Would you watch this?

[RatRace123]

Hello fellow escapists. I've contemplated asking this for a long time, but I guess I'll just go right ahead and say it:

I'm currently writing a script for a small budget independent movie, well I'm actually nearly done, so I'm more or less finishing it.

It kind of starts in a stereotypical fashion, there's this group of young college age kids (around 20-22) They go up to a secluded cabin for spring break. One of the kids goes missing and through investigation the campers discover that there's a murderer on the loose. (I know, groundbreaking stuff here)

They later come to the conclusion that one of them is the murderer, the main character (Whom I'm playing) gets accused of being the killer. He suffers from emotional trauma, and he's been having blackouts. He wakes up from one and he's looming over a dead girl's body, which is solid evidence enough for the rest of the campers to believe he's the murderer. He gets binded and is thrown into a car as a few characters try to bring him back to the sherriff's. An accident happens and the car crashes.

The protagonist manages to escape and head back into the woods, he's now tasked with finding clues to try to figure out what's happening. Due to his blackouts, he's not even sure if he's the killer or not, so he needs to find evidence, that will either save him or condemn him.

All the while he's being pursued by his former friends, his best friend, motivated by the death of his girlfriend has lead the charge against the protagonis, hunting him in an almost templar like fashion.


That's the premise of the story, what do you think? I've looked around and I think it's pretty original, I can't find any other stories like it. It's kind of a slasher movie, but the killings are deliberately restrained, you rarely see anything too extreme. It's really more of a character driven, psychological piece. Would you see a movie like that?

 

[Vrach]

Frankly, no (no offense, just not my thing), but I do like some of the concept, the blackout thing has some "Memento" potential if you pull it off right and the spin with the main character being the "bad guy" is innovative enough. I'd drop the college though, the mere combination of "college kids" and "murders" is just a very overused sort of thing that's gonna turn a lot of people off the movie.

 

[Enigma6667]

Sounds really good. With enough effort, it could be a really mind-bending Memento style thriller.

 

[RatRace123]

Frankly, no (no offense, just not my thing), but I do like some of the concept. I'd drop the college though, the mere combination of "college kids" and "murders" is just a very overused sort of thing that's gonna turn a lot of people off the movie.

That's actually not a bad suggestion. The college isn't really that big, we can't really go much older because all of the actors are really around (18-19) We can't even use real booze on the set, at least I'm not allowing it. I figure we can age up a bit, and some of us can pass for a few years older. But you're right, that is a bit too cliche.

 

[Kyrian007]

Not bad, classic college kids in the woods with a sort of Memento-ish lost memory theme. Kind of a hunter becomes the hunted theme with the best friend/templar dude. You'll have to be careful to establish the initial murder and some sort of reason for a specific reason for the zeal of the best friend character. Perhaps he's already somewhat unstable, straw and camel's back sort of thing. Or perhaps its a real "true love" that gets broken up. I'm a little darker type and would go with guilt, dude treats his girlfriend like crap, but goes overboard with the guilt after she is gone. But you have to give it enough story to make it stick, without taking away too much time from the "chase" meat part of the story.

Good luck. Don't pay attention to the haterz, I'm sure they will be chiming in any minute now.

 

[LongAndShort]

I've seen a few European flicks with a very similar premise, and I'll be honest I didn't particularly enjoy them. Not because they were bad films or a bad story, I just don't like thrillers of that sort. I do think that if done in the right way, this could be a really successful film, cause I got friends who would enjoy this.

The only advice I'd give is to make sure that you balance self-belief and self-doubt in the main character. To much of either tends to make the audience think a protagonist is full of himself or a whiny ***** respectively.

 

[Necrofudge]

Yeah I wouldn't mind watching something like that.

Spoiler

I bet he is the killer, but it only happens when he passes out and sleep walks to them with a knife or something. This does vaguely remind me of Fight Club though...

 

[AWDMANOUT]

I like it.
I usually will take anything actiony before horror, but hey, it does sound kinda entertaining.

 

[Deathkingo]

Mmmm, physiological thrillers. There are a few things to consider:

Are his friends there when he wakes over a dead girl's body? If not how do they get the evidence?
What sort of past did the protagonist have in order for the blackouts to occur?
What causes the blackouts?

Just some things I was thinking whilst reading. Though, seeing how you said you are almost finished, I'm sure you have these areas covered, right? RIGHT!? I admit, slasher flicks aren't really my thing. Truly scary movies are around the mental, not the physical, death of a person. Yet, you threw in the words "psychological piece" and if you go from that angle, it may preserve my interest. Otherwise, the whole "cabin in the woods" with "college kids and a killer oooooooh" thing feel as if it has been overdone.

 

[AvsJoe]

First and foremost: don't skimp on the cinematography. Major chunks of this movie will be filmed at night so you need someone who knows what they're doing in charge of the lighting, camera, and filming. This is important because if you don't have a good looking film, you don't have a chance (see: Darkest Hour, Death Tunnel).

Second: develop your characters. This is huge because many people are sick and tired of personality traits in human form rather than actual characters with personalities and motivations et al. We don't need a Platinum Dunes wannabe.

Third: nudity is your friend. Hate to say it but your film is more likely to be at least a little successful if you have a topless scene or two. If you can, try not to make it too gratuitous, but do leave it in there.

And finally: cut a sweet-ass trailer and release it virally. Music and sound are very important in making a trailer (as well as a movie), so no skimpy. If you can, round up a band who will do a ditty in a recording studio for less than peanuts.

Anyway, heed my advice and your movie may see some success. Good luck, and make sure you link us to the trailer when you complete it.

 

[Vrach]

That's actually not a bad suggestion. The college isn't really that big, we can't really go much older because all of the actors are really around (18-19) We can't even use real booze on the set, at least I'm not allowing it. I figure we can age up a bit, and some of us can pass for a few years older. But you're right, that is a bit too cliche.

Yep that's exactly what I meant, age is fine, just label them differently. Here, a stupid idea, they know each other cause they go bowling together. Completely uninteresting and you can think of 50 better ideas, but there's less of that feeling of "oh great, another adolescents-gone-mad movie"

edit: now that I think of it, I might see a well done movie like that. Not in a theatre though, would have to be on a DVD so I can just chill at home watching it, theatre atmosphere and a volume I can't control don't work well with me and any sort of horror movie

 

[CobraX]

Good concept, now you need to make, send it to me, and then yes I'll watch it. Good idea for a movie.

 

[RatRace123]

All these ideas are great, during the writing process I actually considered alot of the factors that were mentioned. As I was writing I realized I was more or less making a "Slasher film, with a brain" I have the characters being as real and as smart as possible. Even the ones that are there to raise body count get some development before they get axed.

One of the focal points of the movie, isn't really to explore the killings, but to explore the people that are affected. We get to see the toil that it takes on everyone and a few of them snap and their allegiences and friendships get broken. I've known that for this type of movie the audience is really rooting for the killer, largely due to stupid or unlikable victims. For this, I try to reverse that, the killer is largely unseen, he doesn't even wear a mask or a suit, he has the balls to simply wear a hoody.

A large part of the movie delves into the protagonist's background, you do get to see why he's doing what he's doing, what's causing the blackouts, how he's reacting from them. In fact the movie deals more focus to the protagonist and his friend as they play their game of cat and mouse as more people die.

In terms of action and nudity, we have those. The fight scenes, I made sure were in contrast with the killings, the fights are brutal, quick and deadly. The "sex" scenes are, however underplayed as well. This is partly due to respecting the wishes of some of our actresses and also due to the fact that outright nudity, I think is too tawdry.

Thanks for the opinions, if I can, after scripting and principle filming is done, I'll try to get a trailer up. The escapist will be the first site to see it, apart from whereever I put the trailer up, of course.

 

[L4hlborg]

The idea isn't completely original, but that's not necessarily a problem. College students in a cabin and´they start slowly dieing is a reaaaally overused concept and the blackouts have a Butterfly effecty feel to them. You just have to think of something original into how you film and edit it.

And please don't make it too long. If a movie is too long, even though it's good, it becomes really hard to enjoy. So if you are not sure if the movie is long enough or not, don't put any extra stuff there. It's better if it's too short than if it's too long.

Keeping those things in mind, it'll probably be a good or even a great film.

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

It's really more of a character driven, psychological piece. Would you see a movie like that?

Now before I start I did read the whole post, I'm just quoting this part because it made me more interested.

In short it sounds a lot better than the typical murder mystery/horror/what-have-you... So yeah I'd watch it, and good luck making it happen.

 

[Daipire]

Reminds me of the Hole, which I personally hated.

And partly that old school wolf movie, where he wakes up with blood in his mouth

 

[Bored Tomatoe]

I like the unreliable narrator/protagonist part. So Yeah, I'd watch it, but I'd have to agree on dropping the college part.