2018-05-26

Script analysis of "Tucker and Dale vs Evil" (2010)

Tucker and Dale vs Evil by Eli Craig is one of my favorite movies. This post is an analysis of its script, which you can find online as a pdf if you google hard enough for it. The plot cleverly flips the horror trope of college kids going to
the woods to party and then get attacked by crzay hillbillies. It can also be viewed as a rom-com, with Dale as the boy and Allison as the girl.
Synopsis from wikipedia: Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a 2010 comedy horror film directed by Eli Craig, written by Craig and Morgan Jurgenson, and starring Alan Tudyk, Tyler Labine, Katrina Bowden, and Jesse Moss. Tudyk and Labine play a pair of well-meaning hillbillies who are mistaken for killers by a group of camping college students.

Characters:
  • Dale Dobson (Tyler Labine) is a hillbilly who saves Allison and then they fall in love.
  • Tucker McGee (Alan Tudyk) is Dale's best friend and another hillbilly
  • Allison (Katrina Bowden) is a college kid who falls in love with Dale.
  • Chad (Jesse Moss) is a college kid who is crazy-jealous over Allison's relationship with Dale
  • Chloe, Jason, Naomi, Chuck, Todd, Mitch, Mike are the other college kids.

The POV is usually that of Dale or Allison or Chad.

As a guide to my sequence breakdown below, I follow that of Scott Myers' ebook A screenwriter's guide to reading a screenplay (2017), which you can find online as a pdf if you google for it.

Breakdown

Act 1
SEQUENCE 0: The opening.
page 1
West Virginia, 1987: Cheryl (19), Chad’s Mom but before he was born, is chased and captured by a hillbilly killer.

SEQUENCE 1: Establish Protagonist, exposition, flow of life, inciting incident.

pages 1-3
Dale, his dog Jangers, and Tucker ride along a country road drinking beers in Tucker's beatup pickup, loaded with a boat and tools. We learn Dale is shy around girls.

pages 3-5
Sheriff pulls over Dale and Tucker. A beer gets spilt and Dale, trying to to clean it up, gets his shirt caught. By the time the Sheriff walks up to the car window, Dale's shirt is off and the Sheriff thinks they are a gay couple. The dialog builds the misconception. Sheriff tells them they have a broken tail-light.

pages 5-8
As Dale and Tucker pull into the roadway, they almost hit the big SUV carrying the college kids. The kids get introduced as they talk about pot and beer and frat stuff. When they find they are out of beer, they decide to go to the local store.

pages 8-9
Dale and Tucker stock up at the local store on supplies for fixing up their cabin - nails, machete, saws, etc. Chad enters
and asks the clerk where the beer is.

Sequence 2: Create a predicament, establish the main tension + pose the 2nd Act dramatic question (the "lock").

pages 9-11
Dale notices Allison. Allison is a little freaked out by the weird-looking characters. Tucker gives Dale a pep talk on
talking to women.

pages 11-12
Dale (absentmindedly using a scythe as a walking stick) walks over to Allison to say hello. Chad tells him to back off.
Dale goes back to Tucker thinking he's just a "zero with the ladies."

pages 12-14
Dale and Tucker arrive at their cabin, loaded with plenty of horror tropes (large oven, clippings of massacres, bones
dangling from the ceiling, and so on), falling in love with it. The scene ends with a loose beam coming free and almost kills Tucker.

pages 14-15
It's night. The college kids sit around a campfire while Chad throws a hatchet at a tree. They remark how odd Chad is. Chad
comes over and tells them a "true" scary story, given via a flashback.

pages 15-16
Flashback scene - Cheryl (the 19 yr old to be Chad's mom, from earlier) is with a bunch of college kids dancing to a car
tape deck. A hillbilly starts to kill them. Cheryl runs, chased by the hillbilly.

page 16
As Chad finishes up his story, Mike suggests they all go skinny dipping.

pages 16-19
Dale and Tucker are in their row boat drinking beers and fishing. They overhear a conversation between Chad and Allison where Chad pressures Allison for sex. (This dialog was moved to a scene on the shore for the movie.) She rejects him. Chad leaves, upset.

The inciting incident:

page 20
Allison climbs up on a rock (naked in the script, but dressed in the movie, though she takes off her shirt and shorts), but slips, hits her head, and goes under water. Dale and Tucker see this (Dale avoids staring at her, out of modesty for Allison) and Dale dives in to rescue her.

page 21
The college kids see Dale and Tucker (the "hillbillies") have ("captured") Allison. Dale and Tucker see the college kids
run into the woods screaming. They take Allison back to their cabin.

page 22
Chuck runs to the college kids' campsite and tells Chad that the hillbillies from the store have captured Allison. Chad
grabs his hatchet and runs to the lake.

Act 2 (Complicating action, rising and descending)

page 22
Allison has a nightmare about Dale and Jangers.

Sequence 3: Deconstruction tests. The Protagonist makes initial attempts at solving the dramatic problem.

pages 22-23
Allison wakes up the next morning. Dale brings her pancakes while Jangers chews on a doggie toy. She says "No!", which makes
Dale think she doesn't want the pancakes he made, so he goes and fixes her something else for breakfast.

pages 23-25
The college kids debate what happened to Allison. Their cellphones don't get any reception. Chuck leaves to tell the police. The others wander in the woods until the come to Dale and Tucker's cabin.

pages 25-27
Dale brings in breakfast with flowers to Allison. (This is the meet cute, if we regard this movie as a rom-com.) Dale is charming and Allison is sweet. They end up playing a board game. During this board game it is revealed that Dale, while he seems slow, has an excellent memory. This will arise as a polt point later.

page 28
Mitch, Chad and others play rock-paper scissors to see who will walk up to the cabin to ask about Allison. Mitch loses.

page 28
Tucker starts up the chainsaw to cut up some logs lying outside the cabin.

pages 28-29
As Mitch approaches the cabin, Tucker hits a beehive with the chainsaw, causing them to swarm and sting him. He runs away,
screaming and carrying the chainsaw (still running), towards Mitch. Mitch thinks Tucker's after him and runs away, eventually running headlong into a pointed branch, which impales him through his chest. (Tucker sees Mitch running but does not see him die.)

Sequence 4: Transition.
The Protagonist makes more desperate attempts to solve the problem.

pages 30-32
More of the Dale and Allison meet cute. They play something like Trivial Pursuit. We learn Dale is very smart and Allison
wants to help people by studying to be a psychologist. Tucker enters, covers with bee stings. Dale helps him get
stingers out then they leave Allison to get rest and to try to find her friends.

page 33
The college kids examine Mitch's dead body and think the hillbillies murdered him. Chad plots revenge. They hear Dale and Tucker approach and hide.

pages 34-35
Dale and Tucker have an innocent conversation that gets totally misunderstood by the college kids hiding nearby. Dale and Tucker leave a message carved in a piece of wood: 'WE GOT UR FREIND TRY AND GIT ER' (slightly different in the
movie).

pages 35-36
Dale and Allison dig a tench for the outhouse that looks a lot like a grave. The college kids spy on them, thinking that Dale is forcing Allison to dig her own grave.

page 37
Tucker works at a woodchipper, grinding up the logs he's cut up. In a simultaneous attack, Mike runs at Tucker and Todd runs at Dale. Mike accidentally trips and falls headfirst into the woodchipper, dying instantly and covering Tucker with blood. Todd accidentally trips impales himself on the spear he was carrying. Tucker tries to save him by grabbing Mike's legs but fails. Todd scares Dale, who hits Allison accidentally in the hit with his shovel, knocking her out.

pages 38-39
The college kids see this and think Dale and Tucker killed Mike and Todd. Dale and Tucker carry Allison into the cabin. They think the college kids are trying to kill Allison. They decide they can't go to the police, because they'd look guilty, but need to clean up the place.

pages 40-41
The college kids are scared, except Chad, who's acting like his wants revenge. Then they hear the police that Chuck went after.

pages 41-42
All the college kids but Chad run to the police SUV and join Chuck in the police car. They tell the Sheriff that the hillbillies killed their friends and kidnapped Allison.

pages 42-45
Dale and Tucker try to pull Mike out of the woodchipper. As they finally pull his bloody headless torso out, the
Sheriff pulls up in front of them. Tucker says "Let me do the talking," but Tucker doesn't help their case any in the awkward conversation that follows.

page 45-46
Dale and Tucker and Sheriff go into the cabin. After Sheriff examines Allison and says she seems to be okay, he tells Dale and Tucker that they are going to get the death penalty. Then Sheriff leans against the support post and gets hit in the head with a post having 4 long nails sticking out.

pages 47-49
Sheriff stumbles out of the cabin, bleeding with a block of wood nailed to his head, and goes to the police SUV. He tries to call in using his police radio but dies and rips the mic cord out of the car. Chuck tries to grab Sheriff's gun but shoots himself in the head by mistake. Chad runs out of the woods, grabs the gun from Chuck's hand, and fires at Dale and Tucker,
missing them. Dale and Tucker run inside.


Sequence 5: Reconstruction tests.
New complications force the protagonist into a descending spiral.

pages 49-50
Dale and Tucker get on the floor, to avoid being hit by the bullets flying. The shooting stops and Jangers yelps. They look out and see Jangers being held prisoner by Chad. Tucker readies an air-pressurized nail gun, gives it to Dale and tells Dale to cover him as Tucker sneaks out the back, to try to rescue Jangers.


Sequence 6:
All is lost.
The main tension is resolved or reframed.

pages 51-53
Dale shoots at the police SUV and tells Chad not to hurt his dog. While Chad is shooting back, Tucker sneaks around and
lets Jangers go. Chad offers to exchange Jangers for Allison. Then the college kids notice Tucker nearby and chase after him. Chad catches him and knocks him out.

pages 53-54
Tucker is tied up and hung upside down over a pit. Tucker tries to reason with Chad, but Chad chops off 3 of Tucker's
fingers instead.


ACT THREE (Acceleration towards resolution)

pages 55-57
Allison wakes up in the cabin. Dale starts crying and apologizing to her for everything. He tells her what happened and that her college friends want to kill Tucker and Jangers.

pages 57-60
There is a THUD at the door. Allison looks out, seeing the dead Sheriff, headless Mike, and so on. Then she sees a bloody rag wrapped around a rock. She carries it inside. Dale recognizes the rag as a piece of Tucker's shirt. They open it: 3 of Tucker's fingers, and a note saying "we got your friend, try and get him." Allison tries to calm Dale down but Dale goes to rescue Tucker.

pages 60-62
Dale searches the woods for Tucker, finding dead Mitch and Jangers' collar. When he spots Tucker he runs to him. In the
script he falls into a pit. In the movie, he trips a wire causing a spear to shoot at him, barely missing his groin. Dale cuts Tucker down and they leave.

pages 63-66
Chad and some other college kids sneak into the cabin. They talk to Allison, who tries to clear the confusion with calm reasoning. Chad is too upset, and wants revenge.

Sequence 7: On the offensive.
The Protagonist faces a new obstacle or objective.

pages 66-68
Dale and Tucker barge in, protective of Allison. Chad detects the bonding between Dale and Allison and gets even more upset.
Allison tries to calm them both down with moderated dialog and tea. It is revealed that Chad is allergic to chamomile tea. (Dale remembers this, and this becomes a plot point later.)

page 68-70
Chad starts by telling "his side": he dad was murdered and his mom driven insane by hillbillies. (Much of this is told via
VOs and flashbacks.)

pages 70-73
Other college kids have armed themselves with a weedwacker and prepare to charge the cabin. As Dale begins to tell "his side", Jason barges into the cabin with the weedwacker turned on, and trips over something and jams the weedwacker into Naomi's face, almost killing her. Chad uses this distraction to attack Dale with his hatchet, but misses. Allison tries to stop Chad from attacking Dale again but he knocks her away. Dale gets upset and is about to attack Chad when Jason readies his weedwacker to strike again. Chad throws a lantern at Dale. Dale ducks and the lantern hits Jason, engulfing him in flames. Chloe tries to help by throwing liquid on Jason but it's pain thinner and his flames only grow. Tucker Dale and Allison run for the door, followed by Chad.

pages 74-80
The cabin explodes in a fireball. Chad emerges as a charred demonic figure. Tucker Dale and Allison run for the truck. During the drive Dale and Tucker argue over whose fault all this is, repeating the idea that if Dale even spoke to Allison, everything would be fine. In the movie, they rev the truck straight ahead (in the script, the truck goes in reverse and runs over Chad) but there are no brakes and they lose control, eventually crashing. Allison is unconscious.

pages 81-83
Chad catches up with them and attacks. They get Allison out just in time. They run away from Chad, carrying unconscious Allison. Jangers catches up with them, causing a scare when they think he's Chad.

Sequence 8: Final struggle.
Resolution. Loose ends are tied up. Subplots resolved.

pages 84-87
Chad sneeks up on them and stabs Tucker in the gut with the scythe. Chad disappears with still unconscious Allison but Dale and Tucker don't notice, as Tucker is very seriously wounded. Tucker encourages Dale to leave him and save Allison.

pages 87-89
Dale tracks Chad to an old sawmill, but gets snagged on a fence. Allison is now awake. Chad's conversation with Allison reveals he is very attracted to her while she is not attracted to him. Chad tries to kiss her but she rebuffs him.

pages 89-91
As Dale gets unsnagged, Chad's conversation with Allison reveals he is crazy. Allison bites him when he tries to kiss her
again. Chad punches her and ties her to a buzzsaw table.

pages 91-93
Dale, which a chainsaw roaring away in his hand, appears in the doorway to the room Chad is about to kill Allison. She screams. Chad throws the switch, and Allison rolls towards the buzzsaw. Dale cuts her ropes, saving her in the nick of time, while Chad attacks him. They fight but when Chad gains the advantage, Dale escapes and hides, unhurt.

pages 93-100
Dale and Allison unite and hide in the foreman's office. They discover a stack of old newspapers and a box of loose
leaf chamomile tea. The newspapers reveal that Chad's father wasn't a victim of hillbilly killers, but was the hillbilly killer. Like father like son. Chad smashes through the door. They tell Chad that his father was the hillbilly killer. He attacks Dale with the scythe anyway. Dale remembers Chad's allergy and throws the box of chamomile tea at Chad. Chad convulses as he fights for air. Chad falls to his death.

THE DENOUEMENT

pages 101-103
A news crew covers the story the next day at the saw mill (featuring the director and his wife in a cameo).
Tucker wakes up in a hospital bed, with his fingers sewn back on. Dale brings Tucker a beer and they talk about the bowling league they are in. We learn Allison likes to bowl as well.

pages 103-105
At the bowling alley, Allison throws a strike. Dale buys Allison a pink wrestling helmet as a present (a joke on how often she falls unconscious).

page 105
The news crew sneaks into the saw mill (again, featuring the director and his wife in a cameo) trying to get a scope on
a clue the police might have missed. Chad jumps out of the shadows, killing them both.