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Synopsis

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The Caretaker

Beneath the rotting husk of a once-thriving shopping mall lies a secret older than the Cold War. Built atop an underground labyrinth of WWII-era laboratories, the abandoned Dixie-Five Mall stands as a decaying monument to the American Dream—and to something far more sinister.

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But as the mall’s golden age crumbled, so did Floyd. After the mysterious death of his wife near the Montgomery Ward anchor store, Floyd’s spirit withered. Reduced to a forgotten relic of the past, he’s left to wander the hollow corridors of the mall, consumed by bitterness and rage.

​​​​Floyd Buelleur, the mall’s former manager, was once a man of prominence. Charismatic but unqualified, he rose to power under the mentorship of the enigmatic CEO, Mr. Canary. Floyd’s life had it all—success, respect, and love.

​Unbeknownst to Floyd, the mall’s decay is more than just water damage and time. Hidden beneath its foundation is a network of laboratories from a secret WWII immortality project.

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The project’s true legacy lives on in the form of a cult led by the cold, calculating Florence—a woman who believes that emotions are weaknesses and that humanity must be "perfected" through detachment and immortality.

 

 

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Florence’s followers are former executives, acolytes, and immortals from the old experiments. Together, they’ve transformed Canary’s dream into a temple of control, recruiting or eliminating anyone tied to the mall’s history.

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But one man remains untethered—Floyd. Considered insignificant and harmless, he’s the last mortal connection to the mall’s past. Seen as a washed-up "nobody" by Florence’s cult, he is fired from Mall Manager and demoted to caretake the mall in its final year before demolition. Floyd’s presence however becomes a threat they never saw coming.

Strange disappearances plague the mall, and Floyd’s suspicions intensify. He begins to connect the dots between the mall’s eerie silence, his wife’s death, and the underground presence he’s never fully understood.

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His old rivals play their part in underestimating him. Henry, a self-important executive-turned-acolyte, sees Floyd as a "balding old man who’s chasing ghosts." Wallace, once a loyal soldier from the 1940s immortality project, believes he can keep Floyd at bay through subtle manipulation.

DALL·E 2024-12-22 21.59.48 - A dark and eerie abandoned parking lot at the Dixie-Five Square Mall. The scene is dimly lit by a single flickering streetlamp, casting long, distorte.webp

With his suspicions confirmed, Floyd’s quiet investigation shifts to an outright obsession. He becomes a stalker at the dead property, tailing his former colleagues, eavesdropping on conversations, and piecing together the scope of the cult’s power.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He’s not alone in this battle for clarity. His adopted son, Simon, a boy once known for his eerie childhood drawings that seemed to predict future events, now serves as Floyd’s emotional anchor. Unlike Floyd, who teeters on the edge of despair, Simon’s quiet wisdom and prophetic intuition offer moments of clarity.

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But Simon’s role goes deeper. His childhood drawings depicted fires and destruction, long before the mall’s collapse was even conceivable. His quiet insight mirrors that of a biblical prophet, and his words often strike Floyd’s heart in ways that logic cannot.

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With Simon’s encouragement, Floyd’s resolve hardens. He realizes that Florence’s cult doesn’t just want power—they want to erase the past entirely. He’s the last loose end, he final human who knows too much. 

Wallace’s role shifts as well. Though initially loyal to Florence’s ideals, Wallace’s own humanity begins to resurface. He’s haunted by memories of the family he’s lost to immortality’s curse. Watching the cult groom and recruit teenagers becomes his breaking point.

​​​​​​​​No longer willing to "lead from within," Wallace agrees to help Floyd end the cult’s reign of terror. The two unlikely allies plot a final stand.

DALL·E 2024-12-20 16.42.11 - A dramatic and tense scene set in a dimly lit 1940s-style laboratory. Florence, a confident woman with dark hair tied back, wearing a white lab coat, .webp

Their plan is as simple as it is deadly: fire. The only way to kill an immortal is to destroy the DNA that fuels the serum’s regenerative properties. Together, Floyd and Wallace rig the underground laboratory with nitro-glycerine tanks. The cult, unaware of the trap, gathers for one of Florence’s "grand assemblies" in the underground chambers. Wallace lures them in with promises of "new developments," while Floyd locks the exits.

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The moment is tense; sweaty palms, heavy breathing. Floyd’s eyes dart around the crumbling, mold-ridden hallways of the sub-basement lab. When he’s sure every immortal is inside, he lights the fuse. Flames ripple through the halls, igniting the nitro-glycerine. The resulting explosion is deafening.

 

Fire races through the underground corridors, turning the air into a furnace. The walls collapse, the ground above shakes, and the immortals, so secure in their invincibility, have no time to react.

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As Floyd runs for his life, the flames chase him, smoke filling his lungs. His path to the surface is blocked by falling debris. Coughing, choking, he collapses. In his final moments, he’s surrounded by fire and smoke—but something else is there too. He sees his wife, Donna, her hand reaching out for him. He sees Simon. For the first time in years, peace washes over him. He’s no longer angry. No longer afraid. The flames consume him.

Epilogue

Years later, Simon stands with his wife and children, watching the final demolition of the mall’s ruins. Excavators tear through the wreckage. On the hood of his car, a newspaper headline reads: "Former Mall Manager Suspected of Arson in Deadly Fire." Simon’s gaze hardens.

 

Simon is older now, wiser, but his heart is calm. He’s made peace with it all. As trucks haul away the remnants of the past, Simon’s children tug on his sleeve, and he smiles at them.As the family turns to leave, a final shot lingers on a sign standing in the lot—"Coming Soon: The Shoppes at Dixie Plaza"—a new open-air shopping center promising fresh starts and clean slates. But as Simon walks away, he knows the past is never truly gone. It’s just buried.

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Post-Credits Scene

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A quiet airport terminal. Florence, alive and well, sits in the corner, her suitcase by her side. Her face is calm, serene. She’s watching the departure board. The camera slowly pans behind her as she boards a plane. No words. No music. Just the distant hum of the terminal’s PA system. The cycle never ends.

Let’s Work Together

Interested in seeing this produced into a movie or mini-series?

Contact me at lucasa.damours@gmail.com

Please note, this screenplay is an original, copyrighted work and is protected under applicable intellectual property laws. Any use, distribution, or reproduction without authorization is strictly prohibited.

© [Lucas D'Amours], [2020-2025]. All rights reserved.

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