Brief

In 1888, a down on his luck captain agrees to ferry unknown cargo across Lake Erie for university scientists willing to pay extra to keep their secrets. Little does he know that their crates contain an alien that crashed to Earth and isn’t as dead as the professors initially assumed. As the alien begins to pick off both crew and passengers alike one by one, the captain must do whatever he can to protect his ship and those left alive.

What We Liked

The story starts strong with the alien’s crash landing and carries on at a fantastic, breakneck pace throughout. The alien’s slow path through the crew and passengers, picking them off one by one, is so smart because it increases the suspense. The audience knows what’s going on before anyone else, which keeps the dramatic tension high, too. We’re terrified to see who it will come across next, just as fear grows among those on the ship. What’s more, Charlotte’s character is unique and inspiring. She’s a female sharpshooter who’ll do whatever it takes to protect herself and her son, and she’s soundly one of the heroes in the story. That’s so rare in a male-dominated story, especially for one set in the 19th century.

Film: From beginning to end, this is a sci-fi horror film waiting to happen. It’s quick and concise, and the story is left pleasingly open at the end. With all the thrilling elements and tangible atmosphere one could want, a straight adaptation of the book in its current form would work well. The plot is already well-structured to that end, and the contained atmosphere keeps the budget manageable. This would make for a memorable and rewatchable film that would find an easy path to success and a large fanbase. It can be simply pitched as “ALIEN set in 1888,” too.

TV: All of the main characters leap off the page and are original and memorable in their own ways. From Charlotte, who’s a better shot than any of the men, to Jericho, a compassionate captain burdened by the loss of his wife, everyone has singular traits and unique dialogue. Television is the perfect way to capitalize on how strong these characters are, and it’s easy to see this as a limited (or even anthology) series. It could be structured similarly to something like THE TERROR, which delves deep into each character in individual episodes while still driving the overall narrative forward.

Key points: Authentic, eerie atmosphere; Easily adaptable structure; Truly terrifying moments and ideas ; Strong characters; High concept

Synopsis

Professor WILLIAM ROSS’s dreams come true when an alien craft crashes onto his BROTHER’s farmland in Ohio in 1888. Though he’s unpopular with others in his department, Ross gets to lead the research team in collecting the remains of the crash — and the alien inside it. He hires a ship to take them across Lake Erie back to Buffalo and pays CAPTAIN JERICHO MANNION extra to keep the contents of the crates entirely confidential. Jericho and his first mate and brother in law, TAL, hate not knowing what they’re transporting, but they need the money to keep the ship running. The few passengers aboard are also going to Buffalo, so Jericho decides to make a straight shot for it. Only a few on Ross’s research team know about the alien body traveling with them, and no one expects its pieces to join back together. The alien is weak, but the more humans it consumes, the stronger it gets. Its food source is plentiful on the ship, and it begins by picking off the WATCHMAN the university employed to watch over the crates in the cargo hold. When Ross learns what has happened, he doesn’t tell Jericho. He wants to communicate with the alien, which clearly has far superior technology to their own. A body here or there is no matter in pursuit of the scientific greater good. Jericho only learns there’s something amiss when widowed passenger CHARLOTTE GORDON’s son BENNY swears he saw a sea monster eat someone while he was exploring the ship.

Jericho confronts Ross when he finds what’s left of the watchman, but the alien is already onto its next target, a CREW MEMBER this time, causing the ship to malfunction. Jericho sees to the ship as Tal gathers everyone else in the central parlor. Tal forces Ross to tell everyone what’s going on, and the passengers and crew alike are understandably shocked. Ross insists they must try to communicate with the alien. Against his better judgement, Jericho agrees that if they’re able to capture it safely, Ross can try. When Ross and ANOTHER PROFESSOR attempt to, Ross ends up feeding his coworker to it to save his own skin. He lies to the others about what occurred, and everyone else agrees it’s too dangerous and must be stopped.

Jericho realizes they can’t dock with the alien on the ship without risking it coming ashore. He and Tal hatch a plan to steer into a bay where they can get everyone onto lifeboats and row to shore. Then Jericho will scuttle the ship in the deepest part of the lake to protect humanity. While Jericho gets everything ready, Tal stays with the passengers to try to defend them. He learns that Chalotte is their best defensive chance, as she used to be a sharpshooter in a Wild West show. While Jericho skulks around his own ship hoping not to draw the alien’s attention, Tal and those gathered in the parlor hatch a plan to kill it. They’re nearly successful in cornering it so they can attack, but Ross gives away their position to save it.

When Jericho gets the ship to calm enough waters, Tal and the remaining crew shepherd everyone to the lifeboats. To Tal’s dismay, Jericho is staying aboard the ship to ensure they’re successful. Professor ALFRED WALKER cautions Jericho that drowning the alien likely won’t be enough since it reanimated before; Jericho needs to blow it up. As the two lifeboats hit the water, Ross stages a last attempt to get his way. He holds the BARTENDER piloting his own boat at gunpoint and demands to Tal, in the other boat, that he needs to go back up. Tal doesn’t want anyone else put in harm’s way, and Charlotte puts her skills to use and shoots and kills Ross from the other, rocking boat. They leave him to the lake and row to shore. Jericho is killed by the alien, but he manages to rig the the ship to explode first. A year later, the official story is that the boiler exploded on the ship. There’s been no sighting of the alien since.

About The Author

William Todd has been writing online for nearly 20 years, primarily writing horror stories in the style of Poe and Lovecraft.