Writer's Workshop

And here we have the second part of Moon Wolf. We'll get to my thoughts on the details of this script after you've had a chance to read it, but I will say that I've enjoyed writing this short film. It's fun blending sci-fi and classic horror. Makes for an interesting dynamic. I might have to try and come up with a couple of these kinds of things again at some point.

Before you dive in make sure you're all caught up on the story up until now (in the script archive) before diving into this chapter.

And thanks to Mason Williams for the cool Moon Wolf movie poster art.

Moon Wolf: Part 2

EXT: MOON BASE, PERIMETER, ECLIPSE, PRESENT.

We see STAN hurry down a hallway, muttering to himself.

INT: MOON BASE, ARMORY HALLWAY, ECLIPSE, PRESENT.

STAN heads down the hall, towards the armory. He scans his ID badge but the doors won't open.

STAN:

Come on!

STAN swipes again and again.

STAN:

Let me in!

SFX: Metallic rattle.

STAN turns, hearing something, looking over his shoulder.

FADE from PRESENT to PAST.

INT: MOON BASE, ARMORY HALLWAY, DAY, PAST.

Guards come running in, firing behind them in organized units. They pile towards the Armory, where the SERGEANT is giving orders.

SERGEANT:

Secure the area, men. This is our last line of defense. Whatever is coming cannot be allowed into the armory.

SOLDIER 1:

Does it even need weapons?

SERGEANT:

No, but we do! We need to secure this point against that... beast!

SFX: Howl.

The beast comes into view and it's a giant, snarling werewolf. It comes pounding down the hallway towards the men and they start firing everything they have.

SFX: Gun fire, lots of it.

The snarling beast attacks, the men scream, there's a lot of gurgling, and then everything goes quiet.

FADE from PAST to PRESENT.

INT: MOON BASE, ARMORY HALLWAY, ECLIPSE, PRESENT.

STAN stands in the middle of the carnage, looking around. He sees a gun in a body's hands, realizes that these men couldn't fight the beast off.

STAN:

Guns won't work.

He quickly moves back out of hall and into the main base.

EXT: SPACE, BETWEEN EARTH AND THE MOON, ECLIPSE, PRESENT.

We see a military ship, the UIS Defender streaming through space towards the moon.

INT: UIS DEFENDER, ECLIPSE, PRESENT.

CAPTAIN JAMESON sits in his chair on the bridge, watching the Moon steadily come closer and closer.

JAMESON:

Communications, any word from Moon Base 1?

COMMS:

No, sir. I've sent out response to their distress signal, but I haven't gotten anything back in response. It could be that their communications systems are down.

JAMESON:

Or that there's no one else left alive on there.

NAVIGATION:

Sir, I see multiple blips on the other side of the moon streaming towards the Earth.

JAMESON:

Escape pods?

NAVIGATION:

That would appear to be the case. Trajectories do not appear hostile. They are heading for the Atlantic Ocean.

JAMESON:

A safe place to make a landing.

He looks up at the moon and thinks.

JAMESON:

Right, well those survivors are safe and on their way home. We need to investigate the base then.

COMMS:

Sir?

JAMESON:

If there are other survivors, we need to rescue them. As long as that distress signal is going we have a duty to investigate.

COMMS:

Aye, sir.

JAMESON:

Navigation, steady on course. Communications, tell me if we receive anything from Moon Base 1.

NAVIGATION:

Aye, sir.

COMMS:

Aye, sir.

INT: MOON BASE, DOCKING BAY HALLWAY, ECLIPSE, PRESENT.

STAN rushes to the Docking Bay in hopes of rescue.

STAN:

Just gotta get things ready and maybe, just maybe, I can get off this rock before whatever that thing was finds me.

STAN rushes up to the sealed bay doors but finds claw marks all along the hall and across the doors. STAN runs his hands along the claws, but doesn't feel any rushing of air.

STAN:

No breech. Good.

STAN swipes his badge. Doors fail to open.

STAN:

Why am I locked out of everything?

STAN looks at his tools.

STAN:

I don't want to just force these open, not if there's a breech on the other side.

He looks around and noticing the emergency doors down the hall, moves down to look. He sees the sealed section of hall and then the breech in that section of the Moon Base's ring beyond.

EXT: MOON BASE, DOCKING BAY RING, ECLIPSE, PRESENT.

We see the exterior of the base, with a giant, torn open section of the ring. Something huge came through here and rended it apart like tissue paper.

FADE from PRESENT to PAST.

As we move into the past the breech seals up and the emergency doors fade away. The section of ring is whole once more. We move into the base and view the action from this perspective.

INT: MOON BASE, DOCKING BAY HALLWAY, DAY, PAST.

Soldiers, workers, and civilians run towards the docking bay, looking for any means of escape.

SFX: Growling.

SCIENTIST 1:

It's coming!

SCIENTIST 2:

Run!

INT: MOON BASE, DOCKING BAY, DAY, PAST.

They run onto an escape craft and boost off, along with many others, as the bay quickly empties.

INT: MOON BASE, DOCKING BAY HALLWAY, DAY, PAST.

COMMANDER GRIGGS comes charging in, guns drawn, with a group of men following.

COMMANDER:

Soldier, close the doors. Give our evacuees time to get away from the moon.

SOLDIER 2 moves to the panels and starts getting the bay all sealed up.

SFX: Roaring.

The werewolf comes into the hall and starts stalking the soldiers.

COMMANDER:

Open the bay, all screens down!

SOLDIER 2:

Sir?! But that would-

COMMANDER:

Now, soldier! Men, grab onto something!

SOLDIER 2 hits the panel again, then grabs the nearby handhold. The bay doors start opening while a warning klaxon begins.

SFX: Klaxon, repeatedly.

As the air rushes out, the vacuum begins the drag things out into the void. This catches the werewolf off guard and it's quickly picked up as the bay doors fully open. It's dragged out, claws scrabbling at the doors, the floor, anything. It's unable to get purchase and its quickly sucked down and out, all the way out of the base.

COMMANDER:

Close the doors!

SOLDIER 2:

What?

COMMANDER:

The doors! Close the doors!

SOLDIER 2 hits the panel again. The emergency screens come up, stopping the sucking of the atmosphere out into space. The men drop to the ground now that the pressure is off. Slowly the bay doors close.

COMMANDER:

Lock the doors and keep the area secured. Let that thing die out there.

SOLDIER 2 hits the panel one last time, then turns. Suddenly his eyes go wide.

SOLDIER 2:

Sir...

They all turn and look and, out on the moon, there's the wolf. It's angry, it's eyes bleeding as its healing factor fights back the effects of the vacuum of space. It unsteadily stalks its way along the outside.

EXT: MOON BASE, DOCKING BAY RING, DAY, PAST.

Moving along the outside of the Docking ring, the wolf drags it's claws along, testing for weakness. When it finds a spot in that one hallway it plunges its claws in, ripping at the seam and pulling the window up. Once more we have the rushing of atmosphere.

SFX: Klaxon.

INT: MOON BASE, DOCKING BAY HALLWAY, DAY, PAST.

The men are once more lifted from the feet, slowly dragged towards the breech as the werewolf climbs its way inside. It pushes through, into the main hall, just as the emergency door closes behind it. Then there's a lot of screaming and gore.

FADE from PAST to PRESENT.

INT: MOON BASE, DOCKING BAY HALLWAY, ECLIPSE.

STAN is now standing where the beast was, looking around once more at the carnage.

STAN:

There's no way that thing can survive outside. No way...

He looks around again.

STAN:

I have to find a way to warn the rescue team. If the beast is out there they might not even see it coming.

STAN rushes out of the hall.

INT: UIS DEFENDER, ECLIPSE, PRESENT.

NAVIGATION turns to JAMESON.

NAVIGATION:

Five minutes to Moon Base landing, sir. Although I'm having trouble getting the docking systems to acknowledge our requests.

JAMESON:

All of their systems are unresponsive?

NAVIGATION:

Aye, sir. Seems like a total system failure.

JAMESON:

Hmm. We'll land outside the base and try to go in through the docking bay emergency door. We can cut our way in we have to.

NAVIGATION: Luckily, sir, we'll have light to work by.

JAMESON:

How so?

NAVIGATION:

The eclipse will end in about two minutes. The whole of the base will be bathed in sunlight by the time we land.

JAMESON:

That is good news. Will make finding survivors much easier.

INT: MOON BASE, COMMAND DECK, ECLIPSE, PRESENT.

STAN rushes into the command deck and once again checks over all the panels. This time he sees a blinking light and pushes the button. This loads up the video of STAN we saw earlier, and it goes through it's whole message once more.

STAN (VIDEO):

My name is STAN of Moon Base 1. If you're seeing this it's because the base received a response to an emergency signal. Do not come here. There is something on this base. A creature, very violent and very deadly. It's killed most of the people on this station. Whatever you do, do not come here. Stay away. Stay away. The moon is too dangerous.

STAN:

I don't remember recording that. Why don't I...

He stops and thinks.

STAN:

The breech, when that thing broke in. The thing environment could have knocked me out. Explains why I was groggy when I woke up. How much did I miss?!

STAN pauses, his finger over the "Yes" to send the message. But then he pulls it back.

STAN:

If I send this I'm never escaping. I'll die up here.

He looks around.

STAN:

No, I'll warn the rescuers when they get here. We can leave before the beast finds us. It can die all alone.

STAN runs out of the room.

INT: UIS DEFENDER, ECLIPSE, PRESENT.

COMMUNICATIONS:

One minute to the end of the eclipse.

INT: MOON BASE, HALLWAY, ECLIPSE, PRESENT.

STAN goes running down the hall towards the Docking Bay.

INT: UIS DEFENDER, ECLIPSE, PRESENT.

COMMUNICATIONS:

Thirty seconds to the end of the eclipse.

INT: MOON BASE, DOCKING BAY HALLWAY, ECLIPSE, PRESENT.

STAN skids into the hall, then runs over to the evac suits, designed for walking on the moon.

INT: UIS DEFENDER, ECLIPSE, PRESENT.

COMMUNICATIONS:

Eclipse ending... now.

EXT: MOON BASE, ECLIPSE, PRESENT.

We watch as the eclipse ends and Moon Base 1 is quickly bathed in sunlight. The moon dust gleams as the sun moves over the ground.

INT: MOON BASE, DOCKING BAY HALLWAY, DAY, PRESENT.

STAN pries at the door to the evac suits, forcing it open. But then he gags and watches as his finger start elongating.

STAN:

Wha-

STAN slowly watches as his hands, arms, and upper body begin to transform. Stan is becoming the moon wolf.

STAN:

Noooooo-

SFX: A long, slow howl.

EXT: MOON BASE, DOCKING BAY, DAY, PRESENT.

The UIS Defender comes down onto the Moon, kicking up dust as it lands. We watch the ship's lights dim as the vessel settles. And then a hatch opens, lowers, becomes stairs, and the crew of the Defender come out. JAMESON, naturally taking the lead, starts waving his arms at his men while giving orders.

JAMESON (OVER RADIO):

ENGINEER, get that panel open. COMMS, listen on all frequencies. Someone may have seen us land and could try to call us. The rest of you, fan out and be ready for anything.

We watch the ENGINEER head over to the emergency door and work the controls.

ENGINEER (OVER RADIO):

Controls are working, sir. I can have the door open any time.

JAMESON (OVER RADIO):

Do it.

ENGINEER (OVER RADIO):

Aye, sir.

He lifts the lever for the door and the door slides open. Immediately he's attacked by the werewolf. Quickly the wolf moves from person to person, moving so fast, tearing open their suits, digging his claws into their meat. The tightly organized group quickly descends into madness. Guns are fired, people scream over the radios, and gore flies (and freezes, everywhere).

JAMESON (OVER RADIO):

Retreat!

And that's all he's able to get out before the wolf is on him, leaving him gurgling in his helmet. COMMS tries to make a break for the ship, running back up the stairs, but the wolf is right behind them. And the blood flies out back into space.

INT: UIS DEFENDER, ECLIPSE, PRESENT.

All is quiet on the ship for a beat before, eventually, the werewolf comes on. It slowly moves its way to the main controls, then it looks down and, with a clawed hand, pushes a button.

COMPUTER VOICE:

Distress signal sent. Repeat, distress signal sent.

The werewolf sits down in the captain's chair, looks out across the moon from the bridge and smiles.

SFX: Low, rumbling, growling laughter.

FADE TO BLACK.

TITLE: MOON WOLF.

End of Part 2:

So yes, Stan was the werewolf the whole time. I tried to keep that fact hidden, although I dunno how well you can when he's the only one on the base, everyone else is dead, and there's really no one else it could be. It's a decent twist but hard to pull off and I don't know if I managed that. At the same time, though, the back and forth dynamic, watching Stan run around, realizing he's all alone, it adds a certain stifling quality that I think, whether the twist works or not, does carry the film.

The crew of the UIS Defender weren't originally part of my plan for this script. As originally envisioned it could be done on a single set, just following Stan around. But then I added on exteriors shots of the base, a lot of different locations in the base, and it just felt like I'd strayed from that low-budget concept. As such, putting in a new crew to give us an outside perspective as their inevitable fate came closer and closer added something. It was needed to flesh out the story.

Werewolves are fun to write. Normally I write vampires but I liked doing this. It was a cool change of pace.