SYNOPSIS
A reporter with a suicidal family past is tasked with investigating an attempted suicide of a person who recently stayed in the Yuma prison's Dark Cell.
Dark Cell is the third project from Paisaen Productions. The movie is centered around the Historic Yuma Territorial Prison. The center of the movie revolves around the escape attempt in 1887 where four inmates took Superintendent Gates hostage in order to escape. In reality, Gates was stabbed in the neck, but he lived and the four inmates were shot dead by the guards.
Dark Cell opens up in 1887 at the Yuma Territorial Prison. Inmate Puebla holds Superintendent Gates hostage and he demands that the Guard drop his gun. Fearing for the safety of the Gates, the Guard relinquishes his gun and it falls to the ground. Puebla then forces Barney Riggs, a trusted inmate, to pick up the gun and shoot the Guard. Barney picks up the gun, but doesn’t want to shoot anyone. However, a second Guard bursts onto the scene surprising Barney who flips around and accidentally shoots hims dead.
At the bang of the gun, the Dark Cell takes us to 2014 where we meet COLTEN WEST BANKS, an angry man who’s never had time for a wife or a girlfriend, ever. He’s a reporter who works for Frank, the editor at a local paper. They meet at a gun range, which is difficult for West, because he has told the story over and over that his father shot his mother and committed suicide when West was a boy. West hates guns and believes that he is just like his father, which explains why he has never dated. He doesn’t want anything bad to happen to her like it happened to his mother.
The meeting is to discuss West’s latest story. A story about gun control and how the 2nd Amendment never meant to grant everyone the right to guns. Needless to say Frank is against the article and won’t print it.
Instead, Frank assigns West to investigate Samuel Jacobs, a man who attempted suicide. West clearly doesn’t want to get involved with another suicide story, but has no choice. And, as it turns out, Sam stayed the night at the historic Yuma Territorial Prison’s Dark Cell. In fact, Sam is the ninth person to stay in the Dark Cell and ninth to attempt suicide.
West visits the hospital in an attempt to talk to Sam and we find out that Sam is the same person who shot the guard at the beginning of the story. However, West doesn’t know that yet. West gets no information from Sam and must now spend the night in the Dark Cell. He’s not afraid of the Dark Cell, he’s afraid of what the Dark Cell might lead him too.
West makes plans to spend the night against the advice of the prison curator. As he makes his bed for the night, a scorpion bites him and causes him to pass out.
West opens his eyes and finds himself surrounded by guns. And he’s wearing a gray and white striped prison suit. Holy crap, West is in 1887. He soon meets the beautiful Pearl Heart who openly longs for Barney Riggs. Yes, there were women in the Yuma prison at that time. Pearl thinks West is Barney Riggs. Why? Because West ported into the body of Barney Riggs. Everyone thinks West is Barney Riggs. Except Charles, who ported into the body of another inmate and has been stuck in 1887 since the 90’s. When he discovers West, he wants West to help him return home. But how? West has no idea why or how he got there.
As West tries to figure out what is going on, he meets Puebla. And, Barney, before West arrived, made plans to supply Puebla with guns for an escape attempt. Now West is stuck providing something that he despises to Puebla, who is a viscous killer and does not play games.
West avoids Puebla as best he can and figures that if the Dark Cell brought him to the prison the Dark Cell has to take him home. So, West concocts a plan to get thrown back into the Dark Cell. Charles hopes it works as West finds the biggest inmate he can to pick a fight. Why do they always find the biggest guy? Why not the smallest guy?
West approaches Bustamante, one of Pueblas henchman, and sucker punches him when he thinks the guards are watching. Unfortunately, the guards were not paying attention and believe Bustamante started the fight and throw him into the Dark Cell. West needs a new plan.
Pearl presents the perfect opportunity. West and Charles make arrangements to have one of the guards catch West in her prison cell. Pearl is all too happy to have him in her cell and soon finds out that he has no idea how to handle a woman. She is ever so glad to teach him and they make love before the guards find him. The plan worked and West is thrown into the Dark Cell.
West wakes up in the morning with hopeful thoughts of finding himself in 2014. But alas, he is still in 1887. And Puebla is putting the pressure on. He has threatened to hurt Pearl if West does not provide the guns. West has no choice and provides Puebla with five guns.
As Puebla takes Gates hostage, we find out that West has sabotaged the guns. Puebla has to come up with a new plan. He pulls a knife and stabs Gates in the neck forcing the Guard to drop his gun, which he does. Puebla orders West to pick up the gun or he’ll stab Gates again. West has no choice and picks up the gun. Wow, it’s exactly like the gun his Father taught him to shoot.
West’s hand trembles something fierce as he remembers the day his mother died. He was lying under the bed while his Father was arguing with his Mom. A gunshot rings out. His Mom’s body falls limp on the floor and her eyes stare straight through him. Blood seeps from underneath her body. His Father now turns his vengeance on West, yelling for him, searching. West hides, but when he thinks the coast is clear he enters the hallway, but is confronted by his father. They exchange a few words. And it’s at this very moment that is the epiphany of the this story and what will decide the outcome of West returning to 2014 a normal person or as another attempt at suicide.
Stay tuned for the movie and I hope you like the synopsis.
The DARK CELL!
