takes a deep breath before beginning to slowly make his way toward the light. He takes every step with caution as to avoid any cracks that the floor might make. Sam raises the bat into a ready position before turning into the room. We look in to see a girl tied to a chair in the middle of the room. Her face is beaten and bruised but we can tell that it is a slightly older version of Ashley. Sam drops the bat to his side before running over to his sister. He reaches out to untie her hands when he realizes that she is soaked in something. His eyes grow wide. SAM Gas. Just then we see a large man in a ski mask walk into the room behind Sam. We watch as he picks up the bat and walks up to Sam. A look of terror comes to Sams face as he turns just as the man swings the bat and it bashes into his ribs with incredible force. DAD Daddys home! Sam falls to the floor in pain as the man reaches down and grabs his foot. We watch as Sam is dragged across the room and stuffed into a large closet. We watch as the door closes and the man pulls off his ski mask to reveal the incredibly burnt face of Sams father. The man turns to the closet and (CONTINUED)

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begins to talk loud enough so that Sam can hear him inside the closet. DAD Oh, how I have missed you kids. You didnt assume I was gone forever did you? Well you were DEAD wrong. Im a little crispy looking.. but very much alive. We flash to inside the closet as Sam gets to his feet and tries to open the door but it is no use. Sam looks around him in the darkness but he cant see a thing. SAM Oh yeah? Well youve been dead to me for years! You killed your wife and tried to kill us! Sam looks up as he remembers the attic door abover him. We watch as Sam reaches up and pulls on the rope as the door opens and he quietly straightens out the ladder. DAD (V.O.) I did your Mom a favor. She would of killer herself eventually anyway. I made it quick. Sam climbs the ladder and up into the attic. He turns back to the door and yells down. SAM Well we were just "Doing you a favor" with what we did. You are the scum of the earth! A smile crosses Sams face as he looks over to the other side of the attick. SAM The door into my closet.. Sam moves carefully across the attic before coming to another door. He pushes it down slowly as he hears his father beginning to talk again. We then flash back to focus on the burned man. We look over to Ashley to see that her eyes are now open. We zoom in on her hands to see that she is trying to free them. We then turn back to her father as he begins to speak.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: DAD No! I am about to rid the world of its scum! You were never anything but undeserving little fucks! Now you guys will burn like I did.. but you wont be as lucky as me. Tell me Samuel... do you know what its like for your flesh to melt off?

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The man walks over to the closet door and stops to listen for a response. We turn to zoom in on Ashley to notice that her hands are now free. We watch as she reaches up and pulls the gag from her mouth before we see her lips part into a smile. We turn to show Sam sneaking in through the door way. We then see a gas can sitting against the wall. Sam makes his way over to the can and picks it up before a smile comes to his face. DAD I didnt think so! Any last words? The camera turns to show that Sam is now just a foot away from his father. The man pulls a lighter from his pocket and its about to light it when Sam speaks. SAM Yeah.. burn mother fucker. The man quickly turns around to see Sam flip open the zippo from his car and light it. We then watch in slow motion as Sam tosses the lighter to the ground at his fathers feet. The man looks down quickly to realize that he is standing in a puddle of gasoline. We watch as the lighter connects with the puddle and it immediately catches the mans legs on fire. We go back to normal speed as Sam grabs the gas can and throws it in his fathers direction. SAM Catch! Sam quickly rushes over and grabs his sister into his arms as their their father begins to scream in agony. Sam turns and runs from the room as fast as his feet can take him when we finally hear the gas can explode. The screaming continues for seveal seconds as Sam carries Ashley down the stairs and out the front door. Just then the screaming stops as the house erupts into flames. ASHLEY Well.. we are still going to have to move. Ashley looks up at Sam with a smile as they reach the neighbors yeard across the street. (CONTINUED)

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SAM Its over... The sounds of sirens begin to ring out in the distance. We turn to look at the house one last time as it continues to burn. CUT TO: BLACK Dear, Amber