THEME: a crush/ leads to/obsession and potential danger of being trapped in a state of delusion that can lead to death
PREMISE: An innocent crush turns into a deadly obsession when Isaac lets his imagination dictate his actions. Isaac a Jamba Juice employee creates a world of fantasy in his basement where he and Alex are a couple. Isaac creates an Alex shrine including a life size statue (he makes) —he speaks with the Alex statue giving it a personality and influence over his actions. Actions that lead him to kidnap the real Alex holding her hostage in his basement world. The struggle to escape/rescue (Gabe discovers Alex was kidnapped by Isaac and is being held hostage in his house) leads to the deaths of both Isaac and Gabe.
PROGRAM: Isaac moves to the city with his sister after his mother's death. He sells their farm and buys a small house with his and his sister's share and finds a job working at Jamba Juice, where he encounters Alex, and claims love at first sight. His crush turns into obsession when he begins gathering images of her to compose a shrine complete with a life size statue. He begins interacting with the statue giving it a personality and control over his actions. He is convinced to kidnap her. In kidnapping her the characters desires and characters are picked at. (Isaac) overarching desires: Alex, to have a happy cheerful life void of the world, where Alex is completely dependent on Isaac in terms of protection. (Alex) overarching desires: marriage, cohesive family unit, a break from her demanding lifestyle, comforted by Gabe. Stuck in delusion Isaac causes his own demise
TREATMENT: Isaac grew up with his mother and an older sisters (autistic, Lindsey) in a small farm community in Wisconsin. His abusive Father, was killed by his mother in self defense. His Mother went crazy from the guilt and became a recluse in her room. Isaac took care of his mother and Lindsey until she(mother) killed herself (swallowing a blade). Isaac then moves to the city with Lindsey and gets a job at Jamba Juice where he sees Alex. Alex is the all around nice girl who was orphaned along with her brother during her teens. She was the rebellious teen that was forced to grow up and care for her younger brother(Artie). She is very independent, but is forced to live a routine lifestyle, one agenda driven. She has a boyfriend named Gabe that is hesitant to commit. Isaac has a crush on Alex who is a regular at Jamba Juice. Isaac's crush very quickly becomes obsession.
He begins to gather surveillance images of Alex and posts them in his basement. This montage of images turn into a shrine. He becomes very attentive with Alex at work, but their relationship never surpassed a cordial acquaintance. Alex often comes in with her boyfriend Gabe who notices Isaac's crush on Alex and makes a mockery of it. One day Isaac brings Alex's drink to her table and notices her Facebook page. He then begins stalking her on Facebook, to the point where he is convinced he knows Alex very well and is in love with her. As his shrine grows he begins to make a life size statue of her. While constructing it he has various conversations with her statue how they should decorate the room, what kind of furniture they should buy, should we get plants? How many kids are we having?....etc. All revolving around their lives together. The basement becomes a place of fantasy where Isaac creates another life that only involves him and his beloved Alex. Isaac tells Lindsey about his “girlfriend” Alex, whom she will meet soon. One day Alex comes in for her drink upset about her non committal boyfriend. At this moment Isaac decides that he is the only one that can keep her happy.
The next day the Alex statue convinces him that they get married, but in a laps of frustration at the statues stone reaction after the proposal he realizes the statue isn't real. Isaac plans his next move-kidnap Alex. When Alex comes in for her drink, Isaac drugs it, walks her to her car because she looks ill, and has her sit in the passenger seat for a while till she passes out. He goes back in to Jamba Juice and after 15 minutes asks for his break. He goes to her car grabs her keys and quickly leaves her in his basement and returns to work, carrying on with his day. A couple days pass, Artie frantically calls Gabe, by this point Gabe is worried, Alex is no where to be found and isn't answering any calls. He files a police report, and decides to look for her. He confronts Isaac who says nothing useful. Isaac's peculiar behavior leaves Gabe uneasy. He follows him, realizing there is something odd. Lindsey discovers Alex is trapped in the basement confronts Isaac, but he very angered sends her to her room. Gabe sees this through the window and is convinced Alex is in his house. Gabe enters but is discovered by Lindsey, who decides to help him. He gets to the basement, finds Alex, and attempts to rescue her but Isaac appears and a fight breaks out leaving Isaac injured and Gabe dead. Alex convinces Isaac to let her loose so that she can help him; he does, she tries to escape, but they break out in a struggle where Isaac ends up being killed. The police as always arrive late and a distraught Alex is crying over her dead boyfriend's body.
BEHAVIORAL COMPOSITES:
Isaac is a timid, nerdy/awkward, nice guy who spends his time daydreaming. He is traumatized due to his upbringings, and chooses to construct his own reality . Isaac is characterized by his body language and facial expressions. He is the antagonist, but his innocence at times calls for pity. The Alex statue is manipulative, very nice/submissive, and dependent on Isaac for security. Alex is very much a victim of her stolen youth. She was forced to mature quickly and posses many insecurities but brushes them off with a smile and her independent character. Gabe is the heroic figure, an all-American jock guy.
