The Intruder: A Storm of Secrets and Survival

Prologue

FADE IN:

FLASHBACK – INT. HOARDER HOUSE – NIGHT (YEARS EARLIER)
The camera crawls through piles of rotting garbage, broken toys, and moldy magazines. The walls close in with suffocating clutter.

A closet door rattles violently. Inside: YOUNG ELLA (10), knees pulled to her chest, eyes wide with terror. Her mother’s shadow looms outside the door.

MOTHER (O.S.) Cry all you want. Nobody’s coming for you.


Smoke begins to curl under the crack in the door — from a lit cigarette jammed into the wood. Ella coughs, pounding at the door.

Her small hand finds a BOX OF MATCHES buried in the trash beside her. She grips them tight, face lit by a single match head glinting in the dark.

SMASH TO BLACK.

TITLE CARD: The Intruder

Epilogue (After Act III)

INT. CABIN – NIGHT (SIX MONTHS LATER)
The cabin looks lived-in, almost warm. A chalkboard leans against the wall: in big chalk letters, the word “REBUILD.”

Casey and Eleanor sit at the table, bent over books. The lamplight makes them look almost like mother and daughter.

CASEY (smiling faintly) Rebuild. That’s the word.
ELEANOR (whisper) I like it.


They share a look — fragile, almost hopeful.

Lee passes in the doorway, carrying firewood. He pauses to watch them. His eyes soften — then flick to Casey’s wrists, where faint duct tape scars remain. He looks away, troubled.

Casey notices Eleanor’s sleeve slip, revealing cigarette burns. For a moment, their eyes meet. They both look away.

EXT. CABIN – WIDE – NIGHT
From outside, the cabin glows warmly.

The camera slowly pulls back. In the distance, faint THUNDER rumbles — a reminder that storms always return.

FADE OUT.

(Note: This is an imaginary conversation, a creative exploration of an idea, and not a real speech or event.)

Act I — The Storm Approaches

FADE IN:

EXT. NEW HAMPSHIRE WOODS – DAY
A snowstorm brews over a dense forest. Wind HOWLS through the trees, bending their spines. Far off, a lonely CABIN sits against the gray sky, half-buried in snowdrifts.

INT. CABIN – MAIN ROOM – DAY
CASEY (40s, weary, sharp-eyed) tapes plastic over a cracked window. Every movement is precise, controlled. She mutters under her breath as she presses tape against the glass.

 CASEY (to herself) Keep it tight. Keep it safe. 

Wind rattles the walls. A leak DRIPS steadily into a metal bowl. Casey checks her supply shelf: canned beans, candles, a half-empty bottle of whiskey.

KNOCK.
Casey freezes. A slow, deliberate knock echoes from the front door.

She peers through the peephole — nothing. Just swirling snow.

She unbolts the door an inch. The WIND roars in. Nobody outside. Casey shuts it quickly, bolts it tight.

EXT. CABIN – FRONT PORCH – SAME TIME
Bootprints mark the snow, leading from the tree line to the porch. Fresh.

INT. CABIN – KITCHEN – LATER
Casey lights a kettle. The cabin creaks. A PHONE VIBRATES on the counter — caller ID: RUDY (LANDLORD).

She ignores it. The voicemail kicks in. Rudy’s greasy voice fills the room.

 RUDY (V.O.) Casey, storm like this, you’ll need a strong pair of hands. Don’t be shy now. I could swing by, keep you company... 

Casey slams the phone face down.

EXT. CABIN – DRIVEWAY – LATE AFTERNOON
LEE (40s, rugged, disarming smile) trudges up with a lantern and a bundle of firewood. He knocks gently.

 LEE Casey? Thought you might need extra light for the storm. 

Casey cracks the door but doesn’t unbolt the chain.

 CASEY I’m fine. Got enough supplies. 
 LEE (half-smile) Sure. Storms like this bring things out, though. Always do. 

He sets the wood on the porch and leaves. Casey closes the door, suspicious, unsettled.

INT. CABIN – NIGHT
The storm hits full force. Casey sits alone at the table, notebook open. Scribbles fill the pages: survival lists, sketches of locks, scratches of words.

The LIGHTS flicker. A SHADOW passes the window.

Casey jerks her head up. Snow swirling outside — but for a split second, a PALE FACE peers back at her through the glass.

Her breath catches. She rushes to the door, flings it open.

Nothing. Just storm and silence.

INT. CABIN – BEDROOM – LATER
Casey lies awake, staring at the ceiling. The DRIP from the leak echoes like a clock. She closes her eyes—

CRUNCH.
A heavy footstep outside.

Casey bolts upright. Her eyes dart to the window.
A FIGURE slips past, vanishing toward the TOOLS SHED.

EXT. CABIN – TOOLS SHED – NIGHT
Casey grips a flashlight, breath steaming in the cold. She pushes the shed door open.

The beam lands on —

ELEANOR (16, bloodied, wide-eyed, clutching a switchblade).

Casey GASPS. Eleanor staggers back into the corner like a feral animal.

 CASEY Jesus... what the hell—? 

Eleanor raises the blade.

 ELEANOR Don’t touch me. 

The flashlight trembles in Casey’s hands. For a long moment, neither moves.

LIGHTNING FLASHES.

CUT TO BLACK.

INT. TOOLS SHED – NIGHT
The flashlight beam shakes. ELEANOR crouches in the shadows, blade raised, trembling. Blood stains her sleeve.

 CASEY Hey... easy. I’m not gonna hurt you. 
 ELEANOR Stay back. 

The storm HOWLS outside, rattling the shed walls. Casey lowers the flashlight, making herself smaller.

 CASEY You’ll freeze out here. Come inside. 

Eleanor’s eyes dart to the door. Her grip tightens on the knife.

 CASEY (softly) If you want me to, I’ll walk away right now. But you won’t last the night in this storm. 

A long beat. Finally, Eleanor lowers the blade an inch.

INT. CABIN – MAIN ROOM – NIGHT
Casey leads Eleanor in, cautious, leaving the door unlatched. The storm WHIPS snow inside before she bolts it shut.

Eleanor huddles near the fire, dripping and shivering. Casey keeps her distance, eyes locked on the knife Eleanor still clutches.

 CASEY Sit. I’ll get you a towel. 

Eleanor doesn’t move. Just stares at the flames.

INT. CABIN – KITCHEN – NIGHT
Casey heats water on the stove. Her hands tremble. She glances into the living room — Eleanor still hasn’t sat down.

Casey quietly grabs a heavy wrench from a drawer, hides it behind her back as she carries a steaming mug of tea.

INT. CABIN – MAIN ROOM – NIGHT
Casey sets the mug on the table.

 CASEY Drink. It’ll warm you up. 

Eleanor eyes the tea suspiciously. Then, slowly, she sets the knife on the floor and takes the cup. She drinks, eyes never leaving Casey.

 ELEANOR (hoarse) Thanks. 

Casey lowers the wrench onto the counter, relieved.

INT. CABIN – BEDROOM DOORWAY – LATER
Casey hands Eleanor a blanket. Eleanor’s arm slips out from her sleeve — revealing deep cigarette burn scars along her forearm.

Casey freezes. Eleanor yanks the blanket over herself.

 CASEY Who did that to you? 
 ELEANOR (defensive) Doesn’t matter. 

Casey studies her, unsettled. It’s too familiar.

INT. CABIN – MAIN ROOM – NIGHT
The storm intensifies. Windows rattle. The two sit across from each other in flickering lamplight.

 CASEY What’s your name? 
 ELEANOR (long pause) Eleanor. 
 CASEY Where’s your family, Eleanor? 
 ELEANOR (shrugs) Somewhere they don’t want me. 

Her words hang heavy. Casey clenches her jaw, looks away.

INT. CABIN – CASEY’S POV – NIGHT
Later. Eleanor sleeps curled on the couch, blanket wrapped tight. Knife still tucked in her hand.

Casey sits at the table in the dark, watching her. The storm SCREAMS outside.

Casey’s eyes drift to Eleanor’s backpack leaning against the wall. Curiosity burns. She rises quietly, moving toward it...

INT. CABIN – KITCHEN – CONTINUOUS
Casey unzips the backpack, pulls out a notebook. She flips it open —

• Disturbing sketches: eyes scratched into pages, houses on fire, stick figures locked in closets.
• At the back: a hand-drawn map with a path leading through the woods.

Casey frowns, tracing the lines with her finger.

Behind her, a soft voice:

 ELEANOR (O.S.) Don’t touch my things. 

Casey WHIRLS — Eleanor stands in the shadows, knife raised again, eyes blazing.

 CASEY I just... wanted to understand. 
 ELEANOR You don’t want to understand. 

The tension hums like the storm outside.

LIGHTS FLICKER. THEN — BLACKOUT.

INT. CABIN – MAIN ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Darkness. Only the storm outside. The fire sputters low.

Casey and Eleanor stand frozen, eyes barely visible in the dark.
A beat of silence. Then—

BANG.
A tree branch SLAMS against the roof, shaking the cabin.

Casey gropes for a candle. Eleanor’s silhouette looms closer in the darkness.

 ELEANOR (whispering) You can’t hide forever. 

Casey stares at her, rattled.

SMASH CUT TO BLACK.

Act II — The Map in the Snow

INT. CABIN – MAIN ROOM – NIGHT
Casey watches Eleanor sip her tea. The girl’s eyes never blink, never leave Casey. The silence presses.

 CASEY You know… most people say thank you when they’re saved from freezing to death. 

Eleanor smirks faintly.

 ELEANOR Saved? You don’t even know what that word means. 

Casey stiffens.

INT. CABIN – BEDROOM – LATER
Casey rummages through drawers, pulling out a flashlight. She notices Eleanor in the hallway, watching silently.

 CASEY Do you always creep on people like that? 
 ELEANOR Only when I don’t trust them. 
 CASEY (snapping) Right back at you. 

FLASHBACK – INT. HOARDER HOUSE – DAY (YEARS EARLIER)
Young Ella hides under a pile of junk as footsteps thunder overhead. A sliver of light cuts through the trash.
Her mother’s voice:

 MOTHER (O.S.) Where are you, you little rat? 

Ella covers her ears.

INT. CABIN – KITCHEN – NIGHT (PRESENT)
Casey jolts back to the present. Eleanor is leaning close, studying the scars on Casey’s wrists.

 ELEANOR Someone tied you up once too. 

Casey yanks her arm back.

 CASEY You don’t know a damn thing about me. 
 ELEANOR (whisper) I know enough. 

INT. CABIN – MAIN ROOM – NIGHT
Casey sits at the table, notebook in hand. She flips to the map again, tracing lines. Eleanor steps out of the shadows, knife glinting.

 ELEANOR That’s mine. 
 CASEY (holding her ground) Who drew it? 
 ELEANOR Someone who wanted me to find you. 

Casey freezes.

INT. CABIN – MOMENTS LATER
Eleanor circles Casey slowly, like a predator.

 ELEANOR You don’t even use your real name, do you? 

Casey glares.

 CASEY What are you talking about? 

Eleanor slams duct tape on the table.

 ELEANOR Sit. 

Casey refuses. A tense beat. Eleanor raises the knife—Casey relents.

INT. CABIN – MAIN ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Eleanor binds Casey’s wrists. The tape rips loud, harsh.

 CASEY (furious) You’re out of your mind. 
 ELEANOR No, Ella. I’m the only one seeing straight. 

Casey’s face drains.

FLASHBACK – INT. HOARDER HOUSE – NIGHT (YEARS EARLIER)
Teen Ella lights a match. Her eyes glow in the flame. She whispers to herself:

 YOUNG ELLA No more. 

INT. CABIN – PRESENT – NIGHT
Casey yanks against the tape, wrists bleeding. Eleanor crouches eye-level.

 ELEANOR I know what you did. 
 CASEY (hissing) You don’t know anything. 
 ELEANOR You burned it down. 

Casey’s breath stutters.

INT. CABIN – LATER
Eleanor leaves the room. The cabin creaks. Casey hears muffled noises—footsteps upstairs? A door shutting?

She wriggles furiously, finally slicing through the tape on a jagged chair edge.

Her hands are raw, wrists crimson. She grabs a lantern and bolts.

EXT. CABIN – WOODS – NIGHT
Snow slaps her face as she runs. Behind her: a SHOUT. Eleanor’s voice.

 ELEANOR (O.S.) You can’t run from yourself! 

Casey stumbles, flashlight flickering. She follows the map’s crude lines into the woods—

A SNAPPING BRANCH.

Casey whirls—
Just a deer, bounding off into the dark.

False alarm.

She gasps, presses on.

EXT. WOODS – EDGE OF CLEARING – NIGHT
Through trees, a glow—Lee’s cabin. Relief and dread war on Casey’s face.

She creeps closer, snow crunching beneath her boots.

INT. LEE’S CABIN – NIGHT
Through the frosted glass, she sees Eleanor already inside, gun leveled at Lee.

The rest unfolds as before: Eleanor’s confrontation, Lee’s reveal about Anton, Casey bursting in.

Act III — The Letter and the Photograph

INT. LEE’S CABIN – NIGHT
The storm pounds the roof. Eleanor’s grip on the gun trembles. Casey stands between her and Lee.

 CASEY Eleanor, listen. Pointing a gun won’t give you answers. 
 ELEANOR It’s the only way anyone ever listens. 

Lee edges a step closer, hands raised.

 LEE Eleanor… I swear, I’m not your father. But I know who was. 
 ELEANOR (snapping) You’re lying! 

Casey watches Eleanor’s hands quiver. She recognizes the same desperate fury she once carried.

 CASEY Then let me prove it. 

Eleanor’s eyes dart between them. A tense silence—then she bolts out the door into the storm.

EXT. WOODS – NIGHT
Casey chases Eleanor, snow clawing at her legs. The wind SCREAMS, branches crack.

Her flashlight catches movement—Eleanor kneeling over a bloodied figure in the snow. JOLENE, barely alive.

 ELEANOR She followed me. I didn’t know where else to go. 

Jolene’s eyes lock on Casey.

 JOLENE Don’t let her take me… please… 

Her voice rattles like broken glass. Casey kneels, staring down at the woman. Her hands tremble.

FLASHBACK – INT. HOARDER HOUSE – NIGHT (YEARS EARLIER)
Young Ella locked in the closet. Her mother’s muffled laughter on the other side.
Ella presses her palms to her ears, whispering:

 YOUNG ELLA I can’t breathe. 

The closet door rattles violently.

EXT. WOODS – NIGHT (PRESENT)
Casey’s face twists. The snow swirls harder. Eleanor backs away, terrified.

Casey finds a heavy branch half-buried in the snow. Picks it up.

 CASEY Some people… don’t stop until someone makes them. 

She raises the branch. Eleanor gasps—

THUD. Jolene slumps motionless.

Silence, except for the storm. Eleanor stares at Casey, horrified—and awed.

 ELEANOR You chose me. 

Casey drops the branch. Her face is unreadable.

INT. LEE’S CABIN – NIGHT
Lee paces until the door bursts open. Casey and Eleanor stumble in, soaked and shaken.

Lee’s eyes go wide—he notices the blood on Casey’s coat.

 LEE Where is she? 

Casey says nothing. Eleanor clings to Casey like a shadow.

Lee exhales, grim. He turns to the hearth, tossing another log on the fire.

 LEE Roads’ll be closed for days. The snow will cover it. 

Casey looks at him, startled by his calm.

 CASEY Why are you doing this? 

Lee pulls a yellowed envelope from a drawer.

 LEE Because Anton asked me to. 

He presses the letter into her hand. Casey unfolds it with trembling fingers.

INSERT – LETTER (ANTON’S HAND)
If this ever reaches you, Ella, I couldn’t save you then. Maybe I can now. My brother is steady. Let him keep you safe. If you see me again, it will be through someone else’s eyes.

INT. LEE’S CABIN – NIGHT
Casey’s eyes brim. She clutches the letter like a lifeline.

Eleanor watches her, searching. She pulls a photograph from her pocket—Anton, young, kind-eyed.

 ELEANOR He’s my father. Isn’t he? 

Lee nods.

 LEE My brother. Your father. 

Eleanor looks at Casey.

 ELEANOR Then we’re family. 

Casey can’t answer. She just stares at Anton’s face in the photo.

MONTAGE – PASSING WEEKS (WINTER → SPRING)
— Casey, Eleanor, and Lee patch cracks in the cabin walls together.
— Eleanor helps Casey mark lessons on a chalkboard.
— Lee shovels the roof; Casey steadies the ladder.
— Nights by firelight: Eleanor sketching, Casey reading Anton’s letter again and again.

SUPER: SIX MONTHS LATER

INT. CABIN – AFTERNOON (SPRING)
The cabin feels warmer, lived-in. A chalkboard leans against the wall: “Vocabulary: Mend. Rebuild.”

Casey sits opposite Eleanor at the table, teaching her.

 CASEY What’s a word for making something new from broken things? 

Eleanor thinks, taps her pencil.

 ELEANOR Mend. 
 CASEY (gently) Try again. 

Eleanor glances at her scars. Then smiles faintly.

 ELEANOR Rebuild. 

Casey nods, circling the word. Their eyes meet. Something fragile, tentative, almost hopeful.

INT. CABIN – LATER
Lee chops wood outside. Casey rubs her wrists absentmindedly. The faint scars from duct tape are still visible.

Eleanor notices. She quietly pulls her own sleeve up, showing cigarette burns.

 ELEANOR Do they hurt? 
 CASEY (softly) Sometimes. 
 ELEANOR Mine too. 

A silence hangs, heavy and tender.

EXT. CABIN – WIDE – LATE AFTERNOON
The cabin rests under a clearing sky, spring breaking through the last patches of snow.

In the distance—barely audible—low thunder rumbles, like an echo of storms past.

HOLD.

FADE OUT.

THE END

Epilogue — The New Family

FADE IN:

FLASHBACK – INT. HOARDER HOUSE – NIGHT (YEARS EARLIER)
The camera crawls through piles of rotting garbage, broken toys, and moldy magazines. The walls close in with suffocating clutter.

A closet door rattles violently. Inside: YOUNG ELLA (10), knees pulled to her chest, eyes wide with terror. Her mother’s shadow looms outside the door.

 MOTHER (O.S.) Cry all you want. Nobody’s coming for you. 

Smoke begins to curl under the crack in the door — from a lit cigarette jammed into the wood. Ella coughs, pounding at the door.

Her small hand finds a BOX OF MATCHES buried in the trash beside her. She grips them tight, face lit by a single match head glinting in the dark.

SMASH TO BLACK.

TITLE CARD: The Intruder

Epilogue (After Act III)

INT. CABIN – NIGHT (SIX MONTHS LATER)
The cabin looks lived-in, almost warm. A chalkboard leans against the wall: in big chalk letters, the word “REBUILD.”

Casey and Eleanor sit at the table, bent over books. The lamplight makes them look almost like mother and daughter.

 CASEY (smiling faintly) Rebuild. That’s the word. 
 ELEANOR (whisper) I like it. 

They share a look — fragile, almost hopeful.

Lee passes in the doorway, carrying firewood. He pauses to watch them. His eyes soften — then flick to Casey’s wrists, where faint duct tape scars remain. He looks away, troubled.

Casey notices Eleanor’s sleeve slip, revealing cigarette burns. For a moment, their eyes meet. They both look away.

EXT. CABIN – WIDE – NIGHT
From outside, the cabin glows warmly.

The camera slowly pulls back. In the distance, faint THUNDER rumbles — a reminder that storms always return.

FADE OUT.

Character Bios:

Casey / Ella

A woman in her forties living under a false name, trying to bury a traumatic childhood of abuse and fire. Intelligent and resourceful, yet deeply paranoid, she oscillates between victim and aggressor. Her journey forces her to confront not just Eleanor, but the self she has long tried to erase.

Eleanor

A scarred, mysterious teenager who arrives at Casey’s cabin during a storm. Guarded and sharp, she’s both victim and predator — carrying cigarette burns and emotional scars that mirror Casey’s own past. Her true goal is not survival, but uncovering family secrets tied to her father, Anton.

Lee / Brad

Casey’s neighbor, outwardly charming and reliable, but hiding a deeper connection to her past. Though not Eleanor’s father, he carries responsibility through his brother Anton, who entrusted him with protecting Casey. He embodies both suspicion and reluctant loyalty.

Anton (off-screen presence)

Casey’s childhood ally and Eleanor’s father, a man whose kindness in Ella’s darkest days left a lasting imprint. Though absent from the present story, his presence is felt through Eleanor’s search, Lee’s confession, and the letter he left behind.

Jolene

Eleanor’s abusive mother, broken by life and perpetuating cycles of cruelty. Though she appears late in the story, her presence forces Casey into a morally devastating choice, highlighting the themes of justice and revenge.

Mother (Ella’s Mother)

An abusive hoarder who tormented young Ella with confinement and cigarettes. Though long dead, her shadow looms over the story, shaping Casey’s fears, anger, and eventual violent echoes.

Creative Team Bios

Freida McFadden (Author, The Intruder)

Freida McFadden is a #1 Amazon, USA Today, and international bestselling author of psychological thrillers, medical humor, and suspense fiction. A practicing physician specializing in brain injury, she draws on her medical expertise to create chilling, psychologically complex stories about trauma, survival, and human darkness. Her novels, including The Housemaid, Never Lie, and The Intruder, have been translated into multiple languages and adapted worldwide, captivating millions of readers with their sharp twists and unforgettable characters.

David Fincher (Director Recommendation)

Known for Gone Girl, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Se7en, Fincher is a master of psychological thrillers. His precise visual style, mastery of tension, and ability to capture unreliable narrators make him ideal to bring The Intruder’s storm-lashed paranoia to life.

Karyn Kusama (Director Alternative)

Director of The Invitation and Destroyer, Kusama excels at intimate, claustrophobic thrillers where a single house can become a stage for horror. Her ability to weave trauma into tension makes her another perfect fit.

Gillian Flynn (Screenwriter Recommendation)

Author and screenwriter of Gone Girl and Sharp Objects, Flynn is celebrated for complex female characters and stories steeped in secrets, lies, and trauma. Her style resonates strongly with Casey/Ella’s character arc.

Erin Cressida Wilson (Screenwriter Alternative)

Screenwriter of Secretary and The Girl on the Train, Wilson specializes in psychological thrillers that balance mystery and damaged relationships. She brings sharp dialogue and layered tension to female-driven narratives.