Log Line
With his son in dire need of a heart transplant, a desperate father turns to a deranged scientist who grows human organs in animals, only the animals are a terrifying assortment of grotesque cross species monsters that are almost human, and he must ultimately decide between saving his son or killing a man made beast with human like intelligence.
Script Info
Script Type: Feature
Genre: Thriller / Sci-Fi
Length: 105 pages
Est. Budget: Less than $1M
Screenplay Synopsis
Late one evening David, a forty something accountant, receives some good news: they've found a suitable heart to transplant into his sick son, Mark.At the hospital David waits with his ex-wife, Christine. But eventually their hopes are dashed as the helicopter transporting the heart crashes.
Christine and David discuss an old friend who's son had a similar heart problem and who bribed an administrator to get their son preferential treatment on the organ recipient waiting list. But David refuses to cheat. He feels like getting special treatment will just mean another kid, who cant afford the bribe, will die.
David learns about another, alternative option. There is a reclusive doctor, Aileen Asher, who claims to be growing human organs in animals using the recipient's DNA, which allows the organs to be transplanted without having to take any of the dangerous immunosuppressant drugs.
While trying to find Asher's remote farm, David gets lost and meets some of the local townspeople including Buddy, the muscle bound local sheriff, and Mac, the local mayor. They warn David to be careful.
David finds Asher's property but his car gets struck in the dirt road. David gets out of his car and starts walking towards the house when a strange animal attacks him.
Asher shows up wielding a shotgun and scares the animal away.
Asher agrees to grow a heart in a pig for Davids son.
A few months later David, Christine, Mark and their doctor, Doctor Kolchins return to the farm to collect a small blood sample from the newborn pig so they can test the genetic compatibility with Mark.
On the way out of town they stop for gas and a local woman is attacked by another mysterious animal.
Buddy chases the beast into the woods, gets attacked and nearly killed, but eventually shoots the monster. Its a grotesque half man, half pig beast.
A few weeks later Doctor Kolchins confirms that the pig is a genetic match with Mark and the transplant should work. But he also warns them that the pig is nearly a complete clone of Mark and probably has human like intelligence, too.
Meanwhile, Mac, Buddy, and several other locals realize what Asher is doing and decide that they must eject her from their community.
Marks health deteriorates so they must do the transplant as soon as possible. The pig is mature enough to be harvested so David heads back out to Asher's farm.
As David drives towards the farm he sees a pig-person run into the woods. He follows him into a dark abandoned barn and talks to him. His suspicion is confirmed. These cross species animals do have human like intelligence.
David goes to Asher and gets the baby pig-person.
As Asher leaves Mac, Buddy, and several other locals confront her. They pull down her hood and rip off her mask and realize that she is a pig-person as well. They shoot her.
David runs off into the woods with the baby pig-person. Mac, Buddy, and the locals chase after him, refusing to let him leave with the half human, half pig creature.
Eventually David gets to the road where Christine has been waiting for him and they narrowly escape.
On the drive back into town David sadly looks at the baby pig-person who curls up in his lap. David realizes that the creature has human like intelligence but is also the only chance that his son has.
As they arrive at the hospital David hands the baby pig-person to the doctors and Mark gets his new heart.
Back out in the rural countryside, Buddy and several of the locals are searching the abandoned barn when they are over run by a horde of dog sized half rat, half man monsters, and ripped to shreds.
WGA# 1738737
About This Screenplay
Transgenic is a fast paced, sci-fi thriller that wrestles with the ethics of modern medicine. Think 'Lorenzo's Oil' meets 'The Fly.'The script is lean, only 90 pages. The cast and locations are fairly limited. So the film could be produced on a modest budget.
In addition to the leading role for a 35-45 year old male actor, there is a great role for a thirty something actress, as the mad scientist is a woman, flipping the typical mad scientist sci-fi troupe upside down.
