SYNOPSIS:

Zara Southard, a journalist for a gaming magazine, is approached by Naomi, the wife of famous game developer Richard Arroyo. Naomi is concerned her husband is cheating, and wants Zara to prove it. Zara investigates, stumbling onto a crime scene where Richard seems to have been the victim. Now, Zara is being framed for murder and pursued for the theft of a valuable proprietary gaming technology. When cryptic clues begin to appear from an anonymous source, she must stay one step ahead of her pursuers to clear her name and discover the truth before it’s too late… and the game ends. Controls is a neo-noir thriller that combines film noir sensibilities with modern 21st century storytelling. This unique style appeals to a broad audience, from traditional crime movie fans to gamers, a market which is constantly growing with each passing year. Special attention is paid to the strong female protagonist, as representation of women in gaming in the gaming industry, as well as in the consumer base, is a hot button item in the media.

CONTROLS (NEO-NOIR THRILLER)

CONTROLS: Treatment For feature-length script (82 minutes), contact: Stephanie Yuhas, Cinevore Studios, stephanieyuhas@gmail.com A young woman, ZARA SOUTHARD, wanders through a strange forest town dressed in heroic garb. The townsfolk appear to be in a haze, communicating only in cryptic phrases and answers to questions unasked. Zara finds the final townsperson to be her father, with whom she also cannot communicate, before the town itself disappears into an alarming void. She awakens in her bed, surrounded by video game paraphernalia and sighs deeply. A pile of overdue bills and packages sit unopened in her hallway, each package reading “For immediate review!” in bright red. She opens a package, finding a video game inside. She calls her friend CHARLIE for information on it, and wearily bangs out a half-hearted game review, when her power goes out. Suddenly, a knock on the door. Outside stand a strange, silent young man and an elegantly-dressed woman. The woman introduces herself as NAOMI ARROYO, and the young man as her son DOUGLAS. Inside, Naomi tells Zara she believes her husband RICHARD, a game developer, is having an affair, and she wants Zara’s help to prove it. Zara’s review of her husband’s first game showed true understanding of how his mind works. Naomi mentions payment, and Zara reluctantly accepts. At a bar that night, Charlie confronts Zara on her lack of passion for her work since her father's fatal car accident three years prior. Zara admits that life is short, and worries that reviewing games feels more and more wasteful, as she and Charlie both see their design talents fading with each passing year. Charlie tells Zara that perhaps this quest from Naomi could lead to something larger, but also warns her to be careful, and advises her to charge them through the nose. The next day, Naomi leads Zara through their house while Richard is at work. In Richard’s study, Zara finds her review on the wall. A seemingly useless flash drive sits in Richard’s computer and his desk contains the business card of NICK MEYER, who Zara recognizes as an old friend of hers. Naomi tells Zara that Nick is a partner at Crater Industries, and Zara decides to visit, posing as a journalist writing a review of his latest project. That evening, Douglas drops by with payment and wishes Zara luck, although he seems doubtful she will succeed. The next day, at Crater, Nick happily greets Zara, and Zara charms her way into an interview with Richard’s current co-developer, JENNA TANG. Jenna is young, intelligent, and beautiful, but talks only of their project, and when pressed, is insulted at Zara’s insinuations of an affair. In an industry dominated by men, Jenna feels that any fellow industry woman trying to take down another woman should know better. After the interview, Nick flirts with Zara and asks her out on a date, which Zara deflects on the grounds of conflict of interest. Zara trails Jenna after work, and finds her meeting with Richard at a motel. Zara stakes out the window and takes pictures, but despite her clear view, captures no evidence of an affair. Naomi is distraught at the lack of proof and dismisses Zara. Disillusioned with Richard but free from the job, Zara accepts Nick’s invitation to dinner, and admits to him the real reason she was at Crater. The events pique Nick’s interest and he turns out to be a charming date. On the way home, Zara is nervous that she is being followed and sees figures disappear into the shadows. The next day, Naomi overhears Richard on the phone setting up a suspicious meeting. Naomi appears at Zara’s house and pleads with her to investigate once more, giving her the address and time. Zara grudgingly accepts, but Douglas shows up immediately thereafter, urging her to let the case go. He says that Naomi is exaggerating, and that nothing is going on. Douglas asks her out to dinner to apologize for the waste of time. Tired of sleuthing, and finding Douglas intriguing, Zara accepts his offer. Zara sits alone at the restaurant. Douglas has stood her up. As Zara exits into the rain, she finds her tire slashed and camera stolen. Just as she realizes she has been tricked, Nick shows up and helps her change the tire. Not having time to explain, Zara takes off to find Richard, following Naomi’s directions to an abandoned warehouse. Zara puzzles her way in, and inside, finds a sloppily-concealed crime scene: traces of blood, hair, and pictures of the victim, Richard Arroyo, dead on the ground. A crumpled copy of Zara’s review of Richard’s game is there also, as are Zara's pictures of Richard and Jenna in the hotel room. Zara realizes she is being framed for Richard’s murder and flees, terrified. A shadowy figure watches her drive off. Zara calls Charlie from a nearby bar, tells him to meet her. Upon hearing what has happened, Charlie tells Zara to spend the night at his house. That night, Zara has another nightmare of her deceased father in the same strange town, that she cannot decipher. In the morning, Zara receives a mysterious email telling her to check her mailbox for a flash drive. Charlie and Zara realize one of her unopened packages at home might be a clue. Charlie travels to Zara’s block and finds undercover police outside. When Charlie tells Zara she cannot return home, Zara realizes the flash drive at Richard’s house is likely the same drive. Charlie drives Zara to the Arroyo house, where Zara breaks in and steals the flash drive from Richard’s computer. On her way out, she runs into Naomi, furious and armed with a gun. Thinking Zara has killed Richard, Naomi calls the police. They fight, and Zara escapes with the drive, but Charlie has long since fled, fearing police involvement. Alone, Zara dyes her hair to hide her identity as police reports begin to circulate. She sits at a internet cafe to search the drive, and finds a game within. But much like her dreams, the game seemingly contains no clues as to what to do next. Out of ideas, Zara stops by Nick’s house. They talk and Zara breaks down in tears. Nick is warm and consoling, and the two of them sleep together. Zara has another dream set in her game world, but begins to listen to the clues this time, and has a brief exchange with her father, and starts to find a means of escaping the black void. She awakens to find Nick using the game. One of the characters within speaks now: “It is more than just a game.” Although Nick admits he had no right to go through her stuff, Zara grabs her things and leaves, upset that she cannot trust anybody. Nick watches her exit from his window, holding a copy of the game he has just made. Charlie emails to apologize, but Zara ignores it. Realizing there may be more on the flash drive than the game, Zara opens another folder to find a series of pictures, game locations. She recognizes one of them as a nearby hardware store. Going there, Zara finds a clue on the floor, a symbol that matches one of the game’s menus. As she travels to different locations on the drive, Zara keeps note of the symbols at each. One location, a comic store, is far out of town, and Zara takes a road trip. The owner of the comic store remembers a man taking a picture several weeks ago, and says he ordered a figurine as well. He puts one on reserve for Zara and tells her to come back. On her way out, Zara feels she is being followed again, and this time, confronts the man, a P.I. named STEVENS, who says he was hired by Naomi Arroyo. He shows Zara pictures he took of her at the crime scene. Zara is upset, but Stevens explains that he just found proof of her innocence today, and shows her a picture of Douglas Arroyo, there at the same time. Zara thanks him and Stevens tells her to be careful: two other men are following her. Suddenly, Naomi appears and reveals that she coerced Douglas to kill Richard. She has planned to frame Zara for not only the murder of Richard, but also Jenna who is next on Douglas's list. There is a struggle and Naomi shoots Stevens. To everyone's surprise, Stevens disintegrates into thin air. Zara flees. The next day, an already-frightened Zara goes to an arcade depicted on the flash drive, only to find it torn apart, and a message left on the floor meant to scare Zara off. Back at the comic store, Zara receives the figurine, called the Mysterious Stranger, from the store owner, and learns that two men ransacked his store as well. Zara immediately realizes Charlie is in danger and rushes back. Charlie’s house is destroyed and his computer is missing, so the pair go to a library to use Zara's flash drive. They enter the symbols into the game’s menu and are taken to a new game location - one resembling Crater Industries, almost exactly. A person appears in the library who exactly matches the model of the Mysterious Stranger figurine sitting on the table. The Stranger tells them to come find him, and disappears into thin air. The character on their screen now also resembles the same figure. Charlie and Zara realize they must go to Crater, where the game is stored, to locate the character’s designer. Posing as tech support, Zara and Charlie break into Crater. Once there, Zara and Charlie discover a remote address in the game’s server. Suddenly, they are trapped by Nick and two other men, looking to protect Crater’s immense investment in Richard Arroyo's new property. Nick says Jenna has no rights to the title, and Crater trio kidnap Charlie and tell Zara they will be following her to the remote address. Zara drives, eventually arriving at an isolated cabin. Inside, she finds Jenna, and amazingly, Richard, alive and well. Zara tries to hurry them out, but Richard expresses his pride in Zara’s talents. He reveals the game they've been designing: A breakthrough technology that merges virtual reality sensory inputs and holographic projections with global imaging technology. This "game," of which Zara has experienced bits and pieces throughout the past few days, allows users to see and feel the entire world in real-time. Stevens, the visions of Zara's father, and the Mysterious Stranger were all projections generated by the game, and controlled by Richard. Not only can a user experience the present-day world, but the game has been recording all its inputs for the past five years. Zara realizes this game would allow her to properly say goodbye to her father - and could theoretically allow anybody closure to old wounds, interactions with loved ones across the globe... literally endless possibilities. Nick and his men arrive, followed immediately by Naomi and Douglas. All are stunned to see Richard still alive. Naomi realizes Douglas has betrayed her by not killing Richard as they had planned, and Nick realizes Richard masterminded the theft of this game all along. A gunfight breaks out, leaving Nick and Naomi dead and Douglas mortally injured. Douglas apologizes to Zara and Richard thanks Douglas for everything as Douglas dies. Some time later... Zara sits down next to her father in the town from her dreams. All ominous indicators are now gone, and Zara is able to finally mutually communicate, about her life, her career, how she no longer feels trapped. He kisses her on the forehead, and she closes her eyes. When she opens them, she is in a new office, smiling, looking at the game's menu screen on her computer. It is one year after the events at the cabin. Richard and Jenna have changed their names and formed a brand new company overseas, hiring Zara and Charlie as part of the development team of the game: Controls. All seems well, but in the office, a figure looms over them, just out of their sight, and disintegrates.