The Frozen Mark

### THE FROZEN MARK

**LOGLINE**

In a desolate, frozen wilderness, a man searching for answers to a string of local disappearances unearths an ancient, otherworldly artifact, forcing him and his skeptical partner to follow a trail of inhuman tracks into a place from which no one has ever returned.

**SYNOPSIS**

PATRICK “PAT”, a man worn down by a relentless and personal search, scours a treacherous, ice-filled ravine known as the 'Whispering Gully' for clues related to a series of unsolved disappearances. On the brink of giving up in the fading light, he discovers a strange, charcoal-colored metal disc buried beneath the ice. The object is covered in precise, alien symbols and emits a faint, low hum. His investigation is interrupted by the arrival of his partner, IDA, a pragmatic local historian who is both worried for his safety and immediately intrigued by the find. As they examine the disc, they discover it emits a faint pulse of internal light when touched in a specific way. Ida, drawing on her obscure academic knowledge, realizes the symbols are not terrestrial but a sophisticated star map, centered on a symbol described in ancient texts as "The Broken Constellation"—a bad omen associated with unexplained loss. Their discovery is compounded when they find a set of fresh, non-human tracks in the snow leading away from the site, heading up towards a notoriously dangerous and restricted mountain plateau. Despite Ida's grave reservations about the encroaching darkness and extreme danger, Pat’s desperate need for answers convinces her they must follow the tracks, taking their first steps into a vast and terrifying mystery.

**CHARACTER BREAKDOWN**

* **PATRICK “PAT” (40s):** Rugged, determined, and haunted. He is driven by a personal connection to the disappearances that have plagued the valley, making his search an obsession. He operates on instinct and gut feeling, often pushing past the limits of safety and reason. He is the believer, the man of action, willing to risk everything for a sliver of truth.

* **IDA (40s):** Grounded, intelligent, and cautious. A local academic or historian, she is the rational mind to Pat's passionate drive. She is armed with maps, research, and a healthy dose of skepticism. While she cares deeply for Pat, she is terrified of the wilderness and the reckless path he is on. Her intellectual curiosity, however, is a powerful force that often overrides her fear.

**SCENE BEATS**

* **OPENING:** The brutal, unforgiving landscape of the Whispering Gully. We meet PAT, exhausted and frostbitten, his frustration palpable. A slip on the ice sends him sprawling, establishing the hostility of the environment. The world is a desaturated canvas of white snow, grey rock, and bruised purple sky.

* **THE GLINT:** Amidst the monotony of the snow, a strange, oily glint of something not-natural catches Pat’s eye. The hope is faint, but it’s enough to reignite his focus.

* **THE DISCOVERY:** Pat carefully cracks the ice and unearths a dark, metallic disc, no larger than his palm. It feels strangely warm. He runs his fingers over the impossibly precise, alien symbols etched into its surface. He feels a low, subtle hum vibrating from it—a feeling of immense and ancient power.

* **IDA'S ARRIVAL:** A shout cuts through the wind. IDA, a splash of crimson against the white, makes her way cautiously down the ravine. Her initial worry for Pat quickly shifts to professional curiosity as she sees the object in his hand. Her presence brings a sense of grounding and intellectual rigor to the scene.

* **THE EXAMINATION:** Ida, the expert, analyzes the disc. She notes it’s unlike any known local or Indigenous artifact. She takes it from Pat, and as her thumb presses a concentric circle on the back, the disc emits a faint, internal pulse of light, like a dying ember. It's a moment of shared, whispered awe and fear.

* **THE REVELATION:** Cross-referencing the symbols with her memory of an obscure academic text, Ida makes a stunning connection. The symbols are a form of ancient astronomical notation. It’s a star map. She points out a central, jagged symbol: "The Broken Constellation," a legendary marker for unexplained loss. The mystery is suddenly cosmic in scale.

* **THE TRACKS:** As Ida makes her discovery, they spot them: a set of fresh, deep tracks in the snow. They are not human. The impressions are wide, with a strange, claw-like pattern, leading up towards a restricted and notoriously dangerous section of the mountain known for its standing stones. The threat is no longer theoretical; it is present and moving.

* **THE DEBATE:** A tense conflict erupts. Ida insists they go back, report their findings, and get help. It’s too dangerous to continue. Pat refuses, arguing that the authorities would dismiss them and the trail would go cold. This is their one chance to find out what happened to the people who vanished.

* **THE DECISION:** Pat’s desperate conviction wins out. With deep reluctance, Ida agrees to follow the tracks, but only for a short while. They exchange the disc and a compass, a silent agreement to proceed.

* **CLOSING SHOT:** Pat and Ida, two small figures against a vast, darkening wilderness, turn to follow the monstrous tracks into the deep gloom of the forest. The disc in Pat’s hand gives off a barely perceptible shimmer, a silent beacon leading them toward an unknown fate.

**VISUAL STYLE**

* **CINEMATOGRAPHY:** The style will be grounded and visceral. Handheld, shaky-cam work during moments of physical struggle (like Pat’s fall) to create immediacy. This will contrast with majestic, static wide shots that emphasize the characters' isolation and the overwhelming scale of the hostile, snow-covered landscape. Slow, deliberate zooms will be used on the disc, treating it like a character and focusing on its alien texture and detail.

* **COLOR PALETTE:** Heavily desaturated, dominated by the cold spectrum: whites, deep blues, slate greys, and the black of exposed rock. The only significant sources of warm color will be the crimson of Ida's parka, which will make her a focal point in the wide shots, and the faint, ember-like internal glow of the artifact, giving it an unnatural and unsettling presence.

* **LIGHTING:** Natural and stark. The flat, grey light of a winter afternoon fading into a deep, purple twilight. Long shadows and high-contrast scenes will create a noir-like atmosphere, suggesting that secrets are hidden in both the darkness and the blinding white of the snow.

* **ATMOSPHERE:** The feeling should be tactile and oppressive. The audience should feel the biting cold. Sound design will be crucial: the constant, mournful howl of the wind, the sharp crunch of snow underfoot, the strained breathing of the characters, and the unnerving, low-frequency hum of the disc that seems to exist just at the edge of hearing. The overall tone is one of creeping cosmic dread meeting a grounded survival thriller, in the vein of *Wind River* meets *Arrival*.