Simon Says Script - First Draft

Simon Says

By

Matt Summers

First Draft

matt

Typewritten Text

matt

Typewritten Text

matt

Stamp

Screen is black. The sound of high heels can be heard

along the floor. A door opens, and closes just as quickly.

ELLIE

Good Morning Doctor.

SIMON

Good morning Ellie, please sit

down.

FADE IN:

1 INT. SIMON’S OFFICE - DAY

Ellie, a young woman of about twenty, walks into view. She

sits down in a chair in front of a desk, with a darkened

figure sitting opposite her. Simon.

The main light in the room positioned above Simon is off.

A lamp is positioned on the desk, shining on Simon’s

hands. His face is not visible.

SIMON

I’m sorry about the lighting

Ellie, there is a problem with

the bulb in the light. The

problem will be fixed in time.

ELLIE

That’s okay Doctor.

SIMON

Please, call me Simon. So, what

exactly is the reason you are

here?

Simon is constantly fidgeting with his hands. (Alternate

option - patient file open of Ellie, Simon writes in notes

as they speak).

ELLIE

I’ve been having trouble sleeping

lately. A lot of memories from my

childhood are cropping up in my

dreams.

SIMON

Is there anything specifically

related to your childhood you are

referring to?

Ellie hesitates. She sighs. She appears nervous.

ELLIE

My dad.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 2.

SIMON

May I ask what these nightmares

consist of? Did he die when you

were young? Was he not there for

you when you needed him?

ELLIE

It’s only ever one nightmare. The

same nightmare over and over

again.

Ellie notices Simon’s hands fidgeting, and her look of

concern intensifies. Simon quickly stops and rests his

hands on the table.

SIMON

Ellie, If I can ask you to just

sit back comfortably and relax

now. I’m going to put you into a

deep sleep. I will ask you

questions about your nightmare,

and you will guide me through it.

ELLIE

Okay.

Ellie again responds nervously, fidgeting in the chair,

breathing heavily.

SIMON

It is okay Ellie, I will be here

by your side helping you. You

have nothing to fear. It’s all in

your head.

Simon’s face comes into view in the light. He is smirking.

SIMON

Simon Says, let’s begin.

(Alternate - Never reveals face - line wouldn’t happen)

QUICK CUT TO BLACK:

SUPERIMPOSE TITLE: SIMON SAYS

2 EXT. ALLEYWAY - LATE EVENING

It is silent. The only noises that can be heard are the

faint whisks of wind, and the small rumblings of animals

scurrying about the streets nearby.

A sudden scream can be heard nearby. Ellie enters the

alleyway. She is running, whilst constantly looking behind

herself.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 3.

ELLIE

(Shouting)

Leave me alone!

Ellie trips and falls to the ground. She cuts her leg. She

begins backing away slowly.

ELLIE

Please, Please stop this!

She screams again, holding her head in pain and laying out

on the ground in pain.

TIME CUT TO:

3 INT. MATHESON HOUSE - HALLWAY - MORNING

Sound of keys in the door. The door opens and Ellie walks

in. She appears dazed, and is stumbling slightly. Ruth,

Ellie’s Mother, rounds the corner at the end of the

hallway. She looks deeply concerned. She rushes to Ellie

and embraces her with a hug.

RUTH

Oh my god Ellie are you okay?

I’ve been so worried.

Ruth let’s go of Ellie. Ellie continues to look dazed and

unwell.

RUTH

You didn’t answer your phone, I

was up all night trying to get in

contact with any of your friends,

hoping they knew where you were.

ELLIE

It’s fine Mum, I’m fine.

Ellie stumbles past Ruth into the kitchen.

4 INT. MATHESON HOUSE - KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS

Ellie takes a drink out of the fridge and sits down at the

kitchen table. She continues to look dazed. Ruth is stood

in the doorway watching, confused.

RUTH

You don’t look fine. You don’t

seem fine. Where did you go last

night? All you were supposed to

do yesterday was visit the

doctor.

Ellie gulps down some drink before responding.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 4.

ELLIE

I didn’t go to the doctor’s mum.

I can’t remember what happened

last night. The last thing I

remember was seeing Simon.

Ruth sits down at the table with Ellie, continuing to take

a keen interest.

RUTH

Who is this Simon? A boyfriend? A

friend?

ELLIE

He’s a hypnotist Mum.

Ruth becomes shocked and angry simultaneously.

RUTH

What are you going to see a

hypnotist for? What did this

Simon do, fill your head with

crap?

ELLIE

It’s not like that Mum. I just

needed some help.

RUTH

Help with what? I’m here to help

you. You know that. You don’t

need some stranger conning you

into believing that there is

something wrong with you.

ELLIE

No Mum, it’s moments like this.

You don’t understand me, I wanted

a professional opinion because

you just jump to conclusions. I’m

tired of you.

Ellie stands. She stumbles out the kitchen.

RUTH

Look at you, you can’t even stand

up properly. Something worse is

going on.

Ellie ignores Ruth and continues up the stairs.

Ruth looks dejected.

FADE TO:

5.

5 INT. MATHESON HOUSE - RUTH’S BEDROOM - DAY

Ruth is sat on the edge of her bed. She is holding her

phone in one hand, and the Yellow Pages is opened on her

lap. She looks hesitant as she stares at the page. She

finally begins dialling on the phone. She waits as the

phone rings.

6 INT. DAVID’S OFFICE - DAY - ALTERNATE

(David Easton a young man, short dark hair, dressed

smartly with a shirt, tie, blazer and jeans) is sat in a

chair in front of his desk. His head is rested against the

back of the chair.

A laptop is open in front of him, with a screensaver on

screen. The image is of Lauren Easton, a young petite

woman who is David’s deceased wife. David Leans forward,

holds his head for a brief second before looking at his

laptop screen. (Potentially not include this if David is

unaware of the memory of his wife).

QUICK CUT TO:

7 INT. SIMON’S OFFICE - DAY - FLASHBACK

DAVID’S POV - Extremely brief quick cut shots together.

The location is obscure, and so too is the faces.

The lighting is dark in the room. The ceiling light above

the desk is off, only a lamp is shining bright on the

desk.

David is sat in Simon’s office facing the desk. Quick cut

to David looking to his left. Lauren is sat in the chair

next to him. Quick cut to Simon directly in front of

David, screaming is heard from Lauren.

QUICK CUT TO:

8 INT. DAVID’S OFFICE - DAY

David quickly snaps back to life, sweating and gasping for

breath. He calms down slightly, but still breaths heavily.

Next to the laptop is a pot of pills. The pills are

paracetamols. David quickly grabs the pills from the desk,

opens the pot quickly, taps a few pills into his mouth and

swallows.

David’s breathing slows, and he calmly sits back in his

chair again. He closes his eyes.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 6.

A few seconds pass before a mobile phone on the desk

starts ringing and vibrating. It makes David jump in his

now relaxed state. David leans forward, picks up the

mobile and acknowledges the caller.

DAVID

Hello, this is David Easton,

Private Investigator, how may I

help you?

TIME CUT TO:

9 EXT. MATHESON HOUSE - DAY

A car speeds along the road and pulls up outside the

Matheson’s House. The door swings open and the driver

steps out. David Easton is a young man, short dark hair,

dressed smartly with a shirt, tie, blazer and jeans.

David leans back into his car to the passenger’s side and

grabs a notepad and I.D. card off of the seat. There is a

handgun also on the seat. He quickly opens the glove

compartment and places the gun in there, and closes it.

David leans back out of the car and closes the door. He

slides the notepad into his pocket.

David walks into the driveway to the front door of the

Matheson’s house and rings the doorbell. There is a pause

before Ruth answers the door.

DAVID

Hello I’m the private

investigator, David Easton, I had

a call to come to this address.

David shows his I.D. Card.

RUTH

Oh thank you so much for coming,

I’m Ruth Matheson.

DAVID

It’s a pleasure to meet you maam.

RUTH

Please, come in.

Ruth leaves the door open as she walks off. David quickly

takes his car keys out of his pocket and locks the car.

David enters the house.

7.

10 INT. MATHESON HOUSE - HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

David takes his shoes off by the mat at the front door. He

walks forward, trying to look to where Ruth might have

gone. She quickly pops her head around the kitchen

doorway.

RUTH

Please head on into the living

room, I’ll be there in a minute.

Would you like a coffee?

DAVID

That would be great thank you.

David walks down the hallway and into the living room.

CUT TO:

11 INT. MATHESON HOUSE - LIVING ROOM

David is sat on the settee. Ruth walks in with two coffees

and hands David a mug.

DAVID

Thank you Mrs Matheson.

RUTH

Please, call me Ruth.

David takes a sip of coffee before placing it on a coster

on the coffee table.

DAVID

When we spoke on the phone

yesterday you told me there was a

problem with your daughter? What

exactly is the problem?

David opens his notepad and gets ready to write.

RUTH

Ellie is such a sweet girl. She

would always listen to me, always

do her chores with no problem,

always be happy surrounding

herself with good people. She was

always calm if there was a

problem and we would very rarely

argue.

David continues writing down notes.

RUTH (CONT’D)

But something happened the other

day. She lied to me, and instead

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 8.

RUTH (CONT’D) (cont’d)of going to the doctors she went

to see a hypnotist.

DAVID

Did she mention the hypnotists

name at all?

RUTH

She said his name was Simon.

David instantly stops writing. He appears frozen in

thought.

RUTH

Are you okay?

David quickly springs back to life.

DAVID

Oh, I’m sorry about that. I just

have these constant headaches

lately, it’s nothing.

David focuses again and gets ready to write more notes.

RUTH

I don’t believe in that hypnosis

rubbish, but I know she was fine

before she went to that

hypnotist. Something isn’t right

about him.

DAVID

Did she mention where this

hypnotist worked?

RUTH

No, she says she couldn’t

remember anything.

DAVID

Okay well I’ll do some background

research into this hypnotist. If

I find a location I’ll go and see

him.

RUTH

Thank you so much for doing this.

DAVID

That’s no problem.

David stands and puts his notepad in his pocket.

9.

12 INT. MATHESON HOUSE - HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

David and Ruth both exit the living room into the hallway.

David opens the door, before turning back to Ruth.

DAVID

Don’t worry about anything Ruth,

I will find out if anything is

wrong.

David exits the house before closing the door.

CUT TO:

13 INT. DAVID’S OFFICE - EVENING

JIB SHOT starting from bin on the floor. A piece of

crumpled paper is thrown into the bin. CAMERA PANS UP to

reveal small office space. David is sat at a desk in the

corner of the room, with a laptop open on the desk.

QUICK SHOTS CUT between David and the laptop.

David searches hypnotism into Google. There are EXTREME

CLOSE-UPS of particular words and phrases that he takes

notice of in the various pages. He continues to scan the

text, picking out phrases.

David searches again now for ’Simon Hypnotist’. He scrolls

through the search results but there is nothing of use

about Simon.

David looks back on the notes he has taken. Written down

is ’Stage-hypnotism’. He googles ’Simon - Stage

Hypnotism’. As he scrolls down he finds something, a

Tumblr article called ’Simon Says...’. He clicks the link.

The blogger’s username is TwistedSpectrum666.

He scrolls through the article taking notes again. EXTREME

CLOSE-UPS on particular phrases.

’Simon Says...’ is the most recent article on the page.

David scrolls down further on the Tumblr Blog looking for

more articles. He stumbles upon an embedded video uploaded

by the user. He clicks play.

The video features CHRISTOPHER ELLIS speaking directly to

the camera being recorded on. Christopher appears crazy,

visibly stressed and paranoid.

CHRISTOPHER

(Crazy)

It seems so strange now. It’s

been weeks since my first

encounter with Simon. I cannot

get Simon out of my head, he is

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 10.

CHRISTOPHER (cont’d)driving me insane. What he did to

those people, all of those

people, it’s horrifying.

Christopher picks up a can of coke and takes a swig.

CHRISTOPHER (CONT’D)

(Crazy)

I used to be so respected in my

job, but look at me now. Look

what Simon has driven me to.

Insanity? Is that what you would

call it? It feels like I am

insane, and perhaps that is why I

am past the point of return. But

that doesn’t mean for others they

cannot be helped before it’s too

late.

Christopher takes a final swig of coke, before throwing

the can out of sight of the camera.

CHRISTOPHER (CONT’D)

(Crazy)

I had a conversation yesterday

with someone named David. David

was interested in Simon, I tried

to help him too, and I think I

succeeded. But there are others.

He wants others. Listen to my

warnings people, do not go to see

the hypnotist Simon. Do not go

there! You will lose your mind to

him.

David sits back in his seat, confused. He scrolls back

through the video to replay a section.

CHRISTOPHER

(Repeated)

I had a conversation yesterday

with someone named David.

David quickly loses focuses.

14 INT. DAVID’S OFFICE - DAY - FLASHBACK

DAVID’s POV - Quick Cuts in David’s office. David is

shaking hands with Christopher. Christopher hands him a

pot of pills (paracetamols). Quick snippet of dialogue.

CHRISTOPHER

Trust me, these help.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 11.

CLOSE UP on pills. Quick cut to Christopher sat down with

David talking. Quick cut to Christopher standing,

appearing crazed and paranoid.

QUICK CUT TO:


David snaps back to life, startled at what has just

occurred.

He hesitantly sits upright and scrolls down the tumblr

blog further. There is an earlier article from further

back. He begins to skim through the text, continuing to

pick out phrases of interest that Christopher has used to

describe Simon.

As David reaches the bottom of the article there is a

picture of an office building. David squints at the

picture before finally recognising it.

QUICK CUT TO:

16 EXT. SIMON’S OFFICE BUILDING - DAY - FLASHBACK

DAVID’S POV - Quick shots cut together.

Quick shot as David is driving. David exits the car. David

stands looking at Simon’s office building. Quick cut to

David walking down a narrow corridor. Looks to his left -

Revealed Lauren is with him. Quick cut to David and Lauren

at a door, pan up to reveal a plaque on the door. It reads

’Dr. Simon Smith’.

QUICK CUT TO:


David recognises the picture. He still appears confused --

not certain why he is unsure of the memory.

David quickly leans forward and looks through his desk. He

takes out a file. He quickly skips through the many pages

-- he finds what he is looking for.

There is David’s written notes on the location, as well as

the same picture stapled to the page. Simon’s name is

written as part of the heading to the page.

David leans back in his chair, appearing agitated and

slightly concerned.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 12.

DAVID

(Confused)

How could I possibly not have

known I had this?

As David continues to look out the page he picks out

another name. CHRISTOPHER ELLIS. David’s notes continue to

link in with the video he saw of Christopher -- they were

connected in some way - Christopher and Simon appeared

close originally.

TIME CUT TO:

18 EXT. SIMON’S OFFICE BUILDING - DAY

David is driving in his car, he pulls up outside of the

building he recognises from the picture. It is the Simon’s

Office Building. David sits in his car with his eyes

closed. He breaths slowly.

On the seat next to him is his paracetamols, notebook and

his handgun. He picks up the paracetamols, slides off the

lid, places a few in his mouth and swallows. After taking

a few deep breaths again he feels ready. He picks up his

notepad and gun and exits his car.

He places the notepad into his pocket, and puts his gun

into the back of his jeans. He locks the car, and proceeds

to walk towards the building.

19 INT. SIMON’S OFFICE BUILDING - HALLWAY - DAY

The hallway is long. There are numerous doors positioned

along the hallway. The building is quiet. No one is

around.

David appears at the end of the hallway, rounding the

corner. As he passes each door he looks for some

indication as to what room he is looking for.

QUICK CUT TO:

20 INT. SIMON’S OFFICE BUILDING - HALLWAY - DAY - FLASHBACK

Incredibly brief quick cut from DAVID’S POV - continuing

on from an earlier flashback.

David is at the beginning of the hallway. Quick cut to

David standing at the Simon’s Office door. There is a

plaque on the door that reads ’Doctor Simon Smith

- Psychotherapist’.

QUICK CUT TO:

13.

21 INT. SIMON’S OFFICE BUILDING - DAY

David quickly realises which door he is looking for. He

still walks up the hallway cautiously, ensuring this

memory is not lieing to himself. He reaches the door.

He looks up at the plaque on the door. He doesn’t bother

knocking. He checks to make sure the door is unlocked. It

is. David enters.


The door slowly opens. It is silent. The room is the same

lighting as in previous scenes. David cautiously steps in,

quietly closing the door behind him. As David faces the

door closing it, Simon speaks up.

SIMON

Hello David.

David quickly turns on the spot. Sitting at the desk is

Simon. His face is not visible, only his hands on his

desk.

SIMON

What may I do for you?

David approaches the desk slowly.

DAVID

How do you know my name?

SIMON

Please, do you really think I’d

forget an old friend? Or perhaps

you just have one of those

familiar faces?

(beat)

Please, sit down.

Simon’s hand from the table gestures towards the seat

opposite him in front of the desk. David, still cautious,

sits down in the chair.

SIMON

I’m sorry about the lighting in

here David, I’m getting it fixed

as soon as possible.

DAVID

Is that true? Or did the mind

manipulating start the second I

stepped through that door?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 14.

SIMON

(Sarcastic)

That’s right, you’ve caught me

out already David. Or would you

prefer me to call you Mr Easton?

DAVID

You still never told me how you

know my name, or do you enjoy

talking in riddles.

SIMON

Ah, a magician never reveals his

secrets David.

DAVID

Magician? I thought you were a

hypnotist?

SIMON

Psychotherapist, actually. But

yes, my trick with the trade

began long ago. I’m sure you’ve

already done some research into

me. But tell me please, how is it

that you were able to find me

again?

David takes the notepad out his pocket, and opens it to

his recent page.

DAVID

A couple of days ago I was

contacted by Ruth Matheson. Does

that name stir anything in your

memory? Her daughter, who Ruth

described as being sweet, happy,

and always worked with no hassle,

seemed to be a completely

different person after coming to

see you the other day.

SIMON

I only try to help my patients

David, if they have a particular

fear that they cannot deal with I

just want to help them ...

encounter this ... to defeat it.

DAVID

Now I don’t believe in all the

hypnotism shit I’ve been reading.

Many people claim hypnotism to be

fake, an illusion created by the

illusionist so that they believe

what they want to hear. I guess

that just wasn’t the case with

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 15.

DAVID (cont’d)Ellie Matheson was it. What did

you do to her?

There is a pause. Simon opens a draw in his desk.

DAVID

What did you do to her?

Simon continues to ignore this. He takes a file out from

the draw, before closing it again. He places the file on

the desk. He opens it to the first page.

SIMON

You failed to answer my first

question, so now I won’t answer

your questions. How is Lauren,

David?

David pauses for thought.

DAVID

I don’t know what you’re talking

about.

SIMON

Come on David, don’t tell me

you’ve forgotten about everything

we spoke about on our last visit.

David again appears confused, struggling to comprehend

what he’s being told.

DAVID

What are you talking about?

SIMON

Lauren is your wife.

David pauses again in thought.

QUICK CUT TO:




David is sat in Simon’s office, looking to his left where

Marie is sat next to him.

QUICK CUT TO:

16.


David quickly gasps back to present day, he appears

shocked and nervous.

DAVID

Whatever you are doing stop. I

don’t know any Lauren, I’m

single. You think I might know

If I had a wife.

SIMON

Lauren is your deceased wife

David.

David still looks nervous. He wipes the sweat off his

forehead.

DAVID

I never have had a wife.

SIMON

If that is true David then how

come your memory is vague? Why is

it that you have headaches? Why

is it that sat here the whole

time you have felt uneasy,

because you feel something is

wrong with this place.

David frantically begins looking around. Confused.

QUICK CUT TO:




David is on the floor. Quick cut to Lauren standing above

him. Quick cut to Lauren on the floor dead, David laying

motionless next to her.

QUICK CUT TO:


David stands. Clearly effected by what is happening.

DAVID

(Shouting)

What are you doing to me?

David holds his head again, appearing in pain.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 17.

SIMON

Please David, just relax and sit

back down.

David cautiously sits back down.

SIMON (CONT’D)

Lauren was here with you when you

first came to visit me. I say

visit me, but that wasn’t really

the purpose of your visit.

DAVID

What happened to me?! You’re

lying, trying to manipulate me.

SIMON

You came to visit Christopher.

David again pauses in his thoughts.

QUICK CUT TO:

27 INT. DAVID’S OFFICE - EVENING - FLASHBACK

Incredibly brief quick cuts from DAVID’S POV - continuing


Video of Christopher talking on David’s laptop is briefly

shown. Quick cut to Christopher talking to David in his

office -- another flashback already seen.

QUICK CUT TO:


David quickly snaps back to life again in the present.

DAVID

What happened to Christopher?

SIMON

How exactly do you mean?

DAVID

I remembered something about him.

He was in my office before.

Talking to me about something.

Then he appeared to insane with

rage.

Simon laughs to himself.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 18.

DAVID

What did you do to Christopher?

Did you kill him?

Simon continues laughing to himself.

SIMON

Kill him? How could I have

possibly killed him? Me and

Christopher were closer than you

might think.

DAVID

How close?

Simon leans in to the light, revealing himself to be

identical to Christopher.

SIMON

(Sinister)

Very, Very Close.

David quickly jumps out of his seat and moves back.

DAVID

(Shouting)

What the fuck is this? You’re

Christopher?

Simon also stands now.

SIMON

In a way you could say I am

Christopher, but also I’m not.

Simon steps out from around his desk and begins to

approach David. David pulls out his handgun from the back

of his jeans and aims it at Simon. Simon steps back

against his desk.

DAVID

You don’t come anywhere me, you

got it.

SIMON

That is understandable David.

DAVID

Now, explain what you meant.

SIMON

I’m sure you have done some

research into me? Anything

interesting show up? Maybe

anything from Christopher?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 19.

DAVID

The tumblr blog. The tumblr blog

demanding people to not go and

see you here. What was that? Some

kind of weird, twisted delusional

joke by yourself? You seemed

pretty insane.

SIMON

Let me explain.

29 INT. THEATRE HALL - DAY - FLASHBACK

Simon is narrating over this flashback from present day.

SIMON (V.O.)

I was once known as Christopher

Ellis. I say I was, but that’s

not particularly true.

JIB SHOT from floor - panning up to reveal poster on sign

of theatre hall door. Poster is for ’Christopher Ellis -

Amazing Illusionist’.

SIMON (V.O.)

I ... He ... used to be a

stage-hypnotist. Not a famous

one, but it was a paying gig

nonetheless.

A couple, hand-in-hand, walk into shot past the poster and

into the theatre hall. Loud audience chatter can be heard.

Simon steps out on stage, accepting and entertaining as

the crowd can be heard applauding.

SIMON (V.O.)

It’s well known that many

hypnotists are actually not aware

of the power they possess. That

was the case for Christopher.

CUT TO BLACK

Loud screaming is heard.

CUT TO:

20.


SIMON

You see, that is the day

Christopher realised the power he

possessed, and that is the day I

came to prominence.

DAVID

What do you mean?

SIMON

I’m his ... alter-ego if you

will.

DAVID

Split Personality Disorder?

Christopher realised he had Split

Personality Disorder?

SIMON

(Sinister)

Yes. Yes.

(beat)

But one identity came out on top.

Me.

Simon grins.

31 SIMON MONTAGE SEQUENCE

A) SIMON’S OFFICE - Christopher is sat at his desk ’Stop

this, you can’t keep doing this to me, I don’t want this!’

B) SIMON MIRROR SEQUENCE - Christopher looks into mirror

at himself. Closes his eyes. Turns his head rapidly -

looks back at himself - disgusted.

C) SIMON’S OFFICE - ’Simon Says ... Relax. Remain Calm.

This won’t hurt a bit.’

D) Quick cuts of various people sitting in Simon’s office

- eyes closed - screaming in pain. Quick cut to Simon

standing over them - evily looking on - hands gesturing -

manipulating minds - stealing their memories.

E) SIMON MIRROR SEQUENCE (CONT’D) - Christopher twists and

turns his head again. Begins punching the mirror,

intently. Mirror smashes.

21.


SIMON

That was the day I defeated

Christopher. Now it is just me.

DAVID

You’re crazy.

SIMON

Yes that is one way of looking at

it.

DAVID

What exactly is it you did to

Ellie?

SIMON

Well, that relates to the power

Christopher discovered in

himself, well now myself.

(beat)

Do you want to know my little

secret? My little secret of how

people will listen to me? It’s

all in the triggered phrase.

DAVID

Triggered what?

SIMON

The triggered phrase. For example

if I was to take a simple phrase

like .... I don’t know ... how

about SIMON SAYS for example.

(beat)

SIMON SAYS ... You will lower

your gun now.

David hesitantly and against his will starts to lower his

gun. He desperately tries to keep the gun pointed, but he

now has no control.

DAVID

(struggling)

What are you doing? How are you

doing this?

SIMON

I am able to hypnotise you while

you’re fully awake and aware of

the process. I prefer to use

Simon Says, it just gives me that

twisted phrase that everyone

recognises, but for the wrong

reasons.

(beat)

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 22.

SIMON (cont’d)

We have had this discussion

before but you just do not

remember it. Kind of like how you

don’t remember Lauren, or me. Or

who you were. I wiped your memory

clean.

David begins to frantically panic. He blinks continuously,

and stands back against the wall.

DAVID

What is this?

DAVID’s POV - HALLUCINATION - Unusual effect during

hallucination. It is visibly clear David’s mind is

creating this strange effect.

SIMON

There is the setback for the

subject during this phase of

being hypnotised, they begin to

hallucinate.

DAVID’s POV - HALLUCINATION - Quick cuts as Lauren appears

in place of Simon. She has blood on her face, as well as

red markings on her neck.

David is visibly effected by this. He tries closing his

eyes. He falls to the floor.

DAVID’s POV - HALLUCINATION - Lauren continues

to manoeuvres the room. The image of Lauren switches to

Simon. The hallucination inter-cuts between both Lauren

and Simon. MANIACAL LAUGHING FROM SIMON CAN BE HEARD.

David is clearly distressed by what is happening. He tries

to prop himself up against the wall, but struggles. He

continues to look on at his hallucinations.

DAVID’s POV - HALLUCINATION - Lauren turns and begins to

approach David. The hallucination switches to Simon. David

raises his gun. Simon continues to approach David. David

shoots. Nothing happens.

David looks at his gun. Visibly frustrated he aims again.

DAVID’S POV - HALLUCINATION - David shoots several times,

with no impact on Simon. He approaches David. Simon jumps

at David, crazily laughing.

FADE TO:

23.


Time has passed. David is no longer propped up against the

wall, but is sprawled on the floor - unconscious The gun

is no longer in his hand. David awakens. He begins

coughing, and responding in pain. He props himself up

against the wall. Off-screen a gun reloading noise is

heard. David looks up.

A chair is positioned a close distance away from David,

Simon is sitting on it. He is now aiming the gun at David.

David sighs when he realises the position he is now in.

SIMON

Oh David, I’m afraid we’re stuck

in a bit of a loop here. You see,

if I just wipe your memory again

you will just keep coming back

here, somehow you will find a

way. I tried being reasonable,

everyone gets a fighting chance

... I invade the mind, they leave

knowing none the wiser.

(beat)

But you David .... You just don’t

know when to quit. Even with your

memory gone you continue to find

me. There’s a connection between

us which can only be broken in

one way.

DAVID

(Painfully)

Tell me first, How did Lauren

die? Did you kill her?

SIMON

I’ve never killed David. I may

appear a sadisticly evil human

being, but that is not my way. Do

you really want to know the

truth?

David nods.

SIMON

You were the one that killed

Lauren.

David appears shocked.

DAVID

(Painfully)

Liar!

Just as David says this, again another flashback starts.

24.

QUICK CUT TO:


Incredibly brief quick cuts from DAVID’S POV - continuing


The effect in the flashback is again the same - it’s a

hallucination.

David is on the floor. Quick cut to Lauren standing above

him. Quick cut to David standing, pushing Simon to the

floor and strangling him. As David looks back he realises

it was never Simon - the image changes to Lauren. Quick

cut to Lauren on the floor dead, David laying motionless

next to her.

QUICK CUT TO:


David reacts awkwardly, struggling to believe it.

SIMON

Now you realise and understand,

my bad ways actually did you a

favour. It made you forget what

you did.

DAVID

I would never of done it if I had

never visited you in the first

place.

SIMON

You chose to visit me, the stress

of your job caused a strain on

your health and relationship. You

thought hypnotherapy could save

you. Unfortunately for you, it

was me you came to see.

David appears upset, looking away in disgust. He looks

back again, his eyes tearing up.

The gun remains pointed at Simon. For the first time, it

looks as if Simon actually shows compassion. He

hesitates. (Alternate - Simon Ruthlessly kills David).

SIMON

SIMON SAYS ... It’s time to

relax.

QUICK CUT TO BLACK

GUN SHOT IS HEARD.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 25.

CREDITS ROLL.

Alternate - Simon Ruthlessly kills David.

SIMON

I let you go once, but I was

weaker then. But now is a time

when I have no weakness ... Just

... Manipulation.

QUICK CUT TO BLACK

GUN SHOT IS HEARD.

CREDITS ROLL.

Documents

Simon Says Script - First Draft