An esteemed abnormal psychology professor who survived being institutionalized as a child and struggles with her own mental health  is recruited by authorities to profile a sadistic serial killer, but her credibility is put to the test when her clients start turning up dead, one after the other, based on their mental health diagnosis!

SYNOPSIS:

The Protégé

Inspired by actual events…

Genre: Neo-Noir Psychological Erotica Horror Thriller

Tone/Rating: Dark Rated “R”

Comp: Silence of the Lambs (1991), Se7ven (1995), Copycat (1995)

The Protégé is based on actual events that takes the audience on a thrilling journey into the mind of Dr. Chloe Sinclair, a noted abnormal psychology professor whose dark secrets and traumatic past are slowly unearthed as she becomes embroiled in an investigation into a series of bizarre and intense murders.

Set against the backdrop of Staten Island, New York in the 1970s, the story follows Dr. Sinclair, who was abandoned at Willowbrook State School as a child and misdiagnosed as mentally retarded. Despite her gifted intellect, Dr. Sinclair's traumatic experiences have left her with a twisted belief that her clients must become self-sufficient like she had to or face the consequences of her unique form of exposure therapy. Her unorthodox methods, however, blur the lines between therapy, manipulation, and murder. Death by diagnosis!

As law enforcement investigates the murders, they quickly learn that all of the victims are connected to Dr. Sinclair in some way. She is brought on board to help solve the case as a clinical profiler, but little do they know that she is actually behind the killings herself.

Dr. Sinclair grooms and manipulates a select few of her "special" adjudicated delinquent clients, known as Protégés, to become her killing machines. Her Protégés demonstrate both loyalty and ruthlessness in equal measure and are rewarded based on the psychological torment that the victim suffers during exposure therapy, which is live-streamed back to Dr. Sinclair in real-time.

Throughout the film, readers are taken on a twisting ride as law enforcement is completely misdirected by planted evidence from past victims going back decades. The audience is never shown the face of the person watching the streams, only a dark figure with a hood looking at the computer screen from the back.

As the conflict rises, readers are left to wonder who is killing Dr. Sinclair's clients and what will be the next modality of death. The cause-and-effect of this conflict is strong, as Dr. Sinclair's past trauma has led her down a path of destruction that she cannot seem to escape.

Finally, as the conflict reaches its climax, readers are left with a shocking twist that reveals the full extent of Dr. Sinclair's twisted psyche and her involvement in the murders. The Protégé is a thrilling, dark, and twisted film that will keep readers on the edge of their seats from beginning to end.

THE PROTéGé