Patrick W. Hatten
Screenplays. A novel. Short Stories. Maybe even a dab of poetry. But mostly screenplays.
CURRENT SCREENPLAYS
Here's some of my latest efforts, with coverage notes and links to each synopsis. Use these links, or on a mobile device, scroll down:
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STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK -- SOUTHERN NOIR CRIME THRILLER
SUPERCHARGER -- CAR-CHASE ACTION
NIGHT ON THE RIVER -- SOUTHERN NOIR CRIME THRILLER
VULTURE HOUSE -- A "MIND FUCK" PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
TIPSY CROW -- HORROR DRAMA
GALAXY CHAMBER -- SCI FI HORROR
THE EIDOLONS -- HYBRID SPORTS/HORROR
LETHELAND -- PSYCHEDELIC HORROR
MORE STUFF!
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STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK Quarterfinalist in 2024 Page Awards; Quarterfinalist in Outstanding Screenplay Contest, 2023; Quarterfinalist Los Angeles International 2024.
LOGLINE: The investigation into a cult that’s robbing poor people of their land leads a private eye to her own father’s involvement -- and any action she takes might be a death sentence for him and her entire family.
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COVERAGE from Page:
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The concept is excellent and offers a unique take on the crime genre that feels refreshing and timely. There are elements of noir in the script that stood out to me in a more immediate way in this draft. This is a hard-boiled detective narrative with quite a bold approach!
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SUPERCHARGER Semi-Finalist in the 2020 Portland Screenplay Awards. Quarterfinalist in the 2018 Screencraft contest, Quarterfinalist in the 2020 LA Screenwriting competition, Quarterfinalist in the Genre competition.
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LOGLINE: Three young adults whose families have been severely impacted by a drug cartel decide to build the ultimate getaway car -- but when they rob the drug-runners, they set off a high-speed, high-stakes turf war that threatens the way of life they hoped to protect.
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COVERAGE from Scriptapalooza:
"…the story explores a tangled web of corruption and crime, but there are also some very real and emotive stories underneath the action and the bloodshed."
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"The writer has a clear skill for writing fast-paced, clever action sequences."
"Overall, the plot is solid with a distinct originality to it brought in by the amalgamation of the supercars and the drug cartel together with the desert setting."
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"The writer has created a concept that delivers drama and well-developed story alongside uniqueness and inventiveness. This makes the piece memorable and along with dynamic characters that display vulnerability and flaws as well as depth of motivation, there is much for the audience to enjoy....overall, this is a very strong piece of storytelling."
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NIGHT ON THE RIVER
Winner (2nd place) StoryPros Thriller, 2023. Semifinalist in LA International, 2022/3.
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LOGLINE: An ex-cop turned private eye searches for a disabled girl on the streets of New Orleans, but the closer she gets the deeper she becomes entangled in an underworld of genetic piracy – which leads back to the traumatic case that caused her to quit the police force.
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Hot, swampy, sultry, gritty, and exploding with sudden, realistic action, this is a Noir-ish crime thriller with elements of a PI mystery, a police procedural, and a dramatic slice of life along the banks of the Mississippi river.
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Coverage from Page Awards feedback:
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"Nica is a troubled, flawed, wounded, and yet competent, pro-active, and good-intentioned protagonist. This is a combination of elements that really works."
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"Overall, the dialogue is great. It sounds specific to the setting, stylized, and yet totally believable."
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"This script has a satisfying climax, where the protagonist conquers her fear, and a really powerful ending scene."
"What’s great about this premise is that it’s about a high stakes global conspiracy, while remaining situated in Louisiana and laser-focused on bringing one girl home."
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VULTURE HOUSE
A Page Awards Quarter-Finalist. LA Screenplay SemiFinalist (2021).
Logline:
An experimental treatment helps a man recover from stroke but also segregates his memory into compartments of paranoia and treachery -- then he discovers eighteen million dollars in his bank account and the conspiracies become deadly.
A twisty "mind-fuck" psychological thriller. An earlier edition was a Quarterfinalist in the StoryPros competition.
COVERAGE for this edition is from the Page Awards:
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"The execution comes in at a professional level of polish."
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"The project fits a clear genre and paradigm in the current industry...
Along the way, we get some fun and cinematic thriller business." 

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"This one is definitely up to pro expectations. Great work."
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"The solid structure goes a long way toward holding together a very twisty narrative. Not only that, it provides a sense of contour and momentum."
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"The dialogue is organic to their personalities. We buy these lines, and get some sharp beats along the way.
... This one is well-written and well-executed. The fact that everything shakes out in the end counts this as “smart.”"
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TIPSY CROW: Latest draft available on Inktip (@inktip.com). WINNER of 13 Horror contest, 2020.
SemiFinalist: Table Read My Screenplay 2020.
Logline:
Sent to live with his uncle in a rural home, a boy forms a friendship with a frozen corpse of a soldier in the woods - and quickly finds him to be his only ally against his demon-infested new home.
Purchase the book from Amazon here:
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COVERAGE from Screencraft Story Analysis:
"This is a well-written, highly disturbing script."
"It truly works
in your favor that we basically never leave the place (if you don't consider the flashbacks). It creates this ominous, demonic aura about the place and its... infestation."
...(the) "writing was fantastic, the jump scares were not many but
were effective -- every time Ruko went down in the basement and those messed up, ghostly corpses were amassed upon each other.. that was terrifying. Truly."
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"...the fight scenes are, first, engagingly interactive, they move about the space and use whatever comes handy... but also just fascinatingly gross: blood, viscera, cuts, punches, people shoving each other across rooms... there's so much to unpack... I think, visually, those scenes are gonna be impactful and a lot of fun to shoot."
"(overall), this is superbly done and we can tell that you've done the required spadework outlining the story and its dark twists and turns."

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GALAXY CHAMBER was a Quarterfinalist in the 2019 Los Angeles International contest. A Recommended screenplay by Screencraft. A WildSound WINNER. 2020.
Logline: After a cargo of cloned bodies on a starship rise up as blood-thirsty marauders, a young apprentice learns that some of the crew have reasons for planting the deadly disruptor virus -- even as he struggles with his own shattered past and empathy for the clones.
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COVERAGE from Scriptapalooza Coverage:
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" (this draft) ...each element comes together in a balanced and well executed way to create a hyper-violent, pulse-pounding, and most importantly, original, zombie survival/action/horror with an intriguing sci-fi edge."
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"...the author also manages to inject an old-school George Romero-style social and philosophical commentary, while never forgetting to deliver the goods in the form of exciting action/horror set pieces and lots of creative and gruesome death sequences."
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"The action sequences are written with great attention to detail and creativity that’s grounded through the weapons and resources available in any given location. The overall formatting and pacing is excellent.
Even the smallest supporting characters have a purpose in the script."
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"The dialogue flows really well and the technical jargon is accessible.... The settings are great, especially the various holodeck-like visuals.... The tone is perfect."
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THE EIDOLONS -- is the GRAND PRIZE WINNER in the 2017 StoryPros International Screenplay Contest.
This is an expanded draft to all previous versions.
-- A SEMI-FINALIST in the 2017 PAGE AWARDS. It received great notes, which were all incorporated in a new draft, and then was submitted for a new round of pro feedback.
-- A FINALIST in the 13HORROR screenplay contest, it was made available as a paperback and ebook.
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Logline: An amateur athlete's obsessive training regime is disrupted by a demonic ghost--and to get back on track he must solve a mystery that will unearth his own dark past.
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COVERAGE from The Page Awards Analysis:
"...this remains, at heart, a gripping story about obsession, ghosts and exorcisms... What also remains is the invention and originality of a terrific idea. It’s rare to read something as compelling as this.
"This is a story that manages to mine new horror from a seemingly mundane situation, which is the absolute mark of good horror."
"I would also say, stylistically, that this is a psychological script in the mold of horror movies that try to be more than just blood and gore."
"The dialogue is authentically wry.... Technically, the action sequences are well-telegraphed.
"This is really good, professional, technical writing."
"The style of this draft, and your great way with dialogue and detail, seems to mark this out as a kind of attractive ”post-millennial” script which reflects this generation’s obsession with self: pop culture personal targets, and I think this should be seen, stylistically, and theatrically, as a real strong point."
COVERAGE from Blacklist:
"This is a unique drama/horror script, and Mark proves to be a multidimensional lead. The backstory with Isabella is powerfully shown... The twists in the third act are outstanding...
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"The action writing in this project is crisp and efficient, but vivid throughout."
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"In tone and scale, THE EIDOLONS could roughly be described as THE SIXTH SENSE meets INSIDIOUS. The deeper meaning behind the title for this project is spectacular within the context of the story at hand."
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LETHELAND -- is Recommended by Screencraft Coverage. Filmmatic SemiFinalist, 2020. StoryPros Semi-Finalist, 2021. LA Screenplay Contest Quarter-Finalist. Portland Screenplay Awards Quarter-Finalist, 2020. Honorable Mention, Santa Barbara International.
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Logline: A young woman’s struggles with addiction are linked to her brother’s mysterious death, and when a new drug allows her to experience a hellish purgatory where dead souls linger, she must confront him in order to find her own way out.
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From Screencraft coverage:
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"Viewers looking for drug-fueled horror and existential reflection will find themselves impressed by your richly written material... Your characters are richly rendered, and you keep the tone of the characterization tightly cohesive throughout the script. Due to these two qualities, the project feels ready for the casting process."
"The way the script deals with grief and trauma is powerful – and you use inherently cinematic devices to achieve this powerful thematic layer within the storytelling. In doing so, you make sure there is a clear reason for putting the audience through this challenging, often-brutal storytelling... Additionally, your drug-fueled decent into hellish visions and traumatic examinations of characters’ pasts feels highly original."
"You do an excellent job of making the characters’ damaged psyches feel cinematic in their portrayals. There is an emphasize placed on visual storytelling and characterization at all times, which makes the material feel tailor fit for the big screen..."
"The way you characterize the demonic and supernatural becomes another stand out element of your script... The world building you create surrounding the demonic world Blacklight users see is impressively rendered."
"There’s a tightly wound structure driving the storytelling.... Each scene has a clear purpose, and you provide a wide variety of pacing styles within your sequences, which then makes the story feel less visibly- constructed."
"You enter into a near manic state of progression in your narrative, and use the increased intensity to boost our sense of tension in regard to how the storytelling will conclude.... Finally, you bring the conflict to a satisfying conclusion, helping to cement the storytelling’s power. Due to this, you’re more likely to boost audience’s word-of-mouth advertising for the eventual film.
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"(The script) "...fits into its particular niche fantastically. Due to this, the project could find success easily within an indie-horror marketplace."
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ADDITIONAL SCREENPLAYS
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RULE THE WORLD
Modern day SciFi for small cast, very limited locations, moderate VFX. This is a brand new draft as of 4/2/18. It has been through two full rounds of pro feedback. QuarterFinalist in 2018 Page Awards.
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Logline: On the run with a man who claims to be from another planet, a female veteran must decide if he is an escaped psycho, or if his plan to conquer Earth is real and maybe even worth supporting.
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THE BOY FROM PLANET X
Modern day SciFi for a PG audience.
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A teenager who is losing his eyesight after an accident that killed is grandfather spins wild yarns about a planet where his vision is restored and his grandfather is alive -- then an alien boy shows up warning of an impending invasion.
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STRANGE ATTRACTORS won SECOND PLACE in the StoryPros scifi category!
I AM CHAOS is the new title, featuring a new draft (5/2020).
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Logline: A probability predictor that is 99% accurate leads a young man to riches--then his chances of surviving another day are less than 4%.
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COLDER, ALASKA, placed top 15% of scripts in the 2014 Nicholl Academy contest, and was a semi-finalist in the Page Awards. LA Screenplay Contest Quarterfinalist (2021).
Logline: Alien nanotech causes machines to merge with dead bodies, and traps a scientist and her recon team in a remote town that will be nuked if she cannot stop the contagion.
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RESUME:
I have a BA in English, Creative Writing, from SFSU, and an MA in English from SSU, where I turned in a 1000 page historical novel as my thesis.
Hilliard & Harris published my murder mystery, CHAMPION OF THE DEAD, set in Ancient Athens, in 2003.
I wrote four science-fiction books for chapter-book readers and self-published one, GREEN'S WORLD. I am currently working on turning one of these titles into a scripted podcast series.
I have written 18 screenplays so far. Some notables:
DESOLATION GATE placed top 10 in StoryPros SciFi category.
COLDER, ALASKA, was a quarter finalist in the Page awards and top 15% of the Nicholl contest.
STRANGE ATTRACTORS, (Now I Am Chaos) won 2nd place in StoryPros and was top 15% in the Nicholl contest.
THE EIDOLONS placed as a finalist in the 2017 13Horror contest. Grand Prize Winner in StoryPros 2017.
Plus many other contest placements.
I have many additional placements. Find more details at Coverfly.
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This site's HTML editor does not support importing Final Draft or PDFs (unless you want to reformat everything by hand, so I have posted loglines and synopsis for everything. Hopefully this will improve in the future and I'll be able to post actual pages.
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​All screenplays are copyrighted and registered.
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