Total Recall - Structure
(updated February 2026)
script: http://www.scifiscripts.com/msol/Totalre_final_draft.txt
eight sequences: http://thescriptlab.com/screenwriting/structure/the-sequence/45-the-eight-sequences
three-act structure: http://www.indiana.edu/~audioweb/T206/three-act.html
hero’s journey: http://www.thewritersjourney.com/hero's_journey.htm
ACT 1 - Quaid learns that he is not the one he thinks he is, and that he has to go to Mars to face Cohaagen
SEQUENCE 1: introducing characters and the world, ordinary world, status quo, inciting incident, call to adventure
(length=17:50;16.7%)
“Morning Routine”
2:50 - HOOK: Quaid (protagonist) dreams of Mars and Melina (love interest)
3:56 - EXPOSITION: Quaid wakes up, morning with Lori (shapeshifter), Cohaagen (antagonist) on TV, exposition about the situation on Mars, Quaid is interested in Mars, he wants “to be someone”
9:12 - CLUE: Quaid commutes and works, Rekall commercial on subway (call to adventure), Harry (false friend) warns Quaid and says that he knows someone who was lobotomized (refusal of call, foreshadowing)
“Rekall”
11:26 - Quaid visits Rekall, talks to sales rep, agrees to the “secret agent” trip to Mars
15:50 - INCITING INCIDENT: Quaid gets prepared for implant, but it goes wrong because “someone has erased his memory”
SEQUENCE 2: predicament and lock-in, meeting the mentor, first major plot point
(length=22:30; 21.1%)
“Spies and Agents”
20:40 - ACTION: Quaid wakes up in a taxi, gets out and is attacked by Harry and his gang, he kills them all (climax, lock-in)
23:16 - Quaid goes back to Lori, he tells about Rekall, she disapproves (refusal of call), Quaid goes to the bathroom to wash off blood, Lori calls Richter (bully), then attacks Quaid, he overpowers her, she tells him that he is really someone else and that she “only works here”
28:10 - ACTION: Quaid flees when agents approach, Richter and Helm (bully’s sidekick) enter the apartment, they chase Quaid, chase through security monitor, shoot-out at escalator, Quaid escapes on subway (climax), commercial on TV about real-life space travel (foreshadowing)
“Revenge Subplot”
32:22 - SUBPLOT (the subplot is about the jealous Richter who wants to kill Quaid): Richter and Helm talk to Cohaagen, Cohaagen wants to capture Quaid, Richter wants to kill him and disrupts communication
“The Suitcase”
33:32 - CLUE: Quaid goes to hotel and is approached by a mysterious man, Quaid learns how to use towel to muffle tracking signal, then picks up a suitcase left by the mysterious man
35:55 - ACTION: Richter and Helm lose track of Quaid, but accidently see him as he leaves the hotel, they chase him, but he escapes in a taxi (climax)
37:08 - CLUE: Quaid drives to remote factory, opens suitcase, meets Hauser (mentor), removes tracking device, learns to use hologram watch (foreshadowing), learns that he has the information to nail Cohaagen and must go to Mars (first major plot point)
41:57 - ACTION: Agents approach, Quaid packs up and leaves, Richter and Helm believe they have Quaid, but he is already gone (minor climax)
ACT 2 - Quaid arrives on Mars where he learns that he turned sides after he fell in love with Melina, and that he must switch on an alien reactor to finally free Mars from Cohaagen’s brutal grip
SEQUENCE 3: special/other world, approach, first obstacle, raising the stakes, the plot thickens
(length=16:58;15.9%)
“Arriving on Mars”
43:10 - Quaid lands on Mars, enters immigration hall (threshold) disguised as a lady
45:48 - ACTION: Quaid’s disguise fails, Richter and soldiers shoot at Quaid, dome cracks (foreshadowing), Quaid narrowly escapes (climax)
“The Brunette”
47:47 - EXPOSITION: Quaid on train, exposition about how Cohaagen treats the population badly
48:39 - SUBPLOT: Cohaagen yells at Richter for screwing up and not catching Quaid, exposition about why Cohaagen is against the rebels and after Quaid
50:29 - CLUE: Quaid goes to hotel lobby, gets mysterious message from safe deposit box about going to The Last Resort (minor plot point)
52:33 - EXPOSITION: Quaid leaves the hotel, meets Benny (false friend, shapeshifter, traitor), they drive to Venusville, exposition about rebels, cheap domes and psychics, mining mole drives by (foreshadowing)
55:06 - EXPOSITION: At the bar Quaid finally meets Melina (ally, love interest), they go to her room where she is relieved that Quaid lives, hints at Quaid’s past, Quaid tells her that he doesn’t remember who he is, she gets mad and throws him out
SEQUENCE 4: midpoint, first culmination, test, moment of truth, point of no return, ordeal, death and rebirth
(length=6:24; 6.0%)
“Dr. Edgemar”
1:00:08 - UPSET: Quaid watches Cohaagen declare martial law on TV when Dr. Edgemar (false mentor?) knocks on door, he explains that Quaid is still at Rekall suffering a schizoid embolism
1:02:40 - MOMENT OF TRUTH: Edgemar introduces Lori, she is sweet and normal, and supports Edgemar in his claims, Quaid is not convinced and threatens to kill Edgemar since it is all a dream, Edgemar threatens that Quaid will end up being lobotomized, Quaid sees him sweat and kills him (minor climax)
1:05:43 - PERIL: Soldiers enter and overpower Quaid (climax), Lori kicks him (low point), then calls Richter to tell him that they got Quaid
SEQUENCE 5: escape, acceptance, resolution, reward, rising action, raising the stakes
(length=8:54; 8.4%)
“Melina to the Rescue”
1:06:32 - ACTION: Soldiers drag Quaid to elevator, Melina comes out and kills them (reward), Melina and Lori fight hand-to-hand, Quaid wakes up and kills Lori (minor climax)
1:08:30 - ACTION: Richter and Helm chase Quaid and Melina, they find Lori dead, Quaid and Melina reach dead end, they jump and escape, Richter cannot shoot since he will crack the dome and kill everyone (minor climax)
1:10:10 - ACTION: Richter and Helm catch up, Quaid and Melina jump into a taxi which happens to be Benny’s, they drive away, Richter and Helm jump into their own car, car chase, Quaid and Melina run on foot to the bar where they escape through secret passage, the bar quickly reverts to normal as if nothing has happened (climax)
“The Bar Fight”
1:12:34 - ACTION: Richter, Helm and soldiers enter the bar, Richter shoots hooker, the crowd fights back, Helm is gutted by other hooker, Richter escapes by jumping through window
1:13:46 - SUBPLOT: More soldiers move in, Cohaagen calls Richter, tells him not to think and pull out, bulkhead doors close one by one, no-one in Venusville can escape, then all the air vents stop
SEQUENCE 6: main culmination, second major plot point, low point, solution is revealed, new challenge
(length=8:53; 8.3%)
“Kuato”
1:15:26 - EXPOSITION: Melina leads Quaid and Benny through catacombs, exposition about how Cohaagen came to power, Melina tells Quaid that Kuato can help him remember (clue), rebels approach, Benny reveals that he is a mutant, rebel commander takes Quaid to meet Kuato
1:18:00 - EXPOSITION: Kuato hypnotizes Quaid and he falls into a trance, inside Quaid’s dream we see that an ancient alien reactor was found in the mines
1:21:48 - CLUE: The dream is interrupted when mining moles crash through the walls, soldiers attack the rebels, inside airlock Benny shoots the commander/Kuato, as he dies Kuato tells Quaid to start the reactor (second major plot point, clue, solution, new challenge, raising the stakes), Richter and soldiers enter and finishes off Kuato (main low point, climax)
ACT 3 - Quaid kills Cohaagen and his companions, turns on the reactor and saves Mars
SEQUENCE 7: peril, new tension and twist
(length=7:38; 7.2%)
“Cohaagen’s Victory”
1:24:19 - EXPOSITION: At his office Cohaagen explains to Quaid and Melina how he and Hauser invented Quaid and set everything up in order to get to Kuato (twist), Melina is mad at Quaid, Quaid claims he is innocent, Cohaagen shows video of the Hauser who confirms Cohaagen’s story (twist)
“Brainwash”
1:27:12 - Quaid and Melina are taken to implant lab, Cohaagen orders not to turn on air again in Venusville, Richter hits Quaid (subplot anti-climax), Cohaagen and Richter leave together
1:29:30 - ACTION: Quaid frees himself and kills the lab doctor and his assistants (climax), then frees Melina, they run to elevator where they kill soldiers and take their guns
1:31:06 - SUBPLOT: Cohaagen finally allows Richter to kill Quaid/Hauser, Richter runs out to get him
SEQUENCE 8: final confrontation, climax, resolution
(length=17:32;16.4%)
“The Reactor”
1:31:57 - EXPOSITION: While people are dying in Venusville, Quaid explains to Melina that they have to turn on the reactor, they run down tunnel to a dead end
1:32:59 - ACTION: Quaid and Melina are attacked by Benny driving a mine mole, Quaid kills Benny with drill hammer (climax)
1:34:53 - Melina discovers a hole in the mine wall, they climb through and see the reactor, Quaid reveals that it makes air on Mars, they start to walk towards it
“Richter”
1:36:08 - ACTION: Richter and soldiers ambush Quaid and Melina inside the reactor, using the hologram watch Quaid and Melina kill all the soldiers, Richter escapes, Quaid runs after, Melina is left behind, Quaid and Richter fight and Richter is killed (climax, resolution of subplot)
“Saving Mars”
1:40:19 - EXPOSITION: Quaid enters the reactor’s control room, Cohaagen enters and monologues
1:41:18 - ACTION: Cohaagen is shot in the arm by Melina coming up the elevator, Cohaagen activates bomb, Quaid throws bomb, then activates reactor starting a big chain reaction (main climax)
1:46:52 - RESOLUTION: Air is created on Mars, everybody except Cohaagen survives, Quaid wonders if it’s all a dream
1:49:29 - THE END (length=1:46:39, excluding opening and closing credits)