Before Dawn (2021)

Log-Line

A man who enters a reality show contest must spend a weekend with an estranged family. The mother of the house starts to be sadistic when she realizes he looks just like their long-lost son.

Short Story

The main character, a young man in his mid-20s, Caucasian, blond, and good-looking, at a game show, like Family Feud, but in this case, there was only one winner. He wasn't a part of a group or anything, and he won the contest. And his contest winnings were to go and stay at a ranch in the middle of nowhere with a family. As his prize.

While at the ranch in the middle of nowhere with this estranged family, he is welcomed with open arms. They had been a part of this contest, and they had many people stay at their house in the past. In the house, he meets everybody. They are super nice and super happy. They have a lot of food and are very welcoming, but the mom does not come down until later.

When she comes down, she notices him immediately. He looks a lot like their son who had died in war some time ago. She starts to freak out and goes into this frenzy fit, where she cannot control herself. She believes he is her son. Who had come back from the dead?

The main character, the contestant, has no idea what is going on. He has no idea that he looks like their son who had passed away. No one says anything, the mom screams and freaks out, her eyes are big and scary, and she is shaking. And the family tries to calm her down. He starts to look around the house. While everyone is with the mom, he sees a photograph of the son who is in military uniform. And it is true, he looks just like him.

In the middle of the night, the mom enters his room and starts to torture him. She torments him. She enrages him. She frightens him. We are not sure why. If he looked just like her, his long-lost son, wouldn't she be happy? But for some reason, she was not. The contestant never saw the dawn.