Horror

The Death Sentence

by Matt Moeller

September 1, 2026Draft118 pages

"When hard-bitten TV reporter Jessica Chen goes undercover on a Hollywood cult that promises fans a “death sentence” — the exact last words you’ll hear before you die — she uncovers staged rituals, celebrity complicity, and a streaming spectacle that turns certainty into carnage, forcing her to choose between exposing the truth or becoming the next headline."

Told entirely through jittery livestreams, security cams, and reclaimed media, The Death Sentence follows hard-nosed reporter Jessica Chen, her loyal producer Miguel, and a slippery crew of influencers as they unmask Las Palabras — a glitzy Hollywood cult led by charismatic actor Doug Jones that sells “certainty” by prescribing chillingly specific death prophecies. As interviews turn fatal and reality-TV spectacle collides with ritual blood rites, Jessica must decide whether the cult’s power is a sinister con or something far more supernatural, even as her career, sanity, and relationships disintegrate under the glare of viral attention. Part found-footage horror, part satirical media takedown, the script is a darkly funny, hallucinatory ride through fame, fanaticism, and the dangerous hunger for certainty in an uncertain world.

Format & Technical

Feature

Comparables

Late Night with the Devil, Network, Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie, Spinal Tap

Meet the creator

Matt Moeller profile

Matt Moeller

(John Matthew Moeller)

JUST A BIG OL' NERD

📍 North Hollywood, CA✉️ [email protected]🌐 www.mattmoeller.com🎬 Television

Matt Moeller has aspired to be a writer, director, and funnyman since living in Orlando, Florida in 2004 which is basically the cretaceous period at this point. He’s written a book about improv comedy, hosted a live show where he got romantically dumped on stage 20 times in one night, made a ton of little fun videos for channel101 and YouTube, and now he’s full port into writing and directing horror shorts. This is the first you’ve heard of him and you’re unimpressed, but somewhat tickled at his self deprecation and meta humor. Wait, he’s standing right behind you right now, isn’t he?

Looking For

Looking for collaborators, producers, and SFX artists!

Skills

ScreenwritingComedyProgramming

Screenplay Analysis

Analysis of THE DEATH SENTENCE

Statistics

131Scenes
97Est. Pages
1801Lines
24210Words

Characters (67)

Showing top characters
JESSICA
“30’s, slim but fierce”
272 lines30s
MIGUEL
“40’s, scruffy, short”
94 lines40s
TYLER
“20’s, both punchable and handsome”
89 lines20s
DOUG JONES
“60’s, tall, handsome, affable”
83 linesmale60s
BRADLEY
“40’s, towering and overweight”
68 lines40s
POPPY
“twenty something, cute, instagrammable, blond”
46 lines

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