In 1970’s England, a ten-year-old transgender girl and her paranoid thirteen-year-old brother move to London from Dungeness, concealing from their suspicious neighbours that they brutally murdered their father.

SYNOPSIS:

Royalty Free Stock Photo by Sebastian Palomino, courtesy of Pexels

Currently working on a novelized version of the screenplay.

An early draft of this script was submitted to the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting 2017, although it was not selected (due to its length). A revised draft was submitted to the ScreenCraft Horror Competition 2019, though again, it was not selected (I did not purchase reader comments).

December 1971-January 1972: A ten-year-old transgender girl OASIS and her brother, thirteen-year-old ISAIAH board off the train at the London Victoria station, settling in the northwest area of Kentish Town. There, they trudge through the destitute streets alone, renting a flat in the rundown working-class public housing scheme on Islip Street, the Oedipus Estate (dubbed the “Oedipus Place” by locals).

Unfortunately, on the first day of moving into Number 66 on the seventh floor of the eight-storey building named Wuthering House, they unintentionally make an enemy in the racist, conservative character of MRS WOOLSWORTH—an eighty-something self-proclaimed Deputy Headmistress of the state primary school, St Primrose caring for her baby granddaughter on the fourth floor at Number 40.

Although, she’s not the children’s only foe. Next door at Number 68 is the aggressive (and heavily pregnant) single mother MS HELENA, displeased with the children’s frequent noise. However, there’s a kinder character to be found on the third floor at Number 21, MS RIDDLE, a waitress barely making ends meet.

While the three women’s personalities clash, one thing they have in common is their suspicions of why the children are (seemingly) alone.

Though aloof, deeply cynical and anti-social, Isaiah effectively lies to the women that his family name is Reese (it isn’t) and their father’s constant absence can be explained away to him visiting the children’s ill mother in hospital. Mrs Woolsworth takes an immediate dislike to Isaiah and his sassy, rebellious attitude and because the children look hardly alike according to her, she assumes they are mothered by two different women, announcing that their father is scum.

Little does she know how correct her assumption is. Soon, Isaiah and Oasis’ disturbing background comes to light: In 1967, their young, mentally disturbed Thai-American father AUGUST SWEENEY brutally slayed the children’s mothers, 23-year-old ROSEMARY MAY (the mother of Isaiah) and 26-year-old GRACE PURNELL (the mother of Oasis) in an underground house, discarding their bodies down a pipe.

The existence of a younger sibling, ELLE MARIE is also revealed and the sexual, mental and emotional abuse of August is uncovered through nightmarish memories. Specifically, through the use of a familial Thai fairytale revolving around a supernatural entity that steals and devours disobedient children (the Taking Boy), August effectively manipulated Isaiah and Oasis’ curiosity… until Isaiah turned thirteen.

As Isaiah and Oasis navigate the complexities of their new adult life away from their father and Oasis’ vivid imagination leads her to believe the Taking Boy is watching them, several miles away in Dungeness, Kent, DETECTIVE CHIEF INSPECTOR NARINE ALO is given the call to a mysterious crime scene in a dilapidated fishing cottage. There, she finds the limbless, rotting mutilated corpse of Lolita Hill history teacher August Sweeney. Though initially determined to be the work of a prescription drug overdose by Her Majesty’s CORONER SKULKY (and August’s history of suicide attempts merely supports this evidence), Alo is not convinced… yet this is but the beginning of her absurd investigation.

Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Coverage Excerpts:

“This script is very novel-like, painting clear visuals through—dare I say—often times graphic and disturbing details. The voice of the writer is clear and while the dialogue is solid (the relationship between the siblings is strongly felt, a gripping selling point), scenes between Isaiah and Oasis often go on for too long. As a drama treading in the horror territory, the focus of the story is a family saga of mental illness—disguised as an abduction tale—and though the themes of childhood abuse, trauma and poverty are important, they don’t necessarily justify the script’s length at nearly 160 pages.” —Reader #1 (2017)

“Too often did I feel like this story was a novel. The cast of characters are appealing in their range of diversity. The children, especially, are disturbing. August is ruthless and hardly likable, though he’s compelling; his dialogue is lengthy, but his worldview is apparent. Mrs. Woolsworth could rival him—she is just horrible! Clocking in at 160 pages, however, this script can be tighter and I wasn’t sure what the death (?) of Sarah had to do with Isaiah and Oasis.” —Reader #2 (2017)

OASIS' REQUIEM