Plagued

> *"Apparently, a masked man's been seen wondering around this forest. People go missing around here, Ollie...It's where that lad from school was last seen."*
> - Shaun to Oliver.
>
>

***Plagued*** is a 2020 short film, and the first BH9 Media short film. The film was released on January 15, 2020 after premiering at the Wales Skills competition in Cardiff.

The film is directed by Rhys Evans, who also stars as Shaun, alongside Lewis Rutter as Ollie, Edward Evers-Swindell as Shaun's Dad, and J. Pollitt as The Plague Doctor.

## Synopsis

Two careless teens embark on an adventure in a haunted forest.

## Plot

*A transcript of this film is available here.*

The film starts with Shaun and Oliver sitting on a bench in the woods. Shaun explains that he's brought Oliver there so they can have a look around, as there have been rumours of a "masked man" walking around the woods, with many people going missing there. Oliver thinks he's full of it however, and they both laugh it off.

Shaun and Oliver walk around the woods for a while, until Oliver walks off to urinate. Shaun is standing in the distance waiting for Oliver to finish, when he suddenly hears a scream. Shaun runs towards it to look for his friend. He soon finds Oliver standing by a tree, hanging a belt around a tree, with what looks like a plague doctor next to him. Oliver then hangs himself as Shaun watches. He then runs off home, distraught by what he's seen.

When Shaun gets home, he starts smoking in his back garden, and as he goes back in, the Plague Doctor follows. Shaun cries for a moment before walking into the living room, where he lights a candle and calls the police, but it cuts off mid-call. He buries his head in his hands to cry, before he somehow gets a call from Oliver. Confused, he answers the phone only to be greeted by his best friend's ghost, blaming him for his suicide. His phone call gets interrupted when he hears a bang on the front door and the lights randomly switch off.

Shaun goes to the front door and notices what looks like Oliver's reflection when he approaches it. But by the time he opens the door, his friend has gone around the corner. Shaun runs through into the back garden where he sees a shirtless, bloody-necked Oliver, standing statically. As Shaun approaches him, he runs off, and disappears.

Shaun later goes into the bathroom to try and clear his head. He splashes water onto his face, then lifts his head up to the mirror, where he sees the same plague doctor behind him. The Plague Doctor immediately grabs Shaun and dunks his head into the water, drowning him for around ten seconds, until it turns midnight, when the Plague Doctor disappears. Shaun dries himself off and runs to his bedroom.

In Shaun's bedroom, he video calls his dad, who seems completely oblivious as to what's happened with Oliver. He then sees a figure behind Shaun who he assumes is Oliver, when it in reality, it's the plague doctor. Freaked out, Shaun quickly shuts off his laptop and runs downstairs, where he once again notices the Plague Doctor in the corner of the room. He tries to escape his home but the doors are somehow locked. Realising he's trapped, Shaun discovers the only thing he can do is fight. Shaun grabs a knife from the kitchen and walks into the living room, where the lights are flickering with the Plague Doctor in the corner of the room. Shaun suddenly gets controlled into not attacking the Plague Doctor, and gets on his knees, before his head starts to spin repeatedly, seeing the Plague Doctor approach him slowly. The screen cuts to black as Shaun can be heard screaming.

In a post-credit scene, Shaun's dad can still be seen on the video call, wondering where his son has gone, worried that he may have offended him by not believing his story. He begs for him to come back, as the film ends.

## Cast

* Rhys Evans as Shaun Williams
* Lewis Rutter as Oliver
* J. Pollitt as The Plague Doctor
* Edward Evers-Swindell as Mr. Williams

## Crew

* Director - Rhys Evans
* Screenplay - James Smith / J. Pollitt / Rhys Evans
* Producer - John-Matthew Davenport
* Executive Producers - J. Pollitt / John-Matthew Davenport
* Director of Photography - John-Matthew Davenport
* Production Designer - Lewis Rutter
* Editor - J. Pollitt
* Costume Design - Rhys Evans
* Colour Grading - John-Matthew Davenport
* Casting Director - Rhys Evans
* Production Supervisor - John-Matthew Davenport
* Sound Mixer - James Smith
* Production Accountant - J. Pollitt
* Gaffer - Lewis Rutter
* Location Managers - Rhys Evans / John-Matthew Davenport
* Special Effects Coordinators / Technicians - J. Pollitt / John-Matthew Davenport
* Storyboard Artists - Rhys Evans / Lewis Rutter / J. Pollitt / James Smith / John-Matthew Davenport
* Assistant Editor - John-Matthew Davenport
* Special Thanks - Coleg Cambria / Gill Williams / Edward Evers-Swindell

## Locations

* The Plague Doctor's Woods
* Shaun's House

## Trivia

### Production Dates

* Pre-Production for the film commenced on October 23, 2019, and concluded on November 15, 2019.
* Production for the film commenced on November 18, 2019, and concluded just ten days later, on November 28, 2019.
* Post-production for the film commenced on November 26, 2019, and concluded on December 12, 2019.

### Production Notes

* This is the first and only BH9 Media film to be created within Coleg Cambria.