Chrysalis

A young woman, crippled with grief and trauma after the passing of her sister, seeks to heal herself and find closure by taking psychedelics. However, her suburban home becomes a twisted and distorted nightmare as she tries to escape The Butterfly.

  • Lachlan Anderson-Schmidt
    Writer
    Stay Inside
  • Project Type:
    Student, Screenplay, Short Script
  • Genres:
    Thriller, Drama, Horror
  • Number of Pages:
    13
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Queensland University of Technology
Writer Biography - Lachlan Anderson-Schmidt

Lachlan Anderson-Schmidt is a director, writer and cinematographer. He was born in 2002 in Tamworth, New South Wales, and was raised on the Gold Coast, Queensland. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in (Film, TV and New Media) in 2023.

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Writer Statement

Inspired by the story of Silent Hill 2 and the message of How to change your mind, Chrysalis explores identity, memories, sisterhood and grief, all while subverting standard cinema tropes and delivering a heartfelt story. This psychological thriller looks at psychedelics and both their negative and positive effects on mental health. This area of research is only now being opened up in Australia, and mixing it with themes of metamorphosis, self-identity, and grief, Chrysalis is a unique experience for audiences, breaking narrative conventions where her internal conflict becomes her external conflict.