Roots

A miserable schoolboy begins a terrifying descent into madness as he bonds with a beguiling serial killer.

A “Matchstick Collaborative” FILM
WRITTEN BY Ryan Poole & Samuel Williams

With one year left of school, James Morgan is staring down the barrel of a miserable life. His father is gone, he has no real talents, no distinguishing traits, and no idea of what he wants to do when he is thrown to the big wide world. While he dreams of becoming extraordinary, James is anything but; a blank, unremarkable slate, hopeless and desperate for a future. This is all he fears he will ever be... until he meets Lawrence Carver.

Lawrence Carver is charming, witty, successful and confident; everything that James wants to become.

He is also a murderer.

As their friendship grows, James is drawn deeper and deeper into Lawrence’s twisted web of influence. Terror, manipulation and violence begin to seep into his day-to-day life, but James has never felt more alive. He has finally found an escape route from the banality of life; a true calling. As Lawrence begins to groom him for his first kill, James’ grip on sanity is quickly weakening.

Once James’ mother, Helen, begins to realise the truth about Lawrence, she finds herself locked in a battle of wits against him over her son’s humanity.