Soon after being hired, a hospital Chaplain begins to suspect that one of the elderly female patients, a catatonic Jane Doe, is possessed by a malevolent spirit.

SYNOPSIS:

The Chaplain - This intensely focused horror feature is Exorcist meets Shutter Island, exploring themes of isolation, mental illness, and repentance.

Logline - Soon after being hired, a hospital Chaplain begins to suspect that one of the elderly female patients, a catatonic Jane Doe, is possessed by a malevolent spirit.

Setting - A underfunded hospital that hasn't been updated in decades. Lights flicker and fail, floors are parquet tile, pipes drip.

The Chapel slowly deteriorates much like the Chaplain's mental state.

The Story

Father Lucas Mendez, a newly appointed hospital Chaplain, provides counsel and spiritual guidance to the poor souls of Saint Catherines. Upon meeting a catatonic Jane Doe, soon to be a ward of the state, he begins to suspect she might be possessed.

In Act 1, he attempts to confirm his suspicions. Jane becomes agitated during prayers and bites his finger when given communion. She smears sigils on the walls of her room. Lucas decodes these as the name of a Babylonian demon. He believes her possessed.

In Act 2, he tries to convince Paula Ascaso, a hospital administrator, of his suspicions but she doesn't believe him.

At the Midpoint, despite Paula's warning to leave Jane Doe alone, he performs an Exorcism on her. He is interrupted by staff and the Exorcism fails.

Lucas is denied access to Jane and suspended from the hospital. Fearing for her safety, Lucas infiltrates the hospital and kidnaps Jane, posing as an ambulance driver during her transfer. Paula believes Jane Does is in danger.

A follow-up with the church reveals that Father Lucas isn't a priest at all, but a paranoid schizophrenic wanted for multiple homicides - he believes his victims are possessed. He cuts the demons out of them with a ceremonial dagger.

In Act 3, Lucas becomes our antagonist as Paula races to find Jane before Lucas can "Exorcise" her. She finds him just moments before he guts Jane, but suddenly some dark, shadowy being transfers from Jane to Lucas.

Wrap Up - Weeks later, Lucas is now in a padded cell, catatonic like Jane and it is suggested possessed. Lucas was right all along.

THE CHAPLAIN