Red Ants follows Everett, a 16-year-old high school student struggling with a suffocating home life and relentless bullying at school. His father, Paul, is harsh and abusive, while his mother, Patricia, is emotionally distant, turning to alcohol and pills to cope. At school, Everett faces ridicule from his tennis teammates and the constant fear of losing his girlfriend, Ava, who begins to question their relationship.
As Everett's frustration and anger grow, his fantasies of revenge against those who torment him turn into a dark reality. One night, after another violent altercation with his father, Everett reaches a breaking point. He murders both his parents, hides their bodies, and attempts to carry on as if nothing happened.
The film portrays Everett's descent into madness as he hosts a party at his now-empty home, trying to regain a sense of normalcy, but the stench of his crime—and the red ants swarming the bodies—linger ominously in the background. The story spirals further into psychological horror as Everett's actions unravel, leading to a chilling climax.
Ray Maiello - Producer
Award-winning film producer and entertainment executive with 20 years' experience in film, television and music.
Ray launched his career in NYC's Lower East Side clubs where he discovered the indie bands Longwave and Wheatus. He founded Moontower Entertainment to manage and produce a slate of recording artists in a resurgent NY rock scene. Among Moontower's releases in 2000, the single "Teenage Dirtbag" was a global hit with multiple RIAA certified Platinum & Gold records.
Building on success in music, he expanded to film & television production and relocated to Los Angeles. At Netflix and Paramount Pictures, he held top business affairs positions for over a decade. In 2016, he started developing and producing film projects for Moontower Entertainment.
In 2023, he co-founded Radiant Media Studios with Mike Field to unite my passion for bold storytelling with entrepreneurship. Ray and Mike pioneered carbon-negative film production to finance film projects in an environmentally sustainable manner. In 2024, Mike and Ray received the Audience Award at SXSW for producing our debut film "My Dead Friend Zoe" and we were recognized by VARIETY as the "first" to use green energy credits to finance a film. ("Travis Kelce’s Debut as Film Producer First Movie Financed Using Biden’s Green Energy Tax Credits").
"My Dead Friend Zoe" is scheduled for a wide theatrical release on November 1, 2024, through Open Road Films/Briarcliff. The film is currently rated 100% on Rotten Tomatoes by Top Critics. Ray is a graduate of William & Mary and Columbia Law School.
Braxton Pope - Producer
Braxton Pope is a producer who maintained a production deal with Lionsgate. He produced Focus Features’ acclaimed The Card Counter written and directed by Academy Award nominee Paul Schrader, Executive Produced by Martin Scorsese and whose cast included Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan and Willem Dafoe. The film premiered in competition at the Venice International Film Festival and was selected by the Telluride Film Festival. It was named best of the year by The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Cahiers du Cinema and National Board of Review. Most recently he Executive Produced Oh Canada written and directed by Paul Schrader and starring Richard Gere, Jacob Elordi and Uma Thurman. The film premiered in competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. He also produced three films starring Nicolas Cage including SXSW selections Arcadian and The Trust in addition to the feature film The Smiley Face Killers. Pope produced The Canyons directed by Schrader and starring Lindsay Lohan and which was the subject of a lengthy cover story in the New York Times Magazine. It was released theatrically by IFC, was selected by the Venice International Film Festival and named as one of the year’s best by the New Yorker. He produced the Lionsgate feature film Shrink which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and The Take, which was released theatrically by Sony Pictures to rave reviews and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival where it was touted as a “must see film.”
Last year he produced the feature music documentary American Rapstar which was selected by SXSW and CPH: DOX and was acquired by Utopia and Hulu. He Executive Produced the feature documentary The Source Family which premiered in competition at SXSW. IFC theatrically released Sundance competition documentary City of Gold chronicling Pulitzer Prize winning food critic Jonathan Gold which he Executive Produced. In television he has Executive Produced pilots for Showtime, FX and Lionsgate and Executive Produced the digital series The Deleted which was nominated for a Webby Award in the Best Dramatic Series category.
He Executive Produced visual content for Kanye West’s Yeezus as well as three music videos for Leon Bridges in addition to his Apple Music exclusive film directed by Academy Award nominee Bradford Young. He produced the Drake/Makonnen music video Tuesdayas well as Constant Conversations and Carried Away for Passion Pit. Carried Away was nominated for three MVPA awards as well as “Best Alternative Video” at the UK Music Video Awards and an MTV Woodie Award for “Best Music Video.” He also produced the award nominated, SXSW selection MGMT video Cool Song No 2 that featured Michael K. Williams and was acclaimed by Vice as “the best music video of the year.” He has produced music videos for the Silversun Pickups, The Shins and Foster the People. He produced a contemporary art video for Yoshua Okon, visual works for Paris based fashion label Kenzo and a film for Milan fashion week for Roberto Cavalli.
Pope began his career at Artisan Entertainment and was Director of Acquisitions. He received his B.A. from Cornell University and the CORe credential of readiness from Harvard Business School online and was a Telluride Scholar and the recipient of the Cornell Book Award. He was selected by the Hollywood Reporter for their Next Generation issue’s “35 under 35.” Pope is a member of the Producers Guild of America and a board member of Cornell in Hollywood. He has been featured at the National Association of Broadcasters super session and was an invited speaker at the Writer’s Guild of America, Bloomberg Finance Summit, San Francisco International Film Festival, American Film Market, Sundance Film Festival and Indiana University. He has written about film for Vanity Fair and Paste Magazine and was also the author of a column for the online literary site of McSweeneys Quarterly.
Considered Primary talent
"Detective Harlan" - Kevin Caroll
"Detective Harlan" - Kevin Caroll
"Detective Harlan" - Kevin Caroll
"Ava" - Elisha Herbert
"Detective Harlan" - Kevin Caroll
"Detective Harlan" - Kevin Caroll
"Patricia" - Sheryl Lee
"Detective Harlan" - Kevin Caroll
"Patricia" - Sheryl Lee
"Paul" - Michael Pitt
"Everett" - Jerzyk Smielecki
"Patricia" - Sheryl Lee
"Everett" - Jerzyk Smielecki
"Everett" - Jerzyk Smielecki
"Everett" - Jerzyk Smielecki
Characters
Everett Williams (16)
Everett is the central character, a troubled and angry teenager struggling with a dysfunctional family, bullying at school, and his own insecurities. He is described as pale, lanky, and an outsider even on his high school tennis team. Everett’s relationship with his parents is strained, especially with his father, Paul, who is emotionally and physically abusive. He is in a relationship with Ava, but his volatile emotions and violent tendencies create tension. His interactions with peers, family, and himself suggest a deep desire to escape his life, which he sees as a trap. Ultimately, Everett's emotional turmoil leads him down a dark and violent path.
Ava (16)
Ava is Everett's girlfriend, portrayed as beautiful with unique features. She seems to care for Everett and tries to support him emotionally, though she is also frustrated by his issues. Ava's desire to experience normal teenage events, like prom, contrasts with Everett's inner struggles. She is not entirely aware of the depth of Everett's problems but tries to maintain their relationship despite the challenges. Capture the essence of your event with our professional video production services. We specialize in capturing the energy and excitement of live events, ensuring that your audience feels like they were there.
Pete (16)
Pete is a typical high school jock and part of the tennis team with Everett. He often teases and bullies Everett, both on the court and in other settings. Pete represents the type of antagonistic peer that contributes to Everett's sense of isolation and anger. His interactions with Everett often escalate to confrontations, and he is oblivious to the severity of Everett's emotional state.
Dennis (16) and Jacob (16)
Dennis and Jacob are Everett’s close friends, who share in his rebellious and reckless behaviors, such as drinking, smoking, and partying. They seem to provide an outlet for Everett’s frustrations but are also enablers of his destructive tendencies. Both are loyal to Everett, but they are not equipped to understand or address the depth of his problems.
Synopsis
Williams Family Party - A chaotic house party with teenagers drinking and playing games. Focus on Ava, Pete, and Everett, with a Hi-8 camera capturing the moment.
Swarm of Red Ants - Inside the Williams’ master bedroom, a swarm of red ants overtakes the room, creating an eerie and unsettling atmosphere.
Tennis Court Conflict - On the high school tennis courts, Everett is hit by a tennis ball, triggering a confrontation with Pete, while Coach Simon intervenes.
Everett's Daydream - A dream sequence where Everett imagines brutally attacking Pete with a tennis racquet, with Ava watching and smiling.
Everett's Family Argument - At home, Everett's parents, Patricia and Paul, argue loudly in the kitchen while Everett listens from his room, overwhelmed and stressed.
Everett and Ava's Escape - Everett and Ava laughing and running through the school hallways, holding hands, representing a brief escape from their troubled lives.
Everett is Confronted by his Father - Everett’s father, Paul, violently confronts him after catching him smoking and drinking with friends, leading to a physical altercation.
Everett's Struggle at School - Everett sits in a classroom, bruises barely concealed by makeup, struggling to focus on his studies as the weight of his life bears down on him.
Everett at Prom - Everett and Ava at prom, dancing and enjoying the night. Despite the tension at home, this moment shows their brief escape into normal teenage life.
The Final Confrontation - The climactic moment where Everett confronts his father with a shotgun, an intense and emotional scene that defines the script's turning point.
After Prom Party - In the prom party scene, Everett hosts a chaotic celebration at his parents' home with his classmates, including tennis jocks and his girlfriend Ava, all while his parents' bodies lie upstairs, wrapped and hidden in the master bathroom. The house is filled with the sounds of loud music, drunken laughter, and the clinking of drinks, but the stench from the decaying bodies seeps