For some time, I have been writing a screenplay of an original idea I had some years ago. It's stuck with me for a long time now because the plot intrigues me and it's also something I've often thought about. Predominantly though, I believe it's a cracking story and one that I would personally love to pay my beans for at the cinema and then sit down for 90 minutes of slightly thought provoking entertainment with the odd fist fight now and then (there aren't enough good old fashioned fist fights in the cinema these days).

The premise of the story is simple really. It's about the age old battle between good and evil. Now, good and evil come in all shapes and forms and most action, horror, sci-fi etc. etc. films follow this premise in one fashion or another. Why? Because at its most basic level, they make for entertaining stories. Most of these films have a clear goody and evident baddy. However, in real life, these lines are more blurred than we'd like to consider comfortable. In my mind though, the best G versus E tale in the whole world since the beginning of time is that of the battle between God and the Devil.

We're told that the greatest book ever written is that of the Christian bible (although followers of other faiths have equal claim to the book that guides them through their own chosen religion), which when broken down to its bare essentials tells us of the struggle between the One that follows the light and the Other that likes pitch forks and black eyeshadow. In fairness to the text, it kind of goes into other stories as well but the main principal is either be good (and therefore be on God's side), or be bad (and get to be the standard bearer for Be-Elzeebub - after an eternity of torture at his whim). I've never read the bible from start to finish so maybe there are some finer points to the story but, with the exception of Revelations, it's never really been a page turner in my view. However, the concept and what it stands for has to be admired at some level - even if a person doesn't believe it to be, well, true. In any case to me, real life (I think it's real, anyway) is never as clear cut as this. There may be some times when being good can cause you personal harm or tragedy (through sacrifice), whereas sometimes perhaps there is a need to do evil deeds for the greater good (you can't make an omelette without breaking any eggs, or so they say).

That's the general principal of Hell To Pay - who really is good and who really is bad? And can you be bad for good reasons, even if they are misguided? Through the 90 or so minutes of my tale I'd like to think that you'll be taken on an entertaining journey through the fortunes and misfortunes of a small group of characters trying to make the world a better place. A better place that some may not find totally acceptable (and obviously don't, otherwise we wouldn't have the juxtaposed positions to get a balanced G vs E!).

If you would like to know more about the concept of Hell To Pay, then get in touch via the Contact page, or via the link in the footer.

Thanks for reading.

Chris Nellis.