The Red Raincoat

SEGMENT 1.1

FADE IN:

EXT. ISOLATED COUNTRYSIDE – LATE AFTERNOON

A vast, empty stretch of land. No people, no movement. Just silence. In the distance…a modern house stands alone clean, minimal, almost out of place. Surrounded by overgrown land. Wild grass sways silently and gently. But something feels wrong…too still, too quiet. A faint metallic Clink…Clink…

The wind chime hangs near the front porch there is no wind, just silence and still but the wind chime moves silently. Strange!

TITLE CARD:

THE RED RAINCOAT

CUT TO:

EXT. ISOLATED COUNTRYSIDE ROAD – LATE AFTERNOON

A narrow road cut through vast, empty land. A car speeds along. Inside music plays.

INT. CAR – CONTINUOUS

Choi Soo-Ah drives, relaxed. One hand on the wheel. She hums along to the music slightly off-key, comfortable. For a moment…she’s completely at ease. Disconnected from everything.

EXT. COUNTRYSIDE ROAD – CONTINUOUS

The car moves deeper into isolation. Fields stretch endlessly. Few houses, people. Up ahead the silhouette of her new home begins to appear.

INT. CAR – CONTINUOUS

Soo-Ah notices it. Her humming slowly fades. She lowers the music slightly. Her eyes scenes the surroundings.

Soo-Ah (quietly, to herself):

This is it…

Something about the place feels…off.

EXT. ROAD – CONTINUOS

As the car passes narrow land, a figure stands near the roadside. A figure stands near the roadside. Still, silent watching. The figure is distant, unclear and unnatural in its stillness. The car passes by.

INT. CAR – CONTINUOUS

Soo-Ah doesn't notice. She keeps driving.

EXT. ROAD – CONTINUOUS

The figure remains. Unmoving. Watching the car disappear. Then…gone.

EXT. HOUSE DRIVEAWAY – CONTINUOUS

A car pulls in. Engine cuts. Silence returns instantly. Soo-Ah opens the door and gets out of the car. She looks at the house. Something unreadable flickers across her face.

Soo-Ah (softly too herself):

It's…quiet.

She grabs a box from the backseat. Closes the door. The sound echoes slightly too long.

EXT. FRONT YARD – CONTINUOUS

Soo-Ah walks towards the house. Her footsteps crunch against gravel. The wind chime sounds again.

Clink…Clink…

She pauses. Look up. It’s moving, barely. No wind. She frowns and steps closer, reaches out the chime and it suddenly stops. Perfectly still.

A beat.

Soo-Ah exhales, shaking it off.

Soo-Ah (muttering to herself):

Probably just…air pressure.

She unlocks the door.

INT. HOUSE – LIVING ROOM – MOMENTS LATER

The door creaks open. Dust floats in the air. Sunlight stretches across the wooden floor. The house is clean…but empty in a way that feels unnatural. Not abandoned. Just…untouched. Soo-Ah steps inside, places the box down. Her footsteps echo. Too loud. She walks further in.

INT. HOUSE – HALLWAY – CONTINUOUS

A long hallway. Dark, cold feels like a really long Soo-Ah gets feeling someone is watching her but there is no one. Doors on both sides, all slightly open. It's totally dark inside and she glances at them one by one.

Clink…Clink…

The wind chime again, from outside. She freezes. She was sure that there was no breeze outside.

Soo-Ah (calling out, slightly uneasy):

H-hello?

There was total silence. She laughs nervously.

Soo-Ah (herself):

You're seriously doing this already?

She ignores and continues unpacking. Opening boxes, placing items around, trying to normalise the space.

INT. LIVING ROOM – LATER

A few boxes opened now. Signs of life. But the house feels…off. Something's wrong. Soo-Ah is totally unbothered and continues arranging things, placing them. She wipes sweat from her neck. Walk towards the kitchen. Behind her, something shifts. Not a sound, not a movement that you can fully catch. Just a…disturbance. Along the hallway, a shadow trembles, slightly out of sync with everyone else. It doesn't follow her, it doesn't belong to anything. For a brief it stretches too long, too thin, as if reaching. As soon as Soo-Ah turns back, the shadow disappears. She felt something's wrong, she felt someone was in the hallway, she went to check but there was no one. Dark and silent.

Soo-Ah (herself):

Someone was here…ig it's my imagination. Oh gosh, it seems like I have to stop reading horror books.

She gets back to the kitchen.

INT. KITCHEN – CONTINUOUS

She opens the fridge, empty.

Clink…Clink…Clink…

Louder now, more frequent. Soo-Ah stops, closes the fridge slowly. Silence. Then…a faint sound, not outside…inside.

Tap…

Soo-Ah turns. Nothing. No one.

…tap…tap…

Her breathing slows.

Soo-Ah(whispers):

Okay…not funny…

She steps back into the hallway.

INT. HALLWAY – CONTINUOUS

The door remains slightly open, but something feels off. One of them now stands wider than before. Soo-Ah freezes. She’s certain she didn't touch it. A long, heavy, silence settles in, pressing against her chest. Slowly, almost unwillingly, she begins to walk towards the door. Each step feels careful, measured, like the air itself is watching. Beneath her feet, the wooden floor creaks loudly, breaking the silence in sharp, unsettling echoes that seem to linger longer than they should.

Soo-Ah (under her breath):

Old houses…expand…contract…

She reaches the door and pushes it open.

INT. EMPTY ROOM – CONTINUOUS

Nothing inside, just bare walls , dust everywhere and silence. She exhales as a relief and turns to leave.

Clink…Clink…

Loud right behind her.

Soo-Ah spins around, nothing. The room stands still, empty, silent. But for a split second, something feels…wrong. As if the space behind her is occupied. Her body goes rigid. A presence, right there, close…too close. Her breath hitches in her throat, shallow and unsteady. Slowly almost against her own will. She turns her head, nothing. Just empty air. Silence pressing in from all sides. Then a faint shift, subtle. Like someone has been standing there…and just stepped away. Panic rises in her chest. Soo-Ah quickly backs out of the room and slams the door shut, the sound echoing through silence.

INT. LIVING ROOM – CONTINUOUS

She leans against. Heart racing. Then…she laughs. Forcing normalcy.

Soo-Ah (shaky):

New place…new nerves…that's all.

She grabs another box and opens it and starts again placing things arranging it, attracting herself. Behind her, in the reflection of the dark TV screen a faint silhouette stands in the hallway. Still watching and Soo-Ah is totally unaware. The silhouette slowly…tilts its head.

CUT TO BLACK

SEGMENT 1.2

FADE IN:

INT. HOUSE – BEDROOM – NIGHT

The digital clock reads 11:02 pm.

The room is dimly lit only by a faint bedside lamp casting a warm glow. Soo-Ah enters slowly to the bedroom, her movements heavy. Her shoulders slump under exhaustion. It's been a long and tiring day, shifting, moving, and arranging things alone. No help, no voices, just silence. She drops onto the bed. Not gracefully, it collapses. Her body sinks into the mattress as if she has no energy to fight gravity.

Soo-Ah (muttering weakly):

Huhh…finally…getting some rest. It's been a really long day. Strange…no one even approached me to help. Rude.

She stares at the ceiling. Eyes half open, barely consciousness. Her eyes closed, then totally silent. After a few seconds, again a strange noise starts.

Creak…

Her eyes flicker slightly. But she still doesn't move.

Soo-Ah (whining):

Uhh…seriously! After a long and tiring day? I have to deal with these annoying noises?

Soo-Ah was about to wake up and get down from the bed to check. As soon as she steps outside from the bedroom, a faint sound comes from downstairs.

Step…

Soo-Ah exhales. She gets more annoyed than scared.

Soo-Ah (eyes closed):

Huh…old house…

She turns back steps inside the bedroom and goes to the bed. She pulls her blanket over her shoulder.

Soo-Ah (to herself):

Now I'm going to focus only on sleep. If strange sound comes again I’ll ignore it.

As soon as Soo-Ah closes her eyes again strange sounds start, this time not faint but more louder and heavier feels like happening either in her room or outside.

…Step…Step…

The sound continues. Slower, heavier. Her jaw tightens, eyes open now.

…Clink…

The wind chime.

…Clink…Clink…

This time it’s louder and aggressive than before. Soo-Ah cannot ignore this time and sleep. Those sounds are getting on her nerves. She sits up, fully awake now. Silence.

Soo-Ah (frustrated):

Like seriously. Y’all won't let me sleep or what?!!

Then everything hits at once

Creak…

Step…

Clink…Clink…

Louder, layered, overlapping.

These sounds give her chills running down her spines and dangerously frightens her. She sits still, eyes froze, hands cold and shaky.

Soo-Ah (under her breath):

No…someone's here…

She swings her legs off the bed. Stands slowly.

INT. HALLWAY/STAIRS – CONTINUOUS

Soo-Ah comes out from the bedroom. The house feels darker and thicker as if the air itself is watching her. She walks towards the stairs turning on the phone torch, taking each step cautiously and controlled. The sound continues below, she reaches the staircase, looks down. Darkness swallows the lower floor. Then…a long pause. She starts to descend.

INT. LIVING ROOM – CONTINUOUS

The space is barely visible. Shadows stretch unnaturally across the walls and then she sees it. A figure standing back turned completely still. After seeing Soo-Ah freezes, her heart races, it feels like soon it's going to come out in her hand. Her voice crakes slightly.

Soo-Ah (loud, shaky voice):

Hello?...Who's there?!

The figure doesn't move. It remains still, complete silence. Then it disappears. Just like that empty space. Soo-Ah stumbles forward slightly, confused.

Soo-Ah (louder now, panicking):

Yah! Who’s there?

She walks slowly towards that place where it stood. Slowly she reaches to the exact spot and then…

Thud!

She shoved forward violently, crashes into the floor. Feeling like someone pushes her from behind, a sharp gasp escapes. She turns instantly, but there's nothing, no one. Her breathing becomes frantic.

Soo-Ah (shouting):

Who’s there?! Show yourself!

Her voice echoes through the house but nothing answers. Now no footsteps, no movement, just silence, heavy and unnatural. Soo-Ah slowly pushes herself up. Her hands tremble, eyes dart around the room. She has no idea what's going on. Her voice becomes more shaky and breaks.

Soo-Ah (breaking voice):

This isn't funny…stop it…

No response. She backs away step by step, never turning her back. Then…she turns, runs upstairs.

INT. BEDROOM – MOMENTS LATER

Soo-Ah gets into the bedroom, slams the door shut and hurriedly locks it. She leans against the door, chest risking falling and falling. A long pause. She moves quickly, grabs her earphones, plugs them on her ears and starts the music really loud drowning everything. She climbs into the bed tiredly and pulls the blanket over herself. Her eyes remain wide open. A few minutes later, slowly exhaustion takes over her fear. Her breathing steadies. She slowly closes her eyes and falls asleep. Then silence returns.

EXT. HOUSE – SAME TIME

The house stands still under the dark, quiet night sky. Then, a shadow appears at the bedroom window, unmoving. The shadow was tall, still, unnatural, watching through the window chime echoes again n

Clink…

CUT TO BLACK

SEGMENT 1.3

FADE IN:

INT. BEDROOM – MORNING

Soft sunlight filters through the curtains, warm, calm, peaceful. Soo-Ah lies on the bed, slowly opens her eyes. She looks disoriented for a moment as if her body woke up…but her mind is still somewhere else.

A beat…

Then fragments of last night flashes through her mind those sounds, the big tall figure she saw, the way she fell harshly on the floor. She sits abruptly, breathing slightly uneven. Her eyes scans the whole room quiet, still completely no noise like last night, a long pause. She lets out slow breath, runs her through her hair.

Soo-Ah (softly, to herself):

It was just stress…probably.

She swings her legs off the bed and stands. As she moves, she winces slightly. Her hand instinctively goes to her arm, deep market on her hand.

Soo-Ah (questions herself):

How did this happen?

Soo-Ah gets flashbacks from last night how harshly she fell on the floor.

Soo-Ah:

Oh…yeah…I fell down…

And then another mark she notices near her waist. Her expression tightens for a second.

Soo-Ah (tightened expression):

Huh?...another mark? How badly did I fell yesterday?

She exhales and shakes her head.

Soo-Ah (firm, dismissing):

Huhh…it's just normal…I need to be more careful.

She turns away and forces herself not to think about it.

INT. KITCHEN – LATER

The house feels normal again. The rays of the sunlight fills every corner of the house, erasing last night’s shadows. Soo-Ah stands at the kitchen counter washing fruits and vegetables. Her movements are calm and deliberate. Almost like she is trying to reset everything. She packs some oranges and apples in a small bag.

Soo-Ah (muttering slightly):

Let's meet the neighbour with warm greetings.

A normal decision and action, something to ground herself. But her eyes drift…just for a second towards the hallway. A moment of silence. She quickly looks away and grabs the bag, leaves the house.

EXT. NEIGHBOUR’S HOUSE – LATE MORNING

A small older house stands beside Soo-Ah’s house. Unlike Soo-Ah's house this one feels lived in, but too quiet. Soo-Ah walks up to the door and knocks.

Knock.Knock.

A pause. The sound of footsteps from inside comes slowly. Dragging slightly the door creaks open. Halmoni (old woman) opens the door. Thin, wrinkled, eyes sharp. She doesn't smile nor greets. She just…looks at her scanning her from head to toe and then along in uncomfortable silence. Soo-Ah forces a polite smile.

Soo-Ah (friendly, slightly awkward):

Annyeonghaseyo. I just moved in next door

(hold out a bag)

I bought some fresh fruits.

The old woman didn't take it immediately, her eyes were still fixed with Soo-Ah studying and scanning. Then slowly she takes the bag, still an awkward silence. Soo-Ah shifts slightly uneasy now.

Soo-Ah (trying again):

I thought to introduce myself…

The old woman tilts her head slightly, her gaze darkens.

A beat.

Then she speaks in a low and dry voice.

Halmoni (quietly):

You…you moved to that house?

Soo-Ah nods.

Soo-Ah:

Yes…just yesterday.

The old woman’s grip tightens on the bad slightly her expression exchanges subtly.

Halmoni (soft but firm):

You should leave before something dangerous happens to you.

Soo-Ah gets confused after hearing. She gets caught off guard.

Soo-Ah (confused):

Sorry what?

Halmoni steps closer not aggressively but intensely.

Halmoni (whispering):

That house is cursed. Before you, more families lived but they couldn't stay. Either died or suffered really badly.

(A pause)

That house already knows you're there.

A heavy silence hangs between them. Soo-Ah’s smile fades, just a little.

Soo-Ah (trying to brushing it off):

Probably it's just…rumours. I think you’ve heard rumours.

The old woman doesn't argue back; she just stares. Her expression gets a bit intense.

Halmoni:

It's not rumours…I’ve been staying here for years and I’ve seen everything. Be careful.

Soo-Ah shifts uncomfortably and forces a polite nod.

Soo-Ah (gently):

Uhhh…okay I'll keep that in mind.

She steps back.

Soo-Ah (bows):

I’ll get going then. Ghamsahamnida

And she turns around and leaves. The old woman didn't stopped her nor says goodbye. She just watches.

EXT. NEIGHBOUR'S HOUSE – CONTINUOUS

Soo-Ah walks away trying to brush things off, but that conversation she had still lingers, someone inside tells her to believe what that woman said. She shakes her head.

Soo-Ah (to herself):

Whatever…made up stories.

She continues walking but behind her…halmoni is standing at the door, still watching her. Her expression slowly shifts neither relief nor concern but recognition.

Halmoni (deep, but slowly):

The nightmare starts…again…

CUT TO BLACK