ISA Staff Picks: October 2024

These screenplays and their writers were selected by ISA staff members as standouts in their genres and formats for the month of October 2024. They are being submitted to agents, managers, producers and production companies actively looking for writers to rep or projects to produce. 

RAZE by Dana Speer and Nick Hagen (Feature)

Logline: After a radio signal that causes violent outbursts takes over the country’s airways, a young Black woman wakes from a blackout with amnesia, handcuffed to the steering wheel of an SUV and must free herself before she’s destroyed by the frenzied version of humanity that surrounds her.

Selected by: ISA Staff Member Reggie Singh

Comments: How do we treat our neighbors, strangers, even our enemies? - Raze is a tense contained horror/thriller feature. An injured woman with amnesia finds herself handcuffed in a car, while the world outside tears itself apart. We follow her journey in real time. She encounters the gamut of society that in turn threatens or terrorizes her. 

It all started with 'The Signal' and when you hear it, you either RUN or RAGE, based on your deepest entrenched views of the world we live in - something you may not even be aware that you are harboring. Could our heroine be an innocent victim or is she complicit to society's ills? This is something she grapples with.

This movie subtly addresses social misgivings by skillfully steering the imagery, events and conversations with the permission of 'The Signal'. In doing so, it creates career defining roles for the female and male leads. How we treat our neighbors, strangers, and enemies IS revealed. What darkness and unlikable truths are YOU keeping inside that are invisible to the world, and that given the signal, you would unleash?

ISA Connection: Dana and Nick were found through another of their scripts, Trending, which won the Genre Category of Table Read My Screenplay Park City.

Awards:
Table Read My Screenplay Park City - Genre Winners
ISA Development Slate
ISA Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch

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CLEANSE by Todd Foley and Dan Healey (Horror Feature)

Logline: Entrepreneurs stay at a wildly popular vacation rental to focus on team building for their small business, only to be forced to confess their darkest secrets in order to leave the property alive. (The Ring meets Truth or Dare)

Selected by: ISA Staff Member Shayna Weber

Comments: Cleanse is a contained horror set in a charming cabin retreat, which proves to be far from relaxing for its visitors. For some, confronting hidden truths can be liberating and cathartic, while for others, it can lead to fatal consequences. Todd and Dan have crafted a narrative that feels both rooted in reality and intensely unsettling. Cleanse will challenge your perception of what “the truth” truly signifies.

ISA Connection: Todd and Dan were discovered as ISAConnect Members and selected for the ISA Development Slate and the Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch.

Awards:
ISA Development Slate
ISA Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch

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SPIN THE BOTTLE by Jordan Trippeer (Feature)

Logline: In a mansion-turned-nightmare, a group of teenagers find themselves caught in a deadly Spin The Bottle game against a tortured spirit and the Witchfinder who trapped her in the bottle long ago.

Selected by: ISA Staff Member Felicity Wren

Comments: Spin the Bottle is a commercial, contained, and thoughtful YA horror script by award-winning screenwriter Jordan Trippeer, with Ria Pavia attached to direct. The script cleverly combines the familiar “Spin the Bottle” setup with the dark history of 1600s UK witch hunts, set against the backdrop of a party mansion where past and present collide. While dabbling in historical horror, it addresses contemporary themes of friendship, betrayal, and survival. With relatable characters facing unimaginable terror, this smart and chilling project has significant franchise potential, drawing comparisons to Bodies Bodies Bodies and The Witch.

ISA Connection: Jordan was discovered as an ISAConnect Member and selected for the ISA Development Slate and the Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch. Creative Screenwriter Productions are attached as Producers. 

Awards:
ISA Development Slate
ISA Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch

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DOWN BY THE RIVER by Michelle Deni Malouf (Feature)

Logline: When an 8-year-old girl with exceptional powers is adopted into a grieving family, she must fight for the love of her adopted mother.

Selected by: The ISA Reading Team

Comments: This piece masterfully blends limited fantasy with coming-of-age elements, creating a compelling and original premise. It stands out as a polished and professionally crafted screenplay, adhering to industry formatting standards while maximizing the power of descriptive, visual language.

One of its greatest strengths lies in the vivid, image-rich details woven throughout the narrative. The careful selection of specific imagery and precise word choice not only paints a clear picture of each scene but also keeps the story’s momentum flowing smoothly. This level of attention to visual detail enhances both the readability and the cinematic potential of the script.

ISA Connection: Michelle was discovered via an Emerging Screenwriters Suspense Competition submission.

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HACK by Matthew Sorvillo & Michael Sorvillo (Feature)

Logline: A hot-headed heart patient, in denial about the terminal illness he faces, is forced to learn how far he'll go to survive, when a seemingly innocent taxicab ride turns into a twisted game of kill or be killed, designed by a homicidal madman to turn passengers into corpses or killers themselves.

Selected by: ISA Staff Member Craig James

Comments: You won't be able to jump in a cab (or Uber) again without fearing for your life. That's the tension created by the writers of Hack. They take us on a ride (literally), that starts like Collateral but ends up feeling like Saw. Choices need to be made that none of us would ever want to be forced to make. Take the life of a stranger or give up your own. Stories like this make us question whether or not we'd be the hero we all imagine ourselves to be, until the situation becomes so real, so intense and so very frightening. What would you do?

ISA Connection: Matthew and Michael were discovered via a contest submission.

Award Win:
Emerging Screenwriters Suspense Competition - Top 10 

Interested in reading any of these projects?
Please email Felicity@NetworkISA.org.

To request the screenplay via the ISA platform, you must be an ISA-vetted Industry Pro. Please apply here in your profile.

To be considered for our monthly ISA Staff Picks, please complete your profiles, add your projects, post your success stories, apply to writing gigs, fellowships, contests and the ISA Diversity Initiative. You don't need to apply to all resources, you just need to be proactive as we are actively scanning the entire ISA platform for our next month's picks.