Desperate to escape her abusive, Christian Nationalist family, a teenage girl finds an unlikely ally when a female werewolf from a pack dead set on killing her family lands in her home, and the attraction they develop for each other forces them into a fight for their very survival.

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your screenplay about?
Beasties is a coming of age, horror story, about Mara, a late teen girl living on a remote ranch in Montana with her abusive, Christian nationalist family with dreams, but no means, of escaping. Her life changes when Lilly, the daughter of an equally toxic werewolf clan traveling through Montana, ends up saving Mara's life and consequently lands in Mara's family's home during an extreme winter storm. As Lilly's family descends on the farm to retrieve Lilly, Mara's family realizes that Lilly and Mara have formed a romantic connection, going against the very roots of their family moral system. With Lilly's family hell bent on destroying Mara's, and Mara's family hell bent on destroying Mara and Lilly, the two girls find themselves in a desperate battle for survival that forces them to each question their own moral compass if they are to win.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Horror and coming of age

3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
This movie works with current and relevant themes that are being questioned in our current political climate. The idea of "beasts" is examined in the film superficially as the werewolves, but more authentically of how we have characterized people as beasts within our society based on our morale beliefs. While Mara's mom tries to initially save Lilly because it is the Christian thing to do, once she realizes that Mara and Lilly have connected romantically, she moves to kill not just Lilly, but also Mara, as her religious beliefs are so compromised by the thought of her daughter being a lesbian. The script also explores the hypocrisy of using our beliefs to defend our actions. In spite of his strong religious beliefs, Mara's father kills Lilly's father early in the script because he feels that Lilly's father is morally beneath him. The script also explores themes of toxic masculinity and the difference in the rules in our society depending on gender. It's also a fun horror movie set in a remote, barren setting, that has some good old fashioned fun horror scenes.

4. How would you describe this script in two words?
Thoughtful Horror

5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
For popcorn fun I have watched the John Wick and Underworld series countless times, but my favorite one off movie is still True Romance.

6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
This screenplay I've been working on since last December.

7. How many stories have you written?
I've written a lot of stories- I have two produced screenplays, two others that have been considered by producers but did not get made into films, and multiple others that are in my computer.

8. What motivated you to write this screenplay?
I got the idea on a dreary, isolated, winter walk with my dogs through a particularly remote, wooded area. It was right after the 2024 election and it worked its way into my head in the scenery. I came home, opened up the screenwriting software, and started having a great time getting it out on the page.

9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Time to write can always be a challenge, as well as really figuring out the depth of the screenplay beyond the bones. The bones were fun to write but flushing out all of the themes and the depth of character in what can be a campy genre is tough.

10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
I am a school principal, so I'm very passionate about students, education, and equitable access to education for all students. I'm also passionate about rescue dogs, hiking, and traveling.

11. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
I was very interested in entering this festival because I was driven to write a screenplay with strong female leads and themes that resonate with female viewers outside of traditionally female genres. I love fantasy/horror and action films, but get tired of the way females are often portrayed in these films and the lack of strong female leads in them.
I always appreciate feedback on writing and thought the ideas presented in the feedback were on point with some of the areas that need to be explored in the script. The feedback wasn't quite as in depth as some other feedback I've received from other competitions but I felt overall it was on point and helpful!