THE STAGE 32 LOGLINES

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BOUNDLESS
By Federico Vicino

GENRE: Thriller, Drama
LOGLINE:

Eight nomadic cult members journey to a remote location to fulfill the prophecy of ending their lives to reach immortality. One has a change of heart. Now she must find a way to escape isolation for a chance of survival.

SYNOPSIS:

Jonas Jewel leads a seven-member congregation called Generation End, or Gen. End as they are commonly referred to. They are made up of Jade, Julia, Josie, Jasiah, Jeffrey, John, and Jadon. All these members have taken the last name of their beloved leader. Most of them are hell-bent on achieving the goal of reaching their version of nirvana and will admonish anyone who gets in their way.

The crew enter an abandoned, upscale home on the outskirts of a small town. Jonas, like the conniving con artist he is, proudly quips that he found the lavish abode through a friend. In reality, he was tipped off by a waiter at a roadside diner when he was on the ropes and had no money to even rent the scummiest of motels. Everyone is swayed by Jonas’ teachings as they are eager to consume the elixir and leave the material world, except for Jade. She questions Jonas’ ideals, much to the chagrin of her peers.

Jade befriends Josie and finds out about her past, which includes abandoning her young child to join the crew. During their last meal together, Jonas heaps praise on all his followers, except Jade. He can sense that Jade has pulled away and does not completely buy what he is selling anymore. He offers her a chance to leave, albeit still holding her psychologically captive by questioning if she could survive the frigid climate and unforgiving terrain of the wilderness or if her cookie-cutter parents would even welcome her back home. Uncertain what to do, Jade affirms she wants to continue the mission with her peers that she considers family.

Jade and her shrew comrade, Julia, volunteer to take the concoction last to oversee and make sure the plan for their fellow acolytes goes on without a hitch. As Jonas instructed as part of their last rites, they must ascend in pairs, make sure their credentials are in order (including having their patches firmly placed on their cloaks), consume the liquid, and place their cloaks over their bodies. Jonas believes more people around the world will follow suit after the night’s events. While they wait for their colleagues ascension to begin, Julia informs Jade that she pegged her all wrong and thought she was going to betray the cause. Julia also points out that she would not have allowed Jade to leave the house alive if she did. Finally, the mixtures start kicking in. Julia tries to calm Jade down as the agonizing shrieks from the other members is too much to bear. Once they all pass away, Julia and Jade rush to a room upstairs to hurry up and meet their friends in heaven. However, after they both consume the potion, Jade places the vestment over her body, but lets the liquid ooze out of her mouth. Julia realizes her patch is missing and instructs Jade to help her. She declines her request, but not taking no for an answer, Julia rips Jade’s robe off. Jade’s true intentions have been revealed. Staying true to her word, Julia barricades Jade from leaving the residence and boxes her into the closet, where she vehemently sucker kicks her into unconsciousness.

Later that night, Jade wakes up from her concussion and finds herself all alone. As she dashes past the hallway and living room to leave the house, she is horrified at the sight of lifeless carcasses scattered on the floor. Jade immediately goes for the van they all rode in, but it doesn’t start. She looks around wondering what to do. After much hesitation, Jade goes back into the home and waits for daylight.

Once the morning hits, Jade begins her trek through the merciless woodlands. She barely has any food or water to sustain herself throughout the arduous journey. The expedition is everything she thought it would be; she encounters dangerous wildlife and takes a painful plunge down a hill, which causes a severe bruise on her head. She, ultimately, makes it to the long and winding road located at the edge of the forest. This highway is mostly barren, as barely any cars drive by. The woman in the first vehicle that slows down takes one look at Jade’s battered appearance and quickly whizzes away. A second car actually stops on the side of the road. A Young Cowboy gets out to help her. However, he eventually realizes that he’s seen her on t.v. with her ex-associates and tells her to stay back and drives away. To make matters worse, an overcast approaches. Jade, soaked and exhausted beyond belief, goes back to the home. She spends the next day in the house trying to re-coop some energy and find another way out.

Jade finds herself in the home of her parents. She is completely bewildered as to how she got there, but her parents act like nothing’s wrong. Her folks host a party attended by the town locals. Nobody wants to interact with Jade - in fact - they make it known what great shame she has brought to their quaint, little community. The growl of an old engine wakes her up from this dream. Jade looks out the window and notices an old truck stationed by the house. She darts out of the house, but the truck starts chugging away. It is impossible for Jade to catch up to it.

After this latest episode of false hope, Jade barges into the home and finds remains of the poison. She is at her wits end. Jade fears this is her only way out. After torturing herself whether to ingest it or not, she decides not to. Jade flings the drink into the faucet, turns around, and is completely started by a Ragged Woman pointing a gun at her. The woman wants to know where her daughter, Josie, is. She tracked Josie with her cell phone. Jade tells her that they have all died. Josie’s mother is inconsolable and blames herself for Josie getting mixed up with the cult. Jade tries to comfort her the best she can and tells her that while she could not be a guardian angel for Josie, she can be one for her and, maybe, this is Josie’s work of bringing them together. This brings some comfort to Josie’s mom. After paying her respects, Josie’s mother and Jade exit the home. While they drive off, Josie’s mother asks Jade what made her stay alive. And that is Boundless.

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