Kill Your Demon by Dena McKinnon

A troubled man sets out to kill a Demon.
His only problem: the Demon happens to be a Man of God. Or is he?

            JON (V.O.)
Might as well be written in Holy Scripture
that free men have the right to bear arms.

This is just a sampling of the to-die-for dialogue in the opening moments of Kill Your Demon – the newest thriller by screenwriter/filmmaker Dena McKinnon. The script is an intelligent blend of classic noir and psychological thriller – with a dash of supernatural horror. In other words, this one has everything.

Our protagonist Jon is convinced he’s not only seen an actual, straight-from-Hell Demon, but they’ve also conversed and – on numerous occasions – played a friendly game of Scrabble in the social hall of Jon’s church, no less.

How is this possible? It seems the Demon has taken on the appearance of Bishop Tom, a man of the cloth: black suit, white collar, three Hail Mary’s…. the whole package deal. Devilishly sneaky, to say the least.

But can Jon’s perceptions be trusted? After all, he is taking three prescribed medications. Maybe something’s counteracting – in nasty ways?

As the script begins, Jon has appointed himself the official demon-slayer of The Holy Redeemer Church. Like all good Christians, he sets out for community game night with his Bible in one hand and a handgun in the other.

Ultimately, Jon and Bishop Tom find themselves in a showdown over a Scrabble Board. Jon aims his gun at the demon’s belly under the table and waits for the right moment to strike.

Will Jon slay the beast, or murder an innocent priest in cold blood?

Kill Your Demon successfully mixes elements from several genres together for one helluva-good script. Jon’s voice over dialogue is ripped from the pages of a Mickey Spillane detective novel. The words are so gritty, you can hear the sandpaper in Jon’s voice. The Scrabble board standoff is as tense as any Wild West gunfight: two gunslingers with itchy trigger fingers… with the balance of Heaven and Hell at stake. The twist ending’s so good it’s evil. And missing the opportunity to direct this one? In our minds – that would be a sin.

Budget: Moderate. One or two simple FX. A social hall/ rec center location.

About the Writer: Dena McKinnon has had four shorts produced. One of her shorts, The Box, directed by Sascha Zimmermann, has racked up numerous awards and has screened at Comic-Con. Dena has optioned one feature, Doggone, a buddy script cowritten with Kevin Lenihan. Currently, Dena has one feature in production, The Last Call, with Leo-PR, and is writing on assignment for an undisclosed TV producer. Check out Dena’s IMDB Credits. She can also be reached at girlbytheshore (a) hotmail.

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About the reviewer:  David M Troop has been writing since he could hold a No.2 pencil. In 2011 he began writing short films for MoviePoet.com and Simplyscripts.com. His produced short scripts include INSOMNIAC and THE DINER. Born on the mean streets of Reading, PA, Dave now resides in Schuylkill Haven with his wife Jodi and their two lazy dogs Max and Mattie. He can be reached at dtroop506 (a) gmail.