A Cult in California

ALPHA BASE, NIGHT. With the help of a security guard, Tom (30s) steals a truck and speeds across a military-like compound to rendezvous with his wife – Emilia (30s) – and their newborn. The cultists overtake the family. The head of the cult – George Vickerman (50s) – rips the baby from Emilia’s arms, claiming to be the father. He shoots Emilia in the back and injects Tom with heroin, creating the impression of a drug-fueled murder-suicide. He leaves the couple for dead. Years later, Tom returns home from teaching a Taekwondo class to find Emilia watching a television program about the cult (the Church of NSP). Emilia is in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down. She tells Tom, “I want our baby back.” Vickerman still has their child. Tom shoots targets at a gun range. The range's owner – Rick (60s) – invites Tom to an exclusive after-hours event where a group of rowdy men test out illegal firearms and explosives. Tom and Emilia attend a monthly support group for ex-members. Robert, the guard who helped Tom escape, appears. He finally left the compound after years of helping people on the inside. Tom contacts an anti-NSP hacktivist group about his captive daughter. They arrange a meeting. Tom and Emilia are interviewed on television about their experience in NSP. Soon after, Robert betrays the couple and aids cult members in kidnapping Emilia–retribution for speaking out. With little faith law enforcement will find his missing wife, Tom begins his own investigation. It leads him to the cult’s Celebrity Chateau. He battles his way up to the penthouse where he finds Mort Fleming, a deranged A-list movie star and NSP mouthpiece. They fight with medieval weaponry until Mort divulges Emilia’s location: Alpha Base–a place Tom hoped never to return. Tom meets with the hacktivist – Jay (20s). They devise a plan and recruit Rick to help them infiltrate the compound. Equipped with explosives and hacker tech, they sneak into the facility. After a final showdown with Robert, Tom finds Vickerman holding his wife and daughter at gunpoint. Emilia creates a diversion. Tom disarms Vickerman, killing the cult leader with his own weapon. They flee Alpha Base reunited with their daughter and drive into the desert sunrise. Years later, Tom and Emilia sit on the porch of their new home, far from the California desert. They watch their daughter play in the yard. Two missionaries walk up the driveway. “Do you have a few minutes to talk about our lord?” Tom and Emilia can’t contain their cathartic laughter.