
Synopsis/Details
The year is 1985. James Mabbutt drives his station wagon down a desolate two-lane highway with a passenger in his thirties. As they engage in a conversation, a small child named Mason suddenly emerges from the back seat and strangles the passenger using a piano wire, marking Mason's first confirmed kill. At an old-fashioned convenience store, they encounter Police Officer Lee Felton. James spots their wanted poster and distracts the store clerk while paying with an excess of cash, avoiding suspicion. Despite Lee's arrival, they manage to escape.
Fast forward twenty years to West Virginia in 2005, Mason awakens in a room with religious symbolism. He proceeds to prepare a gruesome breakfast of human flesh and eggs, demonstrating his macabre culinary skills. Mason goes for a jog and returns to find that James has returned home with a new recruit, Parker, a massive drifter.
The two men bring an alive, rotund man into the house. Meanwhile, Lee Felton, now a US Marshal, watches a news report about his old hometown, which includes a missing local official. The missing man is the same one captured by James and Parker. Mason and Parker introduce themselves to the newcomer, and tension brews within the house.
Around the fireplace, James lays out their sinister plan to hijack a school bus, abducting the children along its morning route by posing as a substitute bus driver. As James retires to bed, Mason and Parker clash over their differing motivations for killing. Mason believes in killing for a perceived greater good, while Parker seeks pleasure in murder.
Their dark mission unfolds as they follow a school bus driver's route, trailing him to his home, where they brutally murder him. A physical altercation erupts between Mason and Parker, reflecting their stark differences.
James, Mason, and Parker embark on the horrifying task of kidnapping a school bus filled with children, thrusting a small town into chaos. US Marshal Lee Felton springs into action, desperate to find the abducted children.
Amid the turmoil, 12-year-old Dotty Henderson manages to escape from the captors and embarks on a perilous journey back to town to seek help.
In the climax, a thrilling showdown ensues when Lee and the local police raid the farm. James and Parker meet their fate, but Mason escapes with a child, setting the stage for a gripping final confrontation between Mason and Lee Felton.
All Accolades & Coverage
Semifinalist, Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards Winter 2021
with RURAL ROUTE 76
Story & Logistics
Story Type:
Rescue
Story Situation:
Abduction
Story Conclusion:
Surprise Twist
Cast Size:
Several
Locations:
Few
Special Effects:
Blood, Other practical effects
Characters
Lead Role Ages:
Male Young Adult, Male over 45
Villian Type:
Mentally Disturbed
Stock Character Types:
Girl next door, Jock, Villain, White hunter
Advanced
Subgenre:
Action Suspense-Thriller
Action Elements:
Hand to Hand Combat, Physical Stunts, Weaponry
Equality & Diversity:
Diverse Cast
Life Topics:
Afterlife, Death, Middle school/Junior High
Drug Topics:
Legal Drugs
Time Period:
The 2000s (2000–2009), The Eighties (1980–1989)
Country:
United States of America (USA)
Time of Year:
Autumn/Fall
Illness Topics:
Psychological
Relationship Topics:
Repression
Writer Style:
Quentin Tarantino, Stephen King