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SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board  /  The 2018 Writers' Tournament  /  The Tooth Fairy - WT
Posted by: Don, April 2nd, 2018, 11:29am
The Tooth Fairy by 0 - Short, Horror - 0 - pdf, format

Writer interested in feedback on this work

Posted by: Gary in Houston, April 2nd, 2018, 12:18pm; Reply: 1
Holy shit.
Posted by: JEStaats, April 2nd, 2018, 12:48pm; Reply: 2
Not sure why, but when I read this line it totally derailed my train of thought: Pale shafts of light trap writhing dust motes.

Otherwise, I like the creep factor and knowing that total mayhem is about to occur with the child's impending scream. Nice work.
Posted by: Zombie Sean, April 2nd, 2018, 1:17pm; Reply: 3

Quoted Text
Not sure why, but when I read this line it totally derailed my train of thought: Pale shafts of light trap writhing dust motes.


Gotta say the same. Dunno why either, but that line totally threw me off and I had to read it a couple times.

Gruesome tale, though. Short, sweet, and to the point.
Posted by: khamanna, April 2nd, 2018, 5:06pm; Reply: 4
Hmm, I didn't get it. It seems very interesting though - the visuals are amazing. But ultimately, I'd like someone to explain this to me. What if it's a diamond and I'm just not getting it?
Posted by: Zombie Sean, April 2nd, 2018, 5:22pm; Reply: 5

Quoted from khamanna
Hmm, I didn't get it. It seems very interesting though - the visuals are amazing. But ultimately, I'd like someone to explain this to me. What if it's a diamond and I'm just not getting it?


The girl lost a tooth and received $20 for it. The father threw a bit of a hissy fit that he spent money on pliers and got chewed out by the mother, but she doesn't bat an eye giving their daughter $20 for a loose tooth. Turns out the mother didn't give the daughter money after all because she believes that the father did it. The father didn't do it either. So who gave the girl money? A crazy guy from a psychiatric hospital broke into their home, took the pliers, and is now threatening to pull a tooth from the girl's mouth after he gave her money for the tooth she already lost.

Took me a couple reads, but I believe that's what's going on here.
Posted by: khamanna, April 2nd, 2018, 5:25pm; Reply: 6
Thanks, Sean. But how is her being a frog factor in?
Posted by: Zombie Sean, April 2nd, 2018, 5:32pm; Reply: 7

Quoted from khamanna
Thanks, Sean. But how is her being a frog factor in?


I would say, frogs don't have teeth. But after a quick google search, apparently they do.
Posted by: LC, April 2nd, 2018, 5:40pm; Reply: 8
Ooh, I thought these weren't up till the 4th!

...

Okay, I get the script totally.

It has a certain person's trademark theme all over it too. Least I think of does...

Yeah... 'Writhing dust motes' is a bit much. 'Dust motes float in a shaft of sunlight' would be better.

See! My autocorrect just tried to changes motes to mites. ::) Perhaps yours did a similar thing?

Anyway...

Terrific, creepy one-pager! Exactly what a super short should do.

Good on you.

P.S. The first review above is a good one. Very apt. Says it all. ;D
Posted by: khamanna, April 2nd, 2018, 5:41pm; Reply: 9
Ok, thanks. Either way, it's visual, extremely creepy and makes for an interesting read overall.
Posted by: LC, April 2nd, 2018, 5:44pm; Reply: 10
What's this about a frog? I miss something?
Posted by: Zombie Sean, April 2nd, 2018, 5:46pm; Reply: 11

Quoted from LC
What's this about a frog? I miss something?


Lol, I think it's because of this line:


Quoted Text
Floorboards groan under Minka’s leapfrog assault.
Posted by: khamanna, April 2nd, 2018, 5:52pm; Reply: 12
There's also a line that says "Minka takes one big hop inside to reveal a figure in a white dress. So I thought she's a frog that turned into a princess or something. Am I completely off?

Lol, the writer must roll his eyes at me now)


P.S. ok, got it now. everything is clear as she's not a frog. The writing tripped me a bit.
The psycho is a tooth fairy! This is funny and fresh.  
Yeah, liked this.
Posted by: LC, April 2nd, 2018, 6:22pm; Reply: 13
Ah, okay. :) Nope, I think she's just a boisterous kid, Kham.
Posted by: ScottM, April 2nd, 2018, 8:34pm; Reply: 14
Creepy AF. The writing was a bit confusing in parts, like the actual word choices.

Enjoyable though.
Posted by: Warren, April 3rd, 2018, 4:43am; Reply: 15
Another one that would make a good short film. Easy to shoot and effective.

Definately has a creep factor to it. I'd be surprised if this doesn't get snapped up really quickly.
Posted by: Stumpzian, April 3rd, 2018, 10:39am; Reply: 16
I admire the writing here (except for two bumps: "pale shaft...writhing dust motes" and the line that begins "Not a dress he's wearing...". I'm not deducting for it, though).

A well-delivered story.
Posted by: DanC, April 3rd, 2018, 3:17pm; Reply: 17
I agree.  Some of the prose was just a bit too cute.  It took me out of the story, and that is a big, no -no.  IMO, that marks it down a bit.  You never want to get too cute that it distracts from the story.  And the fact that that line has been mentioned so many times, that isn't good.

Creep factor was high.  I think you could even make it higher.  

SPOILERS
If the guy stole the dad's pliers, you should make a mention as to the fact they are now missing.

Solid little story.

Solid 3.  Would have been a 4 if not for that bad line.

Dan
Posted by: PrussianMosby, April 3rd, 2018, 3:22pm; Reply: 18
The Tooth Fairy

A hard score to decide on here for me. On one hand, the execution is flawless and the story scary and triggering a lot of anger… then I don't believe an audience would like this episode. With kids you must be careful regarding your cinematic expression and especially the ENDING of the story. Therefore, I only go with a
2
Posted by: MarkItZero, April 3rd, 2018, 6:22pm; Reply: 19
Whoever wrote this is seriously disturbed. Nice job!
Posted by: RJP, April 3rd, 2018, 11:14pm; Reply: 20
Creepy stuff! Thanks for giving me nightmares tonight...

I sort of feel like you should have gone the supernatural route. Like, this is the tooth fairy your mama never told you about-- the one from a fucked-up 18th century German children's book or something.

You get just as much chills from it being an escaped loony though. Good work!
Posted by: FrankM, April 3rd, 2018, 11:16pm; Reply: 21

Quoted from DanC
Creep factor was high.  I think you could even make it higher.


Creep factor is plenty high if you have a child this age, thank you very much.
Posted by: CameronD, April 4th, 2018, 12:49pm; Reply: 22
Horror?
Posted by: khamanna, April 4th, 2018, 1:16pm; Reply: 23

Quoted from CameronD
Horror?


No, cause it's such fun to have a phsyco with pliers around your kid!
Posted by: jayrex, April 4th, 2018, 2:49pm; Reply: 24
Hmmm I'm not sure about this.  I would imagine the girl saying "no way" or runs away.   Not bad overall.
Posted by: FrankM, April 4th, 2018, 2:55pm; Reply: 25

Quoted from jayrex
Hmmm I'm not sure about this.  I would imagine the girl saying "no way" or runs away.   Not bad overall.


Though my experience with 6-year-olds is that any deal made more than ten seconds ago will be forgotten when it's time to do their part, I got the impression that the Tooth Fairy wasn't going to take "no" for an answer.
Posted by: ajr, April 4th, 2018, 4:15pm; Reply: 26
So I have a pretty good job, and I currently have six bucks cash on me.

But an escaped mental patient can get in and out of the house without the parents knowing, and has twenties to throw around in exchange for teeth?
Posted by: Warren, April 4th, 2018, 4:36pm; Reply: 27

Quoted from ajr
So I have a pretty good job, and I currently have six bucks cash on me.

But an escaped mental patient can get in and out of the house without the parents knowing, and has twenties to throw around in exchange for teeth?


Sorry, but I had to laugh at this. Very good!

Moving on...
Posted by: LC, April 4th, 2018, 4:59pm; Reply: 28

Quoted from ajr
So I have a pretty good job, and I currently have six bucks cash on me. But an escaped mental patient can get in and out of the house without the parents knowing, and has twenties to throw around in exchange for teeth?


You really should read Mo Hayder's, The Treatment, or any horror where there's a character hiding in a family's basement or attic.

That said, suspension of disbelief. As an audience we do this all the time.
Logically, a lot of people (cashless society) carry very little cash on us.

The 'ghoul' of this piece has escaped from a mental health facility.
Of course he will also be a thief.

The alternative is the writer change the dialogue between the parents so they discover their cash missing.

It amounts to imho, whether this would stand as an entertaining Short horror film.
Few tweaks, of course it would, and the proof will be after the tournament.
Posted by: ajr, April 4th, 2018, 5:07pm; Reply: 29
I would suspend belief if there was an element of 'magic' to this. As it's given to us though, the writer takes great pains to show us the place from which the person escaped. And if he's richer than me, then I'm going to go strip naked and run into the middle of the street and pour a pot of spaghetti all over myself. It sounds better on the inside...

And not only is this dude chucking Jacksons around, he's actually got hold of this dummy father's pair of pliers!

(0:
Posted by: khamanna, April 4th, 2018, 5:14pm; Reply: 30

Quoted from ajr
I would suspend belief if there was an element of 'magic' to this.

But there's an element of magic - the guy is a tooth fairy!
Posted by: SAC, April 5th, 2018, 4:13pm; Reply: 31
Writer,

Not bad. Just not sure why an escaped mental patient is is in someone’s home pulling teeth. Would’ve been creepier had there been a little more logic to it.

Steve
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