********The REVIEWS are in on PERIPHERY**************
"ATMOSPHERE: The visuals you describe for the alternate world are gorgeous. I really felt as though I travelled through landscapes... with the occult energy of PRINCE OF DARKNESS and neo-noir energy of SE7EN. With a bit of Moebius imagery turned gothic and horrific. This gothic energy doesn't leave once we slip back into the real world, and that's amazing. This sort of sinister bleakness mixed with the colorful yet horrifying shapes of the periphery. Your story definitely has a visual identity, and a truly captivating one.
I loved the first appearance of the Whispers at the beginning. Now that's horrifying, perfect for an introduction. Very reminiscent of Hell's Styx, but skybound ! ...To be fair, the Acherons as a whole are pretty interesting opponents. The fact they shapeshift and are so various is intriguing, but each description you give of them is a pleasure to visualize for a horror story.
The parallel between the characters's peripheral vision and the Periphery world (and the title) is honestly captivating. As for the occult imagery (the theodolite, the fortune teller shop, the underground chamber, etc..) amazing! It was on point to make me feel like I was a disciple of Sir John Dee as well.
PLOT: I love the fact the corpses have been sent into an alternate universe. Now, that's horror. Both conceptual and classic horror. At that point of the plot, it made me totally invested and captivated.
The point of view changes regularly: that's good, that's pretty dynamic. It doesn't let the audience get bored, and help your characters show their personality off and build up.
The vulture metaphor p.12 was a really nice touch, contributed to the southern gothic horror.
The Brenda flashes moment felt really Lynchian, it was enjoyable. Most of the flashbacks have this energy!
...The sex scene between Naomi and Matt is an amazing example of Eros and Thanatos, I loved it. It felt at first like you were writing a casual sex scene as needed in this kind of plot, but no! It was relevant, intense, and horrifying. Good job, that was one of my favorite moments.
The parts where the doppelganger bodies wake up around Dr. Nichols are terrifying, one of the moments where it truly feels like a horror movie. The fact the true followers (the periphery's doppelgangers) take over their core world counterpart bodies is bone-chilling!
Let me say this straight: your writing is gorgeous... The plot is quite ambitious. It wants to be a polar, a cult horror movie, and an alternate universe story at the same time. It's going to be hard to tie all of these together harmoniously, but I salute your efforts and admire your desire to mix genres in a baroque piece like this one. Between the heart on fire, the flying dark antagonist and the elongated skeleton shadows, it's all extremely gothic and fantastic. On paper it works... I know this has potential... “
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BREFNI O'ROURKE is a New York based screenwriter actively marketing all of his materials for possible sale or option. He is the author of more than 50 original feature-length spec screenplays, primarily within the action, suspense-thriller, and horror genres. The "cinematic Brefniverse" includes:
"The Awning", a supernatural thriller, was a quarterfinalist in the 2023 WeScreenplay Feature contests. It was named a finalist in the 2022 Story Pros International Screenplay Contest and has been awarded a Coverfly badge of - Top 6% of discoverable projects. In March of 2023 it made the Red List as the # 8 ranked thriller screenplay.
"Wake", a psychological thriller, was recognized as a semifinalist in the 2022 Creative World Awards. It was recognized as a quarterfinalist in the Final Draft/Big Break Contest (top 10% of entries) and the American Zoetrope contest. It has been awarded a Coverfly badge of being among the top 22% of discoverable projects.
"Descendancy", an action-thriller, was recognized as a Quarterfinalist in the Script Lab - TSL Free Screenplay Contest 2022 and has been awarded a Coverfly badge of - Top 18% of discoverable projects.
"Moving Day", a supernatural thriller, was recognized as a quarterfinalist in the 2015 Final Draft/Big Break Contest. It has been awarded a Coverfly badge of being among the top 34% of discoverable projects.
"Panopticon", an action-thriller, was selected as a "Notable Project" by Amazon Studios (one of only 50 projects recognized as such).
"God's Work", a supernatural action thriller was optioned by The Ferla Consulting Group.
"Threshold", a horror-thriller (cowritten with Elizabeth Rowin and Greg DeRochie) was optioned by Contribution Films. (http://www.contributionfilms.com/threshold.html).
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