desert_hot_springs_v4 cover
Horror

desert_hot_springs_v4

by Kelci Loring

September 11, 2026Draft19 pages

Desert Hot Springs is a darkly comic, blood-soaked female friendship thriller set in the sun-blasted wilderness outside Southern California, where Kelci—fresh from a crushing breakup—joins her spiritual-but-spacy friend Sky and too-perfect Alex for a healing weekend that spirals into terror. What begins as a goofy intervention of burned hoodies, psychedelic pendulums, and reluctant vulnerability becomes a fight-for-survival nightmare when a hooded, machete-wielding hermit claims the valley and the trio must rely on wit, loyalty, and unexpected courage to make it out. Equal parts cringe-y chick-lit banter and pulpy slasher, the screenplay mines grief, empowerment, and messy friendship for both laughs and shocks.

Format & Technical

Short

Meet the creator

Kelci Loring profile

Kelci Loring

(Kelci Fargnoli-Peterson)

Actress, Writer, Producer, Director

Kelci Loring is a Los Angeles-based actor, writer, producer, and filmmaker with a passion for creating original stories. She holds a B.S. in Musical Theatre and has trained with Jason Alexander, Lesly Kahn, Scott Sedita, and The Groundlings. As the executive producer of the monetized comedy web series Hot & Funny, Kelci creates and produces comedy that challenges the idea that women can't be both funny and attractive. Her acting work includes Love, InCall, and Fish Out of Water, for which she received a Best Actress nomination. She is also developing original projects, including Desert Hot Springs, a horror-comedy with the theme of letting go of the past. Beyond film and performance, Kelci has extensive experience in arts education, teaching acting, improvisation, filmmaking, and creative storytelling to young performers. She loves inspiring the next generation of artists of both stage, screen, and behind the scenes.

Screenplay Analysis

Analysis of Desert Hot Springs

Statistics

13Scenes
15Est. Pages
286Lines
3555Words

Characters (8)

Showing top characters
ALEX
“20's, male, fit, well groomed”
45 linesmale20s
KELCI
“20's, female, fair skinned, athleisure wear”
45 linesfemale20s
SKY
“20’s, female, long hair, probably smells like patchouli”
39 linesfemale20s
MACHETE MAN
“drawing his ire”
12 linesmale
HALL
“stylish, fit, well groomed”
7 lines
OATS
“all 20 somethings”
6 lines

More from Kelci Loring

Video Reels

InCall thumbnail

InCall

October 13, 2026

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