The Mirror Principle

A grieving mother watches her daughter’s post-concussion symptoms morph into terrifying mirror visions; to save her child she must join a skeptical doctor and a fringe psychiatrist to pull an inhuman presence from the other side — only to discover the true monster lived among them all along.

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Overview

Poster
Unique Selling Point

The Mirror Principle uniquely blends scientific theories of consciousness with supernatural horror, creating a psychological thriller grounded in real neurological concepts while delivering genuine scares and emotional depth through its exploration of sisterhood, grief, and the dark side of friendship.

AI Verdict & Suggestions

Ratings are subjective. So you get different engines' ratings to compare.

Hover over verdict cards for Executive Summaries

GPT5
 Recommend
Gemini
 Consider
Claude
 Recommend
Grok
 Recommend
DeepSeek
 Consider
Average Score: 7.5
Key Takeaways
For the Writer:
You have a strong, marketable high‑concept (mirror/dream twin) anchored by a compelling emotional core (Sarah’s grief over Claire). The single most effective rewrite move is to stop telling the Mirror Principle and instead show it: dramatize the rules through small experiments, failed attempts, and visual beats (mirrors, screens, scans) so exposition can be stripped down. At the same time, seed Stacey’s jealousy and opportunity earlier with subtle micro-behaviors and lines so her confession feels earned rather than sudden. Tighten the mid‑act by pruning repetitive hospital/waiting-room scenes and by letting scares and discoveries drive information rather than extended lectures from Dr. Harris/Walker.
For Executives:
This is a commercially viable supernatural thriller with a clear USP—the fusion of a pseudo‑scientific framing (the Mirror Principle) and a family grief story—that will appeal to mainstream genre audiences. However, the current draft carries risk: mid‑act pacing stalls, exposition dumps slow momentum, and the antagonist’s motive is revealed too late, weakening the twist. A focused development pass (show, don’t tell the rules; earlier foreshadowing of Stacey; tighten the middle) would materially increase producibility and sales potential. Budget profile: moderate (practical effects, hospital sets, a few VFX-heavy mirror set pieces). Recommend a rewrite before attachment or packaging to avoid costly on‑set fixes and to maximize festival/market interest.
Story Facts
Genres:
Drama 50% Horror 40% Thriller 30% Comedy 10% Crime 5%

Setting: Contemporary, present day, A suburban neighborhood, primarily in a family home and hospital settings

Themes: The Lingering Impact of Grief and Trauma, The Strength and Complexity of Family Bonds, The Uncanny and Supernatural Manifestation of Trauma, The Conflict Between Science and the Unexplainable, The Nature of Identity and Transformation, Betrayal and the Unreliable Nature of Trust, The Cycle of Life and Death, and Legacy

Conflict & Stakes: The main conflict revolves around Jenna's supernatural experiences following a head injury, which threaten her well-being and the family's stability, while Sarah grapples with unresolved grief over her sister Claire's death.

Mood: Tense and emotional, with elements of horror and family drama.

Standout Features:

  • Unique Hook: The intertwining of supernatural elements with a family's struggle to cope with grief and trauma.
  • Major Twist: The revelation of Stacey's involvement in Claire's death adds a shocking layer to the narrative.
  • Innovative Idea: The concept of a character experiencing a split between their physical and supernatural selves, exploring themes of identity and trauma.
  • Distinctive Setting: The suburban family home juxtaposed with hospital settings creates a relatable yet eerie atmosphere.

Comparable Scripts: The Sixth Sense, A Quiet Place, The Others, Pet Sematary, The Haunting of Hill House, The Conjuring, The Babadook, The Fault in Our Stars, The Lovely Bones

Data Says…
Feature in Alpha - Could have inaccuracies

Our stats model looked at how your scores work together and ranked the changes most likely to move your overall rating next draft. Ordered by the most reliable gains first.

1. Premise (Script Level)
Big Impact Script Level
Your current Premise (Script Level) score: 7.4
Typical rewrite gain: +0.6 in Premise (Script Level)
Gets you ~4% closer to an "all Highly Recommends" score
Confidence: High (based on ~5,025 similar revisions)
  • This is currently your highest-impact lever. Improving Premise (Script Level) is most likely to move the overall rating next.
  • What writers at your level usually do: Writers at a similar level usually raise Premise (Script Level) by about +0.6 in one rewrite.
  • Why it matters: At your level, improving this one area alone can cover a meaningful slice of the climb toward an "all Highly Recommends" script.
2. Theme (Script Level)
Big Impact Script Level
Your current Theme (Script Level) score: 7.7
Typical rewrite gain: +0.6 in Theme (Script Level)
Gets you ~3% closer to an "all Highly Recommends" score
Confidence: High (based on ~2,821 similar revisions)
  • This is another meaningful lever. After you work on the higher-impact areas, this can still create a noticeable lift.
  • What writers at your level usually do: Writers at a similar level usually raise Theme (Script Level) by about +0.6 in one rewrite.
  • Why it matters: After you address the top item, gains here are still one of the levers that move you toward that "all Highly Recommends" zone.
3. Originality (Script Level)
Moderate Impact Script Level
Your current Originality (Script Level) score: 7.6
Typical rewrite gain: +0.8 in Originality (Script Level)
Gets you ~3% closer to an "all Highly Recommends" score
Confidence: High (based on ~3,395 similar revisions)
  • This is another meaningful lever. After you work on the higher-impact areas, this can still create a noticeable lift.
  • What writers at your level usually do: Writers at a similar level usually raise Originality (Script Level) by about +0.8 in one rewrite.
  • Why it matters: After you address the top item, gains here are still one of the levers that move you toward that "all Highly Recommends" zone.

Script Level Analysis

Writer Exec

This section delivers a top-level assessment of the screenplay’s strengths and weaknesses — covering overall quality (P/C/R/HR), character development, emotional impact, thematic depth, narrative inconsistencies, and the story’s core philosophical conflict. It helps identify what’s resonating, what needs refinement, and how the script aligns with professional standards.

Screenplay Insights

Breaks down your script along various categories.

Overall Score: 7.74
Key Suggestions:
Tighten the screenplay by nailing down the Mirror Principle's rules and using them to drive plot and emotion. Right now the supernatural logic is fuzzy, which undermines stakes, pacing, and character choices. Define clear limits, triggers, and costs for mirror/anti-matter manifestations and reveal them organically (show-don’t-tell) across scenes so each encounter escalates logically. Simultaneously, deepen Stacey’s motivation earlier with subtle foreshadowing — a few small, character-driven moments that explain her jealousy and entitlement will make the betrayal feel earned rather than abrupt. These two fixes will sharpen tension, improve emotional payoff, and make the climax more satisfying.
Story Critique

Big-picture feedback on the story’s clarity, stakes, cohesion, and engagement.

Key Suggestions:
You have a strong emotional core (grief, family bonds) and an intriguing high-concept hook (The Mirror Principle). The priority is to make the supernatural threat and its link to Claire feel earned: explicitly seed the Mirror Principle earlier through small visual motifs and dialogue, and give the entity a clearer motivation/tie to Claire so the climax lands emotionally. Flesh out Stacey’s escalation from friend to antagonist (show pressure, jealousy, incremental moral slides) and broaden Alissa’s role so the family’s trauma has more varied consequences. Finally, slow the final act slightly — let the mist/possession build more insidiously and allow time to explore the psychological aftermath rather than resolving everything abruptly.
Characters

Explores the depth, clarity, and arc of the main and supporting characters.

Key Suggestions:
The script has a strong emotional core (Sarah's grief, family bonds) that elevates the supernatural beats, but several character and structural issues dilute payoff: the antagonist reveal (Stacey) feels sudden because the script under-foreshadows and under-humanizes her; supporting players (Ben, Dr. Walker, Alissa) are often reactive rather than proactive; and Sarah's transformation could be staged more clearly so the climax feels earned. Prioritize planting early, subtle behavioral and textual clues about Stacey's jealousy, deepen Dr. Walker and Ben with one personal wound each, and give Jenna/Alissa a couple of active, consequential choices to increase agency and audience investment. These changes will make the twist more believable, tighten emotional stakes, and sharpen dramatic momentum throughout the middle act.
Emotional Analysis

Breaks down the emotional journey of the audience across the script.

Key Suggestions:
The script's emotional core is strong (grief, family warmth, medical crisis) but loses impact during a prolonged, high-intensity supernatural stretch. Prioritize rebalancing emotional pacing: introduce brief tenderness, humor, or professional camaraderie amid the horror sequences (scenes ~37–49) to create contrast and prevent audience desensitization. Also deepen character agency and motivation—give Jenna moments of active resistance and expand Stacey's backstory and emotional rationale earlier so her later confession feels earned rather than abrupt. Small targeted rewrites (one or two bridging scenes, a few line tweaks) will restore variety and strengthen the payoff.
Goals and Philosophical Conflict

Evaluates character motivations, obstacles, and sources of tension throughout the plot.

Key Suggestions:
The analysis shows the screenplay’s emotional core is Sarah’s journey from grief-driven denial to active acceptance and protection of her family. To strengthen the script, tighten and foreground Sarah’s decision-making: make her internal struggle visible through concrete choices and setbacks (not just reactions). Clarify the antagonist (supernatural force vs. human betrayal) so the final confrontation feels earned, and avoid resolving major stakes by coincidence or late exposition. Streamline scenes that duplicate medical procedural detail and reallocate that time to deepen character beats—especially Jenna’s agency and Sarah’s moral turning points—so the thematic throughline (Acceptance vs. Denial) carries the structural payoffs.
Themes

Analysis of the themes of the screenplay and how well they’re expressed.

Key Suggestions:
To enhance the script, focus on deepening the exploration of grief and trauma, ensuring that these themes resonate throughout the characters' arcs. Consider refining the supernatural elements to serve as more than just plot devices; they should reflect the characters' internal struggles and emotional states. Additionally, the complexity of family dynamics should be emphasized, showcasing how love and support can both heal and complicate relationships in the face of trauma. This will create a richer narrative that resonates with audiences on multiple levels.
Logic & Inconsistencies

Highlights any contradictions, plot holes, or logic gaps that may confuse viewers.

Key Suggestions:
The script's strongest engine is the blend of family drama and supernatural horror, but it stalls because the central twist (Stacey as Claire's murderer) and the rules for the entity feel undeveloped. Prioritize rewrites that: (1) give Stacey credible motivation and incremental behavioral changes (foreshadowing, small lies, morally ambiguous choices) so her reveal doesn't read as plot-convenient; (2) tighten the supernatural 'mirror principle' — establish clear, repeatable rules or a plausible pseudo-scientific mechanism early so the audience can follow cause-and-effect; and (3) fix the strychnine/cover-up timeline with practical detail (how it avoided detection, why Stacey stayed trusted). Consider alternative explanations (entity manipulation, unreliable narrator, or Stacey coerced) if keeping a human villain strains credibility. These fixes will preserve emotional stakes and make the payoff feel earned rather than manufactured.

Scene Analysis

All of your scenes analyzed individually and compared, so you can zero in on what to improve.

Scene-Level Percentile Chart
Hover over the graph to see more details about each score.
Go to Scene Analysis

Other Analyses

Writer Exec

This section looks at the extra spark — your story’s voice, style, world, and the moments that really stick. These insights might not change the bones of the script, but they can make it more original, more immersive, and way more memorable. It’s where things get fun, weird, and wonderfully you.

Unique Voice

Assesses the distinctiveness and personality of the writer's voice.

Key Suggestions:
You have a strong, emotionally intimate voice that grounds supernatural elements in everyday family life — lean into that strength while tightening the mechanics and pacing. The single biggest improvement is to codify the supernatural rules and ensure each horror beat is motivated by character (not just spectacle). Make the entity's behavior consistent, clearly link manifestations to Jenna/Sarah's emotional journey, and tighten or combine scenes that repeat the same scares so the story builds steadily toward the reveal without losing the audience in repeated shocks.
Writer's Craft

Analyzes the writing to help the writer be aware of their skill and improve.

Key Suggestions:
You have a strong emotional core and convincing family dynamics; to elevate the screenplay, focus first on sharpening dialogue and subtext. Trim on-the-nose lines, let scenes imply emotion through action and small physical beats, and use silence or partial information to build tension. Secondarily, tighten scene-level pacing (especially around reveals and the supernatural beats) so suspense escalates more rhythmically. Practical next steps: rewrite key scenes with dialogue-only and tension-escalation exercises, and apply structural lessons from the recommended books to ensure character choices consistently drive the plot.
Memorable Lines
Spotlights standout dialogue lines with emotional or thematic power.
Tropes
Highlights common or genre-specific tropes found in the script.
World Building

Evaluates the depth, consistency, and immersion of the story's world.

Key Suggestions:
The script’s core strength is the collision of intimate suburban family drama with creeping supernatural horror grounded in medical realism. To sharpen the impact, codify the supernatural rules early and weave clear, subtle foreshadowing of the antagonist and key reveals throughout the first two acts so the late betrayals and possession beats feel earned rather than sudden. Also tighten tonal transitions between hospital procedural scenes and horror set-pieces, and prune redundant exposition so emotional beats (Sarah’s guilt, Jenna’s trauma, Stacey’s role) get more screen time and clarity.
Correlations

Identifies patterns in scene scores.

Key Suggestions:
Your script’s biggest asset is its emotionally charged set-pieces — when you push into grief, fear, or family conflict the story advances and characters change in meaningful ways. Lean into that: tighten or rework quieter, low-conflict scenes so they either (a) reveal character through subtext or (b) plant clues that pay off later. Keep the strong dialogue voice intact, and use the supernatural beats to escalate stakes incrementally so every emotional high both satisfies and propels the next scene.
Loglines
Presents logline variations based on theme, genre, and hook.