a feature film pitch deck.
OVERVIEW
Logline
A disgraced physicist’s daughter discovers her late father’s secret invention — a machine that allows travel between infinite realities — and becomes obsessed with rewriting her shattered life.
Target Audience
Fans of cerebral sci-fi and psychological horror, particularly those who enjoy films like Annihilation, The Thing, and The Fly, as well as audiences drawn to female-driven narratives exploring identity and self-doubt.
Themes
The search for a better life through alternate realities, the horror of identity and self-doubt, the dangers of scientific ambition, and the existential struggle against one's own demons.
Genre
Sci-Fi Thriller, Psychological Horror
SYNOPSIS
LUMEN is a psychological sci-fi drama that explores trauma, identity, and the longing for a better version of life — through the lens of quantum theory.
Veronika Remick, a brilliant but emotionally unstable physicist, struggles with the legacy of her father, Douglas Remick — a disgraced scientist once mocked for his fringe theories about alternate realities. Estranged from her ex-husband, Sasha, and losing touch with her rebellious teenage daughter Mae, Veronika’s life is unravelling.
With the help of journalist Isabelle Briest, Veronika reluctantly returns to the one place that still haunts her: Her father’s abandoned, decaying house in the remote countryside. There they discover Mae, who has run away from home.
Veronika uncovers her father’s secret: a hidden underground laboratory containing a mysterious machine — the P.O.D. (Point of Departure) — designed to traverse infinite realities. Veronika is forced to confront the possibility that the machine works... and might offer her a chance to undo the pain of her past.
But obsession with second chances quickly blurs the line between redemption and self-destruction. As Veronika tests the P.O.D. on herself, Mae begins to question whether the woman who returns is truly her mother — or someone else entirely. Meanwhile, shadowy corporate interests and buried secrets threaten to destroy what’s left of their fragile bond.
Tense, intimate, and laced with dark humour, LUMEN is a haunting exploration of grief, generational trauma, and the dangerous allure of “what could have been.”
CHARACTERS
Veronika Remick
A brilliant but emotionally volatile quantum physicist haunted by the trauma of her past and the abusive legacy of her father. Equal parts damaged and defiant, Veronika is desperate for redemption — or reinvention. Beneath the self-sabotage is a woman who never truly recovered from the life she never got to live.
Mae Remick
Smart, guarded, and emotionally neglected, Mae uses sarcasm as armour to protect herself from a chaotic home life. She craves attention but mistrusts the adults around her, especially her unpredictable mother.
Isabelle Briest
A sharp, composed science journalist known for her scepticism and poise under pressure. Initially drawn to Veronika’s story as a curiosity, she soon finds herself emotionally entangled and morally conflicted. Beneath her journalistic objectivity lies a deep empathy — and a fear that her own ambitions may cost someone else their stability.
CASTING SUGGESTIONS
Cynthia Erivo
Veronika Remick
Florence Pugh
Isabelle Briest
THEMES
Generational Trauma
The legacy of Douglas Remick’s abuse haunts Veronika and reverberates into Mae’s upbringing. LUMEN delves into how trauma is passed down not just genetically, but through silence, secrecy, and unresolved pain. Veronika's attempt to escape or erase her past through the machine mirrors the real-world impulse to undo inherited suffering rather than confront it.
Identity & Fragmentation
Veronika is split between who she was, who she became, and who she believes she could be in another world. The P.O.D. allows her to chase a version of herself untouched by loss and failure. But as the boundaries blur, the story questions whether identity is fixed, or infinitely malleable.
The Seduction of "What If"
At its core, the story is about the dangerous allure of alternate realities — the belief that happiness lies just one choice, one universe, or one machine away. LUMEN warns that such longing can become a trap, obscuring the life we’re actually living and damaging the relationships in front of us.
Parental Responsibility
Veronika’s role as a mother is in constant tension with her obsession with the past and her own emotional instability. Mae’s coming-of-age is shaped by a parent who is simultaneously brilliant and unreliable. The story interrogates what it means to be there for someone — physically and emotionally.
TARGET AUDIENCE
Statement of Intent:
Lumen is a film about the search for escape—the desire to flee from pain and self-loathing into a better, imagined world. It is a psychological horror that challenges the audience to question the cost of that escape and whether any reality is truly better than the one we know. The story’s dark, twisted narrative serves as a meditation on identity, personal growth, and the danger of believing we can outrun our own selves.
Fans of Psychological Sci-Fi Thrillers
Viewers who appreciate thought-provoking, mind-bending narratives like Annihilation, Coherence, or The Man from Earth, where deep existential themes and alternate realities collide with human emotion and psychological unravelling.
Lovers of Dark, Atmospheric Horror
Audiences who enjoy surreal, tension-filled horror films that focus on psychological dread and paranoia, similar to David Cronenberg's The Fly or Jordan Peele’s Us. The film’s aesthetic will appeal to fans of eerie, claustrophobic environments and disturbing imagery.
Female-Led Sci-Fi & Horror Enthusiasts
Those who are drawn to complex, emotionally-driven female protagonists dealing with trauma, identity, and self-doubt. Lumen explores powerful themes of self-perception and internal conflict, offering a compelling female-driven narrative akin to films like Repulsion or Ghost in the Shell.
Fans of High-Concept Sci-Fi with Emotional Depth
The psychological themes of Lumen will resonate with those who appreciate sci-fi not just for its intellectual concepts, but for how it reflects human experiences and struggles.
TONE & STYLE
Surreal & Nightmarish
The tone of Lumen is dark, disorienting, and filled with a sense of existential dread. The film will feature dreamlike sequences, distorted realities, and grotesque body horror, reminiscent of David Cronenberg’s work (The Fly).
Psychologically Tense & Paranoid
The narrative will be steeped in psychological tension. The sense of claustrophobia and mistrust will heighten, creating an atmosphere where nothing feels certain, similar to films like The Thing and Repulsion.
Visually Distorted & Atmospheric
Drawing influence from Terry Gilliam’s eccentric visual style, the film will feature a blend of neon-lit, industrial environments and bizarre, fractured spaces that create a disorienting world.
COMPARABLES
THE FLY
Both films deal with body horror and scientific overreach, where the main characters push the boundaries of science only to be consumed by their own creations. Lumen shares the same eerie, grotesque tone of transformation and self-destruction.
UNDER THE SKIN
Under the Skin shares thematic similarities in their exploration of identity, self-doubt, and existential horror. Both films delve into the psychological disintegration of their protagonists. Both films create an atmosphere of unease and alienation, using surreal, dreamlike imagery to reflect their characters’ internal turmoil.
THE THING
The Thing shares the same paranoia-driven atmosphere and sense of identity confusion as Lumen.
Repulsion
Repulsion and Lumen both follow protagonists spiraling into psychological disintegration and paranoia.
Us
Both Lumen and Us explore the terror of doppelgängers and the fear of being replaced by a darker version of oneself. Lumen’s central conceit of multiple versions of the self.
Goodnight Mommy
The tension in both films arises from the protagonists’ inability to trust their own perceptions, heightening the horror of confronting a reality that feels wrong.
THE WRITER
Andrew Wright is a screenwriter and author who has worked in various roles in the film and television industry, alongside Lord Richard Attenborough (Jurassic Park), Dominic West (The Wire), and Kathy Burke (Nil By Mouth). His first student film was co-funded by Terry Gilliam (12 Monkeys).
MUSIC PLAYLIST
Music which inspired the writing process.
CONTACT

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andwrighting | Instagram | Linktree

Novelist/scriptwriter who enjoys cinema, reading and a good cuppa.

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Andrew Wright (@andwrighting.bsky.social)

Writer of novels, film/tv scripts, and short bio's. Read my stuff at https://awright.substack.com http://linktr.ee/andwrighting

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