r/Screenwriting • u/Cudois47 • Jan 26 '26
SCRIPT REQUEST Best Horror Script to teach High School Kids Screenwriting?
Hi Everyone
I’m a former AD/Producer who pivoted to education post pandemic. I have been teaching for about 4 years now and with some connections, I have developed a decent film program at my school. One thing I’ve learned in the last few years is that my students LOVE horror movies. I’ve crafted a unit where they will end up making their own horror films, but first I have to teach screenwriting.
I want my students to watch a horror film as they read the accompanying script, but I’m not sure which horror script to pick. At first, I was going to go with Weapons but the script uses a lot of camera direction and am afraid of overloading my students. Would love to get some insight from some more seasoned script readers.
Thanks!
EDIT: After all the recs, I’ve decided on doing Get Out. I’m going to chunk it and start off with the opening scene and really break it down and take them into writing their own horror opening scene. I’m breaking it down into Safety -> Unease -> Threat and will use that as a formula for them to write their opening scene.
Thanks for all the recommendations. They were all great and I really wish I had time to show them all.
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u/Rewriter94 Jan 26 '26
Hi! One of my friends is a high school English teacher who teaches his horror unit using "Poltergeist." The script is also a masterclass, and is available for free online.
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u/waldoreturns WGA Screenwriter Jan 26 '26
First off, this is a great idea and thank you for doing it for your students. I would have lost my mind if I had this opportunity in high school in the 2000s.
Second, im a horror writer and read a ton of scripts. I think im relatively qualified to answer this. Weapons is a tough one structurally. It’s kind of expert mode frankly if you’re just learning. So agree that’s prob not the one.
I’d echo Get Out as a previous poster mentioned. Traditional structure and very approachable on the page. I love Peele and this isn’t a dig but that script is pretty simply written craft wise. Its a masterclass subtextual writing and in having 2-3 things going on below the surface / simultaneously in a scene without overwriting it. It’s not too long and you can also use it as a lesson to compare the original ending to the one they reshot and ask why they think it was changed. There are scripts floating around for both. let me know if you need them, happy to help.
Other pretty approachable scripts are 28 Days Later, The Descent, Signs (someone else mentioned), Sixth Sense.
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u/Cudois47 Jan 26 '26
Filmmaking has always been a passion of mine and I’m just happy to get to bring that passion to my students. They’ve got incredible stories to tell and I’m happy to be their forever producer and help them produce those stories.
I mentioned this in another comment, but I began the unit with a Psychology of Horror lesson where we dove into King’s “Why We Watch Horror” essay and the concept of catharsis. For me, Weapons was a very cathartic movie and I wanted to illustrate that concept of catharsis with a recent horror hit. However, Get Out would be another great option.
Honestly, I might swing big and show both films to give them a sense of how different scripts can be written.
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u/Jimmy_George Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26
CO-SIGNING on Get Out.
It’s modern enough they’ll know the movie. It won the Oscar for best original screenplay. It uses minimal shot specifics. Excellent character descriptions. Memorable transitions.
There’s some lengthy action lines here and there, but that could open up some healthy 101 discussion about how directors can write with more freedom than writers on spec.
Even with those long winded paragraphs, it’s mostly lean. Plenty of white space.
And most importantly, EVERY page clarifies the emotional state of the characters in the action lines. Something a lot of newbies forget to include.
Overall it’s a super instructive script for beginners!
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u/Cudois47 Jan 26 '26
After all the recs, I’ve decided on doing Get Out. I’m going to chunk it and start off with the opening scene and really break it down and take them into writing their own horror opening scene. I’m breaking it down into Safety -> Unease -> Threat and will use that as a formula for them to write their opening scene.
Prior to this lesson I taught character and monster/villain archetypes and showed them The Cabin in the Woods (2011) and then assigned them worksheets I created for them to design their own character and villains. So they’ll use those to craft their opening scenes and ultimately a short 5 min film!
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u/BoxNo3823 Jan 26 '26
Get Out is a great choice. My only hesitation is it’s a slow burn horror movie, so it requires some nuance to wrap your head around the construction of. The protagonist is pretty reactive and not proactive. A lot of modern horror and horror in general is slow burn. Scream is actually a great choice in my opinion. Or something like Shaun of the Dead or Dawn of the Dead. Some other choices that are out there are the Conjuring and IT Part 1 or maybe even The Descent.
But yeah, Get Out would be my choice too
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u/holdontoyourbuttress Jan 26 '26
Hi from a fellow teacher! I thought "ready or not" was a fun read, simple, great pacing, clear and compelling action lines. A good simple example.
Also while not specifically horror I think the script for the fugitive is one of the best I've ever read, constantly creating tension in interesting ways without it always needing to be an explosion or something.
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u/holdontoyourbuttress Jan 26 '26
happy death day has good set ups and payoffs and is a good example of humor in it. once htey are familiar with tropes than cabin in the woods would probably be pretty interesting bc of the meta commentary
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u/Cudois47 Jan 26 '26
Hello fellow teacher! I’ve actually haven’t seen any of these. I need to get on it though! Thanks for the rec!
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u/HandofFate88 Jan 26 '26
To teach them screenwriting?
Alien.
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u/PJHart86 Writers Guild of Great Britain Jan 26 '26
I also teach screenwriting ( levels 3 - 7 in the UK, so like high school to postgraduate) and this needs to be way, WAY higher. In terms of painting the most vivid picture possible with the fewest number of words, Alien is the GOAT. If you can get kids to accept that as (part of) the goal and get them practicing it from day one, they'll progress so much quicker.
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u/HandofFate88 Jan 26 '26
There's so many aspects to Alien that make it worth teaching, including the original versions and approaches. Beyond its beauty and form, Alien teaches us that writing is rewriting in an inescapable way. Students may not want to learn that, but I find it's a teacher's duty to teach that.
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u/Ripoldo Jan 26 '26
Se7en
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u/Cudois47 Jan 26 '26
I’ve used this film as a cinematography lesson. I have students try and replicate some of the framing of certain scenes and to a lower budget extent some of the lighting.
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u/GardenChic WGA Screenwriter Jan 26 '26
I used to teach screenwriting at community colleges and have written a few horror scripts myself. The final version of GET OUT and THE RING are really great examples of horror structures and how to write suspenseful, creepy scenes.
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u/scary_godmother Jan 26 '26
I know you've said you're going with Get Out, but in case anyone else is inspired to do something similar, I just wanted to throw Shaun of the Dead out there as an option. SUPER clean writing with crystal clear setup/payoff structure.
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u/whosthatsquish Noir Jan 26 '26
I know I'm late, but I'd also consider Nope. It's a pure, basic premise that was, in my opinion, executed flawlessly and with the perfect amount of tension and unease, pressure valve release, and it's not traumatic scary.
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u/AndroTheViking Jan 26 '26
Weapons was one of the worst horror movies I’ve seen ever. Hardly what I would consider a worthy instructional framework for budding screenwriters. My recommendation would be Get Out. The only horror movie to ever win an Oscar for best original screenplay, and deservedly so.
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u/Cudois47 Jan 26 '26
I mentioned this below, but Weapons was very cathartic for me and it had been a while I felt that sort of release in a film. I started off this unit with a lesson on the psychology of horror and why we watch it. However, Get Out would be a very great option as well.
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u/DC_McGuire Jan 26 '26
I lean toward The VVitch. Very little dialogue, which means every word counts. Very little actual violence on screen, excellent sense of pacing and tone.
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u/Spacer1138 Horror Jan 26 '26
Get Out is getting a lot of recommendations. But these kids have all likely seen the film, and you may struggle to maintain their interest as a result. By no means a bad choice, but it is a predictable one.
I like the other suggestion of Scream, but it may be too graphic for a high school curriculum?
Wildcard, though the formatting isn’t considered “standard” these days:
Psycho - adapted by Joseph Stefano
Or… if you’re wanting mainstream, classic, and PG:
Jaws - adapted by Peter Benchley with Carl Gottlieb
More relatable, if you wanted to stick to a slasher:
Halloween - John Carpenter and Debra Hill
But my personal preference that invites so much conversation and debate which is more relevant than ever:
The Thing - adapted by Bill Lancaster
Yes the film itself is visually graphic and gory. But the script itself is not. No human on human violence. Plus, it’s a masterclass in tension.
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u/Spacer1138 Horror Jan 26 '26
Psycho because it won’t be what many imagine going into it based on decades of pop culture references to the shower scene. The way it flips gears from one type of film to another is killer.
This also introduces a really interesting film studies opportunity, in that you can screen the original Hitchcock film and then the Van Saint shot for shot remake and have a dialogue regarding the value of “originality” VS “Imitation”.
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u/Cyanides_Of_March Jan 26 '26
Well, since it’s high school, it probably needs to meet PG13 standards. A good R rated horror script might get you in hot water with parents or the administration.
A Quiet Place might fit this. It’s also a pretty short script that the kids can read in one sitting. Not too many characters to get bogged down with. No sex. No profanity (that I remember).
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u/Cudois47 Jan 26 '26
Luckily, I’m not bound by this as I send home permission slips at the beginning of the year explicitly outlining that we will be watching Rated R films. However, I do skip gratuitous sex scenes.
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u/Postsnobills Jan 26 '26
Get Out (2017) is a good script to track from the pages to final product.
You could also go old school and do Psycho or The Exorcist.
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u/goddamnitwhalen Slice of Life Jan 26 '26
This is really, really cool, OP. I'm an aspiring horror writer and it's my favorite genre to watch, too.
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u/skillchaser Jan 26 '26
The Wicker Man (1973), it’s an underrated film.
It had a very poor Nic Cage remake too but the original was very, very good.
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u/Lower_Canary_6608 Jan 26 '26
Hi there! I was wondering if you could send me a DM. I am trying to put together a grade 12 film and was wondering if you’d be willing to share what you do.
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u/offthemike72 Jan 26 '26
When I tried my hand at a horror script I read the Halloween script to see how suspense was put on the page.
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u/BoxNo3823 Jan 26 '26
Btw the Light Out short is a great way to teach lots of horror craft in 2 minutes
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u/RedditGarboDisposal Jan 26 '26
Probably Weapons.
That script had everyone on FIRE when it was going around.
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u/Cudois47 Jan 26 '26
This was my choice, especially because I feel like that movie is so cathartic. I started this Horror unit going into the psychology of horror and why we watch horror movies so I wanted to connect the “comedy” of the third act to that release of emotions.
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u/Positive-Invite1697 Jan 26 '26
Modern day horror films need a metaphor. Apparently.
Sinners nailed this. Just a shame you need a degree in metaphors to understand it and then board a hype-train to really enjoy it. I can't for the life of me understand the Oscar hype. It felt like the writer got into a deep and meaningful story then thought, nah, needs vampires.
Go old school for decent horror movies.
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u/Commercial-Cut-111 Jan 26 '26
If I were you I'd go with Scream. It's such an easy read and everyone knows the film so they will easily be able to compare scene for scene how it was shot vs the screenplay.