What is a Lookbook?
A Lookbook is a collection of movie stills, photographs, or any other visuals that are compiled to illustrate a filmmaker’s vision for a film. A Lookbook functions as a reference for how a film will look and feel from various cinematic elements such as cinematography, production design, or casting. Most Lookbooks aim to visually communicate ideas and concepts for things like colors, lighting styles, moods, and other referential visuals. – StudioBinder
LOGLINE
A young queer couple must navigate a world gone mad when a deadly parasitoid infects the entire population – and the only ones immune are those with HIV.
SYNOPSIS
A parasitoid is a parasite that kills its host. The insect lays its eggs in the brain, causing insanity and uncontrolled acts of violence. The fatality rate is 100 percent. The only ones who are immune are people with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
Lucas has been HIV+ for 5 years. His burgeoning relationship with Dante takes an ill-fated turn when Dante becomes infected by the parasitoid. As heavily populated areas become more dangerous, the cities are overrun with ‘Bug Chasers’ – infected who are so desperate for a cure that they will attack and bleed anyone who is HIV+.
Lucas and Dante escape to the Oregon mountains and attempt to live off the land. But as the harshness of the wilderness begins to take its toll, and Dante’s condition worsens, Dante decides to seize control of his fate and die on his own terms. Devastated by the loss of Dante, Lucas is unaware that a rabid ‘Bug Chaser’ cult has set their sights on him.
THE HIDDEN BECOME THE HUNTED
LUCAS & DANTE
LUCAS BERK
Mid 30’s. Comic Book Inker. HIV+ for 5 years. Lucas is full of depth and complexity, often appearing calm on the surface while holding rich inner layers of emotion and ambition. He is practical, independent, and self-reliant. He prefers real, measurable results over abstract dreams. Lucas is very smart, hard-working, and disciplined. He enjoys doing useful things around the house and will normally be involved in several diy projects at once. Lucas is slow to open up. He is introverted and guards his heart carefully. However, deep down, Lucas is loyal, dependable, and devoted. He simply has high walls. Lucas’ humor is understated, sarcastic, and completely deadpan.
DANTE MORENO
Mid 30’s. Independent Movie Theater Owner. Dante has deep emotional intuition, a vivid imagination, and a strong capacity for both artistic expression and devoted loyalty. He stands by close friends, family, and partners through difficult times. He easily senses the feelings of people around him and treats others’ problems as his own. His heavy emotional load can lead to unpredictable shifts in mood or sudden irritability. Because he looks for the best in people, he can be gullible or easily taken advantage of. Film gives Dante an outlet to be vulnerable, which is perfect because his feelings demand to be expressed. Dante loves weird, surreal jokes, and silly observational humor that comes out of nowhere.
PARASITOIDS
Parasitoids are defined as a type of parasite that requires the death of their host. The organism lays eggs in the host, with larvae consuming the host from the inside. Historically, such insects have been called parasites, but this is misleading. True parasites feed on a large host, but the feeding activity has only a minor deleterious effect. A parasitoid is essentially a predator – one that feeds on and kills its prey.
BUG CHASERS
‘Bug Chasers’ are people with the parasitoid who are so desperate for a cure that they hunt and bleed those with HIV in the hope of contracting the human immunodeficiency virus. Even though science has proven that the parasitoid cannot be killed with HIV after it has taken root in the body, they stubbornly refuse to believe.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant portion of the public rejected institutional medical consensus, choosing to distrust expert guidance, flout safety mandates, and resist vaccination.
‘Chaser Cults’ are comprised of the infested who are scared and insecure – searching for acceptance and community. They follow a charismatic leader who instills an “us versus them” worldview. Their actions are fueled by fear, anger, and religious fervor.
‘Rogues’ are ‘Bug Chasers’ who hunt alone – not wanting to share the cure. They are aberrant, dangerous, and uncontrollable.
Bugchasing is a real-world practice of intentionally seeking human immunodeficiency virus infection through sexual activity.
Bug Chasers have been defined as HIV negative individuals who want to become HIV positive through an anticipated and desired conversion carried out by a ‘Gift Giver’, an HIV positive individual purportedly willing to infect other individuals. – AIDScience
STORY POV
IN THE SAFETY OF SHADOWS limits the scope of a global parasitoid infestation to the point of view of a single couple.
SIGNS is a deliberately structured sci-fi thriller that focus entirely on one family on their isolated farm. By confining the narrative to their perspective, the audience only experiences the global alien invasion through the trickle-down of information like baby monitor frequencies, local radio broadcasts, and international news segments.
In KNOCK AT THE CABIN, global apocalyptic events unfold entirely through tv broadcasts witnessed by one family inside a cabin.
The characters in PONTYPOOL rely entirely on phone calls, static-filled broadcasts, and frantic reports from outsiders to understand the growing nightmare outside the radio station.
LOCATIONS
The City of Portland and the Oregon Mountains
TONE & ATMOSPHERE
Tone + Atmosphere = Mood
Lucas and Dante’s budding relationship is buoyant, cheeky, and romantic – leaning heavily into the humor and awkwardness of newfound love. While not quite “star-crossed lovers” there are cultural differences that they must acknowledge and understand about one another.
After Dante’s infection the dynamics take a somber shift. Claustrophobic. Heavy with despair. Yet deeply intimate. And despite the tragic circumstances, desolation and gloom is avoided by maintaining a fierce undercurrent of loyalty, tenderness, and dark humor.
This collision of beauty and bleakness culminates in an ending that brutal, haunting, and heartbreaking. A tragic love story.
VISUAL STYLE: COMPOSITION
Attention to environment and surroundings. Usage of negative space. Utilization of foreground items to frame the characters (frame within a frame) creating a visual hierarchy. Layering of images.
VISUAL STYLE: COLOR
Browns + Blues + Pinks
Colors of golden hour. Warm beige, dark blue, pale rose. Desaturated shadows. Nostalgic.
The future is bleak. Somber. Deep, muted, cool tones. Dusty blue, misty grey, faded sepia. Soft.
Dire circumstances. Darker shades. Loss of pink. Cold gray. Muddy brown-greens, bruised tones.
MUSIC
Inspirational Music for the Film’s Soundtrack
The music of Oliver Coates. Defined by a hauntingly beautiful, melancholic, and liminal tone. Striking a balance between traditional classical virtuosity and radical electronic experimentation, the work shifts from ethereal cinematic soundscapes to visceral drone metal membranes.
- Mood: Wistful, Dreamlike, and Intense
- Tone: Textural, Distorted, and Atmospheric
Similar Composers: Mica Levi. Hildur Guðnadóttir. Ben Frost. Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch. Herdís Stefánsdóttir.
The music of Jed Kurzel. Film scores that feature a dark, visceral, and atmospheric tone. Deeply tied to raw landscapes, isolation, and psychological decay. Relies heavily on ambient soundscapes, drones, distorted guitars, organs, cellos, and unorthodox mechanical loops rather than melodic orchestration.
- Mood: Haunting, Sorrowful, Tense, and Paranoiac
- Tone: Textural, Experimental, and Dissonant
Similar Composers: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross. Cliff Martinez. Marc Streitenfeld. The Haxan Cloak.
The music of Mark Korven. Musical style defined by an atmosphere of intense dread, visceral discomfort, and historical authenticity. There is a rejection of traditional Hollywood orchestral tropes in favor of avant-garde, acoustic experimentation. Music that is unsettling, deeply atmospheric, and unconventional.
- Mood: Oppressive, Claustrophobic, and Malignant
- Tone: Raw, Organic, and Atonal
Similar Composers: Colin Stetson. Geoff Barrow & Ben Salisbury. Joseph Bishara. Charlie Clouser.
CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO LISTEN ON SPOTIFY
DIRECTOR STATEMENT
The concept for IN THE SAFETY OF SHADOWS originated over 15 years ago. At that time, the project was meant to be a collaboration between four filmmakers. Each filmmaker lived in a different part of the world: Los Angeles, New York, Belfast, Thailand. Each filmmaker was allotted 20-25 minutes to tell their side of the story. While essentially an anthology, each story was meant to be connected to another story/stories through character relationships.
Flash forward 15 years. When contemplating ideas for a feature film project I remembered “that parasite movie”. As I began to research, I shockingly discovered that HIV stigma is not only pervasive but INCREASING! In 2024, more than 43% – up from 31% in 2021 – of adults held at least one stigmatizing belief about People Living With HIV (PLWH). HIV stigma PERSISTS and operates through fear-based beliefs, exaggerated perceptions of transmission risk, and negative attitudes. These misperceptions, including moral judgements and medically inaccurate beliefs that PLWH pose a threat to others, continue to shape public attitudes toward HIV. Currently, 32 states have laws that criminalize PLWH!
So not only is the story of IN THE SAFETY OF SHADOWS unique, it is relevant and timely. There are only a handful of horror films where HIV plays a significant role in the plot. But none of them present HIV as the saviour of humanity.
FILM REFERENCES
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026)
Aftersun (2022)
All Of Us Strangers (2023)
Antlers (2021)
Babes (2024)
Barbarian (2022)
Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Empire Of Light (2022)
Fallout (2024)
Flee (2021)
Knock At The Cabin (2023)
Leave No Trace (2018)
Leviticus (2026)
Looking (2015)
Pontypool (2008)
Signs (2002)
Talk To Me (2022)
The Secrets We Keep (2020)
Train Dreams (2025)
Twinless (2025)
