Late Fee (feature screenplay)

Late Fee
Written by Andrew Wankier
Genre	Fantasy, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Horror
Format	Feature

The video store that serves as inspiration for the one in the story.

Late Fee is a dark fantasy action screenplay written by Nicholl finalist Andrew Wankier. The story follows a band of young adults - the last of their generation to watch VHS - and their nightmarish experience with a phantom video store that suddenly appears in their Midwestern hometown and combines their realities with the genre movies they've rented. Combating fantasy, sci-fi, and paranormal entities they watched growing up, the young adults learn that seemingly stupid character decisions are often the right ones. The movie follows Millennials, Billy and Ayla, with their fellow 30-something friends.

The film is conceptualized as a PG-13 mix of Jumanji, Cabin in the Woods, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and the little-known '90s romp, Stay Tuned. The script combines elements of dark comedy, fantasy and horror, and deals with the judgmental nature of complex and quick decision-making.

Background

After experiencing the olfactory memory of the smell of a video store - carpet, movie candy, plastic clamshell video covers -Andrew decided to dive into his favorite childhood experience: renting movies from Blockbuster Video. Moving from town to town, Andrew was often befriended by movie characters and welcomed the escapism the different genres offered. Some of favorites included Poltergeist, Salem's Lot, Night of the Living Dead, Aliens, The Last Unicorn, Bird on a Wire, Jurassic Park, Scream, Back to the Future, Death Becomes Her, and Terminator 2.

Andrew and his rotating friends, from the comfort of their sofas, often remarked that characters in these movies often made ridiculous decisions, and commented "this is what I would have done." But sometimes things are easier said than done when the situation occurs.

The movie's autumnal setting is intended as a holiday thematic, as Andrew feels the dead-zone between Halloween and Thanksgiving is often overlooked in the United States, now absurd solely into the ever-expanding Christmas season, and neglected in feature films.

Video Rental Terms & Conditions

Videos are free, if returned within 48 hours.
Failure to do so condemns one to a lifetime of horrors.
Only one video per customer.
Rentals are void if you die.
Oh, you might die.

Possible Premise

In the second week of November, William "Billy" Van Kooten returns to his suburban hometown, after years of being away, for his older sister's second wedding. When he arrives, he sees that his childhood bedroom is still perfectly preserved - lots of movie posters from the '80s and '90s, He-Man actions figures (and some She-Ra). In the corner is his old tube television and VCR. During the wedding preparations, Billy squares off against his controlling older sister, Willa (soon to be Willa Tapscott). The wedding is two days away, and Willa is as high strung as ever. She comments on what a geek Billy always was and always will be. To her, all Billy cared about growing up was movies, more than friends, more than family. He'd even read Leonard Maltin's Complete Movie Guide cover-to-cover, just for fun.

While there, Billy is distracted by his former crush, Ayla McKay, his sister's friend and bridesmaid. Ayla is also visiting from out-of-state. Billy stumbles around her, embarrassed. That night, Billy meets up with his former best friend, Paul, and his young fiancé, Andrea. They still reside in the same town. Back at Billy's parent's house, Billy and Paul watch an old movie, each commenting how "that's not what I'd have done" about character decisions, thinking they know best. After the movie, Billy, George, and Andrea leave for drinks, but as they pull away from the house, Willa and Ayla ask for a ride to the alterations shop. All five hop in the car.

On their way, Billy notices an odd beacon of light in the near-distance. As they approach, they see it belongs to an old video store sign. None of them recognize it. Most of them assume it's some kind of pop-up shop, and Billy convinces everyone to go inside for a quick tour. The store is deserted, well-lit, and pristine. Nothing appears touched. They browse the aisles, all finding a video they loved from their childhood. Out of the back, appears a creepy elderly man named Honoré - a Southern accent, a suit and tie. He tells them that each customer can only check-out one movie, for free, if they return it within 48 hours. Billy is excited about a VHS viewing party, trying to be sentimental with Willa and hoping to score more face-time with Ayla.

Honoré scans the movies one at a time:

Billy rents a haunted house movie.
Ayla rents a romantic comedy.
Willa rents a fantasy.
Paul rents an alien movie.
Andrea, not really caring, rents a zombie movie.

As they exit, the store is immediately locked-down. Snow has started to fall. Ayla remarks that it's just like in her romantic comedy, where the couple gets caught in a blizzard at Christmas. They pile into the car and drive home. The blizzard worsens. No one else is on the road. Suddenly, the car loses control and plows into a large snowbank. They call for help, but then a mysterious (but super handsome) man approaches. He charms Ayla and helps them out of their predicament, but Billy finds something is amiss about him.

The five arrive at Billy and Willa's home, and they retreat to watch Ayla's rom-com. They realize the mysterious man from earlier recited the exact same lines from her film. "But in the film it's cute," someone remarks. "In real life it's creepy." Billy grows even more suspicious. He pops in his haunted house movie. Suddenly, an apparition appears exactly like the one in the movie. It's at this moment that Billy realizes that the movies they've rented are now infiltrating their real lives.

When they attempt to return the movies, they discover that the store is gone. It's here that they learn the store's fatal rental policy. The mysterious handsome stranger returns and Ayla's rejection of him turns him aggressive. Suddenly, they are attacked by alien lasers. The handsome stranger is killed.

Afraid to return home and putting their loved ones in mortal danger, the group must work together in order to survive the next two days of horrors and surprises. The adventure includes police chases, alien invasions, zombie mutilations, ghosts, and even unicorns.

Characters

William "Billy" Van Kooten – 30 years old, Billy is introverted and wants nothing more than to have a serious girlfriend. He's data analytics expert in the big city, has a nice apartment, decent friends, etc. But he isn't satisfied with himself, since he abandoned his love for movies to be more practical. He feels pretty vacant inside, wanting a sense of adventure, and more importantly, a girlfriend.

Ayla McKay – A hopeful law student, currently a flight attendant. At 31, she tells herself that she's in no rush for a serious relationship, as she's been burned too much in the past. Her deepest fear is betrayal.

Paul Labrador – 30, still immature, slovenly, yet good-hearted and sensitive. He works as a marketing consultant. He doesn't really have any big aspirations for a career but feels he has a novel within him. In spite of his dry humor, Paul is a loyal friend and good in a pinch. He always had an irrational fear of being abducted by aliens.

Willa Van Kooten – Soon to be Willa Tapscott, and she announces this every chance she gets. 32 years old and Billy's older sister. She's a bride-to-be, currently preoccupied with her wedding plans. Once-divorced, she married her first husband at a young age, but to her, that one "didn't count." Her childhood fear is a backwoods monster from a fantasy movie.

Andrea Sanders - 24. Paul's atheist girlfriend. The only one who doesn't have any memory of VHS video stores. She only really recalls renting DVDs, and even then it was a short-lived experience because she used RedBox before streaming took over. She only believes what she can see.

Honoré LeClerq – Store owner. Old, weird due.