[_____V_____]

In frustration, Mary takes the bus to Dreamland, but the amusement park is entirely empty. As she walks through the park, she sees that the rides still rotate, but there is no one there. She hears the same haunting tune from the merry-go-round and suddenly she sees Aimi in the distance, coming out of the Dark Ride. Mary runs but at almost every turn she is confronted by an apparition. She sees her friends, she sees the old man who died in the retirement home, and she sees other ghostly figures closing in on her. Mary tries frantically to escape, at one point boarding a bus to leave Dreamland, only to find that all the passengers are ghouls. She sees a pale version of herself as the driver.

Mary runs away toward the beach. She collapses, and they close in, the screeching noise becoming almost unbearable. In the final scene, the car is finally located and pulled from the river, opening the door makes the same screeching sound. Mary's body is in the front seat.


Cast and Director

Director: Takashi Shimizu – Shimizu is an amazing director. I think that he makes incredible ghost stories and I would like to see him take this project on. Also, it’s obvious that he can work with both Japanese and American actors and take on the tough job of the remake (I may be in the minority, but I think that his remake of The Grudge was well-done and I think he took it as an opportunity to edit himself).

Mary Henry: Briana Evigan – When I watch horror movies, I prefer the leads to be little-know actresses else sometimes stardom distracts from the movie. I pick Briana because she’s hot, slightly badass, but can actually act as someone who is being targeted (thinking about her role in Sorority Row).

Madame Louise: Cameo by Jessica Lange

Aimi Hayashi: Megumi Okina because of her work in Ju-on

Maiko Hayashi: The iconic Meiko Kaji, Lady Snowblood

Production Company: Ghost House Pictures, who have Produced The Grudge movies, 30 Days of Night, Drag Me to Hell – With the success of these movies within the genre, I think this will be a perfect fit for my movie.

Judge #1's verdict -

I give her an A+.

I want Shimizu to make this movie! I loved everything about it.

Judge #2's verdict -

Okay, at first, when you said Carnival of Souls, my reaction was "are you kidding me?" - but then when you said you wanted to combine it with Japanese horror motifs I said to myself "Now, that's VERY interesting and original." I like your plot and your approach. My only question would be- how successful would the melding of the two styles be? Still, it's been done before, as you take pains to mention in your scenario. I would go see this. You finally managed your:

GRADE: A

Judge #3's verdict -

B.

Slightly further out of the box then many of your previous entries. The one thing I feel is weak about this and keeps it from getting greater applause than prior entries is that the story is explained too much. There's an imposed narrativity that isn't necessary. A great deal of what goes on in Carnival of Souls is of a poetic nature and putting this into a traditional narrative context where you have an investigation instead of a character existing in a state of mortal terror and confusion, which is much scarier.

Overall Grade - A-.