Black Smoke Tales: Episode 3 (Boiling Point)

Keith Lakean Powell’s Black Smoke Tales: Boiling Point is the third episode of his indie anthology thriller series, and this one cranks the heat all the way up. One bad day is about to get a whole lot worse.

The episode opens in a dim basement where Old Man Murphy (Toda Moyer), the series’ wry host, sits alone at a lit table. Pipe in hand and lotto tickets spread out, he lets you know that things are going to hit their boiling point.

The real story kicks off outside an antique store, where Mya sits in her car, stressing out over a pile of past-due notices. She’s desperate as she approaches her financial limit. Meanwhile, her coworkers know exactly what’s going on with Mya. With no compassion, they conspire to get Mya fired.

“Her coworkers smell blood and conspire to drive the final nail in Mya’s coffin.”

When Mya finally shows up, she goes straight to her boss to ask for the promotion she desperately needs. Because she’s been late almost every day, Maya gets nothing—no bonus, no promotion, nothing. Her coworkers smell blood and conspire to drive the final nail in Maya’s coffin.

Black Smoke Tales is a moral anthology tale featuring Old Man Murphy as our creepy host. He weaves tales of people pushed to the brink of compromise. The idea in Boiling Point is what happens when Mya is pushed to her limits, and the pressure reaches its “boiling point.”

In this micro-budget DIY anthology series, writer/director Keith Lakean Powell conjures some magic with a cast that really wants to indulge in their dark side. Emotions are high, as is the acting, allowing Powell and crew to deliver something juicy and truly diabolical. We’ve all been there. Down the darkest pit in our lives, and it’s best to let Mya serve as the devil’s guinea pig rather than us.