CRUTCH

A low-budget, sometimes funny thriller set in a small handful of easy-to-find locations with a minimal cast and a strong female lead.

LOGLINE

Hope is blindsided when emotionally damaged Scott abruptly ends their relationship, so she attempts to seduce him back into her bedroom. When he refuses on account of his broken heart, she knocks him over the head and chains him to her bedpost. For Hope, it’s the beginning of several stages of grief. For Scott, it’s just what the doctor ordered.

SYNOPSIS

Scott breaks up with his fiancé, Heather, after discovering she has been unfaithful. Years later, Scott tells his friends he plans to break up with Hope, his current girlfriend. They inform him that Hope is the best thing that has ever happened to him and suggest that he talk to a therapist to address his broken heart.

When Scott attempts to break up with Hope, she refuses his proposal. Ultimately, Scott agrees to go to bed with Hope one last time if she promises to leave him alone. But when Scott is morally unable to pleasure Hope the way she wants and attempts to leave, she knocks him over the head with a ceramic vase.

The next day, Hope pulls Scott into her childhood home using the set of chains she has secured him with. She cleans him up, gives him a good shave, dresses him how she likes, and keeps him sedated enough to control him as she sees fit. She even prepares an elaborate dinner!

The night does not go the way Hope dreamed it would. Scott says some mean but honest things causing Hope to explode into tears. Thank God, Kitty, a door-to-door makeup slinger, arrives to give her a makeover inside and out. Kitty tells her exactly what she needs to hear, “Give him Hell!” Encouraged by these words, Hope purchases a firearm and a leather whip. 

Between Scott’s lashings, Hope reminds him of all the wonderful things she did as his girlfriend: She made him sandwiches, she got a Brazilian, she even gave up ‘The Price is Right’ tickets when Scott sprained his ankle playing racquetball! 

Hope is distracted by a nosey neighbor, allowing Scott to escape from his shackles. When she discovers he’s missing, Hope chases him around the house while unloading her revolver. Scott is struck by a bullet, falls through a glass door, slips on the concrete, and falls into a pool where he subconsciously confronts Heather and his broken heart. 

Moments later, Hope pulls Scott to safety. They fight passionately, but it isn't long before the fighting turns to lovemaking. Hope gets what she’s always wanted, or so she thought. A beat later, Hope knocks him out with one swift punch to the jaw. 

The next morning, Scott wakes up in a pile of shattered glass with a note from Hope on his chest, but Hope is nowhere to be found. Scott picks himself up and walks off into the sunrise.

A week later, Scott sits in the lobby of a therapist specializing in romantic grief. The doctor calls him into the office where Scott reads the letter from Hope. It moves him to tears and his healing begins.

TO THE COLD AND LONELY

A character-driven, psychological thriller seasoned with a dash of comedy set in one general location.

LOGLINE

Six young psychopaths throw a party in their isolated desert casita hoping to attract fresh blood to play their games. Success! Oliver, a runaway, is seduced by these eccentric socialites, but when he tries to leave, all hell breaks loose. Oliver must make a choice, submit and let these strangers take him as their own or resist and brave the harsh realities of living without a tribe.

SYNOPSIS

TO THE COLD AND LONELY is a psychological thriller and drama similar to other successful projects such as Another Earth, Memento, The Endless, Black Mirror, It Follows, Get Out, or Let The Right One In. 

The story is about Oliver (or Olivia,) a runaway from the city, who takes refuge in a cozy desert casita where he is unknowingly seduced by a group of beautiful young psychopaths. Sonny, the outcast of the group, tips Oliver off and urges him to plan an escape. Oliver has his doubts about the others, but can Sonny be trusted? He almost makes an early exit, but a sinister force keeps him in the company of these people. Oliver plays their games, pops some pills, and makes out with the hot blonde who has been begging for a kiss all night. After booze, drugs, sex, and rock and roll, the cracks begin to show. Oliver and Sonny mount their escape but are soon discovered, separated, and pursued through a blinding fog to a heart-wrenching reveal.

On the surface, To The Cold And Lonely is a smart, sexy, and contained psychological thriller. Behind the curtain, it tells the story of an estranged individual struggling with a group mentality and the cost of belonging.