VIRULENCE (REINTERPRETED WITH VARIATIONS) by Originally by Andrew Milito (PointMan528491), reinterpreted by John Silver

ORIGINAL PLOT: Love can form in the unlikeliest of places. Even the post-apocalypse.

An unexpected disease has wiped out a majority of Earth's population, leaving only a small number of survivors in its wake. Among them is James Winstead, an emotionally distant young adult scouring the deserted streets of Los Angeles. However, when he runs across fellow survivor Melissa Everett, the two form an unlikely bond as they traverse the remnants of the city for any means of survival.

REINTERPRETATION: Hope is like a candle. It can always burn out, but eventually another stick comes in and continues to burn slowly.

James Winstead is an emotionally distant but strong-willed and intuitive young man who wanders around the ruins and chaos of a now shaken Los Angeles. With nothing else in mind except a motive to get to the last of the submarines that will travel to the other side away from the United States for the purpose of a new sanctuary after a series of disasters have shaken the Earth.

The only thing that follows him around are the hallucinations of his late girlfriend, Melissa Everett, who encourages him but also haunts him at the same time during his venture into finding transportation. With ghosts of his girlfriend, family, and others haunting him, James will struggle to fight for survival against the quakes, the hurricanes, and his physical demons in order to make it to a new haven.

My Comparison Pitch: The Road meets San Andreas meets The Perfect Storm meets I Am Legend.

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense disaster action sequences, violence and mayhem throughout, disturbing images, and brief strong language.

Changes I would make:

- I would take out the love interest theme, and replace it with the theme of survival, grief, and hope. I feel that it adds more emotional impact on the protagonist and story.
- Take out the virus and replace it with natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, or wildfires. The virus is overused, in my opinion.
- Create a feeling of ambiguity, as if you don't know whether or not James can survive his own demons or the external troubles that challenge his physical limits throughout the journey

Other Characters:

George Winstead - James's elder father with a big heart but thick skin.
Roland - A crippled, veteran soldier who becomes very unassuming towards James.
Gabriella - Roland's strong-willed daughter who doesn't trust James as much until later on in the journey.
Natalie - James's older sister.
The Captain - A mysterious individual who warns the world about a group of submarines that are headed for a different location.
Otto - A brutal and ruthless hunter with his own group of bandits who will stop at nothing to take whatever items an individual has. (Think Negan from The Walking Dead.)

tags (add tags): adventure, Apocalypse, drama, sci-fi, thriller

close You must sign in to add tags. Don't have an account yet? Register now.

posted: 04/21/2016 by MovieCriticGamer comments | results | vote