Synopsis/Details
This is EP 11 of my original series - The Madman's Daily Unequivocal Comedy, which is my take on shows like Black Mirror and The Twilight Zone.
I wanted to challenge myself to create a horror/adventure movie mostly based on old religious lore or apocalyptic events. So naturally the main character needs some redemptive storyline or arc of growth/finding meaning again.
Many scientists believe there have already been many earth-shattering events (floods. meteor strikes, climate change) so what if our generation is the next to experience one of these catastrophic events. Or what if what we believed to be earthquakes or meteor strikes were really something else altogether, like demons fighting against angels or other myths from Norse or Greek traditions.
I really like the story in the Book of Enoch of how the fallen angels had sex with the women on earth and produced offspring. These children became the creatures we still write about today - cyclops/vampires/demons/giants/etc. Of course, this may be only a myth, although I am sure a large part of the world's population still believes this to be true. I don't want to take a side in this debate. I just like the places that story of the Nephilim/fallen angels/etc and others like it take my imagination.
I tried to keep the story light for the most part, in the vein of Goonies again, much like the Jailbreak episode. There is still some bloodshed and gore and I don't know if this story would be okay for children, but things could always be changed later.
As I edit this first draft (uploaded on 9-28-22) in the future, I might add some more references to Orion and the stars. I am currently reading Sagan - Cosmos and there is some stuff in there that helped me write this story as well. I don't understand a lot of astronomy or physics, but I do love the mystery behind all that star stuff.
- I also had a vivid dream when I was a kid of driving in a car...and then driving into the clouds. It was both insanely terrifying and pretty amazing.
- I wanted to include the animation at the end, because it would probably be easier to show those seven doors that the minivan drifts by. The idea of the doors came from the book of Enoch. Also from The Doors of Perception, even though I have not read that book yet.
Other notes ------
I like the idea of creating a different kind of feel to concepts like the apocalypse that usually brings about so much terror and fear. So, I really wanted to make it as absurd as possible, but also keep true to what some religious orders believe the apocalypse to look like.
I read the book of Enoch last week, to further develop some interesting myths into this story. Although that book was useful, I don't think I really used it for too much of this story, except for some of the creatures and some of the symbolism.
I also wanted to set this in Pennsylvania for two reasons. 1 - I was interested in Centralia, the ghost town in Pennsylvania that was the inspiration for the Silent Hill video game. It is an old mining town that is now pretty much abandoned completely, because of a mine fire many years ago. Many people visit there today (look it up on YouTube), thinking the mine fire (which still burns underground) is really a portal to Hell or some other weird lore. 2 - During my childhood, we would have soccer tournaments every once in a while, at the Poconos in Pennsylvania. I have a vivid memory of some of the parents singing karaoke to "I shot the sheriff," which I included in this story.
- I also got inspired again from music. This time it was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Into the Great Wide Open album, produced by Jeff Lynne of ELO. I have always loved the production on that album and the guitar sound. When I listened to it again these last few weeks, I really got more into the lyrics of some of the songs and it related closely to what I was writing in this story.
