Low-Mid Budget, Female Driven, Elevated Horror & Contained Psychological Thrillers
"TO THE COLD AND LONELY"
To The Cold And Lonely is a low budget, character driven, socially conscious psychological thriller seasoned with vampires* and a dash of comedy set in one main location.
Six young vampires throw a house party hoping to attract fresh blood to play their games. Success! Olivia, a runaway, is seduced by this handsome group of immortal psychopaths, but when she tries to leave with a boy, all hell breaks loose. Olivia must make a choice, submit and let these charismatic socialites take her as their own or resist and brave the harsh realities of living without a tribe.
To The Cold And Lonely operates in the genres of elevated horror and contained psychological thrillers similar to projects such as Black Mirror, It Follows, Get Out, Let The Right One In, and The Lost Boys. The story is about Olivia, a loner from the city, who takes refuge in a cozy desert casita where she is unknowingly seduced by a group of beautiful young vampires. Sonny, the outcast of the group, catches Olivia’s eye. Something about him feels familiar. In a stolen moment away from the others, he urges Olivia to plan an escape and save him if she can.
Olivia has her doubts about the others, but can Sonny be trusted? She almost makes an early exit, several times, but a sinister force is holding her back and desperately wants to keep her in the company of these people. Olivia plays their games, pops some pills, and makes out with the hot blonde who has been begging her for a kiss all night. After booze, drugs, sex, and rock and roll, the cracks begin to show. Olivia and Sonny mount their escape but are soon discovered, separated, and pursued through a blinding fog to a fatal end with a heart-wrenching reveal.
On the surface, To The Cold And Lonely is a smart, sexy, fun, commercial vampire romp. Behind the curtain, it tells the story of an estranged individual struggling with a group mentality and the cost of belonging.
*When originally conceived, the bad guys were written as social puppeteers or figurative vampires. Recently, they became literal vampires for broad appeal and marketing purposes. Vampire free version also available.
Genre: Elevated Horror, Contained Psychological Thriller
Budget: $250,000 - $10,000,000
Target Demographic: 18-50
Similar Projects: Black Mirror, It Follows, The Endless, Let The Right One In, The Shining, The Lost Boys
Key Selling Points: Female Driven, Diverse Casting Potential, Suited for Young Actors & Audiences, Fertile Genre (Thriller/Horror), Popular Monster (Vampires), Three Locations, No Costume Changes, 85 Pages
"CRUTCH"
Crutch is a funny, erotic thriller similar to other successful projects such as 9 1/2 Weeks, A Life Less Ordinary, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, Overboard, Horrible Bosses, The Chase, Fifty Shades Of Grey, Secretary, Fatal Attraction, Single White Female, or After.
Hope is broken-hearted when her boyfriend, Scott, breaks off their romance. When she fails to seduce him back into her arms, she knocks him over the head with the business end of a ceramic vase, drives him across the country, and chains him up in her childhood bedroom. For Scott, it marked the end of their relationship. For Hope, it was the beginning of several stages of grief.
Hope enjoys taking care of her man, even if it is against his will. After hours of slaving away in the kitchen preparing a delicious dish, he refuses to appreciate all the hard work she’s put in to make him happy. It drives her nuts!
Kitty, a transgender door-to-door makeup slinger, saves the day when she shows up on Hope's doorstep to hawk her wares. Kitty listens to Hope’s woes and gives her some bad advice, "This guy sounds like a real asshole. You gotta make’em pay."
This is exactly what Hope needed to hear. Scott will discover their love affair is worth saving soon enough. Hope is sure of it. Until then, he will be dragged around by his chain-link collar so she can break him of all his bad habits. When he acts up or misbehaves, Hope will be there to whip him into submission.
CRUTCH (N.) A substance or individual providing temporary comfort and support in times of turmoil and duress.
-urban dictionary
Genre: Erotic Thriller, Comedy
Budget: $250,000 - $10,000,000
Target Demographic: 18-50
Similar Projects: 9 1/2 Weeks, A Life Less Ordinary, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, Overboard, Horrible Bosses, The Chase, Fifty Shades Of Grey, Secretary, Fatal Attraction, Single White Female, After
Key Selling Points: Female-Driven, Diverse Casting Potential, Fertile Genre (Erotic Thriller), Suited for Young Actors & Audiences, 90 Pages, 2 Main Characters + Day Players, Minimal Locations
"REBORN"
Morgan Walker was murdered eighteen years ago, but with the advancement of life sciences, she has been reborn.
Protesters, domestic terrorists, seek to eradicate all "Reborns," believing them to be evil.
Her family has kept the truth about her death a secret from her, almost as if she were adopted and nobody had the decency to tell her.
As she approaches her eighteenth birthday, things start to get weird. Frequent nightmares feel like distant memories becoming all too real. Strange characters stalk her throughout the the school day. Her family conspires behind her back.
One day, she figures it out. She's a "Reborn."
Morgan confronts her overbearing mother and her estranged father, but can't trust either of them. Her mother treats her as if she is a living ghost, and her father sees her as a demon living in his daughters body.
She turns to her big brother, Cary, to help fill in the blanks. He explains what he knows, but it isn't much. He was only eight years old when his big sister, Morgan, perished in a hit & run car accident. He knows she had a boyfriend and on the night of her death, they had a fight.
Morgan is forced to keep her identity a secret from her new boyfriend Liam, whom she has loved since grade school. Liam loves her too, but as a conservative protester, he attends rallies where "Reborns" are stoned to death and he is a willing participant.
Lost in a cruel world with no one to trust, Morgan runs from society, her family, and her friends into the arms of her murderer, a masked man hell-bent on dragging her back to the grave or so she thought.
Genre: Young Adult/Teen, Psychological Thriller, Elevated Sci-Fi
Budget: $250,000 - $10,000,000
Target Demographic: 15 -30
Similar Projects: Gattaca, Another Earth, Ex Machina, The Endless, Primer
Key Selling Points: Female Driven, Diverse Casting Potential, Suited for Young Actors & Audiences, Fertile Genre (Teen Thriller), 90 Pages