Scorpions

Description

The Supreme Leader is dead; Long Live The Supreme Leader! After the death of his dictator father, arrogant and impulsive Farran arrives in the capital to become Ruler of The Nation. Obsessed with eclipsing his father’s achievements yet constantly dwarfed by them, he vows to show strength, never weakness. But the winds of discontent are rising. Heavy taxes, corruption and widespread poverty blackened his father’s name. The people want change. Farran faces a choice: is it better to be feared, or loved?

When renegade general Thrax returns from exile, offering fealty in exchange for social reforms, absolute power is within Farran’s grasp. But deaf to good counsel and surrounded by sycophants, instead he chooses fear. Determined to crush all dissent, Farran threatens a brutal crackdown. The people’s burden will increase. Where his father squeezed them, Farran will squeeze harder. He is not his father; he is worse.

As Farran’s hubris, unwise governance and insecurities collide, civil war threatens to tear an already divided country permanently apart. With the people rising against him and his power slipping away, Farran prepares to make a final stand. With his enemies at the gate, victory will make him invincible. Defeat will cost him everything.

Biblical Connection

“Scorpions” is an incredibly timely examination of power, politics and tyranny. Adapting the highly dramatic tale “Rehoboam’s Folly” (1 Kings 12,) the film updates the action to a dystopian dictatorship in a nameless Nation. Perfectly complementing the original story, this setting ramps up the tension and stakes whilst highlighting contemporary global parallels: A cruel ill qualified leader. Divisive policies. Deafening demands for change. The ripped-from-the-headlines sensibility paired with stylish costumes, locations and visuals will give viewers a new, powerful, and fundamentally relevant perspective on a story that is over 2,500 years old. The film also probes the tragic psychology of Rehoboam, here renamed Farran. This fatally flawed ruler is a complex, fascinating character: born to power but unequipped for leadership, craving respect but ill-suited to service, burdened by his father’s legacy but bereft of his sound judgment. Farran’s arc, from undisputed tyrant to bunker dwelling failure, will captivate modern audiences familiar with the dark, nuanced antiheroes of “Succession,” “Better Call Saul” and “Game of Thrones.” This compelling, universal and vital adaptation will be as sharp, powerful and memorable as Rehoboam’s chilling vow: “My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”