Melville

SHORT SYNOPSIS: Louis Taylor, a haunted federal agent, receives word of the sudden death of his old mentor, Alex Cobb. But Cobb’s passing unearths a box filled with cryptic case files, photos of notorious killers, and one name scrawled across the top: Melville. Soon, Louis finds himself face-to-face with Melville—a sharply dressed, pipe-smoking specter who dispenses old-school retribution to the wicked. Speaking like a 1930s gangster and slipping in and out of shadows, Melville claims to be Cobb’s longtime “partner”—one who ensures the guilty get more than prison. When the justice system fails, Melville ensures consequence. And now, he wants Louis to join him. As Louis peels back layers of memory and trauma, including the childhood murder of his family, he realizes Melville has been there all along—haunting him, saving him, and waiting for the moment he’d be ready. That time has come. KEY CHARACTERS: - Louis Taylor – A sardonic, broken agent haunted by the past. - Melville – A spectral figure who walks between justice and vengeance. Think Jimmy Stewart by way of the Grim Reaper. - Bill Carter – A grotesque serial killer who murders elderly women in tribute to his abusive grandmother. - Alex Cobb – Louis’ deceased mentor and the last man to work alongside Melville. - Chris & Andy – Two thrill-killing suburban predators who discover evil has its own predator. THEMES: Justice vs. Vengeance. Memory. Corruption. Legacy. The thin line between good and evil—and the darker line between human and something else. VISUAL STYLE & INFLUENCES: - Sin City’s stark chiaroscuro aesthetics - The Sixth Sense’s quiet supernatural dread - The Crow meets L.A. Confidential - Noir sensibility with pulp horror undertones - Whistling “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” as a haunting refrain WHY NOW? MELVILLE offers a genre-bending, morally complex take on vigilantism in an era where audiences crave nuance, redemption, and mythic justice. It’s a compact but cinematic short with franchise or anthology potential—a dark angel tale for a cynical age.