In the snowy heights of the American frontier, a Danish immigrant surveyor part of a dwindling expedition struggles to survive social alienation and orders to retrieve evidence of a creature killing the men around him.
Klaus Haugen, an immigrant untrusted and largely ignored, buries another member of a quickly dwindling expedition in the mountains of the American frontier. As the bell-lined ropes that protect their camp from an unseen creature tremble in the wind, one of the remaining surveyors is sent into the woods to collect evidence—and doesn’t return. Klaus begins to be plagued by a strange jabbering sound and wonders if there’s any end to the evil that surrounds him.
The next day, he’s sent to collect the evidence many have died trying to retrieve: an exposed dry plate meant to capture an image of the thing killing them. In the woods, Klaus loots the fallen for supplies and ventures to a clearing where the camera is stationed. In his panic to escape the encroaching creature and the growing jabbering, he mishandles the exposure—unknowingly ruining the only proof the crew has.
He returns to camp, and the men celebrate what they think is success. That night, Klaus dreams of the jabbering and the creature, nearly grasping its meaning before waking. When the photograph is revealed to be ruined, the crew turns on him. Haunted by his dream, Klaus prepares to return for another exposure.
Alone again in the high snow, Klaus reaches the camera despite fraying nerves. Before he can complete his task, he succumbs to the jabbering sounds that rise around him. But instead of a death blow, the noise transforms—morphing into something ancient and beautiful. Klaus disappears, leaving only his knit cap behind. The crew places a marker at an empty grave, unaware of the transcendence he has found.
Who can direct this screenplay? Author Only