The 2020 BloodList is here, and this year, it focuses on its Fresh Blood, which showcases unrepresented and undiscovered writers.
The projects, the topics ranging from zombie horror to hitchhiking to bio-tech, were chosen out of 457 submissions that were received via the BloodList’s free submission system. It even includes a script about that is inspired by the real-life unsolved mystery of Bella in the Wych Elm in the U.K.
The BloodList is an annual list of the best unproduced screenplays and pilots of the year. It was created in 2009 by Kailey Marsh, who is a manager and producer at Brillstein Entertainment Partners.
Some of the most popular produced scripts that have appeared on the annual BloodList over the years include “Arrival,” “Birdbox,” “The Shallows,” The Autopsy of Jane Doe,” “Warm Bodies,” “We Summon the Darkness” and the upcoming “Wally’s Wonderland” starring Nicolas Cage. Last year, Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling” topped the list.
“There are so many new and exciting creators in the horror and dark-genre space right now, and we are happy to be shining a light on their work,” Marsh said in a statement.
Black Mourning Cemetery (Pilot)
Writer: Briana Bougard
Logline: When a Black person is unjustly killed, their spirit torments anyone connected to their murder. To prevent this, their remains are buried at a private cemetery owned by a witch, who performs a ritual to reveal the disturbing events leading up to their death, and hopefully bring them peace.
Genre: Horror
Company Man (Feature)
Writer: Nancy Duff
Logline: A lonely insurance adjuster living in a post-zombie-apocalypse world becomes marked for termination by the government agency tasked with zombie control. When he meets the adult daughter he never knew he had, they must race against time to steal the cure.
Genre: Sci-Fi/Dark Comedy
Little India (Feature)
Writer: Raj Balu
Logline: In financial ruin, an immigrant jeweler in Artesia, California’s “Little India” summons the powers of Hindu black magic, resulting in hellish consequences.
Genre: Dark Comedy
Paragone (Pilot)
Writer: Travis Neufeld
Logline: In an alternate universe where the vast proliferation of paranormal entities has given rise to a multi-billion dollar paranormal remediation industry, a downtrodden crew of ParaGone™ ghost hunters work to uncover the truth about entities, the afterlife, and the agency they work for — all in a bid to stop one of the most violent malevolent entities in history.
Genre: Horror
Taroko (Feature)
Writers: Kerry Yang & Steve Emmons
Logline: Deep within the vast Taroko wilderness, a devastating earthquake has released the spirits of those who have been trapped in limbo since WWII. A little girl named Mei Mei is brought to Taroko to attend her grandmother’s funeral when she’s swept away in a landslide and wakes up way down river. She’s alone in the woods like The Jungle Book, but instead of animals, she’s surrounded by ghosts of the past. In order for her to get back to her family, she is given the mission by the mountain god of Taroko called Gaya to lead all the trapped ghosts out.
Genre: Dark Fantasy
The Butter Street Hitchhiker (Short story)
Writer: Chris Hicks
Logline: Haunted by his past, a driver picks up aghostly hitchhiker who will answer his deepest, darkest question if he drives him to his destination.
Genre: Horror
The Figure (Feature)
Writer: Michelle Hsu
Logline: In the male-dominated field of bio-tech, a female scientist aims to further her career by building a larger-than-life synthetic human being. Things do not go according to plan.
Genre: Horror/Sci-Fi
The Witch Elm (Pilot)
Writer: William Gillies
Logline: After discovering a skeleton buried deep inside a wych elm tree, a West-Midlands family becomes plagued by an ancient, malevolent witch intent on tearing them apart through sickness and disease. Inspired by the real-life unsolved mystery of Bella in the Wych Elm in the UK.
Genre: Horror
Thin Blue Veins (Feature)
Writer: Josh Evans
Logline: Siblings fleeing their abusive father are caught in a game of supernatural cat-and-mouse when they attempt to seek shelter in the wrong & abandoned home.
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Wilder Than Her (Feature)
Writer: Jessica Kozak
Logline: After the death of their friend Beth, three friends reconnect on an annual camping weekend, but things grow increasingly strange and uncomfortable in the isolated forest as their friendship unravels and they begin to question each other’s motives for the trip.
Genre: Horror/Thriller/Dark Comedy
16 Horror Movies Set in Broad Daylight, From 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' to 'A Quiet Place' (Photos)
Many iconic horror films lay their jump scares like mines behind dark corners, but there is also a subgenre of horror going back to Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" that basks its characters in the blazing sun.
Are you afraid of the dark? It doesn't matter, because the movies below are proof that nightmares can lurk even during daylight hours.
Universal/A24/Paramount
"The Birds" (1952)
Alfred Hitchcock takes the everyday fear of being attacked in the street by city pigeons to the next level, having what feels like every bird in the city of San Francisco attack humans without warning. What adds to the horror is that the birds attack when people are most on the move; one scene depicts a flock of crows attacking a group of school children. "The Birds" stars Tippi Hedren as the lead Melanie Daniels, with Rod Taylor starring alongside as criminal defense attorney Mitch Brenner.
Universal Pictures
"The Wicker Man" (1973, 2006)
"The Wicker Man" is similar to "Midsommar" in that foreigners -- in this case police sergeant Neil Howie -- travel to a remote location where villagers follow an ancient pagan religion. Howie (Edward Woodward) is quickly entangled in the village's May Day celebrations, where he discovers the villagers are going to use the missing child as a sacrifice. Nicolas Cage starred as the lead in the 2006 American remake.
Warner Bros.
"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974)
Sally (Marilyn Burns), her three friends and father Franklin are attacked by the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) when their car runs out of gas and have nowhere to go. Sally is put in a race against the dwindling sunlight as she does everything she can to escape.
Vortex Films
"Jaws" (1975)
During the opening scene, we are introduced to Chrissie Watkins (Susan Backlinie), who decides to take a dip in the ocean after leaving a beach party. The John Williams score starts to swell when Chrissie suddenly feels something pulling at her from underneath. The terrorizing shark, even though it was shown only briefly during the actual movie, left audiences fearful of ever going back into the ocean. "When you go out into the water, there’s this idea you’re incredibly vulnerable," a clinical psychologist told the New York Post in 2015. “Literally anything can kind of happen. We’re built to kind of fear that, we’re built to fear the unknown.”
Universal Pictures
"The Hills Have Eyes"(1977, 2006)
A family's trip from Ohio to Los Angeles goes awry when their truck explodes in the Nevada desert. They soon realize they're surrounded by a clan of cannibals lurking in the hills. "The Hills Have Eyes" director Wes Craven shot the film in the New Mexico desert, while the 2006 remake was shot in Morocco.
Fox Searchlight
"Dawn of the Dead" (1978, 2004)
A zombie uprising leads a group of human survivors to camp out in a shopping mall. Why are the zombies drawn to the mall? The movie explains to us that it's where the humans were used to being when they were alive.
MKR Group
"Predator" (1987)
Arnold Schwarzenegger leads a special forces rescue team on a mission to save U.S. officials captured by the Soviets. The story plays out much like a Cold War action film, except for the fact that their foes aren't only the Soviets, but also an alien species armed with advanced hunting weapons and the power of invisibility.
20th Century Fox
"Tremors" (1990)
Valentine (Kevin Bacon) and Earl (Fred Ward) try to save a small town from carnivorous "megaworms" in this early '90s creature feature, much of it taking place under the arid heat of the Nevada sun.
Universal Pictures
"Anaconda" (1997)
Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube and Owen Wilson. Sounds like a great group to go on an exotic trip with, except when they're a documentary film crew traversing the dangerous Amazon in "Anaconda." The crew is taken hostage by a hunter (Jon Voight), who forces them to help him capture a monstrous snake.
Columbia Pictures
"Lake Placid" (1999)
A crew investigates the disappearance of a scuba diver off the coast of Maine, only to find a gigantic saltwater crocodile dwelling below. The movie stars Brendan Gleeson as Sheriff Hank Keough. The actor also appears in other entries on this list, including "28 Days Later" and "The Village."
Fox 2000
"The Ring" (2002)
Newspaper reporter Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) investigates why people are dying seven days after watching a cursed videotape in this remake of a Japanese horror film of the same name. Similar to other thrillers that followed "The Ring," the film emphasizes the green and blue colors in the frame, adding to its eeriness in either day or night.
DreamWorks Pictures
"Ju-On: The Grudge" (2002)
A Japanese social worker is taking care of an ill mother when she realizes the house she's working in is cursed from a murder that took place in that very home. The vengeful supernatural force takes the shape of a young woman and boy with pale blue skin.
Lions Gate Films
"28 Days Later" (2003)
Cillian Murphy wakes up from a coma to discover that London has been decimated by a virus, leading those who are infected to turn into rabid zombies. A friendly tip: Just like when trying the "Hot Ones" challenge, don't let any of it get in your eyes.
20th Century Fox
"The Village" (2004)
Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix and Sigourney Weaver star as members of a small countryside community that fear a predator outside of their village is set to attack them.
Touchstone Pictures
"A Quiet Place" (2018)
Lee (John Krasinski), Evelyn (Emily Blunt) and their kids are forced to live a life of silence when blind aliens with armored skin invade Earth, attacking anything that makes the slightest sound.
Paramount Pictures
"Midsommar" (2019)
In Ari Aster's horror flick, four American tourists go on a trip to a remote commune in Sweden to immerse themselves in a festival during the summer solstice or "midnight sun," a period of time when it's almost exclusively light out. And then things get really trippy.
A24
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Movies like ”Jaws,“ ”The Birds“ and ”The Hills Have Eyes“ prove you don’t need to be in the dark to be horrified
Many iconic horror films lay their jump scares like mines behind dark corners, but there is also a subgenre of horror going back to Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" that basks its characters in the blazing sun.
Are you afraid of the dark? It doesn't matter, because the movies below are proof that nightmares can lurk even during daylight hours.