Core Narrative 6

## **Leave it in Vegas: Self-Detonation by Cameron Elmore**

### **Synopsis:**

In the new safe haven of Las Vegas, one section after another is quarantined, with the public not really being told why.  The Traditionalist and Nationalist parties come together to form a specialist team. The parties believe whatever it is causing the deaths is part of an attack by the Chinese. Upon investigating, the team realizes that there’s something strange lurking in the city. One by one, the team members are picked off, despite their incredible powers and training. Sgt. McAllister faces off with a new type of feral Dark Child, one that is more powerful than anything McAllister has seen before. As McAllister studies the Dark Child, he realizes that it was once a hometown Dark Child friend of his who was kidnapped and tortured by the Chinese. The Chinese fully unlocked the Dark Child’s powers, causing him to become feral. These new powers allow the Dark Child to suck the energy out of those who are also children of the event. In a last ditch effort to find what’s left of his friend, McAllister tries to reach out to the feral Dark Child, only to be killed after his energy life force is sucked out of him. At this point in time, the feral Dark Child self-detonates by trying to suck out the powers of all super powered beings on earth at once, destroying the city of Las Vegas and leaving a crater in what was once known as a peaceful refugee site.

**Genre:** Sci-Fi Horror

## **Characters**

### **Protagonist**

Sgt. McAllister, 48, rough, gritty soldier who just wants to go home to his family. However, he keeps getting drafted back into the fight. He’s too good at hunting down rogue Dark Children. His special ability is manipulating electricity and creating physical forms out of the electrical currents.

### **Antagonist**

McAllister’s Dark Child former friend, Eli McClain, who used to be Amish but left his family behind when he went on Rumspringa at the age of 16. McClain’s special power is to steal the powers of other Dark Children. His powers laid dormant until he was capture by the Chinese and tortured by them, turning into a diabolical beast. His body grew horns and he grew scales over his skin. He is the brother of Jeremiah McClain from the video game.

### **Supporting Characters**

* Private Gary Argentum, 24, can see flashes of the future, but the images are hazy. He’s young, scared and wants to prove himself to McAllister.

* Sierra Taranga, who originally was the mute 8-year-old girl in the film Supersonic, has now grown up and is 20 years old. She has been raised by members of the military ever since she was discovered in Supersonic. She is considered the deadliest person in the specialist group, with a body count that is unknown to even her. Her special power is the sonic scream, but she prefers using a gun instead of screaming until her enemies’ eardrums pop and bleed.

## **Locations**

A refugee site in Las Vegas, which is considered neutral ground for the Traditionalists and the Nationalists.

## **Additive Comprehension**

* Character Reveal

Eli McClain is revealed to be Jeremiah McClains’ long lost brother.

Sierra Taranga is shown in this film to be all grown up, and we see how much she has learned from those who saved her life in Supersonic, and how she is still repaying that debt to the military to this day.

## **Demographics**

### **Target Market**

Males, 18 to 42 years old

Moviegoers under 25 are twice as likely to see a horror film as those over 30 according to the theatrical analytics company Movio.  Leave it in Vegas, with its monster, Eli McClain, fits into the horror genre and will be appealing to the millennials. The millennials were born between 1980 and 2000, making them 17 years old to 37 years old, much of the target market for this film.

In the past several years, the Eastern Asian and Latin American movie markets have exploded, growing by $6 billion, while the U.S. and Canadian markets have remained fairly stagnant, growing by less than $1 billion. In order to cross the global boundaries, a movie these days needs to be relatable to all cultures, and one of the most universal plots is good guys destroying bad guys with explosives. This film, with its sub-theme of war, meets that criteria.

### **Medium**

Film, as Large scale action horror has been a genre that has been untapped by large studios in the past 20 years. During the 1980’s they spawned large franchises such as Predator and Alien but due to the studios leaning farther away from the horror and R rated nature of the stories those franchises have began to wain which is why we believe this is where this story to could tap in the zeitgeist of today's viewer.

### **Platform**

Theaters, as A large bombastic action film is meant to be seen in large format. Audiences today go to theaters mostly only to see action films and large formats support that specifically.

## See Also

**Core Narratives**

**Ancillary Narratives**

**Major Players/Characters**