horror · 1940s · animation studio · supernatural · vintage aesthetic · psychological thriller · mystery · gothic · workplace drama
A tense, exhausted peace has settled over Brooklyn since the war ended. The men are back, shuffling into offices beside the women who kept the lights on, everyone navigating a new and awkward normal. The summer sun beats down on the city, turning the air to soup. The stench of hot pavement, garbage, and human sweat is everywhere. Inside the studio, the chaos is a living thing. Artists are bent double at their desks, hands trembling as they ink countless frames. A maintenance man curses, mopping up a fresh, glossy black leak from a ceiling pipe. From the floor below, the wild, syncopated blast of a jazz band shakes the walls. Behind thick glass, Allison Pendle's voice lifts in a sweet, practiced melody, giving life to Alice Angel. The room swims with drifting paper: storyboards, music shee…