Horror Movie

A first-person narrator reflects on Horror Movie, a film project from 1993 that was never fully released except for three scenes uploaded to YouTube in 2008. Now temporarily living in Los Angeles, the narrator expresses frustration about the many people who falsely claim connections to the original film's production. They are particularly focused on a current meeting with a producer named George about a potential remake or reboot of Horror Movie.

The narrator describes their initial interaction with George six months earlier via Zoom, where George displayed a dismissive attitude by conducting the meeting while on a walk. Despite the producer's apparent lack of respect and his cliched ideas about making the horror film more 'uplifting and upbeat,' the narrator remained engaged due to the potential opportunity. Unlike previous failed attempts to reboot the film, this producer actually followed up, and according to the narrator's friend Sarah, while George has 'shit taste,' he does get movies made.

The chapter culminates in a tense interaction where George attempts to establish credibility by claiming his cousin's friend worked on the original film. The narrator, who has developed a habit of challenging such false claims, confronts George about this fabrication, creating an uncomfortable moment that reveals the power dynamics at play in Hollywood. The narrator concludes by defending their confrontational approach, explaining that while they can tolerate most industry nonsense, they feel compelled to protect the truth about who was actually involved in the original Horror Movie production, noting that their crew was small and many are no longer around.

June 9, 1993 marks the first day of filming Horror Movie, providing crucial context for the film project discussed in the previous chapter. Valentina gathers the cast and crew on a suburban dead-end road, where most participants were in their early to mid-twenties except for Dan Carroll, the director of photography who was in his thirties. The narrator reveals their connection to the project came through a collegiate friendship with Valentina, which led to their casting as the 'Thin Kid.'

The narrative provides insight into Valentina's character and leadership style, depicting her as an intelligent, unapologetically confident director who had a penchant for giving speeches. The narrator and Valentina shared a strong anti-establishment mindset, maintaining a running list of 'sellout' musicians and viewing artistic compromise as the enemy of integrity. This ideological alignment helps explain the artistic vision behind Horror Movie and the circumstances that led to its limited release.

Important production details emerge with a tense undertone that foreshadows trouble ahead. Dan Carroll quietly reveals to the narrator that Valentina's parents were funding the project, with a hidden fifth week of filming that wasn't publicly acknowledged. Valentina delivers a philosophical statement about movies being 'beautiful lies that somehow add up to being the truth,' before passing the floor to Cleo, who makes a somber request for the crew to 'be good to each other,' suggesting the challenging nature of the project ahead.

What appears to be the actual screenplay for Horror Movie, written by Cleo Picane, opens with a detailed description of a suburban street scene, establishing a haunting atmosphere by describing the street as a tunnel formed by interwoven tree branches and well-kept but eerily empty houses, creating what the script calls 'a picturesque hell.'

The screenplay shows four teenagers walking down the middle of the road: Valentina, Cleo, and Karson walking together in a synchronized line, while the Thin Kid trails behind them. The script provides intimate character details through their descriptions, showing Valentina in her 'high school survival camouflage' of baggy black clothes, Cleo in her more conventional attire with her red blazer, and Karson in his overalls. The three leading teens share a close, almost choreographed friendship, bumping hips and laughing together while the Thin Kid remains perpetually distanced.

The scene progresses to the teens arriving at a dead-end street leading to a wooded path. Despite Karson's uncertainty about the route, Valentina insists on proceeding. The script reveals subtle tensions and dynamics between the characters, particularly in Cleo's attempt to reach out to the Thin Kid, who refuses her offered hand. The scene ends with an enigmatic exchange where the Thin Kid begins to ask 'Why am I--' only to be interrupted by Valentina with a cryptic, empathetic response about there never being a 'why,' suggesting deeper underlying mysteries about the Thin Kid's role in their group.

An unexpected answering machine message from Valentina breaks two years of silence, leading to an April 1993 meeting that reveals how the narrator first became involved with Horror Movie. At a Providence restaurant, Valentina and Cleo explain their film project, funded by local investors and a Rhode Island grant, offering the narrator a major non-speaking role as 'the Thin Kid' specifically chosen for his height and lanky build.

The meeting provides crucial background on the narrator's history with Valentina, whom he met while working at Hugo's bar in Northampton during their college years, where they formed a friendship marked by occasional romantic encounters. The conversation takes an uncomfortable turn when Valentina suggests he could lose weight for the role, causing tension between her and Cleo. The offered salary is $2,500 for four to six weeks of work, leading the narrator to consider quitting his data entry job.

The most significant revelation comes when they discuss the screenplay's handling. Rather than providing the full script, Valentina explains her unconventional approach: the narrator will only receive scenes the night before filming them, ensuring his reactions remain authentic and uninfluenced by knowledge of the story's direction. They also disclose that a previous actor had been fired over 'creative differences,' primarily due to his attempts to rewrite scenes and discomfort with having women running the production. The chapter concludes with the revelation that the project is a horror movie, simply titled 'Horror Movie,' challenging the narrator's expectations of an art house film.

The screenplay continues as the four teens emerge from the woods to discover an abandoned school, surrounded by broken playground equipment and overtaken by ivy. The setting creates an eerie atmosphere of isolation, with no visible roads connecting to the outside world, emphasizing the teens' separation from civilization.

Upon entering the school, Valentina and Cleo engage in a rapid-fire exchange about fictional teachers, creating an unsettling narrative about their supposed shared history at the school. Their fabricated memories take a dark turn, with tales of threatening teachers like Mrs. Fang with her sharp tooth and Ms. Boots who 'squished little toes.' Karson reveals genuine vulnerability by sharing a true story about lying to Mr. Whalen about a non-existent cat to avoid reciting 'The Crocodile' poem, which had given him nightmares.

The scene culminates in a ritualistic moment as the teens enter a specific classroom on the second floor. After clearing student desks from in front of a supply room door, they position the Thin Kid at a single desk. The chapter ends with a disturbing sequence where Cleo removes a mask from her paper bag - a grotesque, reptilian creation described as both alien and familiar. The mask is placed on the Thin Kid's head, transforming his vision to black and white, while the screenplay notes that 'all monsters are mirrors,' suggesting deeper metaphorical significance to this ceremonial moment.

Cleo presents the mask that will be central to Horror Movie, describing it as underwhelming in person but promising it 'photographs well.' The mask, which the narrator will wear throughout most of the film, appears crude and puppet-like, resembling a cheap Halloween store prop. Despite its seemingly amateur appearance, both Valentina and Cleo display an unusual protectiveness and intensity about the mask, with Cleo particularly defensive when the narrator considers trying it on.

Cleo then shares the mask's origin story, describing how she discovered it in the abandoned McKay Elementary School, which would serve as a filming location. During a solo visit to find screenplay inspiration, she encountered what appeared to be a human head among a pile of broken desks in a second-floor classroom. After fleeing in terror, she returned the next day with a flashlight to investigate, only to discover it was the mask sitting atop a deteriorating Styrofoam head. The floor beneath had mysterious scratches, which Cleo covered with dust after taking the mask, leaving behind what she claimed would be the first line of her screenplay.

The narrator repeatedly expresses disbelief in the story, suggesting it might be part of the film's plot or a way to inform his performance. When he casually refers to the mask as cursed, both Valentina and Cleo react strongly to the word choice, insisting the mask wasn't lost but deliberately left behind. The chapter concludes with a flash-forward revelation that in the fifteen years following filming and before the 2008 leaked footage, the narrator never found another mask that matched its appearance, despite extensive searching.

Months of meetings with potential directors follow the initial producer sessions, with most conversations falling into predictable patterns of questions about the original film and Valentina's process—though notably avoiding discussion of the aftermath or Cleo directly. One director's attempt to compare the film's concept to Jurassic Park prompts an intentionally obtuse response from the narrator that effectively drives the director away from the project.

The narrator's first in-person meeting with Marlee Bouton, the officially signed director for the reboot, takes place at her rented house in Laurel Canyon. Their conversation reveals Marlee's serious artistic approach to the material as she explains her intention to remain faithful to the original screenplay, making only minimal additions while preserving the core elements that made the original unique. The meeting demonstrates a marked contrast to previous Hollywood encounters, with Marlee showing genuine respect for the source material and its artistic merit.

The chapter builds to a shocking revelation when Marlee discloses that part of her successful pitch to the studio involved having the narrator reprise his role in the film. This unexpected news triggers an intense emotional response, transporting him mentally back to the original pitch meeting with Valentina and Cleo. When the narrator assumes he would be playing Karson's father, Marlee corrects him—he's meant to reprise his original role as the Thin Kid, though the exact nature of this reprisal remains unclear.

Inside the classroom, the ritualistic scene intensifies as the other teens begin methodically removing the Thin Kid's clothing after placing the mask on his head, starting with his shoes and socks. The scene unfolds with careful attention to the vulnerability and discomfort of the Thin Kid, whose movements are described as twitchy and insect-like, emphasizing his growing unease.

The process becomes increasingly invasive as Karson uses scissors to cut away the Thin Kid's t-shirt, with a particularly tense moment as the scissors press against his neck while removing the collar. The Thin Kid repeatedly checks for blood, suggesting both his fear and distrust of the situation. The teens then direct him to remove his jeans, leaving him nearly naked except for his navy-blue boxer shorts and the mask, his physical vulnerability emphasized through descriptions of his thin, bony frame.

The ritual culminates in the three teens circling the Thin Kid and guiding him into the supply room, closing him inside. When he attempts to open the door, Valentina forcefully shuts it. The scene ends with Valentina and Cleo resuming their earlier pattern of discussing fictional teachers, this time mentioning Mrs. Horse and Mr. Sharp, with disturbing references to collecting bloody assignments. The screenplay concludes with the supply room door opening slightly and the camera slowly approaching the gap, building tension for what might be revealed.

Isolated at a Howard Johnson's on Providence's outskirts while other cast and crew stayed at the upscale Biltmore hotel downtown, the narrator experiences the deliberate separation Valentina orchestrated to maintain his mystique and help him focus on his character. The night before filming began, he received and studied his first set of sides, which covered the scene leading up to the abandoned elementary school.

Two nights later, upon receiving the pages for the classroom scene involving the mask and undressing sequence, the narrator experiences intense anxiety about having to partially disrobe on camera. He attempts to contact Valentina without success before reaching Cleo, who responds with understanding but remains firm about the narrative necessity of the scene. Their conversation reveals both Cleo's compassionate nature and her peculiar resignation to some predetermined outcome, as she insists the script's requirements are non-negotiable while offering assurances about professional conduct on set.

The chapter concludes with the narrator's private struggle to come to terms with his body image and the upcoming scene. In a pivotal moment of self-discovery, he experiments with covering his face while looking in the mirror, realizing that the mask might actually provide a liberating barrier between himself and others' judgment. This revelation transforms his perspective on the scene, suggesting that rather than making him more vulnerable, the mask could make him 'inscrutable, maybe even implacable,' offering a kind of protection through obscurity.

After filming the classroom undressing scene, the narrator remains at the school in his underwear and robe, emotionally drained but compelled to watch the final shots of the day. In an unusual deviation from the script, Valentina has Cleo act as a stand-in for the Thin Kid in the supply closet scene, acknowledging the narrator's heightened emotional state. Dan films the sequence with a handheld Steadicam, capturing the eerie moment when the supply closet door creaks open.

The production dynamics reveal deeper complexities, particularly regarding Karson's peculiar behavior. As both an actor and the lead makeup/effects artist, Karson maintains a notably distant and apologetic relationship with the narrator, repeatedly expressing remorse for both past and future actions during their makeup sessions. This dynamic suggests a deeper psychological toll the film is taking on its participants, with Karson's behavior raising questions about whether he's method acting or genuinely disturbed by the production.

A significant interaction between the narrator, Valentina, and Cleo explores the nature of the Thin Kid character and the narrator's unexpected request to stay overnight in the classroom. Despite Cleo's concerned objections, citing her own frightening experience finding the mask there, Valentina ultimately allows it, comparing the narrator to Cesare from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The scene ends with a revealing exchange that highlights the complex dynamic between Valentina and Cleo, while leaving the narrator alone in the classroom, preparing for his solitary night.

Cleo's screenplay continues with parallel scenes showing the three teens at their respective homes, each facing parental inquiries about the Thin Kid's disappearance. They respond with carefully crafted denials while harboring knowledge of his true situation. The split-screen technique emphasizes their shared burden of secrecy, with all three expressing hope for his wellbeing while leaving ambiguous who might be lying or most affected by their actions.

The screenplay delves deeper into the personal spaces and family dynamics of each teen. Cleo's room reveals hidden horror movie posters and her complex relationship with the genre, suggesting she seeks films that will transform her in unexpected ways. Karson's scene portrays him navigating a tense relationship with his threatening, masculine father figure, while Valentina clashes with her mother over clothing choices, highlighting their ongoing battle about conformity.

The chapter culminates in a series of revealing moments: Cleo burning the Thin Kid's clothes, Karson becoming lost in an impossibly maze-like version of his house while fleeing his father's presence, and Valentina sketching the Thin Kid in his mask, depicted in a vulnerable, fetal position. The screenplay returns to the abandoned school, where the Thin Kid remains confined in the supply room, leaving ambiguous whether he's still wearing the mask and emphasizing the unknowable nature of his thoughts and experiences.

The narrator remains alone in the abandoned school after the crew's departure, having impulsively requested to spend the night there. As he watches the other crew members leave, he grapples with feelings of embarrassment over his decision, recognizing it as a potentially pretentious attempt at method acting. He explores the empty classroom with his flashlight, searching for the mysterious marks Cleo had mentioned in her story about finding the mask.

During his exploration, the narrator discovers scratches and gouges on the supply room's rear wall, leading him to reflect on a childhood memory about a substitute teacher's art assignment. The memory, involving a seemingly random drawing that revealed a hidden bird image, triggers his first real sense of fear about the situation, as he realizes he might discover something he doesn't want to see in the scratch patterns on the wall.

Taking his role-playing further, the narrator enters the supply closet and partially closes the door, mimicking the scene they filmed earlier. In complete darkness, he experiences terrifying moments when he hears scratching sounds within the walls, likely from a rodent. Rather than fleeing, he forces himself to stay by embodying the Thin Kid character, speaking aloud questions about why his friends are doing this to him and when they'll return. The chapter ends with the revelation that the narrator had unconsciously stripped down during the night, echoing the earlier filmed scene, and awakens the next morning in the crawlspace with his clothes mysteriously placed under the blackboard.

The screenplay continues with a scene at the teens' regular high school during study hall, where Valentina, Cleo, and Karson sit in the back row, notably affected by their recent actions. The empty desk in front of Cleo serves as a stark reminder of the Thin Kid's absence, while the other students appear as blurred, unfocused figures, emphasizing the isolation of the three teens. Their body language reveals their psychological state - Valentina with her arms withdrawn into her sweatshirt like a straitjacket, Cleo's tense jaw, and Karson hunched with an oversized backpack.

After school, the teens return to the abandoned school where they left the Thin Kid. Upon finding him still in the supply room, they engage in a disturbing ritual of violence, throwing hundreds of items from Karson's backpack - bottle caps, stones, glass, and other debris - at the nearly naked, masked figure until he's covered in welts and scrapes. After the assault, they leave him with basic supplies including food, water, and a bucket for bathroom needs, revealing their intention to keep him confined indefinitely.

The chapter provides crucial insight into Cleo's character through a bracketed note about her death wish, revealing a previous conversation with Valentina where she admitted to passive suicidal ideation, explaining her habit of keeping her hands in her pockets on stairs to allow for the possibility of an 'accidental' death. This context adds layers to Valentina's protective behavior toward Cleo on the school stairs.

In the final sequence, Cleo returns alone at night to perform a mysterious ritual, painting green symbols on the floor that she claims to have found beneath the mask. She explains to the Thin Kid that these marks are from an unspoken language with inherent power, instructing him to sit on the symbol periodically. The scene ends with the Thin Kid alone, following her instructions and sitting on the painted symbol, suggesting his acceptance or resignation to whatever transformation or fate awaits him.

At Feral FX Studios, the narrator carries the original Horror Movie mask in a paper bag, surrounded by walls covered with stills and sketches from the original film. The makeup artists gather eagerly to see the infamous mask, and Janelle Ko, the head of the FX team, receives it with reverence, contrary to the narrator's expectations of disappointment, as the mask typically only shows its true essence when worn.

During the visit, the narrator shares stories about the mask's mysterious nature, including how it keeps reappearing in random boxes during his moves, most recently in a kitchen box in Los Angeles. He deliberately undermines the credibility of Cleo's original story about finding the mask, suggesting that belief in such supernatural elements should require active doubt. The mask is fitted over a life cast of a young actor who will play the Thin Kid for part of the reboot, though the narrator disapproves of the casting, believing the actor lacks the necessary physical characteristics.

The primary purpose of the visit is revealed to be creating a life cast of the narrator's head and upper chest. As the process begins, the narrator must remove his shirt in front of the effects team, triggering feelings of vulnerability reminiscent of the original film's classroom scene. The chapter ends with him donning a garbage bag poncho, attempting to maintain composure while feeling exposed under the studio's bright lights, suggesting that his role in the reboot is already forcing him to confront past traumas.

Following the imprisonment of the Thin Kid, a haunting montage sequence reveals the teens' daily routines settling into disturbing patterns. At school, they receive increasing sympathy and attention from their classmates regarding their 'missing friend,' with other students offering condolences. The teens gradually shift from accepting these sympathies awkwardly to embracing their role as grieving friends, gaining social status and attention from their peers.

Parallel to their public performance of grief, the teens continue visiting the abandoned school to torture the Thin Kid with escalating cruelty. Their attacks progress from throwing coins to beating him with Wiffle ball bats, while at home they each process their actions differently - Cleo crying and turning over horror movie posters, Valentina obsessively drawing the Thin Kid, and Karson wandering through his increasingly maze-like house. The repetitive nature of these scenes suggests a hellish cycle that traps all participants.

The pattern breaks in a pivotal scene where the teens arrive to find a disturbing development - the mask has begun fusing with the Thin Kid's neck, the latex physically melding with his skin. Ignoring this transformation, they proceed to torture him by burning him with cigarettes, showing complete detachment from his suffering as his cries gradually diminish. The chapter concludes with the Thin Kid alone, reading mysterious writing on the blackboard before erasing it, knowing this act of defiance will bring consequences he can neither prevent nor predict.

Makeup preparation begins for the cigarette torture scene, with Melanie and Karson applying fake burns and cuts to the narrator's body. A delay occurs when the crew realizes no one brought cigarettes, leading to an impromptu discussion between Valentina, Dan, and Cleo about changing the film's montage scenes. Valentina argues for removing the social status subplot in favor of a more stark, repetitive approach that emphasizes the meaninglessness of the teens' actions.

The filming process reveals deeper tensions and power dynamics on set, particularly between Valentina and the others. When Valentina shares that she had been experimenting with burning pig skin for realistic effects, it leads to a pivotal moment where the narrator volunteers to let Cleo actually burn him with a cigarette for authenticity. The scene demonstrates how deeply the narrator has begun inhabiting his role, blurring the lines between performance and reality.

The chapter culminates in the filming of the actual cigarette burning scene, where the narrator deliberately leans into Cleo's cigarette, creating a genuine burn mark over his heart. This moment marks a significant turning point, with the narrator acknowledging it as where 'the rest of the movie began.' The scene would later become one of the three infamous clips Valentina uploaded to YouTube, garnering over 20 million views. The chapter ends with an unsettling interaction where the narrator silently rejects Melanie's offer of a cigarette, demonstrating his increasing embodiment of the Thin Kid character.

A grim revelation opens the chapter: Karson died in a car accident in 1998, Melanie disappeared while swimming in 2006, Dan passed away from a heart attack in 2007, and Valentina succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2008. These deaths, combined with Cleo's earlier passing, have fueled intense online speculation and conspiracy theories about the film, with the narrator remaining as the sole surviving major participant.

In 2019, at the suggestion of his manager Kirsten Billings, the narrator attends his first horror convention, Summer Scares, in Virginia. He arrives with merchandise including signed photos from the film's three released scenes and the original mask in a display case. Despite his initial reluctance and anxiety about the event, he finds himself overwhelmed by the continuous flow of fans, many of whom were born after the film's production, wearing merchandise and creating fan art despite never having seen the complete movie.

Throughout the afternoon, the narrator navigates various fan interactions, ranging from enthusiastic couples to uncomfortable encounters. He deals with questions about a potential reboot, receives fan art that triggers emotional responses, and encounters skeptics questioning his legitimacy. The chapter ends with a tense moment as a confrontational fan approaches, asking to examine the narrator's hand, suggesting an impending hostile interaction.

Parallel scenes reveal the three teens preparing to meet at the abandoned school. Cleo engages in a haunting ritual of walking up and down stairs with her hands in her pockets, secretly hoping to fall, while being questioned by her mother about her early morning activities. Meanwhile, Karson carefully sneaks out of his house to avoid waking his father, navigating through his garage before meeting Cleo on the street.

Valentina is shown outside a large suburban house, examining a confiscated fortune-teller note from study hall that reveals details about an upcoming party. After attempting unsuccessfully to breach a wall of shrubbery on the property, she's joined by Karson and Cleo, and they proceed to the abandoned school where they discover the Thin Kid has erased writing from the blackboard.

The chapter culminates in a brutal scene of ritualistic violence as punishment for the Thin Kid's transgression. Using garden shears, the teens forcibly amputate part of his pinky finger, with Karson performing the act while Valentina positions the victim's hand. The violence escalates further as Valentina forces the severed finger piece into the mask's mouth-slit, while Cleo tends to the wound. The mask, now shown to be further fused with the Thin Kid's neck and reaching toward his chest, has begun producing green splotches on his skin where the burns were. The chapter ends with a chilling perspective shift, suggesting the Thin Kid is aware of and looking directly at the viewers/readers themselves.

The narrator's fragmented recollections of being rushed to the hospital blur together in a haze of pain and shock. During the car ride, Cleo sat with him in the backseat, distracting him with questions about his childhood and sharing a poignant story about a dying baby squirrel she once tried to save - a metaphorical tale that highlights themes of failed caretaking and inevitable loss.

At the hospital, Valentina and Cleo visited after hours, leading to a crucial conversation about the film's future. Valentina profusely apologized and promised to cover medical expenses, while carefully avoiding questions about how the narrator's real finger ended up between the garden shears when they were supposedly using a prop. This omission suggests either willful ignorance or complicity in the incident. Cleo and Valentina argued about whether to continue filming, with Cleo advocating for shutting down production permanently.

The narrator's recollection of events becomes increasingly unreliable as he reveals his decision to refuse reattachment of his severed finger to avoid delaying production. His determination to continue filming, despite the severe injury, indicates a disturbing level of dedication to the role. The chapter concludes with the narrator attempting to piece together the actual sequence of events, questioning whether Valentina had insisted on an unsafe second take or if he had deliberately placed his finger in danger to authentically embody the Thin Kid's experience. The mention of a 'curse' callback to the cigarette day creates an ominous connection between past and present events.

Cleo visits the classroom alone at night, finding the ceremonial green symbol on the floor now covered in blood. In a poignant moment, she attempts to share a theory about them all being in hell, with some being demons and others making demons, but stops herself. She tends to the Thin Kid's wounded hand, cleaning and bandaging it while also applying new latex pieces and makeup to his body, revealing that the mask has begun spreading further across his form, with his shoulders now green and scaled.

Days later, the three teens return to the school, with Karson bringing a stolen mannequin. After a brief attempt at scaring the others with it in the woods, they bring it to the classroom. The Thin Kid watches their approach from the second-floor window, fearfully wondering if the mannequin is meant to replace him. The teens then force the Thin Kid to participate in a disturbing ritual involving stabbing the mannequin while Cleo's pre-recorded screams play on a tape recorder.

The scene takes a dark turn when the Thin Kid, after an initial failed attempt with his injured hand, drives the screwdriver completely through the mannequin's chest with unexpected force. His demeanor shifts dramatically as he lifts the mannequin effortlessly and violently throws it against the blackboard, breaking it. Cleo returns the Thin Kid to the supply room while the others attempt to repair the damaged mannequin, suggesting an escalation in both the teens' ritualistic behavior and the Thin Kid's transformation.

Marlee reveals her plan to have the narrator reprise his role as the Thin Kid, but with a crucial twist - he would only play the transformed version of the character in the latter portion of the film, after the physical changes begin. A younger actor named Jacob would portray the character in the early scenes, with the narrator taking over around the mannequin-training scene, when the character's body is already covered in burns and scales.

The discussion turns to the film's substantial budget of twenty to twenty-five million dollars, significantly more than the original production. Marlee assures the narrator that the money will be spent on practical effects, film stock, and properly executing scenes that the original couldn't afford to do as written, particularly the controversial throat-slash scene from Karson's house. This leads to a detailed analysis of that scene's current version on YouTube, with both agreeing that the existing edit feels subtly off, containing missing frames.

The conversation reveals Marlee's deep understanding of and reverence for the original film, while simultaneously showing her vision for expanding upon it. She shares an alternate concept she'd considered - shooting parallel versions with age-appropriate actors and '90s teen stars, then intercutting them to 'kill nostalgia dead.' Though this version wasn't pitched to the studio, it demonstrates her artistic ambitions for the project. The chapter ends with Marlee beginning to inquire about the technically challenging party scene from the original film, suggesting there are still many production mysteries to unravel.

Missing posters appear throughout the suburban community following the Thin Kid's disappearance, though the victim's face remains intentionally blurred or hidden from view. A police officer visits classrooms to investigate and warn students about safety, while the three teens maintain their facade of ignorance during questioning, even as they secretly prepare for an ominous evening ahead.

Each teen prepares for the night's events in their distinct ways. Cleo turns her hidden horror movie posters back to face outward, surrounding herself with images of monsters and violence. Valentina steals a mysterious item from her kitchen drawer before leaving, while Karson navigates his surreal, maze-like house to obtain permission to leave, using a chainsaw as an excuse. The three then unite on the street, briefly walking in slow motion with the chainsaw before Valentina dismisses its use.

The chapter culminates in a chilling scene at the abandoned school, where they find the Thin Kid has evolved into something more menacing. His body is now half-covered in Cleo's latex scales, and he stands tall with spider-like limbs rather than cowering. In a disturbing ritual, the teens tape a butcher's knife to his bandaged hand and engage him in a twisted version of the fortune-teller game. The chapter ends with them preparing to take him somewhere, suggesting an escalation in their dark activities.

Fifteen years after their initial contact, Valentina reaches out to the narrator in April 2008 with another voicemail that deliberately echoes her original message from 1993. When the narrator visits her home, he finds her drastically changed - suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer, bald, and physically diminished. During their meeting, she shares details about her post-Horror Movie life, including a failed marriage, various jobs, and her eventual return to work for her father's car wash business before her cancer diagnosis.

During the visit, the narrator discovers Valentina's office contains a working 8mm projector and copies of the Horror Movie screenplay with annotations. She reveals she has preserved every frame of footage from the original film and has been working to digitize it since the previous summer. However, she admits she cannot bring herself to watch the final scene featuring Cleo, though she has managed to edit three complete scenes with a synthesizer soundtrack: the cigarette burns scene, the party scene, and Karson's dining room scene.

Valentina unveils her proposal: she plans to upload the three completed scenes to YouTube along with stills and the full screenplay on horror message boards, hoping to create a slow-burning online legend about the 'cursed' film. Her ultimate goal is to generate enough cult interest that Hollywood would eventually be compelled to remake the movie. She asks the narrator to participate in horror conventions and embrace his role as the mysterious Thin Kid to help build the mythology. Though the narrator doesn't explicitly agree, he runs to his car and retrieves his mask, suggesting his acceptance of her proposal.

Three teens lead the transformed Thin Kid down a familiar suburban street toward a party house, the creature now lurching behind them at twice their size with peeling latex scales and a knife taped to his hand. This unsettling reversal positions the Thin Kid, previously their victim, as their apparent stalker.

Arriving at the party house with its distinctive gables and wall of shrubs, the teens debate how to get the Thin Kid past the barrier of bushes. Their discussion is cut short when the Thin Kid unexpectedly sprints across the lawn and performs an impossible leap over the shrubbery wall. What follows is an unseen massacre, portrayed entirely through sound - screams, breaking glass, splashing water, and the sounds of panicked teenagers fleeing through the bushes and in their cars.

The bloodshed triggers the Thin Kid's complete transformation. He emerges fundamentally changed, his knife now transformed into impossibly long, clawed fingers, and his entire body covered in genuine reptilian scales rather than Cleo's makeup. When Cleo attempts to speak his name and suggest returning to the classroom, Valentina frantically stops her. The scene ends with the group's unity shattering - Karson flees, the Thin Kid violently throws Valentina toward the bushes, and then stalks after Karson while Cleo remains frozen in place.

Technical details of filming the infamous party scene emerge as the narrator reveals to Marlee how they achieved the seemingly impossible jump using a mini trampoline and carefully trimmed hedges. The narrator describes the physical and psychological toll of performing the stunt, including how the mask's limited visibility paradoxically helped him complete the jump by preventing him from seeing its impossibility. The experience transformed into a surreal moment where reality and fiction blurred, culminating in back pain upon landing and Mark's failed attempt to recreate the jump.

The conversation shifts to Marlee's vision for remaking the party scene in the reboot. She explains her decision to maintain the original's approach of not showing the actual violence, citing concerns about school shootings and the fine line between transgression and exploitation in contemporary horror. This leads to a deeper discussion about the artistic merits of Horror Movie, with Marlee expressing her appreciation for the film's ambiguous meaning and its ability to create uncomfortable yet engaging emotions.

The chapter concludes with a crucial discussion about the authenticity of the screenplay Valentina released online. When Marlee points out anachronistic elements, such as a 1995 Elastica song reference in what should be a 1993 screenplay, the narrator carefully navigates around confirming whether Valentina made significant edits before releasing it. The conversation ends with both expressing amazement at the reboot's substantial budget and Marlee's successful pitch, with the narrator suggesting their undertaking feels preordained.

Hat Guy's demands escalate as he insists on seeing the narrator's injured pinky finger, convinced the injury is fabricated. After charging the skeptic forty dollars cash to see his hand, the narrator initially shows his left hand as a misdirection, prompting Hat Guy to become increasingly agitated and disrupt the photo display. The incident draws attention from convention security and other celebrities, including Jason, while creating a spectacle that the narrator realizes will make good material for his audiobook.

Hat Guy presents his conspiracy theory about the pinky injury, citing the lack of medical records, the absence of injury mentions in court testimony, and alleged photos showing the narrator with an intact finger after the film's production. He specifically references a photo of someone resembling the narrator working as a bartender in the early 2000s, though the narrator dismisses this as a case of mistaken identity while acknowledging the similar appearance and shared unfortunate George Clooney hairstyle of the era.

In a theatrical finale, the narrator reveals his right hand, first showing a flesh-colored bandage covering a green foam prosthetic piece that matches his mask's color. After removing both the bandage and prosthetic, he exposes his genuinely missing pinky tip while spinning possible alternative theories about how he lost it, including a dramatic fictional scenario involving a drunken self-mutilation. The chapter concludes with a chilling revelation - the scarred end of his pinky stub has inexplicably grown in with a green, sharkskin-like texture matching the color of his mask, suggesting a supernatural connection between his injury and the film's mysterious events.

Karson's desperate flight from the transformed Thin Kid unfolds in an extended sequence from Horror Movie, showing his escape attempt after the party massacre. As he flees through the streets, Valentina recovers from being thrown on the party house lawn while Cleo runs after them. The scene shifts to Karson's house, where he finds himself trapped in an increasingly nightmarish situation, with the building seeming to transform into an impossible maze.

Inside his house, Karson experiences a surreal sequence where rooms repeat impossibly, lights flicker on and off behind him, and his father's voice echoes from a second floor he can never reach. The horror escalates when sounds of violence from above suggest his father's death, leaving Karson alone in the dining room to face his inevitable fate. What follows is a remarkable five-minute single shot of Karson staring at an empty doorway, waiting for the Thin Kid to appear.

The screenplay then breaks the fourth wall, describing in detail how different audience members might react to this unconventional five-minute shot, from theater walkouts to home viewers checking their VCRs, creating a meta-commentary on horror film expectations and human responses to prolonged tension. The scene culminates in the Thin Kid's appearance, now fully transformed into a monstrous creature with elongated limbs and an unhinging jaw. The chapter ends with Karson reciting 'The Crocodile' poem from his childhood as the Thin Kid begins to devour him, though a production note indicates the actual death scene may need to be modified due to budget constraints.

The life-casting process begins as the narrator sits exposed, revealing his transformed body to the effects team at Feral FX Studios. His chest and torso are covered in what appear to be scales, which he claims are tattoos that initially started around the cigarette burn mark and spread to cover old acne scars. Though he maintains an air of mystery about their true nature, the scales appear remarkably realistic, with three-dimensional texture and ridges that intrigue Janelle and her team.

The life-casting procedure proves to be an intense psychological experience for the narrator. As layers of silicone and plaster are applied to his head and upper body, he struggles with feelings of confinement and discomfort, particularly around his eyes and breathing holes. The process triggers memories of the abandoned classroom from Horror Movie, leading to dark thoughts about transformation and emergence. Throughout the procedure, the FX team maintains a steady stream of conversation to keep him calm, even providing him with a notepad to communicate.

The chapter culminates in a disturbing revelation when the cast is removed. The resulting mold shows impossible indentations of the narrator's scales, something Janelle states has never happened before with tattoos. Rather than explaining this supernatural occurrence, the narrator chooses to remain silent, leaving the true nature of his physical transformation ambiguous. This moment suggests that his body's changes might be genuine manifestations rather than mere tattoos, connecting to the mysterious events of the original film.

The narrator returns to Valentina's house wearing the mask, embodying the Thin Kid once again after his life-casting session at Feral FX. After entering her home, they engage in a silent, tense interaction before Valentina leads him to her office, where she executes her plan to create the Horror Movie legend by uploading three scenes to YouTube along with the screenplay and photos to various horror message boards and websites.

The ritual continues as Valentina takes the narrator upstairs to her bedroom, where she instructs him to lie on the bed while pretending to be under it. She shares her detailed plan for building the film's mythology, though she keeps the specifics cryptic. They then proceed to the kitchen, where Valentina reveals her true intentions - using her prescription OxyContin to facilitate a shocking act of self-mutilation that will add authenticity to the film's legend.

In a carefully orchestrated sequence, Valentina helps the drugged narrator recreate the pinky amputation scene from Horror Movie, using a butcher knife to sever part of his finger. After cleaning up the evidence, Valentina retreats to her living room without saying goodbye, leaving the narrator to complete the final part of their plan alone. The chapter concludes with the narrator consuming the severed portion of his finger while sitting in his car, an act that triggers a supernatural transformation as his throat distends to impossible proportions, suggesting his further evolution into the Thin Kid character.

Cleo pursues the transformed Thin Kid after Karson's death, finding him at Karson's house where he casually discards Karson's mutilated body into the garage. Rather than fleeing in terror, Cleo makes the shocking choice to deliberately draw the Thin Kid's attention, inviting her own pursuit with a whispered 'Come on. My turn.' This moment reveals her deeper involvement in the unfolding horror, suggesting she may have been orchestrating events all along.

What follows is a calculated chase sequence through suburban streets, where Cleo deliberately maintains a specific pace to keep the Thin Kid's attention. When he becomes distracted by other potential victims in lit houses along their route, Cleo uses her recorded scream - the same one used earlier in the mannequin scene - to redirect his focus back to her. This manipulation of the monster reveals both her understanding of and control over the situation, even as she appears to be fleeing for her life.

The chase culminates in a tense pursuit through the woods and into the abandoned school, with Cleo demonstrating both strategic thinking and a departure from her established patterns. In a notably symbolic moment, she keeps her hands out of her pockets while climbing the stairs - a direct contrast to her earlier suicidal habit. This detail suggests either a genuine fight for survival or the final stage of a larger plan, leaving ambiguous whether Cleo is truly victim or orchestrator of the horror unfolding around her.

With Horror Movie's production nearing completion, the crew prepares for their final day of filming. Cleo makes an unusual request to film the final scene before the penultimate one, insisting they end in the classroom where much of the story took place. This marks a departure from her typically deferential approach to Valentina's creative decisions, though Valentina agrees, noting that her dream of filming chronologically had already been compromised.

The morning before the final shoot, Cleo invites the narrator to an unexpected brunch meeting at a diner in North Kingston. During their conversation, she expresses concern about his physical state, noting his extreme weight loss and exhaustion from the demanding production schedule. The interaction marks their first real conversation outside the context of filming, as the narrator has spent most of their time together hidden behind the mask.

Their discussion evolves into a deep exploration of the screenplay's autobiographical elements, with Cleo revealing that her character's suicidal tendencies reflect her own complex relationship with death. She explains that while the screenplay draws from real people - with Valentina and Karson's characters being based on their real counterparts - every character, including the Thin Kid, ultimately represents aspects of herself. The chapter ends with a haunting exchange about the narrator feeling he might be a figment of Cleo's imagination, to which she responds by blaming the mask's curse.

Cleo and the Thin Kid face off in their final confrontation within the abandoned school's classroom, engaging in an intense chainsaw battle that serves as the film's penultimate sequence. Both characters take turns wielding the dangerous weapon in a brutal struggle that blurs the line between choreographed violence and genuine peril.

Interwoven with the screenplay are the narrator's recollections of filming this dangerous scene, revealing crucial details about the production's safety measures and decision-making process. The crew installed a steel plate on the desk to protect Cleo during filming, but the narrator's limited visibility through the mask's eyeholes and the decision to use a real chainsaw with its chain attached created dangerous conditions. Despite concerns from Dan and others, the production moved forward with the stunt, driven by a collective desire to complete the film.

The chapter culminates in the tragic revelation of Cleo's death, as she deliberately pulled the chainsaw toward herself while saying 'I'm sorry,' making the scene a calculated act of suicide rather than an accident. The narrator's memories of the moment are haunted by uncertainty about his own culpability, even though courts ultimately ruled it a suicide. The screenplay concludes with the Thin Kid being led away by Valentina and taken to her bedroom, where he crawls under her bed, leaving behind a bloodstain that mysteriously resembles Cleo's classroom symbol, suggesting a supernatural continuation of the horror.

Following the dangerous chainsaw sequence that nearly cost Cleo her life, the narrator reflects on the production of the Horror Movie reboot with growing disappointment. Despite acknowledging it will likely be a successful film with talented cast and crew, the production lacks the raw authenticity and emotional connection of the original. The new actors playing Cleo, Karson, and Valentina are described as 'nice' but fail to capture the essence of their predecessors, leaving the narrator feeling disconnected and increasingly cynical about the project.

Despite initially being promised a significant role, the narrator has been largely sidelined in the reboot, appearing only in Karson's death scene. This reduction in screen time may be due to various factors, including his insistence on using the original mask instead of the new design, and possibly concerns about his physical transformation after the FX crew discovered his scaled torso and modified finger. The narrator's one filmed scene consisted of just five takes, which he felt was insufficient to fully embody the character.

In a dark turn, the narrator reveals he has remained hidden in the new Thin Kid actor's trailer, planning to recreate and modify the film's ending. After observing the young actor's dedication to the role, including his choice to wear a white t-shirt similar to the narrator's signature look, the narrator transforms into his fully monstrous form and brutally kills his replacement. Following the murder, he shapeshifts to take the young actor's place, planning to film Cleo's death scene before potentially embarking on one of several violent or supernatural endings he envisions for the film, including an endless walking sequence that would continue beyond the movie's formal conclusion.