Scope Creep

Alex Harlow has been waiting patiently for another chance. An eager, up and coming project manager, her phone hasn't exactly been ringing off the hook with offers, after the spectacular failure of her last project, which also cost her a marriage. On the rebound with blue collar bouncer Dom Cirillo, she receives word that her mentor, Milton McMasters has died in a tragic accident at the construction site of his latest project, the rebuild of Rhodes County Correctional, a notorious private prison through PrisonTek Industries. Heartbroken, Alex attends the funeral where she reconnects with old colleague, Eli Bentham of Bentham & Associates, who offers her the chance to take over the troubled project. Alex sees this as a way to finally prove herself and get her career back on track. Dom knows this will take her out of town, and reluctantly pledges his support. But the project has a plethora of problems, with scope creep being the culprit in more ways than one. Wildly overbudget and off schedule, the controversial prison has been targeted by Abolish All Prisons, a radical fringe group, led by Penny Suarez, an impassioned activist who seeks justice for her son, Beto, an immigrant whose death triggered a riot and fire which made the current project necessary. Alex arrives at PrisonTek headquarters and is surprised to learn Wyatt, her scheming ex-husband, is a project officer and reports directly to the shadowy sponsors who include the Governor Slaton, a rabid anti-crime politician whose re-election hopes hinge on the project's success. Tensions are high amidst the team, but Alex's take charge attitude makes an impression on charismatic contractor Connor Gilroy. Alone in her office, Alex is contacted by a mysterious online entity, Inmate1751, who sets up a meeting at the construction site, promising Alex inside info on PrisonTek's shady dealings. Once on site, Alex finds a red envelope within a prison cell and encounters the "The Scope Creeper", a masked, hooded figure who chases her through the unfinished prison cell block wielding a nail gun. Alex barely escapes with her life thanks to Connor, who valiantly rescues her from a sudden structural collapse. Back at her hotel, Alex opens the envelope to discover a USB drive, but when she tries to plug and play, she discovers it's encrypted and inadvertently infects the entire project website with a virus that causes a total system shutdown of PrisonTek. Only days in, Alex finds the deck stacked against her, and must team with Connor to decrypt the files and find out who is sabotaging the project, and who the mysterious Scope Creeper is before she loses her livelihood, her reputation, and her life. As she succumbs to Connor's charms, the jealous Dom reemerges and reveals he is not the supportive boyfriend she initially thought, but a shady individual with a checkered past. SCOPE CREEP What you don’t plan for can kill you. Copyright 2023 by Brefni O'Rourke. All Rights Reserved. ***********The REVIEWS are in on SCOPE CREEP************** “Overall: 4.5 out of 5, Concept, Plot, Dialogue, Characters, Theme, all 5.0 out of 5.0... I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story. I like the word choice used for descriptions, it's rich and allows to follow easily. The story is very well written and has great turning points when seeking who is a real Scope Creep. The plot is intriguing, and you feed the additional information at the right moments within the story to maintain the interest of the reader/viewer. The three acts format is clearly defined and easy to follow. Alex grows her confidence, and I can see how she changes in the story, grows her confidence in the role, to then have another setback and work on overcoming it again... I feel the number of characters you have introduced to the story is efficient to the plot and each character plays a part in the story, making no waste in the budget. Alex’s character also benefits from the presence of Wyatt, Dom, Connor, Eli and Milton. The mysterious three figures, also a brilliant idea and developed throughout the story with great dosing of the information, so that the reader/viewer gets drawn into the story... The story reads real and is easy to relate to. Alex is a very well-rounded character, also easy to relate to, I can relate to her ambition and willingness to achieve the best for herself through applying the skills she has, very relatable. I like the tension that is pretty much constant from the moment Alex enters Prisontek. There is always a sense of something dark creeping behind, tension sustained throughout the whole story. I very much enjoyed reading the story and taking part in revealing new elements... Thank you for sharing. All in all, an amazing story, very well written. I hope to see it on the screen soon. Good luck!” ************* "Concept: 5 out of 5, Characters: 5 out of 5... I was impressed by the rich language that did a great job for every scene... I enjoyed reading the script as it has a very unique writer's voice. Everything is very laconic, straight to the point, but without any sacrifice on the artistic side. It all is accompanied by excellent formatting... The characters are believable and all with their own goals. The main issue with horror/thrillers is that they would end in the first 5-20 pages if the protagonists were, at least, a little bit rational and wouldn't be putting themselves in danger only because the plot needs them to do that. In Alex's case, everything she does makes sense. All her decisions are based on logic and reason with a little spike of emotions that only reinforce her actions. The author did a great job at creating a hook in the first pages and keeping the mystery though out the first two acts. The plot starts slow, but after the midpoint action intensifies, as it should be in every great work. Stakes rise and readers are kept engaged. It's all spiked with thrilling scenes that keep the reader engaged. Throughout the whole screenplay hardly it is possible to predict any outcome. One can try to guess, but the plot is too complicated with lots of twists and manages to surprise even experienced moviegoers. What is more, we are given a chance to relax between thrilling and horrifying scenes. This creates an emotional roller coaster that is desired by most of the viewers... Low filming costs are another strength." *************************************************************************************************