1. Posted: November 6, 2019In:

    An ex-con trapped in an isolated house with the paedophile he believes murdered his child ? must pick a side when violent locals reach boiling point following another unexplained murder.

    thedarkhorse Samurai

    Characters:Sam - The ex-con protagonist. A former soldier who served 10 years for manslaughter for killing the wrong man. Previously, the unsolved murder of his child led to the ruin of his marriage, life and up to the manslaughter. Returning home, he believes the killer might be... reformed paedophRead more

    Characters:

    Sam – The ex-con protagonist. A former soldier who served 10 years for manslaughter for killing the wrong man. Previously, the unsolved murder of his child led to the ruin of his marriage, life and up to the manslaughter. Returning home, he believes the killer might be… reformed paedophile and recluse, Walt.

    Walt – A recluse of 10 years since he left prison. A self-hating man with suicidal tendencies. Throughout, he is evasive and inscrutable. There are moments he wants to be killed. He wants his sister to leave him alone – get on with her life, get married, have kids. He knows he’s wrecked her life just by being there.

    Bev – Walt’s protective, ever-loyal sister. She carries the burden of living with her paedophile brother. His presence has thwarted relationships, suitors, and they’ve had to move several times. Bev wants Walt to get out the house, move on with his life and get a job.

    Bill – the local drunk and moron. Sam’s co-worker (at a factory) and a former friend from his days as a hell-raiser. Bill’s daughter is found raped and murdered. The first person he goes after and harasses is Walt. (Also – he might be a local cop? We’ll see.)

    ———————

    Central questions of the whole thing:
    Is Sam going to kill this man? Did Walt murder anyone?

    Paradigm:

    I.I. – Bill’s daughter has been found raped and murdered. Sam, planning to kill Walt, finds Bev instead. (also – there’s foreshadowing of a storm coming.) Sam gets to know this man and begins having second thoughts. The doubt begins…

    PP1 – Sam, at a crossroads, gets involved – defends Walt against violent locals. The rumour mill kicks into gear and Walt becomes a hated man…

    MP – The house under seige. In self-defence and to protect his sister, Walt kills Bill’s cop brother. Now corrupt cops get involved. All during the town’s biggest rain storm.

    PP2 – It becomes more and more likely that Walt actually is a murderer. Sam, genuinely caught between killing an innocent man or defending a guilty one.

    Crisis Climax – I’ve got some ideas for this and I’m keeping that mysterious ha.

    Sam putting a gun to Walt’s head is definitely a reversal that will happen as it’s been foreshadowed like crazy in Act 1 and in that moment will answer the central questions.

    ?

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  2. Posted: November 5, 2019In:

    An ex-con out to kill the reformed paedophile he believes murdered his child, falls for the man’s protective sister – and must pick a side when town hysteria reaches boiling point.

    thedarkhorse Samurai

    The dilemma: 1. Kill a potentially innocent man. Lose the girl. Go back to prison. His inability to let go of the past wins. Gives into his violence - his worst self. He becomes the villain. (Ironically, he also becomes the town hero.) or 2. Defend a potentially guilty man. Get the girl. Fight a mobRead more

    The dilemma:

    1. Kill a potentially innocent man. Lose the girl. Go back to prison. His inability to let go of the past wins. Gives into his violence – his worst self. He becomes the villain. (Ironically, he also becomes the town hero.)

    or

    2. Defend a potentially guilty man. Get the girl. Fight a mob that includes family and friends. He becomes a hero (though not quite in an Atticus Finch sense). He becomes the least likely avatar of morality among the savagery and civilisation’s worst side. (By association, he becomes as worse as the reformed paedophile and a hated man. So yeah – he’s in trouble too.)

    Themes:
    Doubt. Morality and savagery (what stops us from becoming animals?).
    Change. Forgiveness.

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  3. Posted: November 5, 2019In:

    An ex-con, defending a reformed paedophile from an angry mob ? begins to doubt the man?s innocence.

    Mike Pedley Singularity

    We need to understand the ex-con's motive. I wonder if it would be worth, rather than a reformed paedophile, make him a wrongly accused paedophile. Through the events in the film, we can discover that he was actually let off on a technicality or something and the ex-con discovers that perhaps he didRead more

    We need to understand the ex-con’s motive.

    I wonder if it would be worth, rather than a reformed paedophile, make him a wrongly accused paedophile. Through the events in the film, we can discover that he was actually let off on a technicality or something and the ex-con discovers that perhaps he did do it after all.

    I’m seeing an “Assault on Precinct 13” type film.

    I think you’re right to drop the sister love story. Whilst it’s interesting, I ?don’t think it’s the A-story.

    Can you put this into a more conventional format. Inciting incident, protagonist and goal?

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