0:00 - 0:31
Sun is going down. People arriving for the house party. A lot of hugs and cool handshakes take place between the different individuals. Beer, wine and hard liquor are put in the refrigerator and in an ice chest full of ice. Some are smoking cigarettes.
0:32 - 1:04
The host of the party tells everyone that they need to listen to this song by L.HUNT. They all take their places on the couch, chair, floor, and standing in the doorway. We see the jewel case with the CD single artwork. He puts the CD in the player. They start to groove to the music. We see that two of them are a couple, Venus and her boyfriend.
1:05 - 1:20
Drinking, smoking and laughter among friends.
1:21 - 1:37
Arthur bumps into Venus’s boyfriend and the boyfriend takes offense. He doesn’t know who Arthur is and so he tests him to see how he will respond by pushing him back. Arthur tries to play it off. Venus is watching what’s happening and she calms her boyfriend down.
1:38 - 1:51
Arthur mingles with everyone and says “Thanks” to Venus when her boyfriend isn’t around. She is kind to him. More drinking takes place. Everyone is happy.
1:52 - 1:53
Someone pulls out a bag of weed with joints in it.
1:54 - 2:12
Arthur joins in with the pot smoking and shots of more alcohol on the living room coffee table. Arthur is drinking wine from a bottle and misses his mouth, spilling it down onto his white shirt. He laughs.
2:13 - 2:25
View from above, spinning: We see Arthur passed out, with the wine stains on his white t-shirt. The living room floor is a mess, trash from food packages, bottles, bottle caps, cans, and cigarette butts. Everyone keeps partying, not caring about him. Venus’s boyfriend is also passed out on the couch. Arthur vomits and wakes up, choking on his vomit.
2:26 - 2:41
Venus helps Arthur to clean himself up in the bathroom. He thanks her and reluctantly leaves the bathroom to leave her alone.
2:42 - 2:58
Venus reflects on her lifestyle while looking into the mirror at herself. It cuts to her wearing a happy mask that she lifts up to reveal that she’s crying, mascara running down her cheeks. We see others at the party taking a moment to consider what they’re doing with their lifestyle. Strange, colorful, sped-up quick clips of them with their masks on. There is paranoia and anxiety.
2:59 - 3:14
Arthur stumbles around the house, seeing the others wearing happy masks as they have fun with each other. It concerns Arthur because everyone is fake and he does not have a mask. There are beer cans in the fish aquarium.
3:15 - 3:30
Arthur looks into the kitchen and one of the guys is at the kitchen table ready to snort cocaine. (He wears a black t-shirt with the white logo “The Trough” on it.) The man looks up at Arthur and tells him to come in and have some. Arthur is afraid and says “No” and then goes back into the living room.
3:31 - 3:45
In the living room, Venus unbuttons the top button of her blouse. Her and her boyfriend are stumbling happily around in front of the stereo, dancing. Venus mouths the words “Check this…” then does a sexy drunken dance. Arthur is watching her dance. Venus and her boyfriend laugh together and fall onto the couch together.
3:46 - 4:01
Arthur can’t take anymore. He has double vision and everyone looks cartoonish and fake. He is stumbling around the house. There are flashbacks of weird things that happened that night. Cheese and ants on the kitchen countertops. Someone lifts up a rug to reveal debris and dust that has been swept under it. Some things are in fast motion. Venus’s boyfriend is passed out on the floor.
4:02 - 4:30
Venus helps Arthur to the front door. Arthur sees his reflection in the window: He is shocked to see that he has a mask on. He feels his face and there is nothing there. The two of them are making it down a dark city street. They are turning into a dark alley. She leans him up against a wall in the alley. She goes to an opening where there are stairs going down. There is a Bouncer guarding the entryway. There is a sign above that says “The Trough”. She pays the Bouncer and then points to Arthur against the wall. The bouncer allows her entry. She gestures for Arthur to come. Drone-shot: Arthur stumbles down the dark alley toward the entryway. Arthur looks along the wall and sees a man passed out among the trash bins in the darkness (L.HUNT cameo). Arthur looks down the stairwell into darkness. Arthur stumbles down the stairs to “The Trough” bar, and disappears into the darkness.
End.
© 2023 L.HUNT
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