Christopher Bencomo has spent nearly two decades as an actor. DOMDAD, his screenplay selected at FilmQuest, is what happened when he decided to write the stories he had been waiting to be handed. It follows Raul, a father consumed by an online infidelity, whose faceless lover seemingly turns his life into a waking nightmare. His husband and the authorities suspect a psychotic break. Raul becomes convinced he is possessed, and goes looking for a way to exorcise the thing he believes has moved in.
The Los Angeles-based Cuban-American writer describes his territory plainly: dark, thought-provoking stories about ordinary people pushed to their breaking points, grounding visceral fear in raw humanity, because the scariest stories are the ones we all feel can happen to us. DOMDAD lives somewhere between Hereditary, Smile and Cabin in the Woods, and Bencomo's hope for an audience is modest and exact: that people are scared, inspired, and find a little catharsis in this dark, crazy story.
Key Takeaways
- DOMDAD sustains what Bencomo calls Schrödinger's tension — supernatural horror and psychological thriller held open at once, with both explanations plausible and chilling.
- A self-described pantser, Bencomo started from his ending, worked backward, and let the story change the concept he began with.
- His craft tool of choice is unglamorous and reliable: time and patience, the perspective that only arrives after you step away.
Bencomo spoke with us about writing in the age of infinite access, the never-ending edit, and why no one else could have written this script.
Interview
What drew you to make this film, and why this story, why now?
We live in a time where we have everyone in the world at our fingertips thanks to social media. I explore what this can do to a relationship. This is why I think DOMDAD is extremely topical and relevant today.
How does your film fit within, or push the boundaries of, its genre or form?
DOMDAD lives in both the supernatural horror and psychological thriller space. I purposely created Schrödinger's tension where two realities exist at the same time, to keep audiences guessing until the very end. The cool thing to me is that both realities are plausible and chilling in their own right.
What surprised you most about the process, creatively or logistically?
Screenwriting is a new venture for me, and I'm finding the most surprising thing is how never-ending the editing process is. I'm a perfectionist with my work, so every time I open Final Draft my imagination kicks in and I find myself changing scenes and dialogue.
What moment in the film feels most like you, or like something only you could have made?
Since starting my screenplay, I learned there are two kinds of writers: plotters and pantsers. I'm 100% a pantser — I discover the story as I go. I knew what my ending was, then I went back to start my story. Because of this, my screenplay is very personal to me, as I write what I know. I infused aspects of my successes, failures and past relationships in all my characters and scenes. There is no one else in the world who would be able to write DOMDAD as I have.
What was the hardest creative decision you made while making the film?
My hardest creative decision was changing my concept. I think art ultimately takes on a life of its own. Like I said, I knew what my ending was when I started my screenplay, but as I wrote, I realized my story was asking for something else. In the end, I think the best thing I did was let DOMDAD spread its wings.
What tool, technique, resource, collaborator, or mindset shift helped most during production?
Time and patience. In giving your thoughts time to settle, when you come back to the work there is always a new perspective that may be the key to unlocking a roadblock or discovering a better way into a scene.
What does it mean to have your film selected for FilmQuest?
After 20 years in the entertainment industry, this process is entirely new to me. I'm so incredibly honored and excited to experience all of this at FilmQuest. They have made it so enjoyable. It's the best motivation to keep working on and developing my voice.
The ambition does not stop at the festival. Bencomo sees DOMDAD getting made with a kick-ass team, and he has a specific marquee in mind: the next big title for NEON. He is equally clear about where the leverage lies for a writer at this stage. The greatest strength an independent filmmaker has, he says, is the ability to tell the exact, unadulterated stories they want without having to comply with the rules of others. His advice follows from that — dream big, and don't let anything slow you down.
What DOMDAD has given him, beyond a first screenplay and a festival selection, is an appetite. The script has fueled a new addiction in him to find fresh ways to subvert the horror genre, and the structural gamble at the center of this one — two realities running in parallel, neither conceding to the other until the end — suggests a writer already thinking in terms of what the form can be made to do rather than what it usually does. For an actor who spent twenty years inside other people's stories, the shift is its own kind of possession. At the core of all his work, he says, is a desire to entertain.
Main Cast & Crew
- Christopher Bencomo — Screenwriter. A Los Angeles-based Cuban-American actor and screenwriter. He has been acting for almost 20 years and decided to start writing the stories he's passionate to tell. He writes dark, thought-provoking stories about ordinary people pushed to their breaking points. His goal is to ground visceral fear in raw humanity, as the scariest stories are the ones we all feel can happen to us.
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