top of page

Monsters Under The Bed

 

A SciFi/Horror screenplay, 123 pages long, written by R.J. Harbour and Sam Dabbs.

Winner, Best Horror Screenplay and Best Overall Screenplay at the 2016 International Horror Hotel Film Festival and Convention

 

Logline:

 

An Aboriginal entomologist is blamed for the grotesque deaths of the people that stole and developed housing on his tribe's sacred land in this science fiction horror film.

Synopsis:

 

The Coopers, an American family of three, made the decision of a lifetime to move halfway across the world to start a new life in Australia.
Their new home is located among the luxurious houses of Seaview Terrace. A newly constructed community developed among the lush wilderness of Northern Australia. Large homes boast pristine ocean views and beautiful landscapes.
Unknown to the Coopers, Seaview Terrace has been under constant protest by local Aboriginal tribes for violations of land treaties. Environmentalists rally behind the cause, furious about the destruction of the ancient forest and the displacement of thousands of endangered and undiscovered species. They build a tent city throughout the remaining forest to prevent any further construction.
Shortly after the Coopers move in, a teenager from next door suffers a mysterious death from an unidentified venom. The local authorities recruit renowned entomologist, Professor Garrett, and his assistant Kala Narula to help identify the venom. While studying the teen more people in Seaview Terrace die, including the Coopers. This sparks an extensive investigation into the unexplained deaths.
The only eyewitness to the killer is the Coopers’ six year old daughter, Haley, who barely escaped during her parents gruesome death. Still in shock she cannot offer many details, but repeatedly tells investigators about a monster and her babies.
While evidence points to an unidentified apex predator in the area, local authorities and developers insist the protestors are to blame for murder.
The Professor and Kala find an unknown type of spider venom killed the victims and leads them to believe that the killer might be a new species of spider. The theory is widely ridiculed as they cannot find any further evidence to support it. Investigators begin to believe a human killer is using a rare venom to make a point against the development.
As tensions begins to grow, authorities place the blame on the protest leader and fellow entomologist, Mowan Narula – Kala’s grandfather and mentor.
Soon afterwards the land developer, Mr. Cornish, is brutally killed in the same way. Authorities seize the opportunity to raid the protest camp and arrest Mowan, citing his prior death threats against Mr. Cornish as motive.
They are forced to release Mowan when the deaths continue to happen while he is in custody. He joins Kala and the professor in the hunt for the unknown spider.
Investigators catch a break when they find the spider in question at a crime scene. The team works tirelessly and confirms the venom matches that of the victims. However the spider is too small to have killed alone so they speculate a Mother Spider must be carrying around its babies.
They search the forest in hopes of finding more clues. Coming up empty, Kala theorizes the spider’s nest must be near the Coopers’ house where it all began.
The Mother Spider is found and killed, but thousands of her babies run rampant. The mayor sees the opportunity to end the development dispute and orders a controlled burn to cleanse the area.
A handful of spiders spin sails and catch rides on a wind gust out to sea where unsuspecting container ships sail by.

bottom of page