The Midnight Voyage Hotel

Master’s Project 2021 of the MA Serial Storytelling at the ifs internationale filmschule köln
by Jorge Patiño

Genre: Drama/Mystery/Fantasy 
Format: 10 x 60 minutes

Tagline
A stay you will remember.

Logline
After life, death is the final rest. But for some, »The Midnight Voyage Hotel«, attended by its mysterious receptionist Malte, stands between them and the doors to the afterlife. Each guest will have a last chance to move on, if they succeed at letting go of their regrets before a malevolent force, known as the Unwelcomed Guest, gets them. However, the unexpected arrival of an amnesic woman threatens to reveal the secrets behind the hotel’s tranquil façade.

Synopsis
Somewhere between the border of life and death exists a mysterious hotel. If you die carrying a strong regret, you will arrive in front of the night receptionist, whose sole purpose is to help you come to terms with your death and prove you are ready to go to the afterlife. Navigating your memories, you will have the chance to find the one moment keeping you stuck in the hotel. If you succeed before sunrise, you will leave. If you fail, The Midnight Voyage will allow you to replay one memory for all eternity.

THE MIDNIGHT VOYAGE HOTEL is a procedural show with an overarching plot-line that finds resolution at the end, solving the mystery surrounding the night receptionist, the Unwelcomed Guest’s presence, and the sudden appearance of an amnesic woman. The individual storylines range from love, to revenge, to tragedy. All essential to the human experience, all connected by a recurring theme: acceptance.

The series follows Malte, the lone receptionist in charge of welcoming the guests who arrive at The Midnight Voyage Hotel. Unlike previous receptionists, Malte has become utterly attached to his role and his guests, to the point of feeling personally responsible for their fate. Trying to protect them from the lurking presence of the Unwelcomed Guest, he ends up risking his safety to avoid any harm happening to them. If he continues down this path, he will be cast out into the outer darkness; the price to pay for his interference.

However, Malte is not the only one interested in the soul of the guests. In an unknown room of the hotel stays the Unwelcomed Guest. This ever-growing darkness feeds on the guest’s most inner desires, trying to lure them back to its room. The more souls it keeps, the stronger it gets, and the more its corruption spreads throughout the hotel. The Unwelcomed Guest antagonizes Malte, infiltrating the guests’ memories, and taking the form of someone close to them. This strategy allows it to seduce them into failing to resolve their pending matter in time. If this force continues to
exist, The Midnight Voyage Hotel will eventually disappear, and with it the last chance for these conflicted souls to find closure.

One night, an amnesic woman shows up in the middle of a storm. With no information about her, Malte will have to deal with her constant presence in the hotel. The woman will offer her own insights about the other guests’ cases, as well as shedding some light on the secrets that roam the corridors of The Midnight Voyage. She also presents a challenge for the Unwelcomed Guest, as she seems to be the only one capable of seeing the true nature behind its deceitful façade. The more time she spends with Malte, the closer she comes to find the link that connects both the night receptionist and the Unwelcomed Guest.

Contact

Jorge Patiño
jl.patino88(at)gmail.com | +49 177 6304180