Cigarette Burns

In the dark, dusty world of forgotten cinema, a mysterious figure emerges to unravel a labyrinth of horrors that have haunted the film industry for decades. 'Cigarette Burns' takes the viewer on a haunting journey deep into the heart of cinematic terror, where the lines between reality and madness are blurred, and the very fabric of sanity is tested to its extremes. The story centers around Gordon Sims (played by Norman Reedus), a former film archivist turned independent theatre owner, whose life has been marred by the tragic loss of his fiancée in a brutal homicide. The incident has left Gordon with an unshakeable sense of guilt, a feeling that has driven him to immerse himself in the forgotten relics of cinema. The arrival of a cryptic stranger at Gordon's theatre sets in motion a chain of events that will unleash a maelstrom of terror upon him. The stranger, known only by his pseudonym, 'James (played by Jason Flemyng), commissions Gordon to find the sole remaining print of a film so notorious that its mere existence has been shrouded in mystery and its screenings rumored to have caused the viewers to turn homicidally insane. The film, titled 'Cigarette Burns,' is a 16mm short that has been the stuff of urban legend for decades. According to whispers within the film community, 'Cigarette Burns' is an unsettling, avant-garde experiment in psychological terror, pushed by the avant-garde filmmaker, Professor Mirablis. The film's dark reputation has been fueled by reports of those who watched it experiencing bizarre, unprovoked fits of rage and a descent into sheer, unadulterated madness. As Gordon embarks on his perilous quest, he is drawn into a labyrinth of underground cinemas, seedy film distributors, and cult-like fan clubs. Each step he takes ushers him deeper into a world that is a far cry from the mainstream film industry he once knew. The atmosphere is thick with dread, as the stakes escalate with every passing moment, and Gordon's obsession with uncovering the truth begins to consume him. Gordon's investigations lead him to various cryptic characters, each with their own twisted agenda for keeping the film's existence a secret. There's the enigmatic Professor Mirablis, whose sinister intentions are masked behind a facade of intellectualism, and the shadowy figure, known only as 'Father Merrin,' a figure rumored to have been connected to a string of unsolved murders connected to the film's screenings. As Gordon draws closer to the film, he finds himself trapped in a world where the very fabric of reality appears to be unraveling. The boundaries between madness and sanity start to blur, and Gordon's own tormented past begins to surface, threatening to push him over the edge into the abyss of madness. The tension builds to a heart-stopping conclusion that will leave the viewer questioning the very nature of cinema. Is it a reflection of reality or a manifestation of our darkest fears? As the stakes reach a fever pitch, Gordon's sanity hangs in the balance, and he must confront the ultimate question: can one man resist the toxic allure of the cinematic equivalent of a ticking time bomb? Ultimately, 'Cigarette Burns' remains an eerie exploration of the darker side of cinema, a thought-provoking critique of the medium's ability to both captivate and corrupt. John Carpenter's adaptation of the 'Cigarette Burns' short story by Roger Avary stands as a chilling warning about the seductive power of cinema and the horrors that can lurk in the shadows of the silver screen.