White Cell

Psychological horror - spec script.

After her mother’s sudden death, an imprisoned young writer uncovers the truth about her power to haunt unpunished criminals, with devastating consequences.

Imprisoned in a boarded-up house, Vanessa (mid-20s) obsessively writes published crime fiction novels inspired by case files on depraved, living criminals who have escaped justice, delivered by her mysterious captor, Max. Vanessa’s only other contact is with her mother, whose potential release from a life sentence for murdering Vanessa’s father offers their only hope of freedom. When Max regretfully forces a terrified Vanessa into an intimidating, white padded cell, she experiences disturbing visions of the killer from the latest case and inexplicably teleports to his home. An unconscious Vanessa’s physical touch sends the petrified offender – strangely oblivious to his crimes – into a frozen trance in which his sins come flooding back.

Vanessa’s world falls apart when she abruptly discovers her mother has killed herself in prison. Awakening elsewhere from sedation, she meets Paul, practically a living corpse, and Max reveals the haunted murderer finally confessed to the authorities – because of her. Offered the chance to learn more about her gift provided she doesn’t, under any circumstances, touch Paul, Vanessa observes him successfully extract harrowing recent memories from an innocent young boy, simply by touching his hand. Realising her destiny is to replace Paul as chief extractor, Vanessa, unwillingly at first, removes the memories of a despicable, unconvicted paedophile, but soon gets her revenge by haunting him so terrifyingly, he slashes his wrists. Although liberated by her power, Vanessa understands she is cursed, as anyone she touches unwittingly transfers their memories to her.

When, crushingly, Vanessa discovers her books being published is a lie, she locks Max in the white cell and confronts Paul from his deathbed. During their powerful mutual trance when they finally touch, Vanessa sees their shared memories. It was she who killed her father, after which her mother took her to Paul, who extracted Vanessa’s memory so she could take the blame. Horrified, Vanessa also learns that when she was born, touching Paul – her real father – activated her curse, which she transferred to him only for Paul to inadvertently reshare the curse when they reconnected years later. Immediately after these revelations, Paul passes away, leaving Vanessa fully aware of her truth but, quite literally, haunted by visions of her past. Back in the white cell, Max confirms every decision was driven by her parents’ love and their wish to protect her.

A mysterious, tense, haunting psychological horror feature script, White Cell is Smile meets The Sixth Sense.

White Cell is inspired by the writer suddenly discovering his dad is not his biological father, a secret kept by his parents for 30 years!