sean francis ellis

THE LEGEND OF YAKATUTCH (FEATURE SCREENPLAY)

LOGLINE: When hunters are found in the Canadian wilderness with their hearts torn out, a young First Nations man learns he is descended from a legendary creature, and must embrace his mother’s heritage to destroy it, before a biotech company captures it for their own sinister purpose. ​

SYNOPSIS:  While snowboarding in the remote Canadian Yukon, Scott (19), is attacked by an unidentified predator and seriously wounded, while his girlfriend, Arianne (18), is taken by the animal and feared dead. Local authorities believe it was a grizzly attack, but Scott believes it was something far more dangerous, and tells his father, a Zoologist, who suspects a link to mutilated hunters recently found in a wildlife reserve. When Scott's wounds heal almost overnight, his father tells a pharmaceutical company, which wants to capture the creature and exploit its healing DNA.

Believing Arianne is still alive, Scott tells Matusa, a Park Ranger and First Nations man, who fears she was taken by Yakatutch, a legendary creature living in the ice fields. Yakatutch was once a fearsome warrior, who was transformed into a creature, centuries ago. Since then, his descendants have been trained to defend the village, if the creature returns. Matusa reveals a secret kept since Scott was born: Matusa is Scott's uncle, and they are descendants of Yakatutch, making them the only ones who can stop it. Joining his father and the trappers, Scott and Matusa fly to the mountains and find Arianne alive, inside the creature’s cave. But Yakatutch slaughters the trappers, demonstrating its intelligence and ability to heal itself. Returned safely to the town, Arianne warns the authorities that Yakatutch was protecting her, seeking to restore its humanity. As the creature approaches the town, Scott must embrace his mother’s heritage and destroy Yakatutch, before it finds civilisation.

Set in the frozen wilderness of the Yukon Territory, Canada, THE LEGEND OF YAKATUTCH is a feature screenplay, combining Action, Adventure & Horror.   Comparable films: ANTLERS, KING KONG, THE WHITE BUFFALO, JAWS, JURASSIC PARK, PREY (2022). Click to DOWNLOAD the Creative Deck as a PDF.

https://vimeo.com/470881422

SHADOW MEN (Feature Screenplay)

SHADOW MEN is an action-packed Science-Fiction / Thriller in the style of John Carpenter classics The Fog, They Live and Escape From New York.  The feature screenplay is co-written by Sean Francis Ellis & Kent Hill.  

SYNOPSIS: Hoping to start a quiet new life, retired Special Forces soldier, Tom Chambers, arrives in a small town where his friend (also retired Special Forces) recently settled down. But Tom’s friend has disappeared, and no one in the town seems to know anything. With local bar owner, Rachel, Tom uncovers the town’s secrets, which lead to a water-bottling plant where strange occurrences suggest extra-terrestrial activity, and a cover-up with implications for all of humanity.

Comparable films: FIRST BLOOD, THEY LIVE, FIRE IN THE SKY, SUPER 8, THE X FILES, THE FOG, RED DAWN.

one big night (feature screenplay)

LOGLINE: When a guilt-ridden young DJ is recruited by a charming but dangerous nightclub owner to stage a teen dance party, he discovers the event is a front for human trafficking - the same crime that killed his brother - and must risk everything to expose the truth before the night ends.

SYNOPSIS: When 23-year-old DJ Sam Hernandez lands a residency at Hollywood's elite System nightclub through owner Lester Cruz, he believes it's his long-awaited break — and a chance to realize his dream of opening a teen dance club, inspired by the tragic death of his younger brother Carlos at a similar event six years earlier. Lester funds Sam's vision, tasking him with staging a sold-out Halloween teen dance party at a derelict North Hollywood theatre, while Sam and his loyal friend Diego hustle to promote it against the clock. As the party approaches, Sam discovers that Lester had his predecessor DJ Money killed, and that Lester's real motive is using the teen event as cover for a human trafficking operation — the same network responsible for Carlos's death. Lester's assistant Julieta, who has been secretly informing for Detective Cross while searching for her own trafficked sister, convinces Sam they must go through with the party to catch Lester in the act, or risk becoming his next victim. Facing the darkest moment of his life, Sam chooses to stand his ground, determined to expose Lester, honor his brother's memory, and protect the teenagers who show up trusting him on the one big night he always dreamed of giving them. ONE BIG NIGHT is a Coming-Of-Age Crime/Drama/Thriller, set in Los Angeles. Comparable films: TAKEN, RISKY BUSINESS, GO, 21, BEVERLY HILLS COP, RUNNER RUNNER, THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS. 

Angel dust (short screenplay)

Inspired by Australia’s most notorious case of police corruption, ANGEL DUST is a short film screenplay, developed for director Toby B. Styling of Bluesteel Films. Kitty, a 20 year-old international law student, finds her boyfriend, Jackie, brutally murdered. When the police deem the case an accidental suicide by overdose, Kitty starts asking questions of her own. Kitty learns that Jackie was embroiled in Sydney’s criminal underworld, trafficking drugs for the Triads, to pay off his gambling debt.  

Before being murdered, Jackie revealed to his colleague, Alfonzo, that he recorded evidence to bring down the corrupt detectives who were framing him. Now, those same detectives believe Kitty knows too much and must be silenced. In a bold gamble to find justice for Jackie, and save her own life, Kitty and Alfonzo join forces to bring down the corrupt cops who murdered her boyfriend.  

CLAWS  (short film, 2011)

Geek Tyrant article promoting the short film, 2011 - Short Film: The Yakatutch is on the loose and bearing his CLAWS

Dread Central article promoting the short film, 2011 - The Yeti Bares its Claws in New Short Film

Undead Backbrain article promoting the short film, 2011 - Weekend Fright Flick: Claws … and Exclusive News