Screenwriting : What you can't show. by Kathryn Zizek

If the scenes are not gratuitous, i.e. obviously not added purely for shock value, emotive content can be effective...

I struggle with this myself. I love me some blood and gore, but even I have my limits.

It's not often, and the moments are fleeting when they do occur. I think that helps to keep it in the realm of reasonable. I try to remind myself that films like Hereditary have managed it -- and with class.

Kathryn Zizek Genre matters too of course. With Hereditary you are likely expecting some visual-spawned discomfort at some point in the film. One professional script reader stated things like graphic rape scenes tend to be insensitive, gratuitous additions that should be avoided if not integral to the story.

Very good question!! Short answer. If it serves the plot and makes the story BETTER, all is good. Long answer. I have a holocaust screenplay where there are a few scenes I need the shock value;; contrary to most deathcamp screenplays, there is a clear reason behind it. It serves the irony!! There is an other key scene so shocking I start to cry everytime I read it. But right after that scene what happens to this kid, one of the leading characters we love, is so brutal -- he gets shot and falls into a burning pit -- that not seeing it but only SUGGESTING it would be better. Don't underestimate the power of suggestion in cinema, it activated the audience imagination and thereby gets them ACTIVELY invested in the story!!

One example is my protagonist violently unpicking the stitches that are holding her caesarean wound closed. The genre is horror and the scene is meant to add a surreal, nightmarish quality to the story. But I think Mike is correct that audiences should be somewhat prepared for what they might see - especially if the film is transparently marketed.

I think the level of violence and the content of the scenes will depend on the will of the director. The task of the screenwriter is to create images, conflicts and fascinating dialogues.

Kathryn Zizek Horror is BIG nowadays. And even prestigious festivals are falling for it. Think of "TITANE", which won the Palme d'Or! It has basically the same graphic violence about female body that you describe. So i say... Go for it! Even make it 10 times more than what you need, so you can downgrade it a bit to your starting idea if a producer/reader chokes on it...

... No problem, go for it.

I think in the end it all comes down to the production company. Go for it. It is something that the director can choose to show or hint or exploit at a later date.

If you invoke emotions and feelings for the reader of your script, that's a good thing, no?

I’m a horror writer primarily so I feel you on this subject. I myself am proud of my ability to write truly disturbing and unsettling scenes, and half the time my audience ends up being the right audience and they admire the craft. the other half the time though I get negative feedback yet meanwhile these are the same types of audiences that complain that Hollywood horror movies aren’t scary. so I say don’t let peoples uneducated misinformed simple minded opinions control your art. you’re the artist, not them. At the end of the day their opinion is 90%of the time very skewed anyway. I also find this whole concept funny when trying to work with ai language models. I’ve given scripts to gpt and claude to edit and was told that they refuse to work with graphic violence or depictions of blood or sexuality. I assured it that it was fiction obviously and of the horror genre and it basically said that horror is offensive and recommended I don’t write horror lololol. but obviously, that’s a wildly ignorant stance. Ai is trained by the masses, and the masses are dumb. I bet I would love your graphic scene. that all said, genre does obviously play a big part in all this. some pieces might not merit intensely depicted blood violence sexuality etc, but some do. I went ahead and asked gpt what it thought of body horror and films like the fly and cronenburgs works (as the script I had been told it wouldn’t help me edit included a lot of body horror and cronenberg type inspiration.) and it basically said that that entire genre is offensive and suggested I write something else lolol. my point here is, nobody’s opinion matters in the end as much as your own as the creator. put as much or as little detail into whatever genres you want to.

Never stopped me.

Kathern Zizek If your script is intended for a Horror Audiences, go for it, they love the Fear Emotion and to bring out thier fear(s) use the 4D's of Horror in this order: Disquiet, Distress, Disgusts, and Displeasure.

@Kathryn If audience “expect” horror okay. Considering what some same genre films entail unpicking caesarian stitches seems pretty mild. Cool too your film script is in part psychology.

I am not sur what is best in this case, but sometimes it is best to let the audience hear what is problematical to show. Then the audience will guess what they don't see.

It depends on the intended audience for your movie. If its an audience that responds to being challenged and shocked it can be a good thing (think about what shocked audiences pre and post Game of Thrones for example), but if its unnecessarily gratuitious it can harm its commercial prospects. Making sure it is included for a purpose and not just for its own sake is also a good way to justify its inclusion.

It all depends on the overall tone you are trying to reach. There are times when it's necessary to push the audience that far. I'm guessing your insticnt when writing it was that it needed to disturb the viewer so don't be afraid to go with it.

Never write to 'accommodate' the viewer (reader), you are writing to satisfy the story as seen by you, the writer and to be then viewed and understood in the context as intended. Do not be afraid to provoke a reaction from the viewer, isn't that what storytelling is all about and to hell with those who wish to control free thinking, literature and therefore society. There's no room in film production for puritans, so write what YOU WANT and to hell with 'offending people'.

Whenever you can move the audience or reader emotionally, that's a good thing. So as long as what happens is within character or reveals something new and believable about a character, do it IMO.

honestly I would go with more things that set good examples for our next generation. ❤️

@Dr. Linda Mkrtchyan - Though the scene is intense, the overall story highlights the importance of positive social behaviors. The protagonist undergoes a transformation, breaking free from her self-imposed isolation and discovering that forgiveness, cooperation, and trust are essential for achieving personal stability.

Kathryn Zizek many good comments here so I will just expand on what Göran Johansson alluded to. The question is, loosely: do you want them to puke or do you want their blood pressure to skyrocket? For example, in your stiches scene you mentioned above - if you want the gore of the violence, then establish the visual relationship between the characters then focus on the (literally) carnage, the blood, the viscous fluids, torn muscle, etc.. But if you want us to witness HER nightmare experience, I would say all of that happens in the eyes (in fact, much of what viewers experience of the character's experience comes through the actor's eyes) and it may be much more emotionally impactful to, again, just set it up so we know what he's doing, then take us to her experience of it. How she experiences the act has more meaning than seeing the act. [if you haven't seen Irreversible with Monica Belluci and Vincent Cassel, it may spur some ideas. I will say, though, I have a very 'thick skin' with most content matter. But I can never watch that movie a second time.] keep rockin' :)

i had the same problem !! i just added it in the script and let the dice roll !! everyones human & if they feel a certain way ask to take it our or lighten it up ect

For most of the scene the viewer doesn't actually know what the character is doing. She's seen from across the room, hunched over at her sewing desk, working on something in her lap. It's more about her quick, sharp movements and unbroken focus. When you finally see that she's using the seam-ripper to yank/cut her own stitches, it's quite brief and doesn't mention any blood. I'm starting to think it's not actually that graphic after reading Sebastian's comment about "viscous fluids". Haha

oh yeah, Kathryn Zizek you gotta crank that scene up! haha

Kathryn Zizek yea i think you should be good !! mines is wayyy worse lol

like sometimes i dont even like sharing it ahaha

The world is full of so many different kinds of people all with different interests. I think there's a market for pretty much anything! I think you're good! LoL you gotta be you and write what comes naturally. The key/trick is finding the market that will love/enjoy your graphic content lol

Great question. For the documentary I produced/directed with my film partners, there was a scene that was questionable. We did get a few negative comments. If you can live with the comments, I say go for it. It's YOUR story - stay true to your vision!

Hi Kathryn Zizek I think this is a very mindful question, I used to be a sensitivity reader and wanting to know how you can make something risky being in good taste is super important especially when wanting to include your audience rather than alienate, a good source would be checking out our script coverage (https://www.stage32.com/scriptservices/coverage) in order to gauge feedback!

As a paid script reader for studios/networks/prod-cos for many years, "graphic/disturbing" is okay if it is integral to the story.

There wasnt a market for gore-porn until two Aussies created SAW.

Anyways, Thats cart before the horse filmmaking. Focus on what you can control now, which is the story on the page. Write the script, wow strangers with your unique storytelling only you can do.

Depends...don't pitch to Hallmark :)

On a serious note no...and if it's horror, the gorier the better. Check out the latest successes it that field, although must say 70's and 80's were peak of the subject...those films were literally limitless.