I've been doing another Camp Nanowrimo throughout July, and one of the forums posed the challenge of figuring out what the movie trailer of the film version of your book would look like. It was kind of a fun exercise for me. Here is what I came up with.
[Nighttime in a noisy bar. A woman in business attire is seated opposite a tall blonde waitress named Caris]
Woman: I have a proposition for you.
Caris: (being pleasant) ‘Proposition’ is always my first red flag.
[Close-up of the woman smiling warmly]
Woman: You’ll like this one.
[Cut to a formal ballroom. Caris is wearing a slit black dress, smiling politely at the other attendees. She picks up a glass of champagne from one of the servers and takes a sip]
Woman: (in voice over) What do you know about demons?
Caris: (in voice over) As a metaphor?
[Caris tries to stifle making a face at the taste of the champagne and embarrassedly sets the glass on the lid of a grand piano]
Woman: (in voice over) This world is changing.
[Cut to Caris standing alone in a large shadowy room in front of a pedestal containing a metallic disk with what appears to be the face of a fanged creature roaring engraved in it. Caris studies it intensely.]
Woman: (in voice over) I want to know why.
[Gunshots are heard along with people screaming and general commotion. Caris is still wearing the same black dress, but it has been torn in a few places and her hair has fallen into disarray. She dives into the driver’s side of one of the cars outside a mansion, watching nervously behind her. She hits the accelerator and travels two feet into the back fender of the vehicle in front of her. Caris takes a moment to look perplexed at the impact]
[Cut back to Caris at the bar]
Caris: I should warn you. I’m not a very good driver.
[Cut back to an overhead view of the same car being driven down a tight alley. The screeching of metal against brick is heard and sparks are flying off both sides as the car scrapes against both sides of the alley. The car emerges out the other side and slows to a halt. Two armed thugs have stopped their car at the entrance to the alleyway to stare in disbelief at what had just happened. Caris’s hand pops up through the sunroof of the damaged car]
Caris: (waving politely to her pursuers) I’m okay.
[The two thugs open fire at her through the alleyway as she proceeds to drive away.]
[Cut to Caris and Brandon examining an image of an attractive redhead on the computer screen.]
Caris: Who is she?
Brandon: Her name is Zelphina.
[A shot of Zelphina dealing at a blackjack table. She shuffles the deck with a skill indicating an unnatural level of dexterity]
Caris: (in voice over) And what is she?
[A male patron rudely snaps his fingers in her face to get her attention. Without blinking, Zelphina grabs his wrist and dislocates it before returning to the deck]
Brandon: (in voice over) We’re not quite sure.
[Cut to an outdoor scene at night where Zelphina is standing on top of a roof of a tall building. She sprouts a pair of large bat-like wings on her back and jumps off the roof.]
Caris: (in voice over) So what am I supposed to do? Ask her to hang out?
[Cut to an outdoor shot on a pedestrian road by the beach during the day. Zelphina is in closeup with Caris standing directly behind her.]
Caris: We can protect you.
[A quick montage at a local carnival at night of Zelphina being choked from behind by an assailant but flipping him over the barrier of an active bumper car attraction; followed by her catching the upper rails of a rollercoaster and letting go, her fingers barely avoiding contact with the oncoming train; landing on the lower rails just as the same train rolls back around where she is. She springs up in the air, clearing the train and landing back on the rails, rolling her eyes in irritation.]
Zelphina: What do I need protection from?
Caris: (warmly) Yourself.
[Cut to a daytime shot of Zelphina walking up to a stopped pickup truck in the middle of an intersection. The truck’s horn is sounding. Zelphina puts her fist through the driver’s side window and pulls the steering wheel out. The sound of the horn stops.]
[Cut back to Zelphina and Caris on the beach.]
Zelphina: Your point is acceptable.
[Caris holds up the metallic disk to Zelphina.]
Caris: Do you know what this is for?
Zelphina: It’s a decoy.
Caris: Some men tried to kill me for it.
Zelphina: Then it’s working.
[Cut to a road at night. Caris is in the driver’s seat of yet another speeding car but is holding onto the headrest with both hands while Zelphina steers from the passenger seat.]
Zelphina: Are they still behind us?
[Caris takes a quick look over her shoulder but immediately resumes her previous position when the back windshield shatters from an apparent gunshot.]
Caris: Yep.
[The car careens across a set of railroad tracks, narrowly avoiding a collision with an oncoming train.]
Caris: Why don’t you just drive?
Zelphina: Road rage.
[Cut to the dense jungle with Caris and Zelphina in a brief montage of climbing uneven terrain.]
Caris: (in voice over) So a decoy? To lead people away from what they’re looking for?
Zelphina: (in voice over) Or to lead them straight into something they aren’t prepared to handle.
Caris: (in voice over) So where does that put us?
[A pack of hostile baboons surrounds the two women screeching and bearing their teeth. Zelphina, standing right next to Caris, lets out a demonic scream causing the baboons to scatter. Caris blinks and rubs her ear.]
Zelphina: Sorry.
[Cut to Caris in a cavern shining a flashlight on a large stone container.]
Caris: (in voice over) Have you heard the story of Pandora’s Box?
Zelphina: (in voice over) No, why?
[Cut to Caris and Zelphina back outside looking much worse for wear.]
Caris: (sheepishly) Oh…no reason.
[Cut back to the cavern with Caris running for her life from a large shadowy mist-like figure. She suddenly finds herself in front of a steep drop-off and has nowhere to run.]
Caris: (holding her flashlight above her head unconvincingly) You shall not pass!
[The figure flies straight through her, and she drops to the ground to avoid being blown over the drop-off. Her flashlight goes over the edge but Caris manages to stay on safe ground. Once the mist has blown past her and she realizes that she’s unharmed, Caris turns to where the figure has gone.]
Caris: (more confidently) And just keep walking!
[The title card appears. “The Soul of a Succubus” followed by the tagline “Sometimes a guardian angel comes from below”.]
[Cut to a large ominous looking cabin on the top of a hill in the wilderness. Caris is about to walk through the back door with Zelphina waiting outside]
Caris: (smiling) You’re sweet. But I don’t always need you to protect me.
[There is an explosion visible through the windows of the cabin and the panes shatter. Then a shot of the roof on fire, followed by a shot of the entire cabin sliding down the hill where it demolishes itself by crashing into several trees below. Caris and Zelphina are still standing at the top of the hill, staring with disbelief at the wreckage.]
Caris: (meekly) Oops.
[Cut back to the title card followed by the usual slew of credits.]
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