Chapter 70: A Thunderous Applause
[Chapter 70: A Thunderous Applause]
"Wow! This is terrifying!"
"How do they even make movies like this? It looks so ordinary, yet it's so frightening."
In a Los Angeles theater, Ben Affleck sat with his arms crossed, reluctant to look at the big screen.
"This is a classic horror setup; the house is haunted. They hint at the terrifying presence inside, building a sense of dread in the audience. With the way the main characters describe it, everyone starts imagining the monster in their heads. By the time the creature appears, they've already frightened themselves silly.
That door was just too creepy. Imagine sleeping with it open at night, and the darkness outside is like a loaded gun pointed at you, intensifying the fear. As the audience quaked in their seats, even the slightest sound or shadow sent them into fits of screams.
Link is a master at manipulating audience emotions," Matt Damon remarked.
...
"Ah!!"
On the night of the 19th, when the female lead stood in the aisle and her hair suddenly blew up, a synchronized scream erupted from the audience.
Some covered their eyes in terror, others hugged their heads, and a few even jumped from their seats, crouching behind the ones in front of them to shield their eyes.
"Damn, that was too scary. My hair is standing on end!" Ben Affleck exclaimed, tugging at his own hair.
"Ah!"
"There's a ghost!"
"There's a ghost in the theater!"
Suddenly, a young Black man jumped from his seat and bolted for the exit, shouting that there was a ghost.
"James, don't run! It was just the wind! What a scaredy-cat," someone tried to call him back, but James had already sprinted out of the theater.
"Boring!"
Matt Damon continued watching the movie.
As he focused, a cold breeze suddenly hit him from behind, and he turned to see Ben Affleck expressionlessly retracting his hand.
...
The plot reached the 20th night, and a faint shadow drifted past a white door. Many people in the theater gasped, covering their mouths in fear.
The sheets blew up, revealing the female lead's feet.
Suddenly, something grabbed her ankle, yanking her off the bed and dragging her out of the bedroom.
Outside the room, a scream echoed, and the male lead rushed out, only for the door to bang shut behind him with a heavy thud.
He threw open the door and dashed into the dark hallway, where screams reverberated.
Within seconds, the hallway fell silent, leaving the fate of the main characters unknown.
The theater became eerily quiet, not even a breath could be heard. Everyone stared wide-eyed at the dark door, anxiously waiting to see what would happen next.
Three or four seconds later, the male lead returned to the bedroom with the female lead in his arms.
A collective sigh of relief filled the room.
...
"That was terrifying. Sofia, sometimes I even fall out of bed at night. Do you think it's a ghost doing it?" Milla Jovovich asked, clutching Sofia's arm nervously.
"Don't scare yourself. There are no such things as ghosts."
"How do you know? Maybe ghosts exist; we just can't see them like Katie does."
"You could always set up a camera before going to sleep, see if there's a ghost."
"That sounds good, but never mind. If there really are ghosts, that's too scary. I'd rather pretend I didn't know. Uh-oh, is the ghost coming again?"
...
On the night of the 21st, the lights in the bedroom turned off, casting an eerie glow in the room.
The camera kept filming the bedroom and the open door, with only the timer on the screen counting away the time.
At around 1 a.m., a hollow sound rang out as Katie stiffly got up from her bed and walked over to the male lead, standing silently as she stared at him.
...
"Katie's sleepwalking again," Jim Carrey whispered.
"Shhh, don't talk."
"Sweetheart, do you ever look at me like that at night?"
"Don't speak!"
...
The theater was silent; even though there was little change on screen, the sight of Katie standing motionless by the bed sent chill after chill through the audience.
Especially those with sleepwalkers by their side couldn't help but shudder at the thought of waking up to someone coldly staring at them while they slept.
...
The camera fast-forwarded, racing from just past 1 a.m. to over 2 a.m.
Katie began to move toward the door.
Moments later, a scream erupted from downstairs.
The male lead jumped up and ran toward the sound. A few seconds later, there were violent noises and more screams from downstairs.
After three or four seconds, the sounds from the speakers abruptly fell silent.
The big screen froze in place, the only movement being the timer counting down the seconds.
The atmosphere turned tense inside the theater as the audience stared nervously at the screen, not daring to breathe.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Disturbing footsteps emerged from outside, coming closer with each second.
...
"What's that?"
Ben Affleck shielded his eyes, leaving a small gap to peek at the dark door.
...
Thud! Thud!
The footsteps grew clearer, as if they had reached the door.
The tension thickened in the air, and every audience member watched anxiously.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, something was thrown into the room, slamming into the camera lens, resembling an object hurled from the dark doorway toward the screen, heading straight for the audience.
...
"Ah!!!"
Many screamed, some leaping to their feet while others raised their hands defensively in front of them.
"Holy crap! What was that?"
...
Thud! The camera in the bedroom fell over, and from the tilted lens, Katie appeared with disheveled black hair and blood covering her, eerily standing in the doorway.
The object that had been thrown hit the floor -- it was the male lead, motionless on the ground.
Though this shot lacked the shock of the male lead being thrown into the camera, Katie's blood-soaked form standing in the doorway still left many in the audience gasping.
Katie's stiff legs moved toward the male lead's body as she leaned down to bite his neck.
...
"Ah!!"
Ben Affleck suddenly screamed, causing everyone nearby to jump in shock.
He rubbed the back of his neck, as if it had just been gripped painfully.
He turned to Matt Damon, who retracted his hand, expressionless as he continued staring at the screen.
...
Katie suddenly lifted her head, bloody and glaring into the camera.
This moment sent chills down many spines in the audience.
With a chilling gaze, she slowly walked toward the camera and then lunged at it.
...
"Ah!!"
Many in the audience could not hold back their screams.
Milla Jovovich hurriedly hugged Sofia, who turned away, afraid to look at the screen.
Jim Carrey trembled in his wife Melissa Wormer's embrace, though he peeked at the screen from the corner of his eye.
Meanwhile, the timid Jennifer Connelly had already covered her ears and shut her eyes, terrified to see anything.
...
"That was horrifying! I didn't feel it when we filmed, but watching it in the theater is a different story," Monica Bellucci said, trembling against Link's side.
"You did a fantastic job," Link gently patted her back.
"No, it's that you directed it so well."
Monica gave him a soft kiss.
...
As the big screen darkened, the theater lights brightened.
The audience slowly regained their composure; some wiped sweat from their foreheads, while others hugged their arms, still trembling.
Clap! Clap!
A few people began applauding in the corner.
Clap! Clap!
Many in the audience joined in spontaneously.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Soon, all the audience stood applauding, with the sound of clapping swelling like a tide.
...
"Link, congratulations! This movie was incredible; it nearly scared me to death!" Sofia Coppola said as she came over to clap.
"Thank you! I'm glad to see you're okay."
...
"Link, this movie is terrifying; Melissa almost had a heart attack!" Jim Carrey approached, bringing his wife Melissa along to congratulate.
"And you? Did you get scared?"
"Me? Ha! No way, I'm a big guy. Don't joke with me," Jim Carrey laughed.
...
"Link, congrats! This film is unbelievable. Last time you mentioned shooting a film with a handheld camera, I couldn't believe it, but you did it amazingly."
Billy Crystal applauded as he spoke.
"Thank you!"
...
"Director Link, this movie is impressive, not just for me, but for the entire film industry. Before your film, no one would have believed that shooting a movie this way could be so engaging. But you did it; you truly are a creative director," Justin Kroll, the editor of Variety magazine, remarked with applause and a smile.
"Thank you! It's an honor."
...
"Director Link, congratulations on creating a great film."
...
"Director Link, you've pioneered a new way of directing that illuminates a path for all aspiring filmmakers. That's remarkable."
...
"Director Link, I wish your next film huge box office success."
Aaron Kutz, the deputy editor of The Hollywood Reporter; Ross Stanton, the entertainment editor of the Los Angeles Times; Max Raymond from the American Forum; renowned journalist Thomas Miller; and critic Rudin Batchelor all gathered around to congratulate Link.
...
Clap!
Three minutes later, applause still rang out as many cheered loudly for Link and his film.
"Jenny, how was the movie?"
Sam Haskel clapped his hands, turning to Jennifer Connelly beside him.
Jennifer was still watching Link in the crowd. When she heard Sam's question, she blinked her light blue eyes and came back to reality.
"It was okay."
"Earlier, you said Link could only make films for a few thousand dollars. So, given $20,000, do you think you or those directors could have made something of this quality?"
"Fine, I admit Link is really talented, a promising director. I'll be more cordial to him when I next see him."
Jennifer Connelly replied.
"Why not go congratulate him now?"
"I didn't pay much attention to him before; now that the film is a success, everyone is congratulating him. Wouldn't it seem way too superficial for me to join in now?"
"Not at all! Learning to appreciate others' strengths and genuinely celebrating their success exemplifies a winner's mindset."
Sam Haskel squeezed through the crowd toward Link.
Jennifer Connelly took a deep breath and, after a moment's hesitation, followed him to congratulate Link.
*****
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