A kid searching for his lost dad finds him trapped in an 80s martial arts movie and he must learn karate to fight his way out.

SYNOPSIS:

PREMISE

Beat 'em Up is an action-packed love song to 80s martial arts movies, a feel-good story centered around a boy's search for his lost dad set against the backdrop of period nostalgia. This is a film about legacy.

TONE

It's Last Dragon meets Last Action Hero. In the same way Scream is both a slasher film and an homage to the genre, Beat 'em Up likewise pays tribute to the martial arts genre while lovingly dismantling it.

SUMMARY

CODY BENNETT is the foremost expert in 80s martial arts movies in all of Los Angeles, but his self-taught karate makes him an easy target for bullies at school. Cody's search for his lost dad leads him to a mysterious video store with the only copy of his dad's final film. The store's owner MR. WANG rents Cody the tape. When Cody plays the tape (the inciting incident) a swirling 80s vortex opens!

Cody gets sucked into a dangerous but familiar world full of roving gangs of street-fighting teens but no memory of life before, like an 80s Pleasure Island. Cody uses his movie knowledge to navigate this world. He meets MEI-LIN (17, F) who avoids losing her memories by hiding out in a temple. Mei has developed crippling anxiety about leaving, desperately holding onto memories of her mom.

As we break into Act 2, Cody finds his dad leading one of these gangs, The Reapers. Cody realizes that's why Jesse's been missing all this time. Jesse doesn't remember Cody, his time before, or even that Cody is his son! Cody infiltrates the gang to get close to his dad. He teaches the Reapers karate, including Cody.

Cody tries different things to jog his dad's memory, like quoting his movies back to him, showing him clips from his films, and eventually trying (but failing) to demonstrate his dad's special movie, the Inverted Flip Kick. Nothing works. Worse, Cody starts to forget about the real world like everyone else!

At the Midpoint, the Reapers suspect Cody of trying to take Jesse away from them, and tensions erupt. Jesse breaks up their fight. He is concerned Cody isn't fitting in and threatens to kick him out of the gang.

Cody investigates why everyone is losing their memories and discovers that Mr. Wang drains the memories of those trapped here over time (that's why Jesse can't remember!) Cody fights him but is no match for Wang, who uses his magic powers to twist Jesse's perception of Cody's intentions. Jesse kicks Cody out of the Reapers. Alone and without his dad, Cody returns to Mei-Lin at the low point of Act 2.

In the 3rd act, Cody realizes the only way out of this world is to defeat Wang. He and Mei-Lin train in an extended montage. But when the time to go comes, Mei isn't willing to leave the safety of the temple and Cody goes off to face Wang, all alone. Cody returns to the Reapers and challenges Wang.

If Cody wins, everyone in this world goes free, but if he loses, he'll forget and be trapped, forever. Cody uses everything he's learned, but he's not a match for Wang alone. At the moment of defeat, Mei-Lin arrives, overcoming her anxiety, and fights with Cody. Jesse sees Cody fighting and when he sees him nail the Inverted Flip Kick, his memories all come flooding back. He joins them and they all fight Wang.

Tape World starts to fall apart. When Wang is destroyed, the vortex opens, this time sending Cody and everyone else back to the real world! They all wake up where they left off, families and memories restored.

BEAT 'EM UP