(odd effects)
A feature film in development
by writer director Catherine Craig
A Mother Must Win—For Her
Family, Her Future, Her World.
They only get one childhood.
It shouldn't be this.
logline
A mother living in a women’s shelter, battling a physically abusive husband and a broken support system, enlists the help of a special FX film crew to defend against his attacks and save her children.
synopsis
Cady Langton, a fiercely protective mother and talented camerawoman, finds herself at a crisis point when her abusive husband’s attacks send her and her children fleeing in fear to a woman’s shelter.
Determined to give her children, Prism and Parker, a safe childhood, but low on resources, Cady grabs the only helping helping hands she can find; the guys at a special FX film company.
Can she get them to step out of their imaginary world to help her in her very real world?
two worlds
Cady and her children must navigate two unique and contrasting worlds that are rarely glimpsed by audiences.
shelter
The world of a domestic violence shelter, where women face the chilling reality of homicidal violence…
…not only from their abusers but from the abusers targeting the other women, and…
OddFX
…and OddFX, a funky all-male special FX shop where Cady reluctantly takes a job to fulfill shelter work requirements.…
OddFX is a world of vivid imagination, where violence is carefully crafted illusion, in sharp contrast to the harsh, real-world brutality endured by women seeking safety and refuge…
…where men with unbridled imagination and joyous creativity create things never before seen.
Each world needs something the other one has.
Cady learns she must turn her back on her past and move forward without delay. Her survival depends on reconnecting with her capacity to imagine, trust, and envision a future. Although drawn to their creativity, she finds the men at OddFX childish and self-indulgent.
Prism and Parker fear that talking to the authorities will escalate their father’s abuse of their mother. They need adults they can trust.
The guys at OddFX need to step out of their imaginary worlds and into the real one.
Can Cady trust the men at OddFX to leave their imagined worlds to help her in her dangerous one?
Will Prism and Parker overcome their troubled reality to embrace the magical, creative childhood their mother envisions for them, or will the weight of their circumstances hold them back?
characters
Cady Langton (30s) Intelligent, talented, guarded, protective of her children, self-sufficient, and not prone to suffer fools. In shock and shocked by the dilemma she finds herself in. Alienated from society—trying to reenter but wary of the cost. She is the best camera operator at OddFX.
Barrett Jones (50s) owner of OddFX, a brilliant man living an arrested childhood making special FX. Revered by a small world-wide following. He helps Cady get her foot in the door and becomes her mentor.
Prism Langton (8) A talented child whose abilities and welfare are overlooked with all that is going on. She tries to mediate between her mother and father and protect her younger brother. When it becomes too much, she escapes into dis-association by twirling. She wants help with her with her science project.
Parker Langton (6) keeps his vision and interest centered closely around him. Prism is his only constant as they shuttle between parents. The police accidentally run over his favorite toy.
Sergeant Wu (40s) Tired of seeing dead women. It’s all life and death for her. She’s lost touch with the nuances.
Teisha Ramos (30s) Outgoing, eccentric, aware, helpful to Cady and her children. She loves her dog, Frida.
Yamaha and Rocky (20s) Two of the brilliant men working at OddFX. Many have traveled great distances to work with the legendary Barrett Jones.
Thena Jones (50s) Married to Barrett. Aware, grounded, empathetic. Very little gets past her. She wants Barrett to step outside his curtained-off-world and into the real world. She sees Cady as the opportunity to get him there.
“The script deals with the issues of sexism, domestic violence, and self defense in very real and vivid ways that sends a powerful message, but it does so in an extremely cinematic way.”
“The strength of the narrative is its originality. This is a unique, singular story with a particular selection of elements which combine in a manner that has not been done in any other film. That is noteworthy and reflective of a writer with a voice and the courage to express it.”
script accolades
OddFX was selected for the prestigious The Writers Lab, sponsored by Meryl Streep, and Nicole Kidman, and NYWIFT as well as the Stowe Narrative Lab.
OddFX has twice been a finalist for the Sundance Screenwriting Lab.
“This is a very strong concept for the Indy genre and it takes on a powerful female protagonist as well as a wide array of thought provoking and politically topical issues.”
“It’s a movie, not just another screenplay! OddFX speaks to the perseverance of the human spirit and explores the essential and universal question of rebuilding life and learning to trust again. It approaches a difficult subject and tells a story in a compelling and commercially viable way, never missing a beat.”
* OddFX has also been titled Suspended Belief.
“When voices rise—through words, art, and action—change is not just possible. It’s inevitable.”
director’s statement
“If women alone could stop male violence, we would have done so centuries ago. Male violence is a male problem.”
OddFX delves into the invisible wounds of domestic violence, highlighting the resilience needed to reclaim imagination and voice. Violence not only silences but also strips survivors of their ability to trust their instincts and envision a future.
I was one of the original women studied by the UC Berkeley Center for Domestic Violence. When they told me my journal gave them their first real access into a battered woman’s mind, that was the moment I realized the power of my voice to create change, and I have been a fearless advocate ever since.
Beneath the quirky and touching surface of this independent film lies years of research and analysis—interviews with survivors, therapists, and educators. Recognizing the crucial need to engage men, I set the story in a special FX shop, a world many men might aspire to. Through our protagonist's experience there, they are invited to walk in a woman's shoes, quickly realizing the starkly different reality of that dream job."
What years of research led me to understand is that, too often, the burden of ending male violence against women has been placed on victims and survivors. If women alone could stop male violence, we would have done so centuries ago. Male violence is a male problem. Abusers don’t listen to women.
Through Cady’s journey, OddFX immerses audiences in the raw emotional and psychological landscape of a survivor. It offers an unflinching look at trauma, yet also celebrates imagination as a vital tool for survival and transformation.
OddFX challenges all the good men out there who want to help but don’t know how not to be bystanders. It asks them to listen, confront the consequences of inaction, and recognize that being part of the solution can be as simple as speaking up.
My goal is to ignite a crucial conversation—especially among men—about their power to dismantle the cycle of violence. When voices rise through words, art, and action, change isn't just a possibility; it becomes inevitable.
why this film now?
WOMEN ARE A PRECIOUS GLOBAL RESOURCE
Everywhere on Earth, we face a future of unprecedented challenges. Climate change threatens every region of the planet. Pandemics, poverty, and war remain persistent global crises. Humanity must come together to confront these threats.
But we cannot do so while ignoring a crisis that affects nearly one in three women worldwide. An estimated 736 million women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from a partner, non-partner, or both at least once in their lives. This staggering scale of domestic and sexual violence is not only a human rights issue — it is a direct barrier to progress.
To unlock the creative potential of millions of women physically and emotionally harmed by such violence, we must first confront the cultures that allow it to persist. We cannot afford a world in which women are forced to fight for their lives in their own homes — especially when their voices and ideas are essential to solving the world’s most urgent problems.