Whew... and Ewww

Recently I've been working on a TV spec idea involving time travel, an idea that seems suited to being an hourlong TV episode rather than a film.

So it was with some concern that I learned that the idea I had might be a little too similar to the Ashton Kutcher film THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, which I had never seen.

With some trepidation, I picked up a copy the other day, and popped it into the DVD player. The movie hooked me early; it's an interesting idea, and with relief I realized that it really wasn't all that similar to my movie at all.

I continued watching the movie, however, to see what plot machinations that it had that I might want to avoid in my script.

Yikes.

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT has a changing-the-past premise that probably would have been more effective as a gentler, smarter film; think FREQUENCY. Instead, this tale just gets darker, darker, and darker, all rather off-puttingly:

-- Children are molested by Eric Stoltz.

-- A woman and her baby get blown up.

-- Ashton Kutcher is raped in prison, and then offers up oral sex to some of the prisoners.

-- A young woman's face is slashed by her brother, and she turns to prostitution.

-- A dog is burned alive in a bag.

-- Ashton Kutcher's arms are blown off.

-- An unborn baby commits suicide by strangling itself in the womb.

All of which I don't mind leaving out of my script. So it's all good.