Superheroine of the Wrong Side of Forty

When a disillusioned journalist in her fifties rage-books a solo trip to Bucharest, she gets bitten by Dracula and discovers that she can finally live on her own damn terms.

A sharp-tongued, washed-up journalist in her fifties – menopausal, drunk, and written off as old – rage-books herself to Dracula's doorstep and stumbles into an eternal midlife crisis. Now immortal, she struggles with bloodlust, hides her new identity from her daughter and the world, and realises that being undead might finally be good for something. A darkly funny story that celebrates the unexpected powers of middle age – even when no one asked for them.

Director's note

This is a drama with the stylisation of black comedy – a story that illuminates moral dilemmas, life's absurdity, and the hidden strength of a woman at midlife.“Superheroine on the Wrong Side of Forty” takes an unexpected approach to the vampire genre: grounded in realism, wit, and emotional honesty, it is both unconventional and refreshingly relatable.

What fascinates me is how Herta refuses the clichés of vampirism. She doesn’t long to be younger, sexier, or mysterious. She has no interest in living a double life. Instead, she turns her supernatural power outward, using it not for seduction or vanity, but to be useful. That choice – to convert private craving into social responsibility – is what makes her truly heroic.

The tone balances dry confessionals and absurd set pieces – imagine the brutal candour of Fleabag colliding with the awkward comedy of What We Do in the Shadows. Humour is our scalpel: Herta's first attempts at levitation look graceful for a heartbeat, then collapse into farce. Beneath the comedy lies real urgency – midlife rage, loneliness, the fear of invisibility, and the thrill of finally being seen.

Visually, the world will be both grounded and heightened. Herta’s flat in Riga begins in muted greys, browns, and blue-greens – a tired space mirroring her exhaustion. As her senses awaken, jolts of crimson and amber slice through, symbols of anger, illusion, and longing. In Romania, neon invades: the world of youth and media, in sharp contrast to Herta’s midlife reality. Everyday objects – mirrors, clocks, fog, old photographs – echo vampire lore, but lightly, almost unnoticed, as part of her daily landscape.
The camera will mirror this journey: handheld and intimate in daylight, shifting to fluid, dreamlike Steadicam at night. Long takes will give way to close-ups that linger on Herta’s emotions; in certain moments, slow motion will punctuate her inner states. Practical effects – messy, tangible – will ground the supernatural in a world that feels documentary-like, until something impossible cracks through.
At its core, this is a story of reinvention, visibility, and the quiet, radical joy of refusing to disappear – even if you’ve already hit menopause and red wine is your superpower. In the final image – Herta flying above Riga, transformed and free – her journey from weariness to vitality finds its culmination. From muted tones to saturated colour, from four claustrophobic walls to the vast sky, we experience the transformation with her.
A darkly funny tale that celebrates the unexpected powers of midlife – even when no one asked for them.

Screenwiter's note

Subjects:
feel good, loneliness, women, familial relationships, self realisation, lifestyle, humour