The Procidat

The Procidat Written by: Chris Lutzow Logline: A family on the brink of collapse tries to reconnect at a quaint Bed and Breakfast for the weekend, but a supernatural evil in the house has other plans. A large Victorian house on the Oregon coast has lights flickering in the dead of night, and a woman screams. Two of our antagonists, ALEX (70's) and PAULIE (30's) remove luggage from the house on what is, for them, a typical night. A sign on the house reads "Procidat Bed and Breakfast" One of our protagonists KAREN (late 20's), meanwhile, is in her apartment looking for a weekend retreat for her, husband JAMES (late 20's), and their son MICHAEL (school aged). Karen has been worried that the family is growing apart during James' prolonged work absences and suspects an affair. As she turns her back, the computer screen flickers and an entry for the Procidat appears prominently on the screen. Deciding on the Procidat for their weekend retreat, Karen and James pick up their son from school and hit the road. The drive is tense, and a strange encounter with a local while getting gas a few miles from the B&B only adds to the tension. Arriving at the house, the family meets Alex and Paulie, as well as Alex's wife JUNE (70's). They also learn that another family is staying there: KEITH and REBECCA (40's couple) and their daughter SAMANTHA (school aged). Michael and Samantha play in the yard together, where Samantha tells Michael about her 'friend in the basement'. Before dinner, the couples meet for drinks and after dinner, the kids go and play. Later, Karen walks the halls looking for Michael, and runs into Rebecca. Alone together, Rebecca tells Karen there's something strange about the house and they should leave while they can. Karen, worried, then finds Michael under the stairs, who tells her he made a new imaginary friend who lives in the basement. James, alone in the parlor, sees his mistress outside beckoning to him. Going out after her, James is drawn into the woods around the house and ends up in an abandoned cemetery. Trying to get rid of her, so his wife doesn't find out she's there, James falls for her seductions only to have her turn into a horror in front of him. Frightened, he runs out of the woods and into his wife, who saw him go into the woods and followed to check on him. James is dismissive and Karen is suspicious. Later that night, James is awoken in their room and finds his wife is not in their bed. Looking for her, he finds Keith and Karen having intercourse in the dining room. Turning on the lights to confront them, James finds it was a hallucination. Going to get a drink, he meets a beautiful young woman who mercilessly flirts with him. Resisting the flirtations, he starts to succumb, only for Karen to show up, as she had been looking for him. The flirtatious young woman? In the lit room it is the 70 year old June. Confronting James about his strange behavior, Karen storms back to her room where she sees a demonic figure in the dark. In the morning, the family is defeated and worn down. They don't notice that the other family is nowhere to be found. Talking on the porch, Karen and James begin to hash things out, even though James lies about what he saw the night before. In a show of trust, Karen agrees to go look for the cemetery James found the night before. Finding the cemetery, Michael has a vision that scares him, causing him to climb onto a crypt to escape, only for the crypt to collapse and him to fall in and land next to skeletal remains. Freaked out, the family flees back to their room. Karen is withdrawn and despondent, only wanting to clean up and not leave the room. James, trying to bridge the growing gap, acquiesces and goes to get lunch for everyone. After cleaning up, the family discusses leaving and decides to stay for one more night. Plagued by hallucinations and visions of growing intensity, Michael finds Samantha in the hallway, who tells him he's going to die before eviscerating before his eyes, causing Michael to wet himself. Karen, who has just 'caught' her husband cheating, finds Michael covered in his own urine. James, who has gone onto the porch, is confronted by Keith, whose decimated and skeletal visage warns him to stay out of the basement. Regrouping in their room, the family finally decides to leave. But, finding their luggage has been stolen, are stymied. James goes to confront the owners about their luggage, while Karen and Michael gather what few things they have in the room. James, looking for the owners, sees Karen and Michael go into the basement. Remembering his warnings about the basement, James pursues them in order to stop them and follows them downstairs. Meanwhile, Rebecca comes to the room to try and take Michael away from Karen, only for Karen to strike her and barricade themselves inside. Needing to flee, Karen arms herself with a knick-knack, gathers Michael, and decides to go to the car and meet James there. Making their way out, they are confronted by Paulie, whom Karen kills. Fleeing through the kitchen and out the back, mother and son are confronted with more visions trying to stop the. Meanwhile, James makes it to the basement, only to find his family isn't there. Instead, he finds the eldritch horror residing in the basement and learns the truth about the house. Through visions, James learns that a horror is trapped in the basement that feeds on people who are broken and desperate. Over the centuries it has recruited victims to serve it and now attracts broken families to the B&B in order to shatter them further and feast on them. James, shocked, tries to escape but is blocked by June. He finds a window and sees Karen and Michael out there. Breaking the window, he throws the keys to Karen so they can escape before being pulled back inside. Karen and Michael make their way to the family car while James breaks a gas line and sets the house on fire before the monster in the basement consumes him. Fleeing in the car, Karen and Michael are confronted by a vision of James trying to stop them. Michael reminds his mother that James isn't real anymore, and Karen runs her husband over. In an epilogue, it is learned that Karen has been arrested for her husband's disappearance and Michael has been sent to live with family. Police investigate the house only to find it intact and those present oblivious to the events that occurred. In the end, the family that tried to come back together was torn apart. Michael has been taken from his parents, Karen 'ran over' her husband and James died redeeming himself and saving his family.