
Synopsis/Details
At the end of the 9th century, Rome finds itself plunged into political chaos and spiritual decline. The Church, torn apart by conflicting ambitions, is ruled by a man burdened with a legacy impossible to purify: Pope Stephen VI, a tormented pontiff who commits the unthinkable act of exhuming the corpse of his predecessor, Pope Formosus, to put him on trial in a grotesque ceremony known as the "Cadaveric Synod."
What begins as a power play becomes the trigger for a progressive mental disintegration. Stephen, consumed by guilt and by visions that haunt him in the corners of his palace, slowly spirals into paranoia, insomnia, and hallucinations. Around him, the Vatican walls fill with whispers, and the thin line between the divine and the profane dissolves.
Meanwhile, a young monk named Dominic—devout but increasingly disturbed—watches the pontiff's transformation with growing unease. Faced with the complicit silence of Guilt and the fear of the faithful, Dominic begins to question not only his leader, but the very foundations of his faith.
Vatican: The Mirror of Madness is a historical drama with elements of psychological horror that explores the limits of guilt, the corruption of the soul, and the price of using faith as an instrument of power. It is the story of a man who sought to judge a dead man... and ended up being judged by his own demons.
Story & Logistics
Story Type:
Revenge
Story Situation:
Madness
Story Conclusion:
Tragic
Linear Structure:
Linear
Moral Affections:
Condemnation, Guilt, Punishment
Cast Size:
Several
Locations:
Few
Special Effects:
Blood, Blue/green screen, Prosthetics
Characters
Lead Role Ages:
Male Young Adult
Hero Type:
Ordinary
Villian Type:
Authority Figure, Corrupted
Advanced
Adaption:
Based on True Events
Subgenre:
Action Suspense-Thriller
Time Period:
Early Middle Ages
Country:
Italy
Illness Topics:
Psychological