The Community: A Feature Film

Logline: A lonely musician waiting for a woman to text him back orders a mystery box on the dark web and becomes a pawn in something he struggles to escape.

Production is planned for Summer 2026. Thomas and the production team would be so appreciative if you would join him for the ride and subscribe for updates on the film’s journey using the form below!!

Director’s Statement

I wrote this screenplay while I was waiting for a woman to text me back. I distracted myself by doing anything I could think of around my apartment—playing music, pacing, staring at the ceiling. While I was waiting, I remembered the concept of the mystery box about which an acquaintance had told me. You can order a cardboard box on the dark web without knowing its contents, and it can be some wild stuff. I didn’t order one, but I did start writing about John, a character who does.
THE COMMUNITY represents the darkest film I’ve ever written, and it’s deeply personal. It deals with John’s descent into the criminal underworld and explores themes of isolation, acceptance, and father-son relationships. I’ve written and directed dark comedies until this point, “Son of Blackbeard” and “The Toms,” which explore similar themes, and while there exist some darkly comedic moments in THE COMMUNITY, it’s anything but a comedy. John gets launched into a system in which he has no agency—or so he thinks.
Lars von Trier has been a huge influence lately, as has been the early work of Christopher Nolan.
THE COMMUNITY will not be an easy watch. It will make you question everything.

Characters

John Maunder – A 30-year-old musician finishing his debut album, John is introspective and creative but struggles with anxiety and obsessive tendencies. When a woman he’s dating stops texting him back, his inability to sit with uncertainty leads him down a rabbit hole that destroys everything he loves. Beneath his artistic sensitivity lies a deep loneliness and a desperate need for connection that makes him vulnerable to manipulation.

Jessica – Charismatic and disarmingly warm, Jessica seems like the perfect girlfriend – supportive, engaged, and genuinely interested in John’s life. But her easy charm conceals a calculated intelligence and a complete lack of empathy. She’s a professional predator who studies her targets with clinical precision, knowing exactly which emotional buttons to push to keep them compliant.

Max – John’s best friend and an accountant who prides himself on being rational and risk-averse. His betrayal of John stems not from malice but from the same paralyzing fear that drives all of The Community’s victims. Max represents the uncomfortable truth that good people can do terrible things when they’re terrified, and that no one is immune to coercion when the stakes are high enough.

Sign Up for Updates on THE COMMUNITY

Production is planned for Summer 2026. He’d be so appreciative if you would join him for the ride and subscribe for updates on the film’s journey using the form above!