Cold Call

THE STORY:
Alice, an exhausted but highly competent debt-consolidation telemarketer, is working the late shift from her cramped, dimly lit apartment. Tethered to a massive, outdated computer system by her headset, her survival depends on meeting a ruthless nightly quota to pay for her son Justin's college tuition.
With just fifteen minutes left in her shift and one sale short of her quota, heavy, deliberate footsteps begin echoing from the apartment directly above her. As Alice tries to close desperate clients, the noises escalate from thuds to the sound of dragging furniture, and finally, a dead sprint. The relentless interference costs Alice her final sales, triggering an automatic termination from the company.
Enraged and pushed beyond her breaking point, Alice leaves her live mic open on her desk and storms upstairs with a weapon to confront her tormentor. She kicks open the door to the upstairs unit, only to find it completely gutted, silent, and covered in a thick, undisturbed layer of plaster dust. There are no footprints. As she realizes she is entirely alone, Justin's voice crackles over her cell phone speaker with a terrifying realization: if the apartment upstairs is empty, who is breathing into the live headset Alice left downstairs?

THE ENGINE & PRODUCTION VALUE:
• The Ticking Clock: The story is driven by a literal countdown—the telemarketing quota and the shift timer shown on her screen. Alice's refusal to leave the apartment isn't driven by horror movie tropes, but by the grounded, terrifying threat of losing her livelihood and failing her son.
• Shooting Feasibility: Designed specifically for ultra-low budget and festival viability. It requires a single physical location (two apartment interiors that can be redressed), one on-screen actor, and practical sound design to deliver maximum tension without VFX.
• Thematic Resonance: Beneath the visceral scares, the script explores the modern horrors of corporate surveillance, extreme labor pressure, and the claustrophobia of remote work, making it highly attractive to elevated genre festivals.