Brief

The passengers of the Titanic--the largest ship ever built--are excited to embark on her maiden voyage, but little do they know that stowed away on board with them is a 3,000-year-old mummy who will soon be awoken, eager to fulfill her terrible curse.

What We Liked

DARK PASSENGER's premise of an Egyptian mummy unleashing a curse on board the Titanic is immediately interesting and brings to mind two of the biggest films of the 1990s: TITANIC and THE MUMMY. The fact that the Titanic was a real ship that really did sink adds to the enjoyment as this story (based on real-life rumors) "reveals" that the ship sank due to the curse of the mummy on board. Very well done in this story is its theme of classism and tensions between the wealthy and working class of Great Britain in the early 20th century, which relates perfectly to those same tensions today. DARK PASSENGER excellently blends three distinct genres--horror/thriller, period piece, and murder mystery--into one exceptionally fun tale that could potentially be a highly popular crowd-pleaser. The story never takes itself too seriously, maintaining its sense of fun throughout. Comedic, scary, suspenseful, and light-hearted simultaneously and a semi-realistic period piece based on a true event, DARK PASSENGER is a summer blockbuster waiting to happen.

Film: DARK PASSENGER is best suited to film adaptation, and could be adapted successfully by indie and major studios alike. Because of its similarity to massively popular 1990s box office hits TITANIC and THE MUMMY, DARK PASSENGER is a summer blockbuster in waiting. Its merging of the horror/thriller, period piece, and murder mystery genres is unique yet commercial, and the story is a perfect combination of humor, suspense, thrills, scares, and light-hearted entertainment. A film adaptation could take a universal high-budget approach, becoming a family-friendly horror adventure such as THE MUMMY, or a more adult mid-budget route, becoming more violent and frightening, such as the more recent OVERLORD and BLOOD VESSEL. Regardless, DARK PASSENGER is the kind of fresh story that feels timeless, borrowing from popular films without mimicking them--in 2021, it's a perfect recipe for success.

TV: Because DARK PASSENGER is based around a real-life event--the sinking of the Titanic in 1912--this real-life event offers the perfect end-point for a limited TV series adaptation. As the audience knows in advance that the ship will sink, the series could build to this inevitable event, escalating the atmosphere of dread, horror and suspense with each episode while simultaneously focusing on its murder-mystery/horror plot and Sherlock Holmes-like detective character investigating a "serial killer" on the ship who is in fact an unearthed Egyptian mummy hungry for blood. As the audience knows so much more than the characters, both in terms of the ship's fate and the fact the killer is the mummy, this offers much opportunity to foster a sense of paranoia akin to John Carpenter's THE THING sustained across many episodes wherein, to the characters, any passenger could be the killer until the killer's identity is revealed. Because of the thousands of passengers onboard, there are myriad possibilities for exploring relationships between characters, secrets, flashbacks to before the voyage, etc., creating adequate tension and intrigue, until the final episodes potentially see the mummy revealed and the ship begin to sink as story and character arcs are resolved.

Key points: Excellent premise; Genre-blending to great effect; A fictional spin on a true story; Fun and entertaining the whole way through; Reminiscent of massively popular 1990s films--beloved movies of many current filmgoers' childhoods--without mimicking them.

Synopsis

EGYPT, 1909: DENNIS PARKER (American, early-30s) and his men dig in the desert in search of the tomb of ancient Egyptian KA-RE, who was buried alive as punishment for using black magic and evil deeds. BELFAST, IRELAND, 1912: Shipbuilder and Chief Designer of the Titanic—the largest ship ever built—THOMAS ANDREWS (late-30s, Irish), exhausted from years of hard work but satisfied, marvels at the Titanic, which will be embarking on her first voyage tomorrow with Thomas on board. He walks home through the foggy city and bumps into old friend Dennis Parker when gunshots whizz past. Thomas and Dennis rush to Thomas’s apartment where Dennis explains that he is being pursued by an evil man named SAHISH who wants what Dennis has discovered: 3000-year-old sarcophagus and mummy Ka-Re. Dennis will board the ship in Southampton, England, where his cargo awaits. At the Belfast shipyard, Thomas is attacked by Sahish and his men, demanding to know where Dennis is, until Thomas’s colleagues chase Sahish and his men away. Thomas boards the Titanic. In Southampton, CAPTAIN EDWARD SMITH (late-50s, British), REGINALD COTTS (60s, retired former investigator with Scotland Yard) and Dennis board the Titanic. Sahish locates the Sarcophagus in the cargo hold and opens it, horrified to see two fully formed eyes staring out at him. Ka-Re cuts Sahish’s throat open, killing him.

As the Titanic sails for New York, Ka-Re believes it is sailing off the edge of the world and attempts to sink it by starting a fire in the engines, which is discovered by Thomas and put out by him and the workers. Ka-Re kills multiple passengers, leading to Smith requesting Reginald uses his investigation skills to find the killer. Reginald, helped by Thomas and Dennis, find clues that lead them to red herrings and dead ends as the bodies continue to mount, until lookouts on the front of the ship spot an iceberg fast approaching. Ka-Re uses this opportunity to attempt to sink the ship. Invisible to the ship’s officers, she takes control of the bridge and turns the ship hard starboard, causing the iceberg to scrape along the entire length of the ship’s side. The ship begins to sink and mayhem ensues. There are not enough lifeboats for all passengers as corners were cut on the ship’s construction without Thomas’s prior knowledge. Wealthy first-class passengers are evacuated first while the poor drown on the lowest levels. Thomas resigns himself to sinking with the ship, feeling responsible. Dennis also feels responsible as he brought Ka-Re on board, but he manages to escape into the water as the ship sinks, as do Reginald and Smith. They huddle on an overturned lifeboat when Ka-Re surges out of the water. She shares a passionate kiss with Dennis, then grabs Smith and dives into the water with him, sinking him to the depths along with her. Dennis explains that Ka-Re required one final sacrifice to reach the underworld and chose the ship’s captain. He and Reginald swear to keep Ka-Re a secret as nobody would believe them anyway. They are rescued by an approaching ship and inform its passengers the truth: the Titanic sank because the company that owned her cut corners on her construction and it was not the fault of Thomas, who was a master shipbuilder. Dennis and Reginald reach New York grateful to have survived.

About The Author

Donald Allen Kirch is an award-winning author based in the U.S. He has a degree in Radio and Television Arts and is a Member of the Horror Writer's Association.