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| Richard (D. Duckie Rodriguez) and Sue (Lowrie Fawley) from the prologue film "The Family Way: Coming Home" |
SHORT SYNOPSIS
The Family Way is a unique twist on an old horror story, combining powerful themes of self-discovery, self-awareness, and self-preservation with a truly unusual cast of characters that will leave audiences rooting for the bad guys.By all appearances, gas station owner Richard Cultry is a pillar of a small community. He's a family man with a doting wife, a well-educated son, and a heart large enough to adopt a mentally-challenged boy and a socially-awkward teenager.
However, everyone in his household is also a vicious killer. In the tradition of the infamous Bender clan of the late 1800s, the Cultry Family preys on travelers and everyone has a role to play in the real family business.
After springing their trap on a group of vacationers, the Cultry family discovers that one of their intended victims may have the potential to become one of their own.
WRITER'S STATEMENT
The Family Way was written by Shiva Rodriguez and D. Duckie Rodriguez, based on a story by Shiva Rodriguez.There is a common trope in the horror film industry, that of the “psycho killer family”. It's a hell of a fun trope and it works in quite a few circumstances, but it doesn't really stand out in other ways with horror films. It's very hard to care about the antagonist, which has become a much stronger trope for quite a few decades.
We started out imagining just how such
a family could ever come to be and it became clear that anything we
had ever seen on the big screen just wouldn't ever work. Loosing a
bunch of rabid dogs only leaves you with a single survivor. Not a
bad premise for a film, but unsatisfying, as our question remained
unanswered.
So we followed the second trope, and we
modeled our characters after very real serial killers. We put
together a group of people that you cannot help but like. We got rid
of the maniacs bursting through blood-spattered walls and replaced
them with people who are proud of themselves and their ability to
blend in with the real world.
We basically came up with a family that
formed under some strange but not impossible circumstances, whom we
genuinely want to know what happens to them. This was very different
from the families that you simply wait for some explanation of how a
survivor eventually overcomes them.
Richard Cultry
Sue Cultry
The only one of Richard's victims to ever survive, Sue developed an emotional attachment to him during her captivity and proved herself to be useful for him to keep around. Sue now runs the business side of things, being both computer-saavy and very resourceful in unloading the possessions of the family's victims. Sue is also the one who polishes the family's outward appearance, being the epitome of a good housewife and mother.
Jeffrey Cultry
The natural son of Richard and Sue, Jeffrey was raised from birth to live a double-life. Well-mannered and very intelligent, his special knowledge in human anatomy led him to pursue an education in medicine. Although he has his mother's love in abundance, Jeffrey constantly strives to win his father's affection... all the while knowing that Richard is simply incapable of such emotions.
Marty Cultry
Marty was abducted by the family at a young age to satiate Sue's desire for another child. Jealous of Jeffrey's preference for his father, Sue smothered young Marty with the full force of her parental affection which resulted in him becoming the quintessential "Mama's boy". Although he is almost seventeen years of age, Marty's emotional makeup and logical thinking remains to be that of a ten-year-old boy.
Crawford Bennington
As a teenager, Crawford was a rogue killer known as the "Blood Artist". Fortunately, Richard and Sue tracked him down before the police could. Having grown up to become a very handsome and charming man, Crawford has an eye for the ladies and continues to use them for his art.
Tony Cannon
A not-quite-successful businessman with a lot of anger management issues, Tony believes that the keys to success are always being right and projecting the image of perfection in every possible aspect of his life. This image is constantly being shattered by his less-than-perfect spouse.
Vivian Cannon
Vivian is Tony's trophy wife. While she is certainly young and beautiful, she has very different ideas about how to find happiness in life. While suffering under her husband's abuse, she often escapes into her own little fantasy world.
Greg Wellis
Greg is Vivian's younger brother. He's an aspiring actor who has just finished his first leading role. Although his star is on the rise, Greg is also very gullible and often makes poor life choices that trap him into miserable situations.
Jessica Flounce
Jessica is Greg's beautiful fiance who sees him as being her ticket to stardom. Desperate for a glamourous life of limousines and red carpets, she'll do anything to get what she wants.
THE CHARACTERS
Richard Cultry
The patriarch of the Cultry Family. In his younger years, Richard was
very active as a sadistic lust-murderer who would kidnap young women and
keep them locked up for months in his cellar until he grew tired of
playing with them. Now that he's much older, he is content to just
engage in his favorite part of the ritual... the luring and capturing of
his prey... while letting his sons have their fun with the captives.
Sue Cultry
The only one of Richard's victims to ever survive, Sue developed an emotional attachment to him during her captivity and proved herself to be useful for him to keep around. Sue now runs the business side of things, being both computer-saavy and very resourceful in unloading the possessions of the family's victims. Sue is also the one who polishes the family's outward appearance, being the epitome of a good housewife and mother.
Jeffrey Cultry
The natural son of Richard and Sue, Jeffrey was raised from birth to live a double-life. Well-mannered and very intelligent, his special knowledge in human anatomy led him to pursue an education in medicine. Although he has his mother's love in abundance, Jeffrey constantly strives to win his father's affection... all the while knowing that Richard is simply incapable of such emotions.
Marty Cultry
Marty was abducted by the family at a young age to satiate Sue's desire for another child. Jealous of Jeffrey's preference for his father, Sue smothered young Marty with the full force of her parental affection which resulted in him becoming the quintessential "Mama's boy". Although he is almost seventeen years of age, Marty's emotional makeup and logical thinking remains to be that of a ten-year-old boy.
Crawford Bennington
As a teenager, Crawford was a rogue killer known as the "Blood Artist". Fortunately, Richard and Sue tracked him down before the police could. Having grown up to become a very handsome and charming man, Crawford has an eye for the ladies and continues to use them for his art.
Tony Cannon
A not-quite-successful businessman with a lot of anger management issues, Tony believes that the keys to success are always being right and projecting the image of perfection in every possible aspect of his life. This image is constantly being shattered by his less-than-perfect spouse.
Vivian Cannon
Vivian is Tony's trophy wife. While she is certainly young and beautiful, she has very different ideas about how to find happiness in life. While suffering under her husband's abuse, she often escapes into her own little fantasy world.
Greg Wellis
Greg is Vivian's younger brother. He's an aspiring actor who has just finished his first leading role. Although his star is on the rise, Greg is also very gullible and often makes poor life choices that trap him into miserable situations.
Jessica Flounce
Jessica is Greg's beautiful fiance who sees him as being her ticket to stardom. Desperate for a glamourous life of limousines and red carpets, she'll do anything to get what she wants.
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