In the elevated horror RIPE, a flight attendant flees a country erupting in civil war, only to realize her plane is haunted by ghosts who won’t let the plane land until they get a new mother.
RIPE is an elevated horror film about reproductive rights - where the life cycle goes into overdrive and causes women to lose control over their bodies. The film starts with an American flight attendant escaping on the last flight out of a Central American country erupting in civil war. The crew takes off in an aging airplane and slowly realize there’s a presence on the plane with them - ghost children - massacred in a previous civil war - who are dying to be reborn. The ghosts won’t let the plane land unless they gets what they want - revenge and a new mother. Fertility runs amok, and the plane heats up, becoming more organic by the minute. Vines grow from seats, vermin run underfoot, and the passengers descend into a sea of primal behavior geared towards procreation. Our hero, who’s gotten used to playing small for too long, has to fight the ghosts to keep them from impregnating her and becoming a monster herself.
Mia Trachinger is a writer/director who makes films that scratch society’s underbelly. Her first two genre features, BUNNY and REVERSION, played at Sundance, Toronto, were nominated for Independent Spirit Awards, won Cinequest and earned Mia Hollywood Reporter’s “25 New Faces To Watch” distinction.
After stepping away to teach directing full time at UCLA’s School of Film and Television, Mia returns to filmmaking with her third feature, the thriller WHAT REMAINS, produced by Justin Lin’s Perfect Storm Entertainment.
Additionally, Mia has written and directed multiple short-form media, including a grounded sci-fi episode for PBS’ FUTURESTATES Television Series and the comedy SAF SEEKING for Justin Lin’s online production company. She currently directs English dubbing for Netflix and AppleTV. Last year, Mia and her horror screenplay RIPE were selected for Stowe Story Labs 2024.
Mia is an avid backpacker and has traversed high altitude passes in the Sierras, Nepal, Switzerland and New Zealand. She is a native of Silverlake, Los Angeles where she lives with her family.
