TREATMENT

10/9/14 | PLANNING | TREATMENT

ERICA, 12, unnaturally pale with an unhinged look in her eyes, sits upright on a bed in a psychiatric hospital looking straight ahead while a voiceover plays of a discussion between her PARENTS and DOCTOR HOLLOWAY about her mental health. The doctor recommends she is not released yet but her parents are adamant.

Cross cut to a desk lit with a bright desk lamp with early release forms scattered over it and voiceover still playing in the background, revealing that Erica suffers from multiple personality disorder. The early release forms have Erica’s names and details all over them. In the background a heartbeat effect is now playing. Desk lamp switches off to pitch black scene, then an artificial fluorescent light shines as heartbeat increases pace and title appears over the white background in black font, pulsating to the beat of the heartbeat.

Shot reopens in Erica’s bedroom with her reading in bed and parents turning off her light and saying goodnight. As soon as they have left she gets out of bed, stuffs a pillow under the duvet, grabs a piece of wire and climbs out of her window.

Cross cut to a FAITH, 9, big innocent eyes, pigtails being bullied by two older girls, CHLOE and HANNAH, 15. Erica sees this as she is wandering the streets in her pyjamas and has a flashback to a time in her recent childhood when she was bullied herself. You see her being bullied by to two older girls, similar to how Faith is being bullied now. Faith sees Erica coming, looks terrified and runs off to hide somewhere nearby as Hannah and Chloe look slightly confused but walk off together anyway. There is then crosscutting between Faith’s face and Erica stalking the two girls as Erica gets closer. You do not see the two girls being killed; you just see Faith’s face from her hiding place looking traumatised. Erica kills the two girls by strangling them, and for a moment the music cuts and you see the weapon around a neck and hands reaching up trying to claw it away but failing. There will be a shot of two dead girls necks with the scars from the wire.

Cross cut to Erica climbing back through her window, goes to her bathroom and washes off any blood or dirt before staring at herself in the bathroom mirror and smiling creepily.