A plucky, puritanical abuse survivor moves to small-town West Virginia to start a new life for her family... until her closely-guarded young daughter and son unravel the terrifying truth about her.

(PITCH DECK AVAILABLE) 

SYNOPSIS:

Single mom Mena Watkin – frumpy, 40s -- packs up her family in the middle of the night to start a new life as in a small West Virginia town. As the new nurse at a Catholic school, Mena confides in the principal, Father Bonaventure: she is a domestic abuse survivor. She will do anything to hang onto her kids.

Under the threat of God's punishment should they disobey/speak badly of her, Mena keeps her angels -- daughter Rachel and son Jackie -- close and outsiders away. That includes Fran, the elderly widower whose home they rent. When she discovers her kids taking an innocent bath together, an enraged Mena orders them to pray to the Virgin Mary. Mena tells bedtime stories of the sacrifices she endured to be their mom.

At school, after questioning their mom, Jackie visualizes monsters attacking. Bullies steal the kids’ lunchboxes and, sickened, awaken to retaliation by Mena. Mena warns her kids that to disobey her three times will bring upon them God’s punishment.

Concerned about Mena’s unauthorized renovations, Fran makes a sinister discovery in the basement and is killed by Mena. Mena suffers from mental illness; her abuse is self-inflicted. Rachel opens up to Father Bonaventure, then visualizes monsters attacking. Suspicious, Father Bonaventure discovers Mena’s bedtime stories are borrowed from St. Philomena. Mena surprises and kills him in front of Rachel.

Mena warns Rachel and Jackie they have now disobeyed her twice. Packing to leave, the kids see Fran’s body and the stocks Mena was building to imprison them. Mena admits she’s not their mom, but disappears before the police arrive. Authorities find that Mena was committing credit card fraud and operating under a false identity. She used food-laced hallucinogens and sleep-induced hypnosis to control Rachel and Jackie, whom she abducted as babies. Mena is presumed dead while attempting to escape. Authorities confirm Rachel and Jackie are not sister and brother. Rachel – actually “Sophia” – happily reunites with her family; orphaned Jackie is placed in social services.

Years pass. Now 21, files unsealed, Sophia tracks down Jackie, a psychologically-scarred alcoholic. The two share their struggles growing up separately. Social worker-to-be Sophia explains that survivors of extreme trauma commonly bond. Romantic feelings emerge and, mostly reconciled, consummate. Still, the dark veil of Mena remains.

At their wedding photo shoot, Jackie, at last, finds a loving family in Sophia’s. Alone in the church, red herrings suggest Mena’s return. False alarm. Then Mena appears, disguised as a statue of the Virgin Mary. She lunges at Sophia before falling from the choir loft, decapitating on a baptismal font. Her last view: the cathedral ceiling mural where the Virgin Mary is surrounded by angels. Traumatized, Sophia and Jackie embrace.