PLOT
In the soot-stained underbelly of Victorian London, brothers Omari and James Hassan scrape by as professional con men. Their trade: elaborate “mummy unwrapping” spectacles sold to London’s elite. Omari, the performer and mastermind, dazzles with exotic theatrics while James secretly prowls the house, stealing valuables from the distracted wealthy. It’s a dangerous hustle, but one that’s kept them afloat in the Stacks, the brutal industrial slums they call home.
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When their ruthless handler Henry forces them into one last job, a high-profile unwrapping ceremony for the eccentric and immensely wealthy Pettigrew family, the brothers see it as a chance to clear their debts and finally escape their dead-end life. Omari embraces the risk with swagger, convinced he can talk or shoot his way out of any situation. James, often in his brother’s shadow, begins to imagine a different kind of future: one of stability and dignity rather than crime and desperation.
The Pettigrews embody everything the brothers hate: old money, inherited arrogance, and a fortune built on stolen artifacts. Among them, however, is Alice Pettigrew, the family’s moral outlier. Alice sees history not as a trophy but as something to be understood and respected. Where her family clings to status and spectacle, Alice longs for authenticity, even if she doesn’t yet know what that means. She is instantly drawn to James’s quiet charm, not knowing he’s there to rob her home.
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The gala begins as expected: Omari performs his exoticized persona, delivering the perfect distraction, while James slips into the halls to locate the family’s most valuable artifact, the Tear of Mali. That’s when Charles Pettigrew, the arrogant heir who views his family’s stolen relics as proof of superiority, hijacks the spectacle. Charles, drunk on legacy and eager to impress, reads aloud from a scroll, an ancient incantation from one of his grandfather’s acquired artifacts. The air chills, the candles flutter, and the mummy in Omari’s sarcophagus awakens!
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The curse takes hold instantly. The mummy, fueled by rage, tears through the house, slaughtering guests in horrific fashion. For Omari and James, the simple con becomes a fight for survival. Their familiar roles, Omari the loud, reckless showman and James the quiet, reluctant thief, begin to crack. James steps forward, no longer willing to be just a background player. Omari, stripped of his con-man mask, must face his own fear and reliance on bravado.
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In the chaos, Alice’s loyalty to her family collapses as she sees the Pettigrew legacy for what it is: a house built on theft and desecration. Forced to fight alongside James, she becomes both his moral compass and his reason to fight for something more than money. Charles, meanwhile, doubles down on arrogance, attempting to control the situation and command the supernatural force he unwittingly unleashed. His refusal to see beyond his privilege seals his fate, consumed by the very curse his family courted.
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By dawn, blood coats the Pettigrew estate. The mummy is stopped, but at a devastating cost. Omari and James escape not as con men but as survivors, their bond tested and reforged in fire. James, inspired by Alice and disillusioned by their criminal life, begins to imagine a life where he’s more than a shadow to his brother. Omari, humbled, sees that his schemes always carried a price, and that his brother’s independence may be the first honest thing either of them has earned.
The Unwrapping fuses heist-thriller tension, Gothic horror, and rich character arcs, delivering not just blood-soaked spectacle but a story about loyalty, legacy, and what it costs to truly change.
