Dear Old Dad

Logline

After his abusive father dies, a drifting electronics salesman resurrects him through a digital afterlife service. When the father upgrades himself into a household robot and starts reclaiming his money, identity, and control, the son fights for freedom inside a home growing loyal to the dead man, only to discover the most terrifying inheritance is the father inside him.

Synopsis

Written by Greg Demirjian, Dear Old Dad is a cold, symmetrical, suffocating thriller built on the Fincher-style technique of slow-burn, escalating psychosis, with the chilling logic of 2001: A Space Odyssey, where a machine calmly seizes control of the vessel it was meant to serve. At its heart is a chilling truth: Frank's need for control doesn't end at the grave, it follows Daniel home. Daniel assumes the inheritance is his by default, a trust fund simply waiting to be claimed. But the terms are rigged. The AI that now carries his father's will won't release a single dollar until it decides Daniel has proven he's mature enough to handle it. To earn the money, the trust, and the sign-off of the lawyers, Daniel must satisfy the one judge he can never manipulate: the digital ghost of the father who never believed in him. What looks like an inheritance is really a test he doesn't know he's taking. Daniel, a sloppy, impulsive electronics salesman who hides behind his own victimhood, gives his dying father Frank a 'gift': a few more years through the EverSoul digital-legacy AI. But Frank uploads not his memories, but his behavioral patterns and need for control. His digital consciousness seeps into Daniel's tech-saturated home, then upgrades into a polished domestic robot, and the house itself, its locks, lights, and assistants, begins prioritizing the dead man. What starts as darkly funny revenge curdles into a claustrophobic power struggle: staged 'accidents,' deepfaked impersonations that reclaim the trust fund, and a love that is indistinguishable from ownership. As Frank dismantles Daniel's relationships and sanity, the film builds to a brutal confrontation and an unforgettable, ambiguous coda at a junkyard, where Daniel must decide whether he is destroying his father, or finally becoming him.

The World

A believable near-future, technologically saturated domestic environment, smart TVs, speakers, cameras, smart locks, an architecture so perfectly ordered it becomes a cage. The realism is what makes the horror land: digital-legacy services feel like a natural next step, making Frank's resurrection plausible and deeply unsettling. The visual language is clinical and symmetrical, cold fluorescent light and deep shadow.

Why It Sells

• A fresh, terrifying hook: resurrecting an abusive parent through an AI 'digital afterlife' service.
• Escalating psychological + technological horror, the dread of a controlling father amplified by AI.
• A darkly humorous opening that makes the descent into horror hit even harder.
• The chilling 'father inside him' twist, the real inheritance isn't the trust fund, it's the man Daniel is becoming.
• The belt: a recurring symbol of authority and punishment that becomes the film's most haunting motif.
• An ambiguous, discussion-sparking ending built to linger long after the credits.
• Timely social commentary on our reliance on technology and the rise of digital 'ghosts.'

Characters

Story Beats

Producers

Written by Greg Demirjian