Reel One
Movie Theatre Horror Short Story
London, 1924
It had been a marvellous late-night showing of Buster Keaton's The Navigator. The regal Picture Palace had been sold out as the elegant audience laughed and clapped along to Buster’s hilarious exploits and brave rescue of Kathryn McGuire's Betsy aboard the wayward ocean liner. They’d been astonished by the incredible underwater sequence and stunts and had fallen from their seats with amusement during the faux haunting. They’d been glued to the exploits on the screen, especially when the beautiful pair battled for survival against the rampaging cannibals.
What a pleasure and absolute joy it had been to see such creativity on the screen, and such love from the adoring crowd watching the high-seas adventure unfold inside the majestic cinema. William had rarely heard the patrons in such fine voice. And the orchestra had played their part too, putting on another flawless performance. William was always in awe of them and the beauty of their music. He was already looking forward to reliving the whole experience again tomorrow when the next showing took place.
But first, the grand Picture Palace needed to be cleaned. The gorgeous building was kept to extremely high standards, and the Manager, Mr. Robinson, was someone who would never allow those standards to drop. He organised his team of ushers and cleaners with almost military precision, ensuring the crowd would always have the best experience possible. There were no excuses for dusty floors or seats. He didn’t expect to find any programmes lurking between showings. The Picture Palace was to be the epitome of glamour. Elegance for all.
William had been working as an usher for the Picture Palace for a little over three years. He wasn’t the fastest at the job, but he gave it his all and had a certain attention to detail that Mr. Robinson appreciated. He was a trusted member of the team, despite always being the last to finish.
Tonight was no different as William waved goodbye to the last of the other ushers and dedicated cleaners. He alone was yet to finish tidying his selected rows, but William didn’t mind. There was no place he’d rather be than the movie theatre. It may have been his job, but in William’s mind it was his home away from home. In fact, if they installed a bed out back for him, he would never leave.
He’d seen some incredible movies over the years. Just this year alone, he’d watched one of Buster’s most daring movies to date, Sherlock Jr. He’d witnessed John Ford's epic western The Iron Horse. And he had watched in amazement with the rest of the transfixed audience as the depressing and, dare he say, violent end to Greed unfold. If there was one person in the building who cared about the Picture Palace as much as Mr. Robinson, it was William.
With the other ushers gone and the orchestra having already departed, William was left alone in the theatre to finish his work, which made it all the more surprising when the red curtains were suddenly drawn back and a new movie was projected onto the screen. He hadn’t been aware the projectionist was due to test any upcoming movies this evening and had been startled by the sudden, unexpected noise. Once the initial shock had passed, however, he couldn’t have felt happier.
William had never been privy to any previews before, as they were often viewed in the morning before anyone else arrived. He felt giddy with excitement, wondering what magic he was about to glimpse as the numbers counted down on the projected reel. Looking up towards the projectionist booth, he couldn’t see Frank; otherwise, he would have given him a grateful wave.
As the countdown finished, the movie began. William continued to sweep the floors as the movie flickered into life. His attention became divided from the moment the title appeared: Deconstruction. William didn’t recognise the picture's name, or the director and stars on the title card. He was mildly disappointed before deciding maybe he was going to be one of the first to catch sight of some new hotshot director or actor. Would the whole country be talking about Deconstruction in a few weeks' time and he’d be able to say he was one of the first to catch a preview?
The movie began on a nondescript construction site as two men dressed in overalls spoke to one another in a small room. There was no title card to give any indication of what their conversation was about, nor was there any clue within the setting or their gestures. While William didn’t consider himself an expert in film, he’d seen enough to know that the opening was a little uninspiring.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but put the broom aside and take a seat as two more people entered the sparse room within the construction site. One of them was a big, burly guy twice as wide as the other two. With him was a beautiful woman in a dress who looked utterly petrified as she was dragged into the room. The burly brute threw her to the floor rather aggressively, in William’s opinion, but he had noticed movies were getting a little rougher recently.
As the frightened woman lay on the floor, the two construction workers ended their conversation. There was still no title card, and their gesturing still hadn’t given any clues as to what they’d been talking about. William could only guess it had something to do with the pretty woman on the floor, but it never became apparent.
The camera moved closer to the pair, and William noticed a metal table behind them for the first time. He couldn’t be certain if it had always been there, but it was there now. Sitting on the table was an assortment of rugged steel tools. All of them looked heavy and grimy. The taller of the two construction workers took an enormous saw the length of William's arm from the table and weighed it in his hand. He turned and grinned at the helpless woman on the floor with malicious intent as he licked his lips.
What kind of movie was this?
William looked up disapprovingly at the projector, wondering what Frank thought of this new film. They had similar tastes, mostly enjoying comedies and westerns rather than anything too violent, so he was sure the old-timer would be feeling just as uneasy as he was. Neither had enjoyed Nosferatu despite its brilliant artistry. It wasn’t to their taste, and Deconstruction seemed to be taking a much darker turn.
The camera was then focused on the frightened young woman as the man with the saw leaned down towards her. William was appalled by what he witnessed next as the man began to saw through the young lady’s dress, cutting right through her clothes and discarding them to one side before the saw briefly bit into her thigh. The defenceless woman was left naked and completely exposed on the dirty stone floor, screaming in pain as she clutched her bloodied, shredded leg while the men laughed at her.
William was in complete shock and struggled not to throw up on the seat next to him. He had seen more than enough and expected Frank to remove the reel immediately. He knew for sure that Mr. Robinson would not approve of such violent filth being shown in the Picture Palace. The beautiful establishment was a building for all the family. They showed cartoons on Saturday mornings. The last thing their audience would want was this type of barbaric smut. The woman was naked, for God’s sake! And that cut across her leg was the most graphic thing William had ever seen, on or off the screen.
But it got worse…
William watched in horror as the three men started beating the injured, naked girl. Kicking and punching the poor woman, who was clearly in enormous distress. Bloodying her face as she tried to protect her leg. Bruising her body as she covered her face. When one of them grabbed a hammer, William shouted for them to stop. He wasn’t someone who normally spoke to the screen like some of the audience occasionally did, but he’d felt compelled. He couldn’t watch anymore. What were they doing to that helpless woman?
But the men on the screen didn’t stop. They smashed her ribs with the hammer. Crushed her hands and feet with deliberate, sharp blows. Then the burly man who’d dragged the woman into this horrible situation to begin with suddenly dropped his overalls. For reasons William would never understand, the camera cut to a close-up of him as he forced the woman’s bloody face against him while the other two laughed at her humiliation.
Am I watching a damn stag film?
William was seething as the first spill of sickness spilled from his mouth. He could no longer hold it in. His eyes stung as they filled with tears. He stormed out of the auditorium door, promising himself he’d clean up the vomit soon, but more immediate matters were on his mind.
He marched through the lobby, wiping away the last of the drool and cursing under his breath. He tackled the stairs two at a time as he made his way towards the projectionist booth in a fit of rage. He had hoped to catch Mr. Robinson on the way but suspected the Manager must have already left the building, as there was no way he would allow this pornographic material to play in his cinema. William was shouting at Frank before he even reached the projection room, but when he furiously burst inside, Frank wasn’t there.
Had he left the projector unattended? It was the only reason Frank wouldn’t have immediately turned the disgusting reel off. William was relieved, despite still feeling irate at what was currently being shown on the silver screen. He could see through the gap in the booth that the men were now taking turns assaulting the bloodied woman, who looked like she’d passed out, or worse.
He could only hope this was all staged, as it looked sickeningly real… but what kind of perverted deviants would agree to film such violence and debauchery? The horrible feeling in his stomach suggested what he was watching was somehow real, but he’d been amazed by movie magic before, just never as repulsed by it.
William couldn’t allow any more of the disgraceful movie to grace the Picture Palace’s hallowed screen. He called out several times for Frank, but the projectionist was nowhere in sight. That left William with no choice. While he didn’t know how to use the projector, he was certain he would at least be able to figure out how to switch it off, even if he just yanked the reel. He was convinced neither Frank nor Mr. Robinson would be upset at him for touching the expensive equipment when he explained what was on the reel. How would I even begin to explain?
Having tried several levers and knobs to no avail, William decided a more drastic course of action was required, especially as the men on the screen continued their attack on the unconscious, bloody woman. Two of them were now inside her at the same time! While the third man was hammering nails into her hands. William couldn’t help but be sick on the projection room floor; he was surprised he had anything left.
If the scene was indeed fake, then the effects were absolutely remarkable, and the camera work was unlike anything William had ever seen before. But he was in no mood to give the disgusting monsters who made this vile film any credit. And, unfortunately, he didn’t believe any movie magic was involved. His next stop after removing the negative would be taking it straight to the police, even if it got the Picture Palace in trouble.
William wiped the remaining sick from his mouth and grabbed the reel, ready to tear it from the projector. But as he reached for the foul reel, an unnerving feeling shot through his arm and into his body. It was how he imagined being struck by lightning would feel.
It made him vomit once again, although this was an entirely different kind of sickness than when he’d witnessed the pornographic acts on screen. This sickness felt more debilitating and forced him to close his eyes as he lost his equilibrium. William heard a rapid flickering in the depths of his ears, which sounded like a negative being fed through a projector, but it was then replaced by a series of dull thuds and what could only be described as heavy grunts. He tried to shake away the disturbing combination of sounds, but they only grew clearer.
When William finally willed himself to open his eyes, he found himself lying on a stone floor next to the bloody dead girl from the movie. The three beastly, naked men were staring down at him, almost as shocked by his appearance as he was by theirs. William jumped to his feet and backed away from the twisted rapists.
Must have hit my head, he thought.
But whether that was true or not didn’t matter…
William turned his head away from the leering men and saw the empty seated area of the Picture Palace slightly beneath him, while the glare from the projector shone above. When did I walk onto the stage? he initially thought, before an even more unsettling, impossible truth revealed itself.
He wasn’t on stage.
Somehow, he was on screen!
“Who the hell are you?” the largest of the three naked, angry men asked.
William had never heard a character speak on screen before. He didn’t like it at all. It felt odd. Unnatural even. He tried to answer but had no idea what to say.
Instead, he turned and tried to jump out of the picture onto the Picture Palace floor. He didn’t make it far as his body crashed against what could only be described as an invisible barrier, or maybe even a camera lens. It would have made for quite the odd sight if anyone was watching from the other side, but then, so would the entire scene.
Whatever their thoughts would have been, however, they would have been left wondering about the resolution as Reel One came to an abrupt end and the picture flickered off…
With William forever trapped inside.
