BACK! BACK! BACK!

0s–2s (HOOK — FACE FIRST) POV flashlight already LOCKED on a MASSIVE HIPPO FACE right beside a small boat. Too close. Eyes reflecting hard. Water dripping off its mouth. Someone screams: “BACK! BACK! BACK!” The hippo SNAPS forward instantly — jaws filling frame. Camera jerks violently. 2s–5s Camera falls sideways into the boat. Flashlight drops — spinning beam chaos. Light flashes: metal railing water splashing in someone slipping Screams overlapping: “MOVE! MOVE!” The boat rocks violently. 5s–8s (SCRAMBLE — NO CONTROL) Camera grabs the flashlight again — shaky beam. Points toward water — Nothing there. Just ripples. Too quiet for half a second. Heavy breathing. 8s–11s (SECOND PROXIMITY SHOCK) Beam swings right — HIPPO already THERE again, closer than before. Mouth open. Someone screams right next to camera: “IT’S RIGHT HERE!” Water blasts up as it surges forward. Light flickers from the splash. 11s–14s (CHAOS PEAK) Camera gets knocked backward — half off the boat. Flashlight beam now angled low across water. We see: thrashing water part of the head nothing fully clear Sound carries it: SPLASHES + SCREAMS + WOOD HITTING WATER 14s–15s (PAYOFF) Flashlight flickers once… Then cuts out. Complete darkness. One final HEAVY SPLASH right next to camera. Cut. Key Visual Hook Hippo face already in flashlight beam in frame one — no search, no buildup — immediate attack.