Last Call

A narcissistic man leaving his office on New Years Eve “nearly” slips and falls on icy steps enroute to a local dive bar. Once there, he sits and drinks with a stranger who shares his taste in all the finer things life has to offer. As the night progresses, it becomes evident our sophisticated gentleman is not where he thinks he is. And that this stranger has been waiting for him all his life.

  • Joseph DiFrancesco
    Writer
    The Mourning After, The Darkness Before Me
  • Project Type:
    Short Script
  • Genres:
    Horror, Thriller
  • Number of Pages:
    15
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Independent Horror Movie Awards
    Virtual
    February 1, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Indie Short Fest
    Los Angeles, CA
    June 6, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Horror: Genre Lab - Presented by Global Lift-Off Network
    Iver Heath, England
    July 26, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Oregon Scream Weak Film Festival
    Portland, OR
    October 8, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Diabolical Horror Film Festival
    Virtual
    October 28, 2020
    Official Selection
  • 13 Horror.com Film and Screenplay Contest
    Virtual
    July 31, 2020
    Finalist
  • The Magic of Horror
    Richmond, VA
    September 20, 2020
    Finalist
  • The Indie Horror Film Festival
    Dekalb, IL
    September 5, 2020
    Finalist
  • Nevada City Film Festival
    Nevada City, CA
    August 28, 2020
    Semi-Finalist
  • Chicago Horror Film Festival
    Chicago, IL
    September 26, 2020
    Semi-Finalist
Writer Biography - Joseph DiFrancesco

Born in Philadelphia, Joseph DiFrancesco is a screenwriter, director, novelist and sometimes actor. He has produced award winning films and music videos, and has several novels in publication. His first film and directorial debut,"The Mourning After," won for best featurette in the 2006 Delaware Valley Film Festival. The Paranormal Romance Guild nominated his novel, BOX 3014, for the Reviewer's Choice Awards 2016. His screenplay, "The Darkness Before Me," was nominated for best short screenplay in the 2018 NYC Independent Film Festival. His short animated script, “Change for the Better,” made quarterfinalist in the 2019 Atlanta Film Festival.

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Writer Statement

LAST CALL - Hidden Symbolisms

* Spoiler Alert

Clearly, Josh did not catch himself from falling but rather fell, died and went straight to Hell. (But turns out the Devil likes to have some fun with us first)

CS Lounge (C. S. Lewis, author of, “The Screwtape Letters.”

Door to bar covered in graffiti? (homage to Rodin’s “Gates of Hell”)

Dogs barking in the alley?
Cerberus. The three headed dog that guards the gates of Hell.

Virgil, the bartender, is named from a character found in “Dante’s Inferno.”

Lou (Lucifer) speaks of people long dead, as well as in languages long dead.

The onion skin that momentarily finds its way to Josh stems from Biblical lore where a woman condemned to Hell begs to be lifted out of it. She is offered an onion skin on which to grab.

Lou “never touches wine." Of course not, it’s the blood of Christ.

The bathroom, posh in appearance but stench-ridden, represents Josh’s soul. Also Josh’s inability to get his hands clean represents the idea that the opportunity to wash away dirty sins has passed.