Rapture of the Deep

TRIGGER WARNINGS drowning, death, the water- the vast. stuff like that

A NOTEthis was a school project + scene one was not made by me!!! it was made by my classmate, so no credit to me for scene 1. scene 2 and three was me.

SCENE 1:

Darkness, with only the sound of waves, then FADE IN

Ext - deck of a BARGE - DAWN

Three divers are suiting up to go on a dive. It’s a routine dive, and there’s no real reason to be concerned about anything. The camera is between the characters and the wall, and the sea is out behind them. Behind the sea is the rising sun, it looks like an egg yolk. I’m hungry. They’re all wearing thermal layers, as if they were going into the cold. 

There’s the sound of a door, and someone walks through the camera with a big dry suit, followed by two others, also with dry suits. As the handlers approach the divers, the camera follows the second handler over their shoulder. It gets tighter and tighter, with the shoulder and neck taking up more and more of the shot blurrily, leaving only this handler’s diver in focus. They seem like they’re hiding nervousness. Everything is slightly slowed down, slightly blurred maybe, a bit dreamy. The handlers hand the dry suits to the divers, who start to suit up. Sound of heavy breathing fades in, then 

CUT

Laughter, close up of a male face, tattooed, sunny, laughing, smiling. A piercing whine appears and gets louder and louder. 

CUT

Back to the divers suiting up. They’re wearing their suits now, and the helmets are being brought out. The camera is over the shoulder of the focus diver, pointing at another diver. The faint sound of breathing is heard. The diver who is the focus of the camera now is the same diver whose face was being shown in the flash-back. The helmets squeak on, and even though the camera is not literally in the eyes of the MC, the sound of breathing gets louder and louder, and a black screen falls over the camera from the top and it CUT

A female face, sharp, stern, heavy eyebrows, dark eyes, also smiley, sunny, though not laughing. The whine comes back, gets loud again, then 

CUT

The three divers are standing in a row next to the side of the boat. The focus character is last in line. The camera is over his shoulder again. One by one they sit on the side, cross their arms, and flip backwards into the water. Still, the sound of breathing can be heard. As RYAN gets closer to the front of the line, a heartbeat sound appears, and gets slightly louder, though it’s never super loud. The character pauses, and looks into the water. In the dawn halflight, it’s as dark as outer space, and looks twice as deep. We can see his reflection - a bulky, larger than life, imitation of a real person. Suddenly, a hand enters the frame, landing on his shoulder. In the reflection, we can see someone has walked up behind him, and put their hand on his shoulder. The camera doesn’t turn though, it stays fixed on the pitch-black water.

HANDLER[reassuringly]:

Hey,-

RYAN[determinedly]:

It’ll be fine.

He turns, and sits on the side of the boat. As he does, the camera pans up. Ryan is now completely out of frame, and the rest of it is taken up by the sky, by the dawn-lit clouds, by the slight edge of the roof of the boat. It slowly tilts back into the water, you briefly see the surface of the water, placid despite the other two divers, and stretching out to the horizon. Right before the camera hits the water, you begin to see the two other divers already in the water, decendly slowly, but looking up at Ryan falling into the water. The camera hits the water, and 

CUT

To a similar scene, with RYAN and two other divers in the water, near the surface. It’s much brighter than in the present, it looks like the middle of the day. They’re looking at each other, nod, and begin to descend. The two other divers are the same divers as we saw in the flashbacks, visible through their goggles with tattoos and heavy eyebrows or something else distinctive.

CUT

Back to the present. They’re deeper now, and it’s dark, but the surface of the water is brighter in the distance than it was. Time has passed. They’re descending. It’s pretty quiet, the sound of breathing, bubbles. The corners of the screen are a bit dark.

CUT

Back to a flashback, they’re descending again. It’s still brighter than the present. Someone taps Ryan on the shoulder. He turns quickly in the water, it’s the woman. There’s a stream of bubbles coming from a rubber tube whipping around her head. She makes a chopping gesture across her neck. Ryan’s eyes widen with shock. He grasps around his neck and shoulders, and grabs a rubber pipe connected to his harness. The hose ends in a mouthpiece, which he hands to her. She accepts it, and puts it in her mouth. She takes a deep breath, before gesturing to the surface with a thumbs up. He nods, and makes an ok symbol, and uses a clacker to get the attention of the third diver, and gestures to the surface, who makes an ok symbol. They begin to make their ways back to the surface.

CUT 

back to the present. They’ve reached the sea floor, and the world has brightened somewhat. They’re wrangling with some pipes. Doesn’t matter, really. RYAN’s head isn’t in it though.

CUT

Back to the past. They’re making their way back to the surface. Heartbeat, two sets of bubbles, and two sets of breathing is all that can be heard. Suddenly, from nowhere, a big fish or a ray or something idk comes out of nowhere, and hits the female diver carrying her a short distance away, and the mouthpiece out of her mouth. There is a bit of blood in the water. Ryan sets off after her. The big ass fish comes around again, and hits her. Now we can hear SCREAMING. The camera turns all the way around, to face RYAN, who is desperately making his way through the water as fast as he possibly can. There’s only one set of breathing and bubbles that can be heard, and the screaming.

CUT

Back to the present. The divers -Ryan, Simmons from the past, and one other- are done with their job, and start going up. The camera sticks to the seafloor and follows them up, tracking them up. 

MATCH CUT 

To the past - what in the present was the three of them going up calmly is The Female Diver going up completely limply/corpus.

In the bottom left of the shot, RYAN can be seen trying to get after her, but Simmons grabs his ankle from below and holds him down. He makes a dramatic gesture - it isn’t one of their official symbols, but the meaning is clear. Don’t do it - if you chase her up, you’re dead. Then he makes the symbol for safety stop - a flat hand over three fingers.

CUT

To the surface. It’s still the past. RYAN and Simmons are back on the boat, shivering. Not from the cold though, it’s quite warm. The boat is motoring slowly towards a body in the water, limp and face down. The water is very, very dark, strangely dark on a light day.

MATCH CUT 

Back to the present, RYAN is on the boat, in a similar position, though he’s not shivering.

SIMMONS (V.O):

It wasn’t your fault. It was an accident, a freak accident. An act of nature.

RYAN (shooketh)(V.O):

I wasn’t fast enough.

SIMMONS (V.O):

You couldn’t have saved her. There was nothing you could have done. Nothing.

SCENE 2:

EXT. GAS RIG DECK - NIGHT

RYAN sits solemnly on a folding chair, a crate working as his desk. He looks somber, his face lit by a singular lamp. Wide shot, the monologue voiceover is similar to that of Postal Redux/“war, war never changes” in fallout 4.”

RYAN[monologuing]:

Sometimes, I think about the ocean in its entirety. Looking down at the water, the deep dark, murky depths underneath a mirror image of me. One that’s rippled by water the unfamiliar. 

[RYAN stops writing, looking at the ocean, sighing. He’s staring at his own reflection over the deck, the silence all encompassing. More sounds of rumbling, pressurized water.]

RYAN CON’T:

Broken up, distorted by waves and… being alone makes me afraid. Afraid of the vast emptiness of the water. Alone in an infinite sea of nothingness and a hint of something I could never ever know.

It’s simultaneously the loneliest experience because of what could be there. It’s the horror of the infinite rumbling of pressure. Do you know how overwhelming it is?! I’m both in the vast and in the most claustrophobic experience you’ll ever feel. Every inch of me is confined underwater, touch. All I hear is the rumbling of the ocean, sometimes broken up by the terrifying roars of creatures. Sound. All I taste is salt. Taste. All I smell is fish. Scent. All I can think of- all I can see is emptiness. Sight.

I imagine what it’s like to die in the ocean. Like she did. Tex. I’m getting sad again, we have a repair to do tomorrow, and then we’ll be done. Done with this death mission— what do I even do? A teammate, my FRIEND, died. I don’t know.

It’s so loud underwater. It’s silent.

[Very wide shot. He is sitting, barely lit by the flame, the scene is empty and vast. RYAN is small. The framing is suffocating because of how big everything is compared to RYAN. It represents the fear of the vast. He’s in the middle bottom of the shot, the rest of the screen filled by the night sky. It’s full of stars- but it’s not comforting, it's unfamiliar. The shot holds for a minute or two. the song Serenity from Resident Evil 4 or something similar, plays over this.]

SCENE 3:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMNMQ6_Isao All you hear is the rumbling SFX of this video.

EXT. DECK - AFTERNOON

RYAN and SIMMONS are currently preparing for the second dive. We watch as they get ready to dive in nervous silence. 

ARLEN:

Are you absolutely sure that you’re prepared?

SIMMONS:

Have to be.

[RYAN nods]

RYAN:

El will be on the comms right? You too?

ARLEN:

Yeah- keep in mind that this dive will be a lot deeper than anything you’re used to, be prepared to start swimming back up if it becomes too much. We’ll figure something out, okay? Remember your mission: repair the pylon. We can leave soon after that.

[SIMMONS and RYAN do the whole getting into water thing. I am not sure how diving works but Liam does pretend that he is describing it here. They are underwater now.]

ARLEN, OVER COMMS:

Alright, you two will want to follow my directions.

[RYAN turns on his dive light, looking over to his partner who looks nervous.]

ARLEN, OVER COMMS, CON’T:

Bottom of the dive should be around half an hour, continue swimming downwards until you see a red line on the pylon.

SIMMONS:

You got it boss.

ARLEN:

For the last time, I am not your boss.

RYAN:

Can we focus? Please? No banter this time?

SIMMONS:

Who put a stick up your ass, Ryan?

ELLIOT, JOINING COMMS:

Do you think it was a whale?

SIMMONS:

What are you even saying El? Ryan- why are you so…

ARLEN:

Pshhhft y’know?

RYAN:

Maybe it’s the fact this might be the DEEPEST WE HAVE EVER DIVED BEFORE?! OUR TEAMMATE DIED YESTERDAY. ARE YOU NOT WORRIED?

ARLEN:

Ryan, being all anxious or worried will only jeopardize this entire mission. Calm the FUCK down. Tex’s death fucked us ALL up, you’re not alone. But we need to focus on this. We can discuss emotions afterwards!

RYAN:

Sorry- I-

[It’s silent for a while as SIMMONS and RYAN continue their downward venture.]

SIMMONS:

Why are they sending us to do their dirty maintenance work?

ELLIOT, JOINING THE COMMS:

Don’t insult our maintenance work like that! It’s an  emergency man, do you really want this entire oil rig to collapse and we all die? Succumbing to the horror and misery that is drowning, alone, cold and deep into the ocean where you will never be found.

RYAN [hesitant, angry]:

Why the fuck would you say that.

ELLIOT:

I’m just saying.

ARLEN:

What if we all just stay quiet for a little while.

[SILENCE.]

ARLEN:

What the hell?

[There is a sound from the surface, a small beeping coming from ARLEN’S end. The sounds of waves are louder.]

ELLIOT:

What’s going on?!

ARLEN:

There’s some kind of- shit. The waves are getting stronger, it might displace you guys, I need to call the dive.

SIMMONS:

Really? We see a red line not too far down, we’re almost there right?

ARLEN:

No! You don’t realize how bad the waves are, no! 

SIMMONS:

But we could, it wouldn’t take long!

ARLEN:

You can’t! Because you’re stuck UNDERWATER with NOTHING but OCEAN AND EMPTINESS SURROUNDING YOU. WE ALREADY LOST TEX.

ELLIOT:

Dying alone, in misery, drowning underneath miles of-

ARLEN, SIMMONS, RYAN:

Shut the fuck up / PLEASE STOP. / WE GET IT.

ARLEN:

Seriously, I need you two to return to the surface. We can try again once the weather calms down, it’s no big deal.

[RYAN shakes his head.]

RYAN:

No! It can’t end like last time! Do you rememb-

ARLEN:

Don’t.

RYAN:

See! You don’t want her to- she’s dead because of-

ARLEN:

Don’t you talk about her. You are going to return to the surface, that is a direct order. I HAVE CALLED THE DIVE.

ELLIOT:

It’s getting really bad out here.

SIMMONS:

Come on Ryan, seriously we-

RYAN:

I-

[He looks up at SIMMONS before heading back down.]

SIMMONS:

RYAN- HAVE YOU LOST YOUR GODDAMN MIND?! Do you WANT to die?!

ARLEN:

Listen! Get the hell out of there now! Ryan, don’t you fucking dare. RYAN!

[Shot follows RYAN as we hear ARLEN and ELLIOT scream over the comms.]

ARLEN:

RYAN, YOU STUBBORN BASTARD! DON’T YOU DAR-

[Snap.]

RYAN:

Wha-

[The cord connecting his comms snap from the ocean tide and strength. He sees SIMMONS swim out of the water and he tries to follow, but he’s gone too far down. He screams in pain as the current hurts his leg. He begins to freak out.]

RYAN:

SIMMONS! SIMMONS!

[His voice is muffled by the ocean as he realizes what he’s done.]

RYAN:

Shit! Shit shit shit shit!

[RYAN is alone in silence. There is nothing but the grumbling of the ocean and his own thoughts. He looks around the water, closing his eyes.

He begins to heave, trying to prevent a panic attack.]

RYAN:

One- two- three- four-

[RYAN takes a breath in, before exhaling. He clutches his heart, as the silence is overwhelming. Wide shot, it’s suffocatingly open around him. He is framed in the middle, floating in this endless depth.]

RYAN:

ELLIOT? ARLEN? SIMMONS? Anyone? 

[It’s silent. RYAN is truly, and horrifyingly alone this time.]

RYAN:

Anyone…?

[His voice is small and quiet.]

RYAN:

Okay…

[His voice is shaky, he looks down, teary- before laughing maniacally.]

RYAN, THROUGH LAUGHTER:

God- I’ve gone too far haven’t I? I- this is NOT how I expected to go out if i’m being honest… ha- Elliot WAS right! Ha!

[RYAN continues to laugh, starting to cry. He’s sinking from his struggle. He begins to shiver, showing signs of cold. He looks around him, wanting to swim up, but his legs are locked up. Shot to his perspective, seeing some creature around him. The water around his moves]

RYAN:

Who- what? Oh. Hallucinations. I’ve done it. Rapture of the deep. Ha.

[Silence.]

MONOLOGUE VOICEOVER:

        Shot composition is him floating in water. Middle of the screen, make sure to emphasize how small he is.

RYAN:

Hello? Who’s there- Simmons? No, logically it couldn’t be Simmons. 

[Silence.]

RYAN:

Damn. It’s cold. Boring. Sad. Frowny Face. What is wrong with me? I expected to be sadder- genuinely. What do people think about when they die? Family, regrets, life as an abstract concept. What comes after death… I expected to be sadder and yet here I am wondering what I should think about.

Is this shock? I’ve seen it in movies but this isn’t a movie. [HAHA FOURTH WALL BREAK].

[Silence.]

RYAN:

It’s all over. It’s over- I- so much left in my life. So- and

I– god! Haha! Oh god, I’m going to fucking die, I’m going to die because of a goddamn pylon! A PYLON! I’m done for! I- there’s a fucking monster down here and I’M GOING TO DIE.

[Silence.]

RYAN:

This isn’t what I had planned. I thought- I didn’t understand, I wanted to-

[He calms down.]

I’m going to die.

[Relieved.] I’m going to die-

[He seems content.]

[The ocean rumbles.]

It’s quiet.

I’m sorry, Tex.

[It’s quiet yet again.]

[Silence, but only the sounds of him sobbing, muffled by the water.]

[The screen fades to black, hinting that he dies at the end.]

TWO ENDINGS:

[It’s silent again, besides the overwhelming sound of water. The silence is cut off by a sound of something horrifying, a deep, eldritch rumble.]

[He gasps, seeing the monster in the entirety. It is out of frame as we hear his pleas for mercy. For help.]

[His cries go on for about a minute, begging with this monster 

that we can’t see, we can only hear it come closer.]

[Offscreen we hear a wail of terror from RYAN before it’s silent, only the loud, pounding, overwhelming noises of water. It’s almost claustrophobic, as the shot changes to RYAN floating underwater, motionless. There is no monster to be seen, no horrors or fear. Just the cold, loud, empty water and his silhouette of a body.]

[The sounds of the ocean lead to a blackout.]