Residue of a Former Occupant
One night to be someone else. That's what the ticket promised. But when the sun rose, the carnival was gone, and Julian was still wearing a stranger's skin, a stranger's life, and a stranger's enemies. Now he has to piece together a life he never lived, just to survive the day.
# Residue of a Former Occupant
**Format:** Short Film / Anthology Episode | **Est. Length:** 10-12 minutes
## Logline
A timid accountant who magically swaps bodies for a night finds himself permanently trapped in the physique of a hardened criminal, forced to navigate a dangerous underworld and confront a violent past that isn't his.
## Themes
* **Identity vs. The Body:** The conflict between Julian's timid consciousness and the violent, instinctual "muscle memory" of the body he now inhabits.
* **The Burden of the Past:** The impossibility of a clean slate when one inherits the consequences and enemies of a previous life.
* **Inescapable Consequences:** Julian sought to escape his mundane problems, only to be thrust into a world where the consequences are immediate and lethal.
* **Violation and Consent:** The non-consensual occupation of another's body and life, explored as a form of profound personal violation.
## Stakes
Trapped in a wanted criminal's body, Julian must survive an imminent violent confrontation and navigate a dangerous underworld just to have a chance at reclaiming his own life.
## Synopsis
JULIAN, a meek accountant, wakes up disoriented and unsteady. He stumbles into a grimy bathroom to find a stranger staring back from the mirror: a man with hollow eyes, a scarred eyebrow, and a fighter's physique. This is not his body.
Flashes of memory return—a carnival, a tent with a purple sign promising "A New You," and a woman with silver eyes. The one-night escape has become a permanent prison. The carnival is gone, and he is stranded.
Exploring his new form, he finds a roadmap of tattoos and the painful evidence of a recent fight—split knuckles and bruised ribs. This body belongs to a man of violence. In the main room, a wallet identifies him as COREY BLACK. Inside is cash and a strange iron token stamped with a labyrinth.
Instinct takes over as he approaches a safe in the wardrobe. Corey's muscle memory supplies the combination, and the safe clicks open to reveal a handgun and a leather notebook. The book is a ledger of names, a record of debts collected through intimidation and force. Julian is in the body of a criminal enforcer.
Suddenly, Corey's phone buzzes. Hesitantly, Julian answers, his voice coming out as a low growl that isn't his own. A distorted voice on the other end demands a "package" for an exchange that night, warning him not to get "funny ideas" and alluding to a past transgression.
Before Julian can process this, a sharp, authoritative knock echoes at the door. Through the peephole, he sees two imposing, thuggish men waiting. They know Corey is inside. Trapped and terrified, Julian is out of time, forced to confront the violent life he has unwillingly inherited.
## Character Breakdown
* **JULIAN (in COREY's body):** (30s) An accountant by trade, Julian is a man defined by anxiety, debt, and passivity. He is physically unimposing and conflict-averse. Trapped in Corey's body, he is a terrified passenger in a vehicle he can't control, battling the foreign instincts and memories that bubble up from the flesh he now wears.
* **Psychological Arc:**
* **State at Start:** Overwhelmed, terrified, and completely disconnected from his new physical form. He is a victim of circumstance, desperately clinging to his old, inadequate identity and seeking only to escape.
* **State at End:** Forced by immediate threat, he begins to suppress his fear and tap into Corey's primal instincts and muscle memory for survival. The line between who he was and who he must become begins to blur, moving from pure victimhood toward a desperate, reactive survivor.
## Scene Beats
1. **THE AWAKENING:** Julian wakes in a strange bed, his body feeling alien—too long, too muscular. He is unsteady on his feet.
2. **THE REFLECTION:** In the grimy bathroom mirror, he confronts the face of a stranger. He touches the face, the scar, confirming the horrifying reality. A flashback hits: the carnival, the purple sign, the silver-eyed woman.
3. **THE CANVAS:** He examines the body, discovering faded tattoos and fresh injuries—bruised ribs, split knuckles. This is a fighter's body, a stark contrast to his own.
4. **THE IDENTITY:** He finds a wallet. The driver's license for "Corey Black" matches the face in the mirror. He also finds a strange iron token.
5. **THE MUSCLE MEMORY:** He discovers a safe. Without thinking, his fingers dial a combination he shouldn't know. It opens.
6. **THE LEDGER:** Inside the safe: a heavy handgun and a notebook. He reads the list of names and annotations—'Paid', 'Fled'. He realizes he's in the body of a violent debt collector.
7. **THE CALL:** Corey's phone rings. Julian answers. A distorted voice demands a "package" for an exchange and makes a veiled threat. The criminal world is closing in.
8. **THE KNOCK:** A loud, sharp knock at the door. Julian peers through the peephole to see two menacing thugs waiting for him. He is trapped. The threat is here.
## Visual Style & Tone
The visual style will be gritty, claustrophobic, and grounded in realism to heighten the protagonist's sense of panic and entrapment. The camera will be largely handheld, especially in the opening scenes, to mirror Julian's disorientation. Lighting will be high-contrast noir, with deep shadows and harsh practicals, emphasizing the grime of the apartment. The color palette will be muted and sickly—desaturated greens, grays, and browns—with the memory of the carnival rendered in hyper-saturated, dreamlike purples and oranges.
The tone is one of escalating paranoia and body-horror dread. It's a high-concept sci-fi thriller grounded in the visceral reality of a man trapped in the wrong life. Tonal comparisons include the existential, tech-driven paranoia of **Black Mirror**, the visceral identity-theft horror of **Possessor**, and the wrong-man-in-the-wrong-place tension of a classic noir film.
**Format:** Short Film / Anthology Episode | **Est. Length:** 10-12 minutes
## Logline
A timid accountant who magically swaps bodies for a night finds himself permanently trapped in the physique of a hardened criminal, forced to navigate a dangerous underworld and confront a violent past that isn't his.
## Themes
* **Identity vs. The Body:** The conflict between Julian's timid consciousness and the violent, instinctual "muscle memory" of the body he now inhabits.
* **The Burden of the Past:** The impossibility of a clean slate when one inherits the consequences and enemies of a previous life.
* **Inescapable Consequences:** Julian sought to escape his mundane problems, only to be thrust into a world where the consequences are immediate and lethal.
* **Violation and Consent:** The non-consensual occupation of another's body and life, explored as a form of profound personal violation.
## Stakes
Trapped in a wanted criminal's body, Julian must survive an imminent violent confrontation and navigate a dangerous underworld just to have a chance at reclaiming his own life.
## Synopsis
JULIAN, a meek accountant, wakes up disoriented and unsteady. He stumbles into a grimy bathroom to find a stranger staring back from the mirror: a man with hollow eyes, a scarred eyebrow, and a fighter's physique. This is not his body.
Flashes of memory return—a carnival, a tent with a purple sign promising "A New You," and a woman with silver eyes. The one-night escape has become a permanent prison. The carnival is gone, and he is stranded.
Exploring his new form, he finds a roadmap of tattoos and the painful evidence of a recent fight—split knuckles and bruised ribs. This body belongs to a man of violence. In the main room, a wallet identifies him as COREY BLACK. Inside is cash and a strange iron token stamped with a labyrinth.
Instinct takes over as he approaches a safe in the wardrobe. Corey's muscle memory supplies the combination, and the safe clicks open to reveal a handgun and a leather notebook. The book is a ledger of names, a record of debts collected through intimidation and force. Julian is in the body of a criminal enforcer.
Suddenly, Corey's phone buzzes. Hesitantly, Julian answers, his voice coming out as a low growl that isn't his own. A distorted voice on the other end demands a "package" for an exchange that night, warning him not to get "funny ideas" and alluding to a past transgression.
Before Julian can process this, a sharp, authoritative knock echoes at the door. Through the peephole, he sees two imposing, thuggish men waiting. They know Corey is inside. Trapped and terrified, Julian is out of time, forced to confront the violent life he has unwillingly inherited.
## Character Breakdown
* **JULIAN (in COREY's body):** (30s) An accountant by trade, Julian is a man defined by anxiety, debt, and passivity. He is physically unimposing and conflict-averse. Trapped in Corey's body, he is a terrified passenger in a vehicle he can't control, battling the foreign instincts and memories that bubble up from the flesh he now wears.
* **Psychological Arc:**
* **State at Start:** Overwhelmed, terrified, and completely disconnected from his new physical form. He is a victim of circumstance, desperately clinging to his old, inadequate identity and seeking only to escape.
* **State at End:** Forced by immediate threat, he begins to suppress his fear and tap into Corey's primal instincts and muscle memory for survival. The line between who he was and who he must become begins to blur, moving from pure victimhood toward a desperate, reactive survivor.
## Scene Beats
1. **THE AWAKENING:** Julian wakes in a strange bed, his body feeling alien—too long, too muscular. He is unsteady on his feet.
2. **THE REFLECTION:** In the grimy bathroom mirror, he confronts the face of a stranger. He touches the face, the scar, confirming the horrifying reality. A flashback hits: the carnival, the purple sign, the silver-eyed woman.
3. **THE CANVAS:** He examines the body, discovering faded tattoos and fresh injuries—bruised ribs, split knuckles. This is a fighter's body, a stark contrast to his own.
4. **THE IDENTITY:** He finds a wallet. The driver's license for "Corey Black" matches the face in the mirror. He also finds a strange iron token.
5. **THE MUSCLE MEMORY:** He discovers a safe. Without thinking, his fingers dial a combination he shouldn't know. It opens.
6. **THE LEDGER:** Inside the safe: a heavy handgun and a notebook. He reads the list of names and annotations—'Paid', 'Fled'. He realizes he's in the body of a violent debt collector.
7. **THE CALL:** Corey's phone rings. Julian answers. A distorted voice demands a "package" for an exchange and makes a veiled threat. The criminal world is closing in.
8. **THE KNOCK:** A loud, sharp knock at the door. Julian peers through the peephole to see two menacing thugs waiting for him. He is trapped. The threat is here.
## Visual Style & Tone
The visual style will be gritty, claustrophobic, and grounded in realism to heighten the protagonist's sense of panic and entrapment. The camera will be largely handheld, especially in the opening scenes, to mirror Julian's disorientation. Lighting will be high-contrast noir, with deep shadows and harsh practicals, emphasizing the grime of the apartment. The color palette will be muted and sickly—desaturated greens, grays, and browns—with the memory of the carnival rendered in hyper-saturated, dreamlike purples and oranges.
The tone is one of escalating paranoia and body-horror dread. It's a high-concept sci-fi thriller grounded in the visceral reality of a man trapped in the wrong life. Tonal comparisons include the existential, tech-driven paranoia of **Black Mirror**, the visceral identity-theft horror of **Possessor**, and the wrong-man-in-the-wrong-place tension of a classic noir film.