Creative Notes:
"Vril: Beyond the Mothman" is based on my best selling novel "The Lost Souls of Bell Valley".
Vril: Beyond the Mothman
This original script is based on true events that took place in the Ohio Valley. A horrific airship crash in 1925 and the collapse of the Silver Bridge in 1967 appear unrelated until a paranormal team unravels the shocking truth about the entity once known as the Mothman.
Synopsis:
This original script is based on my own horror/thriller novel "The Lost Souls of Bell Valley" released in 2011 and availble @ Amazon.com.
While it received a regional best seller award and has been selling well, this story could not be told on the big screen without a significant rewrite.
"Vril: Beyond the Mothman" is the result of that effort.
The real, historic events in this story involve the vicious axe murders commited by Frank Biedenbach in Monroe County, Ohio on November 6th, 1880; the crash of the America's first rigid airship, the ZR-1 or USS Shenendoah in Noble County, Ohio on September 3rd 1925; the collapse of the Silver Bridge in Point Pleasant, West Virginia on December 15th, 1967.
Drew Christman, a young submariner was originally from Noble County, Ohio. He grew up experiencing strange occurances and never really felt comfortable at his rural, isolated farm just outside of the abandoned and delapidated town of Bell Valley. He was anxious to leave the area and joined the Navy; leaving his family and previous life behind.
As he was returning from a top secret mission, the Commander hands him an urgent wire from his distraught father. The note tells Drew that his mother and sister have been killed and that he (his father) was "soon to follow".
Stunned by the news, Drew arrives in port and immediately flies home. Realizing his worst fears, he finds his father's rotting corpse on the front porch of his old house. Beside him was a mysterious wooden box that has the stenciled letters "USS Shenandoah" on it's side.
Suddenly a sheriff's car arrives in the driveway. Out jumps deputy Johnny Bell a well-know blow-hard and family nemesis of the Christman clan. Bell immediately arrests Drew on suspicion of murder and takes him to the county jail.
Drew calls his grandfather, Pastor Ullman, who mysteriously left Noble County in the late 1960s. He returns from upstate Minnesota and frees Drew from jail later the next day, only to meet his own gruesome fate within a few hours upon arrival.
In desperation and confusion after his release, Drew visits his brother-in-law, Billy Piatt. Several months earlier, Billy lost his wife, Drew's sister, in a suspicious accident. When Drew arrives at his house, he is shocked to find Billy has taken up with a gothic-looking young girl named Shiela.
Shiela has brought her motley team of paranormal investigators, wild and crazy Robert and Greg along with a shy but beautiful girl named Annie. Despite their partying that day, they intend to piece together the strange events that Billy and other locals have seen. Billy is determined to make sense out of the death of his beloved wife.
Reluctantly, Drew joins the team that night on a strange and eventful investigation in Denbow's hayfield; the scene of many sightings of ghostly lights and shadowy apparitions.
Annie, new to the team, has psychic abilities. Growing up, she had been outcast by classmates who called her a witch. Annie is able to see into the past; beyond the limits of time and space. In her trance-like state, she can travel back to "see" events as they unfold; a rare gift enabled by her ability to create an out-of-body experience, or Astral Projection.
After a dramatic and frightening night in Denbow's hayfield, the team is able to piece together many of the supernatural events. Thanks to Annie, the team identifies a small group of local leaders in a mysterious cult; including Deputy Bell, Sheriff McMaster, Coroner Weber and Dr Diehl who is the head of a small town hospital.
The next day, Drew and Billy discover the mangled corpse of his grandfather in the local hospital. They are discovered by Dr Diehl and must do battle with him to flee from the abandoned wing of the old hospital where Pastor Ullman had been tortured and murdered.
After barely making their escape, Drew gathers the rest of team, not only to seek retribution, but put a stop to the horror that has plagued families in this region for decades.
Over the next 48 hours, the determined group of young people embark on a fight to the death; what only could be described as a classic battle between goodness and evil.
While it received a regional best seller award and has been selling well, this story could not be told on the big screen without a significant rewrite.
"Vril: Beyond the Mothman" is the result of that effort.
The real, historic events in this story involve the vicious axe murders commited by Frank Biedenbach in Monroe County, Ohio on November 6th, 1880; the crash of the America's first rigid airship, the ZR-1 or USS Shenendoah in Noble County, Ohio on September 3rd 1925; the collapse of the Silver Bridge in Point Pleasant, West Virginia on December 15th, 1967.
Drew Christman, a young submariner was originally from Noble County, Ohio. He grew up experiencing strange occurances and never really felt comfortable at his rural, isolated farm just outside of the abandoned and delapidated town of Bell Valley. He was anxious to leave the area and joined the Navy; leaving his family and previous life behind.
As he was returning from a top secret mission, the Commander hands him an urgent wire from his distraught father. The note tells Drew that his mother and sister have been killed and that he (his father) was "soon to follow".
Stunned by the news, Drew arrives in port and immediately flies home. Realizing his worst fears, he finds his father's rotting corpse on the front porch of his old house. Beside him was a mysterious wooden box that has the stenciled letters "USS Shenandoah" on it's side.
Suddenly a sheriff's car arrives in the driveway. Out jumps deputy Johnny Bell a well-know blow-hard and family nemesis of the Christman clan. Bell immediately arrests Drew on suspicion of murder and takes him to the county jail.
Drew calls his grandfather, Pastor Ullman, who mysteriously left Noble County in the late 1960s. He returns from upstate Minnesota and frees Drew from jail later the next day, only to meet his own gruesome fate within a few hours upon arrival.
In desperation and confusion after his release, Drew visits his brother-in-law, Billy Piatt. Several months earlier, Billy lost his wife, Drew's sister, in a suspicious accident. When Drew arrives at his house, he is shocked to find Billy has taken up with a gothic-looking young girl named Shiela.
Shiela has brought her motley team of paranormal investigators, wild and crazy Robert and Greg along with a shy but beautiful girl named Annie. Despite their partying that day, they intend to piece together the strange events that Billy and other locals have seen. Billy is determined to make sense out of the death of his beloved wife.
Reluctantly, Drew joins the team that night on a strange and eventful investigation in Denbow's hayfield; the scene of many sightings of ghostly lights and shadowy apparitions.
Annie, new to the team, has psychic abilities. Growing up, she had been outcast by classmates who called her a witch. Annie is able to see into the past; beyond the limits of time and space. In her trance-like state, she can travel back to "see" events as they unfold; a rare gift enabled by her ability to create an out-of-body experience, or Astral Projection.
After a dramatic and frightening night in Denbow's hayfield, the team is able to piece together many of the supernatural events. Thanks to Annie, the team identifies a small group of local leaders in a mysterious cult; including Deputy Bell, Sheriff McMaster, Coroner Weber and Dr Diehl who is the head of a small town hospital.
The next day, Drew and Billy discover the mangled corpse of his grandfather in the local hospital. They are discovered by Dr Diehl and must do battle with him to flee from the abandoned wing of the old hospital where Pastor Ullman had been tortured and murdered.
After barely making their escape, Drew gathers the rest of team, not only to seek retribution, but put a stop to the horror that has plagued families in this region for decades.
Over the next 48 hours, the determined group of young people embark on a fight to the death; what only could be described as a classic battle between goodness and evil.
Latest Work
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Trailer 3 - Horror/Thriller/Suspense07/18/12
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Script 1 - A D Distler's Original Draft07/16/12Creative Notes:Original Submission