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Black Circle: Written By: Soo Ze Shi

John wakes up in a strange room with no exits and nothing but a black circle on the wall. Over many days trapped in isolation with no way out, John grows increasingly desperate and paranoid as he tries unsuccessfully to find a way to escape. He eventually comes to realize that the black circle is in fact a camera, and that he has been trapped in an artificial environment and observed the entire time without his knowledge. In a moment of desperation, John charges at the camera, realizing he has been recorded without his consent.

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99 views5 pages

Black Circle: Written By: Soo Ze Shi

John wakes up in a strange room with no exits and nothing but a black circle on the wall. Over many days trapped in isolation with no way out, John grows increasingly desperate and paranoid as he tries unsuccessfully to find a way to escape. He eventually comes to realize that the black circle is in fact a camera, and that he has been trapped in an artificial environment and observed the entire time without his knowledge. In a moment of desperation, John charges at the camera, realizing he has been recorded without his consent.

Uploaded by

chloe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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BLACK CIRCLE

WRITTEN BY: SOO ZE SHI


INT: BORING ROOM
JOHN wakes up in a room. It isn’t his. He has no idea how he got
here, but from the look on his face, it seems he has been here a
while.

JOHN(V.O)
Day 10 of being stuck inside this room. As usual, there is nothing
to look at, nothing to play with, nothing to do. Everywhere I look,
there is a black circle looking back at me.

He paces around the room, mumbling to himself.

(cont’d)Everyone gets bored sometimes. Like when you scroll through


your Instagram mindlessly on your way to school. Or when you go
through Netflix, and you can’t find anything to watch. That’s how I
feel, all the time.

He lies on the floor, like a corpse. He clicks the monitor, it


doesn’t turn on.

CUT TO BLACK.

JOHN(V.O)
Day 15 of being stuck inside this room. It’s not my room, for sure.
Is it even a room? What kind of room doesn’t have a door out? Or
have a monitor that can’t turn on.

He clicks on the monitor, nothing happens. He looks under the table,


nothing. No wire.

(cont’d) Why am I here? Is there a reason for all this, is it some


sort of test? Some sort of punishment? Is this some kind of escape
room that lasts for months. I can’t just be here for no reason at
all.

He flips through a book, it’s empty inside. Blank pages. It’s not
even a notebook.

(cont'd)We need reasons, justifications, and explanations for


everything that happens to us, otherwise we would go crazy. Isn’t
that the purpose of science? To explain everything that happens, to
give all of this… a reason?
So what do we do when something happens for no reason at all? When
science can’t explain it just yet? The sightings of UFOs, the crash
of MH370.
Do we just invent the reason then? Spin up an elaborate tale
believable enough, plausible enough, crazy enough, to ease us. So
what story can I spin to ease myself from this?
He kicks his chair around the room, staring out the window. He moves
towards the ledge and presses his hands against the window. An idea
dawns on him.

CUT TO BLACK.

JOHN(V.O)
Day 22, or 25? I lost count a long time ago, there’s no way to tell
the time, or the date, and for some reason it’s always sunny out.

He tries to push open the windows, but it doesn’t move.

(cont’d)The window is locked, it won’t budge. Thank god, I did not


want to jump.

He gets up from bed. He takes a pencil and begins drawing the black
circle.

(cont’d)Sometimes, it looks like a black hole, or a portal. Like if


I could touch it, my hand would be sucked in, and something awaits
me on the other side.

The notebook is filled with circles shaded completely black. He


sinks his head into the table.

(cont’d) Humans don’t do well in isolation. Everyone of us would be


reduced to mindless animals after a few days of this isolated hell.
That was the reason that solitary confinement was banned in the 90s,
the reason why it sparks such controversy. So if that’s the case,
then what have I become? What’s worse than a mindless animal?
(laughs) A prisoner that needs to escape.

He laughs at himself. He lays on the bed, defeated.

CUT TO BLACK.

A montage of him pacing about in his room from immense boredom.

JOHN(V.O)
Day 30… Day 40- Day 54. Day 55. Day… no, lost count. Day ,1,again…
Day 5. I have to get out, there has to be an exit somewhere, a
secret door, a latch, a button, a key. Something, anything… please.

He knocks his head against the wall, he clicks the button on the
monitor in anger. He looks around for a secret exit, he looks under
the bed, he tries to move the closet, he looks under the table.
He sits by the desk, writing on the notebook like it's a journal. He
slams the table, and hides under it.

CUT TO BLACK

JOHN(V.O)
Day 10 of being stuck inside this room. Everywhere I look, there’s a
black circle looking back. Maybe it means something, or maybe it
means nothing. Maybe I am going blind.
(panting, his voice sounds disheartened.)
It looks at me like a snake, observing my every move like I’m its
prey. Like the government spying on citizens through CCTV. Like it’s
a… (realization) recording me like a cam-, a cam...

He clicks the monitor again, he flips through all the blank books,
he stares at the circle once again. It looks more and more like the
lens of a camera.

(cont’d)The monitor isn’t plugged in, all the books are blank, it’s
always daytime, never night. Who knows what happens when I fall
asleep. This isn’t even a room, it’s too fake, too artificial. And
the circle...

He stares right at the circle. And slowly, he moves towards it. The
camera moves back. With one charge, he sprints towards the camera in
desperation and anger.

CUT TO BLACK.

A DISTANT VOICE
CUT!

THE END.

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