THE STAGE 32 LOGLINES
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PURGATORY
By Nate Rymer
After surviving a brutal home invasion, a traumatised gay couple enter a charismatic counsellor's VR memory therapy programme, forcing them to confront their buried connection to an oppressive sect. MANIAC meets THE SINNER.
SYNOPSIS:
A modern-day retelling of Dante's Inferno.
In present-day San Francisco, technological progression clashes with uncharitable poverty. Trauma services are co-privatised by the First Fallen, a Christian offshoot sect providing exclusive healthcare plans. Not everyone can afford this opportunity.
Two unfortunates are church pianist ALEX CINDERLY and designer ISAAC ROSTHORNE, enduring the six-month aftermath of a brutal assault.
When Isaac suffers a self-destructive blackout, they finally seek help from counsellor RAYFORD, who enrols them on Psychotherapeutic Isolation Therapy (P.I.T.): an experimental programme where clients enter a projected reality and re-experience how memories were originally conceived – ‘a coma you’re aware of’.
Accepting the procedure, Alex and Isaac are subjected to a silver house surrounded by Eden-like forest. Over several weeks, they witness ‘fragments’ around the environment - their first meeting, their first date, their first time; all exposing truths on how differing attitudes and experiences of faith, burgeoning sexuality, and toxic queer masculinity shaped their relationship.
Recalling CALEB MARKS, a First Fallen convert who stalked them, Alex suspiciously questions Rayford’s favouritism toward Isaac. A drastic revelation of Alex’s history with the First Fallen forces Rayford’s hand: he helped create P.I.T., but was dismissed by First Fallen executives. When an ongoing investigation uncovered Isaac’s assault, Rayford sought justice by using P.I.T. to expose Alex’s involvement with the sect’s practices.
Accepting his guilt, Alex encourages Isaac’s recollection of Caleb’s sexual violence. Isaac’s acceptance of the assault draws closure, but instigates their uncoupling. In the end, Alex manipulates an unmapped ‘blank space’ in Rayford’s environment to project the memory of a white closet.
Months later, after separating from Isaac, Alex meets with Rayford, who implores the meaning of the white closet. Alex suggests he himself was abused by the First Fallen. Whether this is true is left ambiguous, as Alex refuses Rayford closure by rejecting any offer to return to P.I.T.
Ultimately, Alex has deciphered God and faith as the most powerful manipulators of Man.
PURGATORY
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I like your logline... and I like how that story sounds
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1 person likes this
Nate, I'm REALLY really into this.
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1 person likes this
I like the first half, but you lost me at "oppressive sect". Of course I'm not a professional, so it's only my personal point of view as a viewer, but I think as a sci-fi drama, the sect is too much. But then again I haven't seen it so...
3 people like this
I'll admit I like hybrid genre, so this idea falls into a combo of grounded character drama, low sci-fi and religious horror -- I like to explore how these can tie into and feed off of each other.
All personal taste of course, so thank you for the feedback! :)
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1 person likes this
Interesting premise, I would watch it....with thousands of streaming choices a solid logline sells the concept.
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Kind words H.G., thanks for the feedback! :)
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1 person likes this
Oh hell yeah, I would watch this!
1 person likes this
Thanks for the feedback, glad you like the premise! :)
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lol
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Nate Rymer is not a nice person, he visited my Novel Screenplay and unfairly rated both of them 3/5. That's not fair, because he has never read my Published books
2 people like this
Hi Natlie - I’m sorry to hear if you weren’t happy with the ratings I gave your loglines. Just to clarify, I rated them based on my subjective opinion of the strength of the loglines themselves, and not the actual projects as a whole. As a general rule (which isn’t always a hard and fast rule), a solid logline should be able to sell your setting, protagonist, goal, conflict and stakes in about 25-35 words, so the concept of your story/project comes across succinctly to any potential readers. You can then elaborate more details in the synopsis for anyone who’s been hooked by the logline.
I hope this helps!
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I see, thanks Nate
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I like this logline, gives me a Black Mirror vibe
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Love the Logline!!!
Thanks Alex! :)
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Thank you all! :)
Thank you Wally! :)
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Thank you, much appreciated! :)
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Thank you Maria :)
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Thank you Frank! :)
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Thank you Dean :)
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Thank you so much Thoko :)
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Thank you Wendy :)
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Thank you Thomas :)
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Thank you David and Nancy! :)
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Thank you Arthur! :)
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Thanks Dathane! :)
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Thank you Sarah, much appreciated! :D
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Thank you Jim! :)
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Thanks Paul, much appreciated :)
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Thank you Phillip and Joshua! :)
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Thank you Jack! :)
Thank you Paul, much appreciated! :D
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Thank you Kevin! :)
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Thank you Gianis! :D
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Thank you Travis! :D
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Thank you so much Mista! :D
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Thank you Marissa! :D