When a narcissistic internet troll suddenly attains empathy and can feel the pain he causes others, he fights to redeem himself so he can finally pursue his dream of fashion design.

SYNOPSIS:

CAMERON WALTERS is a 40-something metalhead who lives in his childhood best friend’s basement. He makes his modest living as an infamously harsh metal music critic for a subgenre of metal music called "sludge" on a site called Sludge Critic. Hiding behind his internet persona, @SludgeFucker69, Cameron never shies away from homophobia, misogyny, or racism in his comments. The harsher the comment, the bigger the reaction from people. He is, at first glance, an unredeemable internet troll with zero regard for others’ feelings.

One night, Cameron wakes up to a busted water heater spewing all over the basement. He temporarily relocates to a tiny, hole-in-the-wall motel called Hidden Nook, taking a mysterious antique leather case with him. Hidden Nook Motel is run and co-owned by ANDI, an androgynous artist who wears “vegan leather” and has the dark, witty humor only a deeply troubled person can have. Andi, who’s never met a stranger in their life, shamelessly breaks past Cameron’s walls and discovers his secret: his antique leather case holds a vintage sewing machine, and Cameron’s true passion has always been couture fashion.

Andi introduces Cameron to SHERLOCK, vintage clothing store owner by day and drag queen “Sherly Dimples” by night. Sherlock gives Cameron the opportunity of a lifetime: to design beautiful high-fashion dresses for an upcoming drag show. Thrown out of his element, Cameron struggles between the hateful persona he’s played for years and the real identity struggling to break free underneath. His younger self visits him, opening a door in his mind that unlocks EMPATHY. Cameron assumes the name “Shy,” changes the way he dresses, and begins on an enthralling journey of his deepest fashion design dreams coming true.

After a visit to a gay bar to see Sherly Dimples’ competitors, Cameron runs into some of the victims of his harmful troll persona. With empathy now awakened, he suddenly fully experiences the pain he had previously caused these people. Empathy overwhelms him as his two lives come crashing together: the one of the isolated, hateful internet troll and the one of the loving, vibrant fashion designer. He breaks down and attacks (physically or verbally) everyone around him, pushing away old enemies and new friends. Someone posts a picture of him outside of the gay bar on the Sludge Critic site and his many hateful fringe followers start turning against him.

Bridges burned and very little money to his name, he must sleep in his car. His younger self bugs him to listen to the demo CDs he'd previously only judged based on the gender, race, or style of the musicians. He begins the process of cleaning up the wreckage of his past: revisiting past critiques on his site and re-listening to music with a more open-minded and open-hearted ear. He starts to connect with the true heart of metal music and the diverse artists behind it. On a whim, Cameron deactivates his Sludge Critic account and starts a new website called Sludge Fashion, because “metal heads can wear dresses, too.” He assumes that pursuing his passion means the universe will immediately provide. It does not.

Going from a popular internet troll on a fringe site to the very unfamiliar scene of fashion design with zero followers, Cameron is suddenly unpopular and very broke. Unable to pay his bills, Cameron humbles himself by moving into Hidden Nook as Andi’s full-time janitor. He writes apology letters to people from his past and continues learning how to rebuild and navigate his life with his newfound empathy. Over time, he stops checking his Sludge Fashion website, letting go of entitlement as he fully immerses himself in his full-time janitorial job. After letting go of the idea of deserving “moral dessert” for righting his wrongs, Cameron starts to find himself, build friendships, and experience joy. Only then does he get his very first Sludge Fashion sale, a custom order from one of the Sludge Critic bands he recently made amends with. The internet troll has been redeemed and reborn anew.

Why this story? Why now?As a content creator with over 120,000 followers, I'm no stranger to the damaging world of internet trolls. Now more than ever, "keyboard warriors" say horrible things to people they don't know, all while hiding behind the safety of their screens. What would happen if we could bridge the communication gap between the trolls and the people they harm? This film is a reminder that, underneath it all: we are all simply human.

SLUDGE