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TRAJECTORY

TRAJECTORY
By Marty Howe

GENRE: Thriller, Horror
LOGLINE:

A ballistics analyst wakes up in an abandoned shooting range shackled to a moving target. Accused of falsifying evidence by a mysterious voice over loudspeaker, he must outwit his captor and escape before a trip-wired contraption decapitates him.

SYNOPSIS:

A 911 call brings Police to a house where a mother and stepfather lie dead. JEMMA, their child, is catatonic. We meet HARPER (40's), a brilliant ballistics analyst. Despite evidence suggesting a fled assailant, Harper's bullet trajectory examination reveals Jemma shot her own parents.

Returning home, Harper clashes with his daughter ALEXIA (15) who resents his continual work absences. She pines for her Mother, blaming Harper for their divorce. Later, after vaping prescribed marijuana to treat his chronic anxiety, Harper inexplicably awakens shackled to a moving target inside an abandoned shooting range, both hands zip-tied behind his back. Foraging in a pocket for his cellphone, he finds only bubblegum and a forensic penlight.

A silhouette inside the control room, RANGE MASTER, tauntingly questions Harper through a loudspeaker. With each incorrect answer, Harper is forcibly moved forward in 10 meter increments, bringing him closer to a trip-wired shotgun rigged to blow his head off.

Range Master cross-examines Harper about BELMONT, jailed for the shooting murder of his wife 15 years ago. Belmont denied involvement, but his daughter JADE (4) couldn't confirm his alibi. Harper deduces Range Master is Belmont, having been recently released after a retrial. Accused of altering the ballistics report to convict him, Harper denies any wrongdoing,

Graffiti artist BLAZE arrives to create an Instagram video. Harper desperately signals him with the penlight, but Range Master steps outside, brutally killing him. Navigating Range Master's interrogation whilst advancing toward the trip-wire, Harper attempts to escape. Using his teeth, he catches a hanging ceiling wire to 'short out' the target railing, but accidentally triggers a ventilation failure, releasing hazardous lead dust.

Then, observing ceiling sprinkler pipes, Harper improvises a fire-starting mechanism using the bubblegum foil wrapper and AAA battery from the penlight. Despite creating flames with the burning wrapper, the sprinkler fails to activate, leaving Harper engulfed in fire.

Moments from burning to death, Range Master manually activates the sprinkler, drenching Harper. Upon regaining consciousness, he's shocked to hear Alexia's voice over loudspeaker. Range Master demands Harper's confession, threatening to behead Alexia. Overwhelmed, Harper admits to falsifying the ballistics report, driven by his suspicion that Belmont was sexually abusing Jade.

To kill him, Range Master advances Harper toward the trip-wire. Now, fuelled by a newfound determination to save his Daughter, Harper leverages his trajectory skills. Using precise calculations, he strategically thrusts his back against the moving target at the opportune time, dislodging a shard of metal from the ceiling, which he adeptly catches.

Seconds from death, Harper cuts the zip-ties off and bends forward to avoid the trip-wire. The shotgun triggers, shattering the frame and dropping him to the floor. Retrieving the shotgun, Harper shoots Range Master through the control room window, killing him.

Staggering inside, it's revealed Range Master is Jade (now 19) Belmont committed suicide after his release, unable to reconnect with her. Rescuing Alexia, Harper confesses that he divorced their Mother to escape her violent domestic abuse. Understanding the painful truth, they embrace and Harper promises to be a more devoted father.

TRAJECTORY

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Shaun Simpson

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