THE FUNHOUSE A hilariously twisted anthology series
Created by David Tappan & Kelly Tappan [email protected] 805.455.3273 Introduction The Funhouse is a hilariously twisted anthology series which blurs the lines between the real and surreal. Created in the spirit of The Twilight Zone and High Maintenance, each episode will give you an intimate peek into a world much like your own… but with a bizarre, outlandish twist.
A middle manager is stuck in a monotonous 9-to-5… until he is sucked through his toilet into a different dimension, beginning his new adventure by killing a hapless soul with his bare buttocks.
A lonely dentist falls for his dog sitter… except he secretly plans to turn her into his perfect mate: a half-dog, half-woman “Dog Lady”.
A vagrant couple living in a garbage dump is forced back into mainstream society… but who will accept this woman and her husband when he just so happens to be a macadamia nut?
Absurd, yet heartfelt and surprisingly relatable, The Funhouse is a collection of stories that are unlike any you’ve ever seen. Each episode will leave you thinking about life in a new way.
Prepare to expect the unexpected.
2 3 4 5 Tone Imagine exploring a carnival funhouse: the floors move beneath your feet, the walls breathe on you, the mirrors distort your reflection. The world as you know it can no longer be trusted.
Enter The Funhouse: where illusion and reality become one. Peek into the strangest sides of daily life and uncover the ordinary within the outlandish. The Funhouse will keep you on your toes by drawing inspiration from an unorthodox cocktail of films.
The grizzly image of a foot sticking out of a woodchipper in Fargo… the poignant wisdom a father shares with his heartbroken son in Call Me By Your Name… the shock of an acclaimed actor upon discovering that strangers are selling tickets into his mind in Being John Malkovich… the insane smile of a young woman as she watches her boyfriend burn alive in Midsommar… an introverted girl’s bumbling victory as she faces down her bullies in Eighth Grade…
Through an eclectic mix of tones, you will be taken on a visceral journey which is darkly twisted, intimately human, mind-bendingly surreal, and relatably humorous.
6 7 Characters No one can escape being put under The Funhouse microscope. Everyone from offbeat underdogs to eccentric millionaires to aliens who rent human bodies is laid bare—and they, like us, are all silently struggling with their inner demons.
They come face-to-face with their flaws and fears, and are enticed by their deepest dreams and desires. Be a fly on the wall for the sides of life you would normally never see.
Each story makes a statement about life by thrusting people into a situation which will test their character. Some stories will be cautionary tales of stagnation and spiraling despair, others will climax with triumphant rebirth and life-changing epiphany.
No matter the outcome, in every episode people are the lifeblood of the show, investing you in their journey as they navigate the mire of life toward an uncertain end.
8 9 Style The Funhouse’s style stems from the core of the show: mixing the real with the surreal. Although the style can flex to support different worlds and genres, the common aesthetic between the episodes will reflect a certain mood of something being “off”. This will give the dark comedy an edge that challenges whether you should laugh or scream.
The CINEMATOGRAPHY will be bold, camera movement will be purposeful, shadows will creep into the frame, and classic lenses will add a softer, classic look. We aspire to the serio-comedic sensibility of the films by Yorgos Lanthimos or the Coen Brothers.
The ART DIRECTION will look lived-in and down-to-earth, yet also have a slight hint of the bizarre. A post- modern home is peppered with gnome decorations… a dentist has one gold fingernail… an ordinary gas station is decorated with magazines full of gibberish. The real and surreal are each other’s yin and yang.
The SOUNDTRACK will serve as a counterpoint to the images, often being misplaced in scenes to create conflicting emotions and a nothing-is-as-it-seems vibe. Imagine an ecclectic mix of classic songs and an original orchestral score similar to hypnotic Johnny Greenwood strings, 1950’s show tunes, opera, nostalgic pop hits, and the brooding soundtrack to Enemy.
10 11 Format The Funhouse is an anthology series of 10-minute episodes that are consumable anywhere: while you’re on the subway, during your lunch break, or relaxing in bed at night. Designed to bring rich, cinematic storytelling to mobile devices, each episode delivers a lean-and-mean viewing experience. But even at ten minutes, these are big stories which would translate equally well to a larger screen.
Audiences will return week after week, not only for the unpredictable, edge- of-your-seat storytelling, but for the ensemble cast. As proved so successful in shows such as SNL, Portlandia, and American Horror Story, our company of actors will reappear as different characters from episode to episode.
12 13 Audience The Funhouse will strongly resonate with the dedicated fanbases of shows like Black Mirror and Rick and Morty, and films by the Coen Brothers and A24.
While we predict that The Funhouse will win big with millennials, the show will also appeal to a surprisingly broad demographic. Anyone with a fascination for the bizarre or a love for being caught off guard will be drawn into the absurdist shock humor in our anthology series. Intelligent viewers who love mind-bending concepts, authentic character studies, and a sprinkling of off-color humor are our fans.
But ultimately this show taps into the morbidly curious side of human nature. How many times have we all told ourselves not to look at a car wreck on the side of the freeway, but couldn’t help ourselves, and then were titillated nonetheless?
14 15 Franchise Potential
The Funhouse has been designed as a series with room to grow: episodes can be lengthened, special effects enhanced, and the ensemble cast expanded. But since the show at its heart is character-driven, it can operate with success at a more basic level.
Our bold, cinematic approach would adapt well to a variety of different platforms, from popular brands like Quibi or Funny or Die—which specialize in “snackable” content—to networks like Adult Swim, IFC, and Netflix—which feature larger screens and longer runtimes.
16 17 Episode 1 “The Threesome”
Dark Comedy / Horror
A couple tied to a bed in their underwear… a witch offering an impossible decision… an unsettling spell which makes the walls ooze pus…
Story: ANNIE and ZACH decide to have a threesome in a desperate Hail Mary to fix their relationship, but unknowingly invite a witch into their home. What starts as an awkward sex comedy turns into a nigh- marish horror. DIANA, the witch, forces them to make an impossible decision which brings years of hidden resentments and bitterness to the surface.
Theme: you can become trapped by a dysfunctional relationship which offers the illusion of love, rather than face the truth.
18 Episode 2 “Down the Crapper” Absurdist Comedy / Sci Fi Thriller
A man sleepwalks through a dreary life… a toilet trans- forms into an interdimensional portal… the hallucinatory image of a surfer hitchhiking in the desert…
Story: A middle manager named DOUG is stuck in a monotonous routine until his toilet inexplicably turns into an interdimensional portal. Sucked into an alternate world, Doug begins his adventure by landing ass-first on a stranger, killing the poor soul. Naked, afraid (and now a shit-streaked murderer), Doug simply has to figure out life in his new world—one that is strangely familiar, and yet, not. He runs into a variety of offbeat characters on his way to discovering that he has been given a fresh start in life. Will he embrace this second chance to get things right?
Theme: if you change your environment you can’t really adopt change if you’re the same person on the inside. 19 Episode 3 “Dog Lady” Dark Comedy / Psychological Thriller
An art room filled with sensual “dog lady” paintings... a hidden laughing gas lounge… an unsettling plan to create the perfect mix of dog and woman…
Story: A lovable yet over-accommodating pet sitter named DEBBIE has a bizarre run-in with her client, GERALD, an eccentric dentist with a strange obsession for dogs. What starts off as an awkward encounter steadily escalates to full-on creepy. Gerald’s twisted fantasy would send most people running, but Debbie has an irrational need to please. Will she be able to bring herself to leave before the worst happens?
Theme: if you change yourself to appease others, you put your identity in their control.
20 Episode 4 “Flesh Sac” Romantic Comedy / Sci Fi
A man unzips from his own skin in a “flesh sac” facility… an elderly woman sleeps next to her dead husband’s pajamas… a five-piece band of Elvis impersonators…
Story: A day in the life of a 60-year old woman, CHARLOTTE, grief-stricken over the loss of her beloved husband, takes an extraordinary turn when she runs into STEVE, her dead spouse, at a grocery store. This apparent impossibility is actually a well-known phenomenon—Steve is what’s known as a “body hopper”, an alien from a nearby planet renting a human body to vacation on Earth. When Steve takes a liking to her and asks her out on a date, Charlotte must decide if she will return to a life alone or go on to live a life based on fantasy.
Theme: not accepting the loss of a loved one creates a life that is emptier than the truth.
21 Episode 5 “Pit Stop”
Dark Comedy / Crime
A powerful man’s dying wish… a hogtied potion salesman… “the feeling of regret after you jump off a bridge” in a bottle…
Story: JUNIOR, the Michael Scott of bad guys, kidnaps a sales- man of mystical potions. BERNIE has learned how to bottle real human emotions, and Junior’s gravely ill father has set his son to the task of fulfilling a dying wish—to retrieve one of Bernie’s potions, “the feeling of being held by your mother as an infant child”. Tempted by the pleasures offered by Bernie’s more hedonistic potions, Junior’s plan goes off the rails and learns that these potions can be empty thrill rides or provide a bitter, life-changing lesson.
Theme: we all have voids in our life which are easier to hide from, but if you don’t face it head on it will only grow.
22 Episode 6 “Mrs. Macadamia” Dark Comedy / Drama
A hidden haven made of reclaimed trash… a gay sanitation worker confesses his love… a woman dances tenderly with a macadamia nut…
Story: MRS. MACADAMIA, a homeless woman suffering from PTSD, is haunted by past traumas. She survives in an illusory world of her own making, living outside of the mainstream in a trash heap with her husband, RICHARD. But reality is thrust upon her when she and Richard are discovered by a sanitation worker and forced to leave the security of their garbage dump. Interactions with real people, abiding by societal rules, behav- ioral expectations—she is supposed to navigate them all. But how will she find acceptance when she is burdened by her un- conventional ways and a husband who just so happens to be a macadamia nut?
Theme: you can isolate yourself to avoid being hurt again, but humans need connection and you must risk new pain to find it. 23 THE FUNHOUSE A hilariously twisted anthology series
Created by David Tappan & Kelly Tappan [email protected] 805.455.3273