"Life at Sandy's" is a Norwegian-American horror film about how we lose ourselves in easy comforts rather than facing our difficult emotions. We aim to elevate female voices in horror while exploring how our mental health is affected by media in the package of a frightening, high concept story.

 

Life at Sandy's is a slow burn, psychological horror film blending fear and humor, like Midsommar in the familiar world of the network sitcom.

After the death of her mother from a lengthy illness, Evelyn, an aimless Norwegian-American woman, becomes stuck in a small Norwegian town. Her friends and life are back in the States, and she’s lost contact with everyone after being her mother’s caretaker for several years.

Shortly after the funeral, Evelyn’s overbearing Aunt Marit shows up, claiming she owns the house Evelyn’s been living in and forces her to find a job. Evelyn slowly descends into a paralyzing depression, exasperated by her Aunt’s hypochondria and cruel comments.

She becomes obsessed with an American sitcom and slowly recedes from real life. Sandy, the owner of the sitcom coffee shop, starts talking to her. Showing her that in their world, she can have a better and more fulfilling life. The characters Vincent and Jen treat her like she’s their best friend. Evelyn is seduced. She will soon have to choose between reality and a "perfect" sitcom life.

The story takes place in a small Norwegian coastal town. As a Norwegian-American, I spent most of my summers as a kid in Tvedestrand and Kilsund in Norway. I’ll always remember driving into town, passing the grocery store Grisen (at that time there was a giant pink pig statue) before seeing the hills and houses I hadn’t seen in a year. I’d see the flag my grandfather Bønsen had raised for my arrival from all the way up there, and we’d take a bryggesleng so that I could see everything from bokbyen to the harbor.

The story takes place during the fall, so the summer rush is over, and the town is quiet and emptier than usual. Our primary location will be our family summer house, and we will be shooting in businesses and outdoor locations all around Tvedestrand.

In the sitcom world, characters seem to experience an endless summer, when in our real world, summer will always end. We meet our protagonist at the darkest point in her life, and a post-summer Tvedestrand and Kilsund, empty of tourists and happy vacationers, is the perfect setting to explore this transition.

Announcement in Tvedestrandsposten!

THEMES

This story explores themes surrounding identity, isolation, and escapism. The horror comes from the relatability or losing oneself in entertainment rather than facing our negative emotions and trauma. The film will explore the consequences of masking our humanity with the temporary comfort of distraction, the messiness of real life relationships versus the idealized ones in media, and the insidiousness of depression and loneliness.

Sitcoms have a deep emptiness and absurdity underneath their upbeat and comedic plots. No matter what the characters face, their conflicts are wrapped up neatly by the end of the episode or season.They don’t learn, and they don’t fundamentally change. But we feel relief when these characters we are intimately familiar with solve their problems, and it can feel like we’re watching our friends achieve their goals.

The question of why we feel this way is one of my main inspirations for writing this script.

INSPIRATION

Our production will be split into two phases: principal shooting will be in Norway for approximately 3 weeks in the Fall of this year, our anticipated budget will be $24,000 for the this phase with a stretch goal of $30,000. The pie chart below illustrates how the first phase budget will be allocated. Our second phase, which includes the sitcom scenes, will take place in the United States in Spring 2023 and will involve an additional round of funding.

We are making sure that we are safe in the face of COVID-19. Our American team travelling to Norway are all fully vaccinated and will test before travelling. We will sanitize our equipment and locations and provide masks for the crew. 

Why Now?

Our American crew are all able to travel during the Fall of this year, and we are finally allowed to travel to Norway after strict travel restrictions during Covid. The script has been proven to be strong by placing as a top finalist in numerous competitions, and the horror genre needs fresh female voices. 

What Is The Money Going Towards?

 We will be flying our American crew to Norway from Los Angeles, and the rest of the budget will go towards equipment rental, feeding the crew and actors, production design, and paying the cast.

Accolades and Praise from Professional Readers

Top 10 Horror Finalist - Final Draft Big Break Contest

Top 25 Finalist Launchpad Screenwriting Competition 

  BlueCat Screenplay Competition Semifinalist

Renegade Film Festival Top Finalist

Sundance Development Lab Second Rounder

"This is an atmospheric, effectively eerie script that feels big, even with its contained settings and handful of characters. It makes for a compelling tale that explores intriguing ideas regarding the modern age and its obsession with TV.”

“Evelyn’s infatuation with the characters on Life at Sandy’s will undoubtedly resonate with audiences. To become fully engrossed with a show, to forget about the world beyond its frame, is a common occurrence, nowadays. This script takes full advantage of that fact, crafting a supernatural tale that still feels grounded through a level of realism. The writing is smooth and clear. The story is easy to follow and understandable. There’s a foreboding and a sense of dread that fills every page.”

“This is a timely, low budget horror that could play well on streaming platforms like Netflix. It isn't cast-dependent; the story itself is enough to fuel the narrative and to draw in audiences.”

“Life at Sandy’s is an inventive and genuinely creepy horror story with a fascinating high concept.”

Join us at Sandy's, where the coffee is hot and your stay lasts forever...

Pledge to the film to earn exciting incentives and to be a part of an absurd and terrifying horror film showcasing Southern Norway. You can get creepy custom art, get photoshopped into your favorite sitcom, and become involved in the film as an associate or executive producer. 

Follow the film @lifeatsandys on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for updates!

Spread The Word!

Help us reach our crowdfunding goal by sharing the project! Please share our campaign via your social media, email, word-of-mouth, chain letters, letters in a bottle, shouting from the roof etc., whatever works for you! We can't do this without getting the word out, so please share where you can.

Feel free to copy and paste the message below!

Do you love horror movies? Help filmmaker @aleksandrahandsome make @lifeatsandys a reality by pledging to an absurd and unsettling film set in Southern Norway. Join them on @seedandspark: www.seedandspark.com/fund/life-at-sandys

So pull up a chair, have a hot cup of coffee, on me...all your friends are waiting for you.