Anatomy of a Nightmare: Writing Your Horror Feature
Session: October 2026
About this Live Online Course
Learn how to give shape and form to the outline of your horror screenplay with experienced screenwriters as your guides. In this eight-week live online course, you will move from idea to outline through a review of the foundations of compelling storytelling, and lessons on character, conflict, dialogue, and the components of the horror genre. Whether you are new to writing horror or want a deeper understanding of the genre, this class will give you the tools you need to create compelling stories that stay with audiences for years to come.
How the course is structured:
During class sessions led by your instructor, you will analyze clips from horror films, complete interactive exercises, and discuss concepts. Designated homework designed to move your concept to a completed outline is reviewed by your assigned class advisor. The course concludes with a 1-on-1 mentoring session with your advisor focused on your project.
What you bring to the course:
- An idea for the horror screenplay you wish to develop
- A horror screenplay you plan on rewriting from scratch
What you’ll get from the course:
- A greater understanding of the horror genre
- A review of the foundations of screenwriting, including three-act structure
- Tools needed for world building
- How to create mood and finesse the tone of your story
- Character development skills including setting up conflicts and identifying character arcs
- How to process notes from your peers, collaborators, and executives
This course will:
- provide tools and techniques to apply to any project
- build a creative community of writers to support each other
- offer personalized feedback on your project in designated assignments and via a 1-on-1 session with a Sundance Collab Advisor
Live Online CourseAccessibility
Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Accommodations and services are designed to meet the needs of each participant. Please email us at accessibility@sundance.org to arrange for services.
Scholarships
Sundance Collab offers a limited number of need-based, partial and full scholarships. Scholarship applications can be submitted until one week before the registration deadline and do not stack with discounts or promotions, including early registration. Due to the volume of applicants, we are not always able to provide a scholarship, but we may still offer a spot in the course.
Outline
Topics covered include:
- Introductions to Screenwriters
- Horror genre overview
- Discovering the core idea for your screenplay
- Translating our fears into horror
Topics covered include:
- Types of monsters
- The expectations of genre
- Three-act structure architecture
- Writing a logline and a one-pager
Topics covered include:
- Social horror
- Balancing the real and the supernatural
- Developing your characters and creating multiple arcs
- Film plotting
Topics covered include:
- Mind/mystery as monster
- Subjective POV
- Building a horror world/set/atmosphere
- Setting the scene with your opening
Topics covered include:
- Family and group dynamics
- The role of female desire in horror
- Crafting terror: what you show and what you don’t
- Moving from beat sheet to outline
Topics covered include:
- The shadow self
- The sympathetic monster
- Balancing story and theme
- Moving from outline to script
Topics covered include:
- Subverting/queering the genre
- Finishing, revising and exposing the script
- Building a career: guerilla, indie, studio
- Next steps
Topics covered include:
- The course concludes with a 1-on-1 mentoring session with a Sundance Collab Advisor
Team
Lee Moss
Instructor
Lee Moss is a filmmaker and story consultant from NYC, now based in Dublin, Ireland. They were named one of Indiewire’s 10 LGTBTQ Creators On The Rise in 2023. They have been a Film Independent Episodic Directing Lab Fellow, Women in Film Fellow, a Yaddo resident artist and an alum of both the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Labs. They have lectured on screenwriting at Columbia University, SUNY Purchase and NYU.
Their feature directing debut, Birth/Rebirth, premiered at Sundance and was distributed theatrically by IFC. It was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards (Best Screenplay, Best Lead Performance, Judy Reyes and Someone To Watch).
Their spec pilot, Eureka!, starring Karen Gillan, Jon Bass and Jillian Bell, premiered at Tribeca and won Best Director at Seriesfest. Their short film Fry Day, which premiered at SXSW, was featured on the Criterion Channel, paired with the classic satire, Man Bites Dog.
Zandashé Brown
Advisor
Zandashé Brown is a storyteller and writer/director born-and-bred in and inspired by southern Louisiana. As a daughter of the abandoned American South, she blends Black Southern introspection and spirituality with surrealistic horror to tell stories about neglected places and peoples. Brown is a current Film Independent Amplifier fellow, an alum of the 2022 Sundance Screenwriters Lab and Directors Lab for her debut feature-in-development, THE MATRIARCH, and of the 2021 Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program. She was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film for 2022.
FAQ
In Sundance Collab’s Live Online courses, participants attend live, virtual class sessions on the same day and time for a specified period. These sessions are led by an instructor and in some cases, supported by a team of advisors. In some courses, you are given assignments with submission deadlines to help you take the next step with your work.
- Each week you will be able to attend live lectures via Zoom video and ask questions of your instructor.
- In some courses, you will receive individualized feedback from your course advisor on elements of your work.
- In some courses, you will have the opportunity to have a 1-on-1 session with your advisor. Depending on the course, this session may be included or may be purchased separately for an additional cost. Check the course description for specifics.
All members of the Sundance Collab community are welcome to register for Sundance Collab courses. Please review the course description and any eligibility requirements to ensure the course is a good fit. If you have any questions about a course, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.
Note that space is limited. If the registration window is open, you will see a “Register” button on the course page. If there is an application, applications are considered as they are received and applicants are accepted on a rolling basis until the course is full or the deadline has passed, whichever comes first.
We do not allow creative partners to do our live online courses as a team. However, both creators can individually register for the course.
Part of Sundance Collab's unique educational approach is to create a teaching team for every course. Each class is led by an instructor who may be accompanied by additional course advisors. This allows us to keep an intimate ratio of participants to advisors and to provide a diversity of voices and approaches to the course content.
We often offer a limited number of need-based, full or partial scholarships. Check the course description to see if that course currently has scholarships available. Scholarships are prioritized for one per person per year (from the date of issue). Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline. To apply for a scholarship,complete the registration form by clicking the REGISTER button and selecting the option to apply for a scholarship, if available.
Applicants will be notified about their scholarship decision prior to the first day of the course. Due to the volume of applicants, we are not always able to provide a scholarship, but we may still offer a spot in the course. In this case, depending on the course, payment plans may be available and can be selected at checkout.
Yes, we offer two or three-part payment plans for Live Online courses, depending on the length of the course. In all cases, the first payment is due at the point of registration. The remaining payment(s) are spread out throughout the course term. For specific payment plan dates for a course, please reach out to our team at: collab_courses@sundance.org.
Yes, you are welcome to take a live, online course even if you can’t make the live sessions. Recordings of each class session are available online by the following day so you can keep up with the course lectures. For courses that include a 1-on-1 session with an advisor or instructor, the meeting is scheduled according to your (and their) availability.
All sessions are recorded and usually made available within one business day. The videos will also contain the chat and transcript from the class session, viewable in the video playbar.
Participants will have access to the recordings for one year following the last class session.
All participants will receive a Certificate of Completion. The certificate will include the name associated with your Sundance Collab account.
You can find any courses that you are enrolled in or have already completed in the profile section of your Sundance Collab account under “Courses.”
You can join a course via a computer or mobile device. All of our live, online courses are conducted via Zoom.
Download and set up the Zoom software (https://zoom.us/download) and make sure you have the latest update. Here are some great resources from Zoom’s Knowledge Base to take a deeper dive into using Zoom:
- Watch Zoom's Video Tutorials or review training materials on the Getting Started page
- Join a Live Training from Zoom
If you have any further questions, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.
Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Please contact us at (435) 776-7790 or email us at accessibility@sundance.org to ask any questions or to discuss your specific needs after you have been accepted into the course.