Someone in Nashville is killing Woo Girls, and Haley, a jaded songwriter and local, must protect her brother's fiancée and friends when they come to town for a bachelorette party.
"WOO GIRLS" a term of affection or derision depending, refers to the party girls who pour into Nashville every year making it the number one Bachelorette Party destination. Nashville locals have mixed feelings about this industry, that also wreaks havoc on the sanitation, gentrification and authenticity of the city itself. But it's that a metaphor too, for how we regard, commodify, exploit, villainize and loathe young women having a good time and living independent lives (that sometimes result in codependent choices). Out of this conflict, WOO GIRLS is born, a horror comedy slasher about a Haley, a jaded loner songwriter who is desperate to prove herself to her brother by protecting his fiancee Melissa and her gregarious friends from a serial killer preying on bachelorettes. Haley has taken care of herself for a long time. Estranged from her family when she left home at a young age to become a musician in Nashville, her last remaining tie to her family is her brother, Harris. Haley promises Harris that she will take care of his fiancee, Melissa, and her bachelorettes Sydney, Joy, Winnie and Katelyn during their whirlwind bachelorette weekend to Nashville. Haley must balance her desire to show the girls the good time, show the girls HER Nashville, and above all keep them safe from a killer who's been slashing and displaying visiting bachelorettes. Haley starts by taking the girls out in East Nashville, her hometown and the hub of "real" artist culture. She runs into musicians she admires, brushes off her recent ex-boyfriend, and bumps into a potential flame, all while promising the girls a wild night Downtown the next day. Haley hates to admit that she's also embarrassed by the girls, because they represent an element of tourism disdained by locals, and an element of silliness despised by Haley herself. She can't help but notice, eventually of course, how thoughtful, fun, caring and cool these young women are, and how adventurous and protective they are. Once Downtown, things take a turn. The killer turns up, as does Katelyn's furious evangelical husband, Chadd. Pursuits split the girls up, people are killed, and they reconvene at the famous Ryman Auditorium in the final act to confront the real killer. In the end, Haley learns not to judge people too harshly, and to open herself up to love. The girls learn independence and that they can always lean on each other. And the Nashville Slasher's reign of terror is put to rest.
Julie Sharbutt is a writer, director and actor who uses Genre and Comedy to tell character-driven contemporary stories. Her most recent work includes writing, directing and producing the award winning horror short film SCAM, which screened across the world at Fantaspoa, Woodstock, Final Girls Berlin, Cannes Film Festival American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase and more, and writing the short film BOTTLECAP optioned and produced by Director Barbara Brown. She co-wrote the short film CUPIDS which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival and was nominated for a 2022 NAACP Image Award. Her short horror film 3 DAYS is on ALTER with over a million views, and her debut comedy feature film MOVED is on Apple. Other recent works include feature screenplays EXCELLENT FANCY (2023 Writers Lab Finalist, 2022 WScripted Cannes Screenplay List), CROW FLIES (2023 Austin Film Festival SemiFinalist), and original pilots SPORTS BRA, SALVAGED, SECRETARY OF ARTS, PLAYERS and others. Julie is a 2018 Warner Bros Discovery OneFifty New Storytellers alumni, where she developed her feature comedy screenplay COOL NEW TOWN as an episodic series. Prior to directing, Julie was a TV, film and theater actor in New York. She also performed improv at UCB and The PIT, and her humor writing can be seen in The New Yorker and McSweeneys. MFA in Acting from NYU, BA from Vanderbilt, member of Film Fatales, Women in Film, and Alliance of Women Directors. Current mentor in Vanderbilt University’s Vandy In Hollywood summer program, and longtime West Coast Board Member of the NYU Grad Acting Alumni Association. She loves hiking, volunteering, and ghost stories.
Hayes Horror Mentorship Fellowship Pitch Semifinalist
