Chapter 1: A Classic Horror Screenplay

*Run, run, run!*

Screams echoed through the dimly lit movie theater. The audience was on the edge of their seats, completely captivated by the thrilling twists and turns on the big screen. One moment the female protagonist was facing certain death, the next she had narrowly escaped.

Covered in blood, she scrambled into a passing pickup truck, her screams blending with frantic laughter as she urged the driver to speed away.

Behind her, the morbidly obese killer, bathed in the morning sunlight, limped after the truck, the ear-splitting roar of his chainsaw echoing through the theater's powerful sound system.

Even though it was just a movie, the audience felt a primal fear. They were terrified that the chainsaw-wielding maniac in the human skin mask would somehow leap out of the screen and attack them.

The final shot of the film, framed against the rising sun, showed the killer waving his chainsaw, a chilling reminder that the story wasn't truly over.

The movie ended, and the credits began to roll.

But the audience remained frozen in their seats, still reeling from the film's final moments.

After a long silence, a string of curses broke the spell, and the theater erupted in a cacophony of excited chatter.

"Fuck, that was the scariest movie I've ever seen, damn it, damn it..."

"That killer's family were complete psychos! They actually enjoyed killing people! I was stunned when those two grandsons let their grandpa hammer that girl to death. The screenwriter who came up with that must be insane! But that scene was so cool, it still gives me chills."

"Did you hear that this movie is supposedly based on a true story?"

"No way! I'm never going to Texas in my life."

"I've decided, I'm going to watch this movie again with my friends."

"Hey, me too!"

...

"Congratulations, Allen."

In a corner of the theater, a dark-haired man observed the audience's reactions with a satisfied smile. He turned to congratulate a younger man of the same ethnicity beside him.

The older man was James Wan, a rising star in Hollywood known for his horror films. Two years ago, he had made a splash with a low-budget horror film called "Saw," which had raked in a staggering fifty million dollars at the box office on a budget of just one million two hundred thousand. The success of "Saw" had caught the attention of major film studios.

However, the success of "Saw" had also pigeonholed James Wan to some extent. The film's producers wanted him to focus solely on the "Saw" franchise. In the past two years, he had directed and been involved in two sequels, "Saw II" and "Saw III."

Finally, he had the opportunity to work on a film of his own.

As an Asian who had been working in Hollywood for many years, James Wan was well aware of his strengths. For his new film, he naturally chose to stick with the horror genre he excelled at.

Determined to create a film he was truly satisfied with, he personally wrote the screenplay. However, the story he came up with was somewhat lackluster. It seemed that working on the "Saw" sequels had drained his creative energy.

Just when James Wan was feeling stuck, a horror script about a killer caught his eye. And the young, handsome man with bright eyes sitting beside him, was the screenwriter of this new film.

"I just got a little lucky," said Allen, with a modest smile.

He did feel lucky. Although he had full confidence in the classic horror film "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," he knew that in Hollywood, the quality of the script, while important, was often not the most crucial factor.

After all, Hollywood was teeming with screenwriters, churning out countless scripts every day. No one could guarantee that their work would be selected and then made into a successful film.

Good scripts falling into the hands of incompetent directors was not just an issue in the East; it was a common occurrence in Hollywood as well.

Allen was fortunate that his script was not only chosen but also that the director was skilled in the horror genre. This allowed the classic horror film from his original world to be faithfully brought to life.

Although the quality of the film didn't directly affect his final payment as the screenwriter, Allen still cared about this first script he had painstakingly "created" (or rather, "transported") since arriving in this world.

After all, while a film's success wasn't entirely dependent on the screenwriter, a good start could help an unknown screenwriter like him make a name for himself in Hollywood. At the very least, it could lead to higher pay for future scripts. And if the film performed well at the box office, he might even receive additional compensation.

His seemingly mercenary attitude wasn't because he was greedy. It was simply the reality of living in America, a capitalist country where everything revolved around capital. Hollywood, as its most prominent representative, was no exception.

To survive and even thrive in this capitalist society, a penniless and powerless screenwriter like him had to be strategic.

"Allen, Hollywood won't think any higher of you for being modest," said James Wan, offering some advice from his own experience.

James Wan's appreciation for Allen wasn't solely based on their shared ethnicity. He also admired Allen's talent for screenwriting.

As a director who also wrote screenplays, James Wan recognized the unique qualities of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre." The plot arrangement and the portrayal of the chainsaw-wielding killer were a departure from the typical Hollywood horror tropes.

James Wan had a feeling that once "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" became a hit, other horror films would rush to imitate its elements.

After all, while elements like a killer lurking in a pickup truck, a gas station hiding danger, a human skin mask, an ear-splitting chainsaw, and screams echoing in the night had appeared in other films, no one had ever combined them all in one movie.

In a way, "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" was a culmination of all the classic elements of Hollywood horror.

And how could a film with so many classic elements not become a classic itself?

(End of Chapter 1)