Logline: A wellness influencer known online as The Happiness Angel loves her victims a little too much in this darkly comedic psychosexual thriller about a sexy serial strangler in modern-day UK.

Join Candy Towne, aka – The Happiness Angel – on a pulse-racing journey from fame to shame in Tasered.

Tasered at 50,000 volts by police after she heroically rescues a femme fatale in jeopardy, Candy finds her love life electrified! Her sanity unravels when her personality changes like Jekyll and Hyde in a high-stakes battle with the real-life taser-related condition Excited Delirium.

Inspired by true events, Candy’s mental instability is a fascinating juxtaposition to her success as a wellness influencer. Her performance is sharp and sexy with a temperament and a tongue quicker than her brain.

TASERED propels into conflict through a captivating opening scene in the Dartmoor National Park. Candy, acting as a good Samaritan and triggered by past trauma, mistakes a young married couple participating in a kidnap/hostage sex romp for the real deal. Determined to rescue the hostage, Candy gives chase in her car. There’s a confrontation and a clash! The husband – “the kidnapper” – is killed.

Initially, when police arrive, the dead man’s widow – Scarlett Snow – accuses Candy of murder! But she soon falls in love with her. There’s an intricate push-pull between them. Scarlett is a stunning Gothic hedonist, able to tempt and blackmail Candy, whilst Candy is fiercely determined to understand and defeat her new psychological condition and violent sexual loss of control, which drives the plot forward.

Scarlett reveals herself to be a super-fun villain who pops up in all kinds of strange situations. She has a web of relationships with other cast members and her skills range from seductive clown to vindictive spy. This allows for interesting betrayals, truly malicious behaviour, and complications between Candy’s true love – her mentor and as yet unrequited lover, Jason Wood.

Jason’s extravagant Fitzrovia penthouse is where Candy finally achieves the love from Jason that we know she craves from her livestream in the opening scene. It is also where internal and physical conflicts explode with a climactic ending in the pivotal moment of Candy winning over her taser-induced lethal compulsion. Visually, the high-voltage London setting and the vast moorlands of Dartmoor provide rich contrasts that would heighten suspense on screen.

Candy’s sharp wit sustains a darkly comedic tone and her volatility, rooted in a traumatic backstory, is revealed through flashbacks. Deeply troubled even before the taser proves the catalyst for unsettling her psyche, she struggles to regain her sanity, beat a murder rap and manage her love life as she wages a David and Goliath war against taser industry mogul Zalika Rose.

The heart of this screenplay lies in the psychosexual powerplay between its main cast in conflict with Candy’s determination to reclaim her sanity. Stylised 3-way split screens of “Good Candy,” “Bad Candy” and “Her Finger Movements” depict Candy’s psychological struggle and internal conflict. Following a callous moment when Scarlett and Candy dance on the late-husband’s grave, the split screen echoes KILL BILL and its murderess victims.

Candy’s one-woman taser industry investigation is explored at both psychological and socio-political levels. True life references to Dr. Zian Tseng’s research and the police killings of Robert Dziekanski in Canada, and Andrew Pimlott in Britain (who burned to death in a taser fireball) gives this script authority in its political and commercial critique.

TRUE FACTS: The taser industry together with police misuse of the stun gun are responsible for thousands of taser-related deaths worldwide according to Reuters News Agency. Also, taser spike contact to the head can cause brain damage as well as the more common cardiac complications from shots to the chest, research published in the Canadian Medical Journal has concluded. All this with a weapon that was originally marketed to police services as non-lethal!

Despite the shocking statistics above, the intensely funny tone with which Candy approaches the taser industry makes for an accessible story about modern life. With mental health issues skyrocketing globally, TASERED offers an amusing fresh perspective on today’s interconnected world.

TASERED (together with its alternative title THE HAPPINESS ANGEL) is a multi-award-winning feature screenplay with BEST THRILLER and BEST COMEDY wins at WorldFest Houston – established 57 years ago – plus 61 other 2022/23 International Film Festival outright wins during development. With 63 wins all independently verified by FilmFreeway, TASERED promises a unique cinematic experience when produced.

BRIEF BIO: I am an award-winning (Daily Express Award for Innovation, 1993) stress management consultant specializing in problems of the subconscious mind. My lifetime of mental health expertise is invested in this female-led, high concept feature screenplay. Based on my experience with clients, I am convinced its theme of determination to recover will resonate with multigenerational audiences cross-culturally.

My first in a series of health books – and still in print today – After Stroke, published by Thorsons (UK) in 2000 and HarperCollins (USA) in 2001 featured in an episode of BBC TV’s Cornish Chronicles; on ITV’s *This Morning show with Richard Madeley, and on Channel 5 TV News.

*To watch the 24 minute Richard & Judy interview press the ‘IN THE MEDIA’ tab on the menu and then the ‘WATCH THE VIDEO’ button.