Restoration

Feature-length screenplay
by Don Bapst and Braden Brickner*

Horror

When a group of starving film students head to the Yukon to help a mercurial professor restore a legendary silent film, they learn that bringing dead cinema back to life takes a lot of blood and guts: their own.

What makes timeless art timeless? When does sacrificing oneself for a vision cross over into exploitation? Restoration explores these questions while paying homage to landmark films of terror like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). Set in the remote Yukon in the eerie glow of the midnight sun, the film features an ensemble cast of characters who strive to situate themselves in “film history” only to find themselves locked in a struggle for their own survival. With its small cast (only seven principal roles) and minimal locations, Restoration has been written to be produced on a limited budget to reach a wide audience of horror enthusiasts.

Quarterfinalist in the 2025 ScreenCraft Horror Competition.
Semifinalist in the 2025 BlueCat Screenplay Competition, where it was among the top 42 of 1,862 entries.

*Braden Brickner is a filmmaker and screenwriter with a passion for pushing the limits of genre. His screenplay Little Friggers was read at the 2024 edition of the Calgary Underground Film Festival. He previously collaborated with Don Bapst as Producer on Doppelgänger.