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THE DOOR
By Brian K Allen

GENRE: Thriller / Suspense, Horror
LOGLINE:

The brutal rape and murder of a young woman is the harrowing, forty year old secret of a small, rural
community. When a group of friends get together for a weekend party, they have no idea of the evil
they're about to unleash upon themselves and the miraculous deliverance they'll need in order to
survive.

SYNOPSIS:

The peace and beauty of a rural farm is jolted when a young WOMAN races from her home,

looking for any place to hide. She runs into the nearby forest as two escaped CONVICTS burst from

her family home in pursuit. She frantically runs to an old, familiar hiding place that she once enjoyed

as a child.

The convicts discover a well house not far inside the forest and quickly investigate. They're

surprised when they burst inside that their prey is nowhere to be seen. Certain she's close by, they

search the small building and discover her hiding in the well itself. They taunt her before drawing her

out of the well and inflicting savage cruelty upon her.

Forty years later, JAKE ALDER, 25 and muscular, is demolishing the run down well house on

the Alder Sheep Farm. He's just smashing down the door when his wife, TIFFANY, 32, calls to remind

him that their dinner guests will be arriving soon. Jake confides in his dog, BEANO, that he doesn't

understand how she knows right when to call him and interrupt his plans, but it's a gift. He obliges his

wife and heads for the house.

Later that evening, their high school friends have joined together for an evening of food and

fun. Some have gone on to university, others have found good jobs, and a few have stalled out. After a

hardy dinner together, they enjoy themselves with some revelry around a bonfire in the forest. There is

some tension between the friends due to old high school rivalries and disappointments in life. CARRIE

and CLAY have recently broken up due to Clay's bitterness about his sports injury, which seems to

have ended his budding professional football career. Clay was always difficult to get along with and

the other women know how he treated Carrie before his injury. For Carrie to end the relationship was a

big step for her. LAURA, Tiffany's best friend, isn't putting up with Clay's attitude and makes a point

to humiliate him in front of his friends when he starts acting up. She has little sympathy for Carrie

since she stayed with him so long in the first place. JOSH, an EMT, is Jake's best friend and he has a

shy interest in Laura. He's hoping to make some moves this evening. ASHLEY, recently married to

LANCE, a lumberjack, also knows Carrie's history, but she's more focused on supporting her friend

than bashing Clay.

Another couple arrives late to the party, MARC and TRINITY. They're not really into the party

scene, but they're not snobs either, which is why they stop by to hang out. They were once very close

to the others, Marc was a star quarterback in high school and university, but their faith has caused them

to follow a different path than their friends and they're doing well. Their relationship hasn't deterred

BRAD from pining for Trinity and hoping his success may catch her attention, but she's very faithful to

her man. That doesn't stop Clay from being insulting towards Trinity and almost getting into a fight

with Marc, but she persuades Marc to let it go and they leave as gracefully as possible.

As the evening wears on and the guests settle down, they begin to share local ghost stories,

moving from Native American tales to recent history. Brad recounts a story about a local massacre. A

family of settlers were attacked by Cherokee hunters whose tribe had been attacked and forced to

migrate south. There was only one survivor, a young girl with a bad leg. The natives left her to the

coyotes. Carrie is upset as Brad continues, saying that a local man has confirmed seeing the ghost of a

young girl, searching for her amputated leg. Brad then flings a chicken bone toward Carrie, scaring her

to death. Frightened, Carrie runs off into the woods. Ashley quickly follows her with Tiffany soon

insisting that Jake check on the women. He grudgingly complies. Clay is the only one who really gets

a kick out of Carrie's response, but is chided by the remaining friends.

While Ashley and Jake attempt to console Carrie, the stories continue with Brad offering up a

Civil War story, but is overruled by Clay who has a more recent and relevant story to share. Since Clay

insists on telling his story, Tiffany and Laura return to the house. Clay bitterly recounts the experiences

of his grandfather and tells the dark history associated with the Alder property and the well house. He

talks about how convicts escaped from a state mental institution and happened upon a lonely

farmhouse, finding a young woman home alone. His grandfather, a pastor, was involved in the

aftermath. He also alludes to some strange ritual his grandfather performed, something to do with

closing a spiritual portal.

Ashley and Carrie return to the group and they're soon followed by Jake, who has brought back

the door of the well house with him. Ashley then invites Lance to leave with her, promising he won't

regret it. Jake then announces that he's going to throw the door onto the fire. Brad warns everyone that

doing so could open a spiritual doorway to Hell. He tells them that the Bible talks about places having

memory and lands can be cursed by the evil that takes place upon them. Clay, in his usual mocking

tone, disregards the warnings of his former classmate and challenges his superstitious tale by flipping

the door open, inviting any monsters to appear. Smug when none appear, Clay ridicules Brad and

Carrie who warned him not to do it. Bored with the nonevent, Clay, Jake and Josh proceed to inspect

the nearby well house while Brad and Carrie decide to join the others in the hot tub.

Even Jake and Josh decide there are better things to do than stand around in a dark and dirty

well house and leave Clay to himself to enjoy his weed and consider his life choices.

As the party guests enjoy themselves, the hot coals of the bonfire stir and something dark and

evil emerges. An invisible spirit is drawn to the well house where bad things happened so long ago. It

is there that the anger and pain Clay is experiencing is amplified by the dark history of that place and

where he encounters the demon released through the door. As it approaches him, he experiences

terrifying flashbacks, seeing the horrific attack that occurred in the well house so many years ago. The

visions traumatize Clay, leaving him with little ability to resist the influence of the dark entity.

The rest of the farm is also affected by the demon's release and the atmosphere changes to evil.

The animals are the first to notice the change, with several coyotes attacking Jake's flock of sheep. As

the two men assess the damage to the flock and decide on what to do, Lance and Ashley are attacked by

Clay with a sledgehammer. They are able to fend Clay off, but his resolve and lethality grow, as he

trades in the sledgehammer for sheep sheers he finds in the barn. He is determined to allow his anger

and hate rule him. He is resolved to exact his revenge on the women at the party, with something

special planned for his ex-girlfriend, Carrie.

Other demons are released from the door that seek to aid Clay, including three possessed

coyotes and a giant python. Sneaking about, Clay destroys the party's ability to communicate with the

outside world by smashing the group's cellphones, then he murders Brad and abducts Carrie. Trinity

has a supernatural dream that shows her the danger Carrie is facing. She calls Marc to pick her up and

they race back to help her. Jake and Josh make a plan to save Carrie with Lance and Ashley's support.

The two men, armed with rifles, head off toward a strange light in the forest hoping it's Clay and

Carrie. Tiffany and Laura, are not interested in waiting around to save Carrie, instead they decide to

attempt to the leave the farm in search of help. Separated from the others, Clay brutally murders the

two women in the driveway. Trinity and Marc arrive and make a grisly discovery of the two slain

women, then assist Lance and Ashley who are under supernatural attack by the python spirit. They also

formulate a plan to help Carrie and the guys, but Trinity also hopes to redeem Clay as well.

Clay has left Carrie bound and hidden in the field behind the house. With Clay gone, Carrie

attempts to escape to the barn, but her restraints keep her from making much progress. When Clay

returns, he can't find Carrie in the dark and she begins to hope she might get away. As Clay searches

for her, starts to get closer and closer to her. She panics and tries to quickly crawl away from him, but

something catches her by the ankles. When she looks to see what it is, nothing is there, but Clay has

heard her cry out and runs toward her with his sheers at the ready.

Jake and Josh follow the strange light in the forest to the old farmhouse's ruins. They expect to

find Clay and Carrie hiding in the hollowed out basement, but Jake gets hurt tumbling down some

steps. Josh patches him up, then decides to go back to the barn in order to get a four-wheeler and

transport Jake back to the house. Alone and separated, both men face off against the possessed coyotes

roaming the property. Jake manages to fend off their attack, but Josh doesn't fair as well.

Working together, Trinity and Marc are able to discern where Clay is heading with Carrie, but

they stumble upon Jake at the edge of the old farmhouse's foundation. They encourage him to seek

safety while they continue on to rescue Carrie.

Trinity and Marc soon discover Carrie, bound and shaved, hanging over the well in the well

house. As they work to free her, they're confronted by Clay. Trinity is able to pray and speak to the

demon inside Clay, telling it to release its grip on their old friend. Clay struggles against the darkness

he's allowed to possess him. As Clay comes to his senses, he allows the couple to assist Carrie. Just as

they're able to pull Carrie to safety, Jake appears. Clay taunts Jake about Tiffany's death. Heartbroken

and enraged, Jake attacks Clay and the two fight, nearly to the death. As Clay strikes a death blow to

Jake, Lance shows up to engage with Clay, but has to deal with the demonic coyotes under Clay's

command. Lance's arrival was enough to slow Clay down so that Marc gets the drop on him; the

wounds inflicted by Jake soon overcome Clay. Clay slumps to the floor and begins to pass from this

world. Trinity is able to pray and lead Clay to deliverance and redemption, allowing him to have a

peaceful death. Marc and Trinity pull Carrie to safety, they hurry to help Lance who survived the

coyotes.

Lance and Carrie return to the house on the four-wheeler while Trinity and Marc are drawn back

to the fire pit. They understand that the portal to hell must be closed. As they begin the process, Marc

is attacked by the same python demon that was after Lance earlier. They contend with the demon with

little success. Their friends back at the house realize something is wrong in the spirit world and send

out positive energy and as they do, Trinity receives the inspiration she needs to defeat the demons

coming against them. She begins to sing and dance, which miraculously breaks the power of python.

However, their efforts have to quickly change because the demon that possessed Clay has moved to

bear! They must fight their own fear as they force themselves to release a faith focused response and

believe in the power of Yeshua. As the bear approaches them, they command the demon to leave the

wild animal and return to desolation. The demon leaves the beast and startled animal retreats back to

the forest, and the exposed demon is left with no other options and is sent back to Hell by Trinity and

Marc. As the couple continues to pray for the open portal to close, the opposite begins to happen as the

door in the fire pit reemerges. It grows hotter and hotter until a monstrous SKULL DEMON begins to

rise from the hot coals! Afraid and overwhelmed, staring at a creature that fills them with fear, Trinity

and Marc call out for God's intervention. They are in awe when another door opens over them and an

angel steps through it, which begins to fight the skull demon. The two supernatural beings trade blows,

but the angel gains strength from the prayers from the couple and soon defeats the rising demon. The

angel is then encompassed by a heavenly whirlwind and the opening to hell is closed for good! Once

the dust settles, peace and quiet is restored to the land leaving Trinity has one more task. She has to

return to the well house, alone.

As Trinity stands in the well house, she's saddened by the losses of Clay and Jake, and all of the

pain and suffering that's happened in that small place. She says a short prayer to cleanse that space and

restore the life giving purpose of the well. To her astonishment, Jake coughs! He's alive! She's able to

use her cell phone to call for help for the badly injured Jake.

Soon emergency services and law enforcement are at the farm, helping the remaining friends

and taking their statements. To the first responders, it was a party that went terribly wrong because of

drugs, alcohol, and a disturbed man, but to the guests, it was a supernatural encounter that brought

freedom and closure to decades of torment.

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