When a fraught investment broker hears of a psychoactive miracle drug stuck in FDA review, he circumvents the rules in a last detrimental attempt to cure his son’s debilitating OCD.

SYNOPSIS:

CRAVINGS is a psychological drama thriller centered on mentally ill high school student Silas Fried and his wealthy parents in the picturesque waterfront neighborhood of Burlington, Vermont.

After years of unsuccessful treatments to treat his anxiety and severe OCD, Silas’ pregnant mother Julia and distant workaholic father David find themselves at a crossroads when a violent incident gets their son expelled from school. Rejecting the suggestion of sending Silas to a hybrid education and treatment program, Julia decides to home-school him while staying home with the new baby. David does not want his brittle wife being responsible for Silas to that extent, and concludes he must find a way to fix his son.

At the same time, David and his investment broker partner John are dealing with another pressing situation--their Colombian cartel client Carlos has given them two weeks to legitimize $50 million with a profitable placement.Through a serendipitous inside tip, they find out that struggling German pharmaceutical company in the process of launching a psychoactive miracle drug that could cure a range of mental ailments, including Silas’ rampant OCD. The problem is, the medication may never reach the market due to an extensive FDA review process that’s draining their funds and placing them at risk for a devastating lawsuit.

Under intense personal and professional pressure, David offers to invest Carlos’ money in Lumingberg Med Corp, in exchange for immediate access to the medication Calamix. Desperate to save his company and confident the drug is safe, the American CEO Buck Miller agrees and David begins secretly replacing the pills in Silas prescription bottles.

Initially, Calamix really works like a miracle. When Silas starts experiencing disturbing side-effects, he hides them in fear of disappointing his parents. To feel better, he starts poking himself with needles and doubles up on Calamix.

While Julia spends a week in the hospital, David leaves Silas alone with his alarming behavior. Right before Julia’s about to return, David finds out Carlos’ money has been displaced and Lumingberg is shutting down all production. Desperate to keep Silas on the medication and avoid getting killed, David offers to buy them out with more of Carlos’ money.

Meanwhile at home, Silas symptoms turn hallucinatory. Feeling like bugs are crawling everywhere, Silas heats up a grilling fork and burns his forearm. When Julia arrives to see her son’s horrific self-mutilation, she tries to grab the fork. Seeing and hearing a distorted figure that appears nothing like his mother, Silas starts stabbing her in a blurry frenzy. When the fog lifts and he sees he’s murdered his own mother, he transfers into a state of shock and regret.

Just then, a young delivery man arrives with a package addressed to David from Lumingberg Med Corp. After opening the envelope and finding Calamix inside, Silas compares the pills and realizes what his father has done. With nothing left to lose, he drives his mother’s car to the supermarket and buys an automatic rifle from a sloppy cashier who doesn’t bother to process his fake ID. He then drives to Lumingberg Med Corp and conducts a mass shooting in blind revenge. Finding David in the conference room, Silas shoots his father in the back and then cuts his own throat.

The horrific tragedy ends with David Fried waking up in the hospital after a coma, totally paralyzed with only his hearing intact. Trapped in his own body, he listens to the newscast about the shooting and the suspected reason--the drug Calamix contained a combination of opioids and traces of chemical compound that causes delusions. As a bizarre finale, Carlos takes over the company and re-brands the dangerous drug for distribution in South America.