A paint by the numbers stand-up comic has four jokes to make his captor laugh or die trying.
In the vein of Misery meets Kings of Comedy, Dying to Kill is about a paint by the numbers stand-up comic who has four jokes to make his captor laugh or die trying.
Meet Schafer Jones, loyal husband and serviceable comedian. Schafers initial promise of comedic genius never came to pass. Schafers in a functional rut, telling jokes that pay the bills, but dont inspire or challenge audiences. His wife Tracy Jones and manager/best friend Jeff Pringle have been with Schafer through thick and thin. They think Schafer is the funniest guy they know and it breaks their hearts to see him reduced to a human bad joke karaoke machine. People in the comedy world kind of shake their heads at Schafers lot in life. Even Jenna, a waitress at Schafers home comedy club and number one fan, racks her brain for the reason Schafer hasnt ascended the comedy ranks. Schafer, however, has come to terms with his current station. Schafer isnt under any false pretenses about dreams coming true. Schafers ready to spend the next thirty years telling jokes in dive bars while scratching out a living for Tracy and their son Marcus.
That is until a seemingly random heckler incites an onstage meltdown, captured for all the world to see. This meltdown is the opening Tracy and Jeff have been waiting for. Jeff uses the meltdown to encourage Schafer to take risks on stage and begins shooting a documentary on Schafers comeback. It all takes a hard left turn when Schafer is abducted, tortured and forced to reach new comedic depths or watch his friends and family die before him.
Schafer will experience pain, fear, and complete disorientation, but still be called upon to be funny. Who is behind all this? Can a truly happy person truly be funny? Can Schafer please his abductor and reach his truth without people dying? Sometimes we need a nudge. Sometimes we need a push. Sometimes we need to be locked in a chamber and tortured.
