This page is dedicated to the hotsheet that pitches my book as a film adaptation.
WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Title:
Those Made to Suffer
Author:
Philip Colander
Type / Length:
Book / 147,000 words, 400 pages
Genre:
Horror, supernatural thriller
Keywords:
horror, supernatural, thriller, violence, action, mystery, museum, Aztec, paranormal investigation
Market focus:
Target audience - men and women 18-35
Synopsis:
Imagine breaking into a long-abandoned, reputedly haunted museum to find that you cannot get out. That’s exactly the situation facing parapsychologist Ralph Laffoon, a 67-year-old expert on the paranormal. After an invitation to investigate the seemingly supernatural disappearances of some locals near San Francisco, he enlists younger co-workers Peter and Nigel, to assist. Joining them in San Francisco are Ralph’s granddaughter, Emily, and her husband, Tom. Their guide through the museum is local police officer, Jeff.
After trying to break into the long-abandoned museum, they are surprised when the glass immediately replaces itself, resealing the hole; the building is clearly cursed. They eventually stumble upon a secret entrance, leading them to the museum’s basement, accessed by a large metal door. As the door closes behind them, they are shocked to see a dead body lying at the edge of an underground lake. Even more shocking is that the door behind them is a one-way door; it has no way of being reopened. They’re now stuck inside and have no choice but to go forward.
While crossing the underground lake on an automated boat, Ralph is attacked by a ghostly creature that manifests itself right out of the water. He survives, but something mysterious is going on as he’s weakened a bit. It’s as if a ghost in the water has taken a part of his soul.
Having crossed the lake, the group happens upon a gold medallion with an emerald at its center. When the emerald is pried from the medallion, a ghost emerges, that of the museum’s builder and owner, who himself disappeared 15 years earlier. The ghost quickly vanishes, however, leaving behind more unanswered questions. Venturing onward, they come across the main building, where they are amazed at the amount of damage. Additionally, every room, it seems, has something that takes on a life of its own and attacks the group. One particular attack, this time from a creature made of wood, sends them fleeing to the building’s library for protection. There they finally get some answers. What’s attacking them are Los Niños, or the children of Tezcatlipoca, an evil, ancient, Aztec god. Each child inhabits an earthly element, such as water, wood, turquoise, etc. Each medallion they find can imprison a child, they just don’t know how exactly they work.
In the meantime, they’re slowly being weakened by each attack. If attacked 12 times by the children, the victim dies. While simultaneously dodging attacks and looking for a way out, the group finds the recently-deceased remains of the three missing persons they were sent to find, each having succumbed to the attacks of the children themselves. They eventually discover that the medallions can capture and re-imprison a child and are well on their way to freeing themselves. But just as they’re getting used to the idea that they know what’s going on, the real villain appears: Tezcatlipoca himself. And, he’s not happy. Ralph, Nigel, Tom, and Peter are trapped by the god into magical mirrors that torment each man with his own worst nightmare, nightmares that will lead to their deaths. Emily is also trapped into a mirror. Her mirror, however, simply transports her to a far corner of the building where the children will weaken her just to the point of death. Jeff is left to deal with the god one-on-one. Jeff quickly succumbs to the god’s powers, as Tezcatlipoca possesses Jeff. Sharing the same mind, Jeff discovers the god’s plan to impregnate Emily, a plan that will result in a new human manifestation for Tezcatlipoca that will enable him to rule the world. The plan will also result in Emily’s death.
The other men, while tormented in their dreams, soon realize the ridiculousness of the situations they find themselves in and are able to break out of the mirrors upon convincing themselves it’s only a dream. Separated from one another across the vast expanse of the building, the men eventually find one another, but have yet to see Jeff or Emily. Emily is on the museum’s top floor, fending off a possessed Jeff. Realizing that Jeff is possessed by Tezcatlipoca, Emily encourages him to fight-off the evil god’s influence. But, Jeff is too weak and Tezcatlipoca grabs hold of Emily. Upon contact, the god realizes that Emily is already in the early stages of pregnancy. She bears the brunt of the god’s fury and is thrown from a balcony to her death, to the horror of the men on the ground floor. Jeff is now livid, at both the god and his own inability to stop him. He mentally fights Tezcatlipoca for control of his own body. Jeff gains the advantage and his able to shoot himself in the head, the only way he can see fit to stop Tezcatlipoca from exacting any more devastation.
The now-deceased Jeff had no way of knowing, however, that his actions have only further enraged and enabled Tezcatlipoca. He appears as a 30-foot version of himself and takes his revenge against the survivors. Nigel, Peter, and Tom are quickly killed by the god as he uses large chunks of debris of the museum itself to crush his unfortunate victims. Ralph is the last man standing, dwarfed by the immense god. As the dust settles, Ralph spies one last gold medallion. Quickly reaching down and opening it, Ralph discovers he’s released Quetzalcoatl, the good-natured, peaceful brother of Tezcatlipoca. Quetzalcoatl banishes Tezcatlipoca, bringing an end to the terror. Quetzalcoatl breaks the curse on the museum and frees Ralph, who sorrowfully leaves to fetch the authorities to help retrieve the bodies of his friends and family, determined to live out the remainder of his life honoring their memory.
In the tradition of “The Haunting of Hill House” and “The Relic” comes a new classic in terror. Mixing the ancient Aztec with action, “Those Made to Suffer” is sure to keep horror fans on the very edge of their seats.
Author bio:
Born in San Gabriel, California, to Rick and Pam Colander. Has one younger brother, Travis.
Moved to Colorado at age four and currently lives in Thornton with wife, Michal.
Attended Mullen High School in Denver, then made it through the second semester of junior year at the University of Northern Colorado, in Greeley, before trying out for a Hollywood talent agency.
Currently works at a home health care facility in Lakewood, Colorado, as an intake coordinator.
Hobbies includes reading, watching movies, studying geography, photography, and writing.
"Those Made to Suffer" is a first-time novel. Currently at work on a second novel.
Praise / Reviews:
"I love the thriller, suspense, and paranormal genres, and this was a wonderful trifecta that sated all my appetites. An intensely satisfying novel that covers what other books lack. Being a veteran to this kind of reading, I am quite sensitive to the shortcomings of a novel. Those Made to Suffer, however, is in a class of its own due to the superb abilities of the author. It is as though Phil noted all the flaws of other books and corrected them in his. I congratulate you, Phil, on (in my opinion) joining the ranks of the seasoned authors of these fields with your first novel. Quite the accomplishment.
'Those Made to Suffer' is as detailed as any Stephen King novel. Has the shocking gore factor equivalent to Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lecter trilogy. The intensity would make Dean Koontz want to leave a light on when reading it, while the mystery would even baffle James Patterson."
"In the never-ending, mysterious museum created by Wilhelm Kraus you will find everything created under the sun, including the sun. Ralph Laffoon from England and his team of four paranormal investigators plus one police officer, Jeff Rome, find their way into this northern California abandoned museum and then need to find their way out. Why is there a problem about getting in and getting out? Well, there's a brick wall just inside the museum which repairs itself when damaged in any way. And as this is a mystery thriller, there must be an evil force at work somewhere. Do they make it out? Guess you'll just have to read the book to find out.
Philip Colander has used his rich imagination to weave his knowledge on many subjects into this ghostly tale-Greek and Egyptian mythology, dinosaurs, astronomy, rocks & minerals, Aztec history, pictographs, anthropology, archeology, architecture from different periods to name a few. His descriptive abilities are exceptional and my only constructive criticism would be to vary his approach when describing new characters, as after the first few characters, the descriptions tends to have a 'formula' feel about them. Other than that, I would say Philip is a very promising author.
As I was reading, sometimes I'd have a 'Nancy Drew' feeling about the mystery in the haunted museum with her pals, but that feeling quickly left when a main character died. With the ghostly white mists, explosive powers and transforming substances, one certainly can envision a movie version with all its special effects.
This is Philip Colander's debut novel, and I say, 'Congratulations and well done!'
It was a lot of hard work, and I'll be looking forward to your next novel."
"'Breaking the rules' has a double meaning. First, I never critique writers efforts - who am I to judge - and second, Mr. Colander's book DOES break some existing "rules". Just what those rules are is why I'm breaking rule #1 and suggesting that you buy this book. I've been reading novels of this genre' for decades and it's a refreshing change of pace from the norm. I'm sure that you'll echo my thought: "Boy, I didn't see that coming!" After reading books of this genre' for fifty-odd years, believe me, it takes something special to get me to say, "Boy, I didn't see that coming!" The last thirty-two pages were like getting the front row seat on the biggest, baddest, roller coaster - ups and downs galore. A very satisfying read!"
Other information:
"Those Made to Suffer" is a published novel and is suitable for a film adaptation.
