Fearless Storytelling Meets Horror-Comedy: Why I Wrote The Hills Have Divas

I don’t just tell stories, I wield them like a scalpel. In the intersecting worlds of race, faith, identity, and redemption, my work cuts deep, challenging audiences to confront truths often left unspoken. A bold voice in contemporary Black cinema and theatre, my emotionally charged narratives disrupt convention while amplifying perspectives too often sidelined. Across stage, screen, and literature, I’ve earned a reputation for socially conscious, character-driven storytelling that entertains, provokes, and lingers long after the curtain falls.

My latest spec screenplay, The Hills Have Divas, is no exception. At first glance, it may seem like another horror-comedy about women in peril. A familiar narrative trope of glamorous performers thrown into danger. But in my hands, the story becomes much more than that. Something much richer.

The project isn’t just about six former Broadway divas facing a deadly game. It’s a story about Black and Brown female empowerment. It’s about resilience, intelligence, and the capacity to adapt under pressure. And yes, it’s funny, but the comedy serves a purpose. It’s the lens through which I explore social class, systemic neglect, and the consequences of allowing those in power to go unchecked and unchallenged.

The Hills Have Divas follows six former Broadway divas who believe they’re stepping into a glamorous, high-paying gig in the California hills. What they don’t anticipate is a twisted plot orchestrated by a mysterious benefactor: a deadly game where their only encore is survival.

These women have built lives of excellence in careers, families, and education. They know how to perform under pressure, but this is about more than just performance. This comedy-horror about survival, unity, and refusing to be silenced. To survive the hunt, these divas must rely on each other, weaponize their egos, and outwit their hunters, who see them as nothing more than prey.

The title, of course, is a deliberate nod to Wes Craven’s 1977 horror classic, The Hills Have Eyes. While Craven’s film depicts physical grotesquery, mutant cannibals in a desert, my divas face a more insidious horror: a society that feasts on the absurd, obsessed with instant gratification, and often morally decayed beneath polished appearances. The hunters may look "normal," even, "charming," but their inner core is rotting. It’s a reflection of societal decay wrapped in comedy. Horrifying, ridiculous, and all too contemporary and real.

Stylistically, the film blends tonal references from Girls Trip to Hunger Games, mixing sharp satire with high-stakes thrills. Campy diva banter collides with life-or-death suspense, suburban cattiness meets deadly gamesmanship, and colorful personalities are tested against sinister intent. Yet beneath the spectacle, It’s a meditation on resilience. Communities of color are often facing incredible struggles and yet, we persevere. We adapt. We evolve. That’s the heart of The Hills Have Divas. It’s a synergistic blend of terror, absurdity, and hope, served in a big bowl of gumbo.

For me, social commentary is never an afterthought. Every project I create is an opportunity to reflect the humanity beneath the headlines.  An opportunity to confront what we often ignore, question the status quo, and celebrate perseverance, intelligence, and humor. Even in the face of adversity and danger.

In The Hills Have Divas, audiences will find the laughs, the thrills, and the drama, but also a story that matters. It’s a horror-comedy that entertains while challenging. A reminder that even in absurd circumstances, strength and courage, shine brightest.

Art should make you feel. It should provoke, unsettle, and sometimes even frighten you. But at the end of the day, it should also remind you of the power we all hold. The power to survive, to evolve, and to tell our own stories unapologetically, and with immense PRIDE and GRATITUDE.

Aaron K. Braxton is an award-winning screenwriter, playwright, actor, and director whose fearless, genre-bending storytelling cuts deep into the intersections of race, faith, identity, and redemption with unapologetic clarity. A bold voice in contemporary Black cinema and theatre, his emotionally charged narratives challenge convention and amplify underrepresented perspectives across stage, screen, and literature. Known for crafting socially conscious, character-driven stories that both entertain and disrupt, Braxton stands among a new generation of independent creators exposing the humanity beneath the headlines and redefining what it means to tell the truth through art. For industry inquiries into THE HILLS HAVE DIVAS screenplay or to discover more of my award-winning work go to www.aaronkbraxton.com