Yes, this will be a low-budget film, seriously low budget, but that's not really a problem. The problem would be having a bigger budget, because there's nowhere to put a bigger crew on a small boat. It would also be tempting to shoot in a tank. There's a very good one right here in Malta. But it would look like crap. It would look fake and that's not what we're going forward. The most important factor in shooting this film is "authenticity.”

Logline - There are many places not to get trapped with a serial killer. A small boat, miles from shore, is probably one of them.

Tally - Late 20’s early 30’s - Sassy, smart, well-traveled, slightly reserved. Might be Maltese or Hispanic.
DJ - Late 30’s. Likable, but a bit of a smart ass.  American. Experienced sailor. Slight southern accent.
Mack - Mid-20’s, Happy-go-lucky, well read, trusting and adventurous.
Sean - Bartender, 50, Irish, friendly and talkative.
Soz - Girlfriend of Tally’s living in Sliema, Malta.

The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.

Plot outline.  This is the second draft.  Just an idea.  The plot, timeline and names are not fixed in place at all. 
It’s very important that every aspect of this film be 100% authentic.  

Tally - Late 20’s early 30’s - Sassy, smart, well-traveled, slightly reserved. Possibly Maltese.
DJ - Late 30’s. Likable, but a bit of a smart ass.  American. Experienced sailor.
Mackenzie - Mid-20’s, Happy-go-lucky, well read, trusting, adventurous and a bit nerdy.  Maybe Californian.
Sean - Irish bartender - 50’s
Soz - Probably older, female. Solid friend of Tally’s.

As the film opens, we see someone sitting at a Caribbean style cafe, using their reading glasses as a magnifying glass to burn an ant, super close-up.  South American music plays in the background. Then we see an unnamed girl walk up and say “Ready?”  They (DJ and the girl) walk off.  There might be a slight v/o where we hear the girl rambling about her hopes and dreams.  Not full sentences.  Almost background.

We see a wide shot of a small sailing boat named “Lucy” leaving the coast of Belize.  We only see distant shots of the boat, but we can tell there are two people on board.  One male, one female.  Dip to black.  <CREDITS>  Fade from black.  We see the boat arriving in the Canary Islands.  The boat drops anchor and we only see DJ (the skipper) rowing a small inflatable dinghy ashore.  He is alone.  He is a white male in his 30s. We do not know what happened to the girl and we never see her again.

Fairly soon after arriving, he meets a girl, Tally, in a bar.  She is also in her late 20s and they talk about boats and he tells her of his desire to sail the Mediterranean. Tally tells DJ how she grew up on boats in Malta and loves to sail.  DJ tells her that Malta is on his list.  She expresses an interest, but says she would like to go on a little weekend trip before making up her mind.  They do a quick weekend trip and there are no issues, but …….

Tally gets booked to sing in a bar and cannot make the trip with DJ. Later that day she mentions this to an acquaintance/friend of hers, who expresses an interest in the trip. This girl, Mackenzie, seems a little more enthusiastic and perhaps slightly more carefree/happy-go-lucky. She has had some experience sailing and living on a boat, and meets up with DJ in his usual cafe.  They hit it off and prepare for the 2 week  trip to Gibraltar.  

They leave the Canary Islands and everything seems to be going to plan.  Mack texts Tally, thanking her for the connection.  They talk about DJ's trip across the Atlantic and he says that he's very proud of himself for completing it solo.  We learn DJ’s father was killed when his mother was drunk driving when he was 15.  As the passage proceeds, Mack finds some female toiletries and asks DJ who they belong to. He brushes off the inquiry, saying "an old girlfriend,” then changes the topic.  A few days later Mack finds DJ's Android phone and has memorized the password pattern to unlock it. She sees some photographs that include a girl.  The pictures don't look as old as DJ is claiming and Mack gets a little suspicious.  



DJ also gets a little suspicious of Mack's attitude and wonders if she looked into his phone, he changes the password. Mack also notices that the boat's name may have been changed, because the new name, Lucy, has been unprofessionally painted over an older name.  Her suspicions grow and DJ becomes a little defensive. Not unfriendly, but there's a slight change in his tone.



About 2/3 of the way through their trip to Gibraltar, off the coast of Morocco, they get becalmed and start the boat's small motor to make progress.  After a few hours, the wind picks up and they start sailing again.  Later the following day, the same thing happens. With the motor turned off and the sails down, DJ leaps off the front of the boat to go for a swim. Mack joins him and they goof around in the water.  DJ climbs back aboard the boat, leaving Mack swimming alone in the very deep sea.  DJ suggests she climb out and they continue their trip using the motor. She tells him that she is enjoying her swim and there is no rush. He starts the motor.  She begins swimming towards the boat, but as she gets very close, he nudges it into gear, and it slowly moves forward. He teases her telling her to swim a little faster, before stopping the boat allowing her to catch up. As he is just reaching the boat, he nudges it forward again. She is not amused.

DJ moves the boat a bit further away again. Mack screams at him. He looks blankly back at her as the boat moves away.  She is naked, 100 km from shore, with no other boats in sight. The water is several thousand metres deep.  DJ films Mack's drowning on a GoPro.



As the boat moves away, we see a flashback of DJ.  He is walking towards a dead person on the road.  His car is in the background.  It is apparent that he has hit a cyclist and killed them.  Then we see him rolling his car into a lake and walking away.

The next day we see DJ waking up and acting as if nothing had happened. He finds some of her items, and throws them overboard.  We never see Mack again.  DJ continues towards Valencia.

Back on The Canary Islands, Tally realizes that she left a small purse on DJ's boat and she texts Mack asking her to look for it. She has an AirTag in the purse, and she marks that as “missing.”  After one month, she gets suspicious that her friend has not replied to the text. Another week passes and while DJ is in Valencia, he takes the boat into a marina to pick up fuel.  The AirTag pings Tally.  



Tally tries to call DJ, but he has blocked her number, so she can't get through. DJ sets sail for the south of France, but doesn't go close enough for the Airtag to ping Tally again ….. until he gets to Sardinia.  He drops anchor, deciding to spend a few days there. There are many, many other boats in the area and the AirTag pings Tally again …. several times.  Tally also notices that Mack has not updated her Instagram since she left the Canary Islands.  She becomes concerned.

Tally gets another ping from the Airtag in Sardinia and she realizes that DJ is heading to Malta, because he had mentioned that he really liked the place. Tally flies to Malta, mostly for work, but partly because she wants answers. She waits for another ping.  A few days later, the ping arrives. Tally finds out the exact location of the boat, but doesn't want to cause any suspicion in DJ's mind, so she watches the boat, knowing that he has to come ashore. She gets frustrated waiting and conspires with a friend, Soz.  They take a dingy out at night and make a tiny puncture in DJ’s dinghy, forcing him to come ashore to buy a repair kit.  When he comes ashore, he  “coincidentally” bumps into her.

She befriends him again and he suggests they take a boat trip. She vaguely enquires about Mack.

As they set sail, Tally brings up Mack’s disappearance again.  DJ seems a little uncomfortable, but brushes it off, still claiming she left the boat in Spain.  Night falls and Tally retrieves her purse containing the Airtag whilst on watch and DJ is sleeping.  She picks up her iPad and googles Mack’s name again.  After several tries, due to poor reception, she sees a shocking news report about her belongings have been washed ashore near Gibraltar.  She is now alone on a boat with a murderer.  She remains calm, but when DJ wakes up, she claims not to be feeling great and says she would like to return to port.  DJ says they will, but not just yet.  They continue north, åtowards Italy.  Tally is  not comfortable with this at all, but does not want to reveal her feelings to DJ for fear of alerting him.

There is little wind and the sails are flapping and the motor is assisting. Tally is standing at the bow.  She discreetly kicks a line into the water.  DJ asks Tally to help lower the mainsail.  There is a moment when the sail is down and the boom has not been lashed. Tally points to the trailing line. As DJ tries to fish the line out with a boathook and Tally seizes the opportunity and swings the boom hard at DJ, knocking him overboard.  The boat is still moving forward slowly.

DJ grabs for the line and misses.  On the second try, he gets hold of it, but is unable to do anything more than just hang on.  Tally does not stop the boat.  She demands to know what happened to Mack.  DJ lies and Tally pulls out a GoPro and reveals to DJ that she knows he killed Mack … and possibly someone else as well.

As DJ begs for his life, she slowly increases the speed of the boat until DJ can't hold on any longer.

She motors away, leaving the desperate DJ to drown miles from shore.  As the boat moves off, she opens a can of tuna and throws it in DJ’s direction, exclaiming, “Look out for the sharks.”

Fin.

This boat, or very similar will be our prime location.

Locations.

Boat (Malta)
Apartment in Malta
Cafe in Belize (Malta)
Cafe in Canary Isles (Malta)
Bar in Canary Isles (Malta)
Small venue in Canary Isles (Malta)
Anchorage in Sliema, Malta