I Think You Killed Me is a short film written, directed and produced by Black women. It puts Black characters at the center of a universally relatable experience: change.

I Think You Killed Me is a story all of us have lived many times before. A surreal psychological horror about the most inevitable part of our existence: change.

Because the most necessary changes in your life are rarely painless. In fact, they demand sacrifice. A part of you has to die in order for you to become who you're meant to be. And sometimes, YOU have to be the one to kill it. This is a film for every single YOU out there — the ones you've left behind, and the ones you have yet to become.

And it's both a love letter, and a knife to the chest.

Logline

Over the course of one lazy afternoon, three bored friends find themselves wrapped up in a plot to kill someone just for fun using a magical drug by the name of YOU.

Story

We find Taylor at the bottom of an empty pool, off the deep end, wallowing in her own self-pity. Mia will do just about anything to get her friend out of her funk — so, like the good friend she is, she suggests they kill someone. Not just anyone. The only person more miserable than Taylor: their friend Jack.

The entire ordeal is terrifyingly nonchalant. Taylor doesn't quite believe killing someone will cheer her up — but she doesn't resist the way you'd expect either. She gives Jack the YOU pill and they watch him die without an ounce of sympathy.

Only when Mia says "YOU killed him" does Taylor's guilt set in.

Three characters, and YOU.

Three characters, and YOU. When we first meet our characters, they couldn’t appear more different. Each has a completely different relationship with change that informs how they navigate their encounter with the You pill. As things play out, we realize they’re more similar than you’d think.

• Jack is indifferent. Stuck in life. So when Mia and Taylor invite him into the fun, he’s game. He’s loveable, but clearly carries with him heavy emotional burdens he doesn’t want to confront.
• Taylor Taylor is overwhelmed with sadness. When Mia suggests they kill someone, she’s too numb to say no. But maybe this adventure will get her out of her funk?
• Mia has magnetism that makes you want to do whatever she says. She’s a dreamer. An opportunist. And she’ll do anything to cheer up her friend Taylor, including killing someone. Does that really her make her a bad person?

This was inspired by a real story. A dream where a friend and I conspired to kill someone.

The entire film takes place in an empty swimming pool, but really we’re in Taylor’s dream world. Time doesn’t exist in a place like this. The setting, props, and wardrobe will have a timeless & nondescript feel. And we'll shoot the entire thing in Black and White.

Have you ever had a dream that was a nightmare in disguise?

Your sleep state is keeping you from being able to acknowledge the seriousness of what’s going on… or even control your actions. That's the world this film lives in. Every element of the film tries to convince you it's peaceful, when really, it's nothing of the sort. Cinematography will be nightmarishly intimate, keeping you close to things you want to look away from. We're composing a score using classical instruments that's uncannily optimistic. Everything working together to treat this murder as something casual, beautiful and necessary — just like our characters do.

When you dream, there are always inconsistencies with what you see, hear and feel.

We’ll recreate that, using those elements to play up the unsettling nature of the dream. People and objects will appear out of nowhere. The soundscape will add a uncanny twist to familiar sounds. Footsteps reverberating in the empty pool. Voices drowned out by water that isn’t there.

We’ll play with the viewers senses to make them question if they’re hearing things or seeing things, just as they would in a dream.

We live in a world that tells us to grow, evolve, become more — but nobody talks about the emotional labor behind actually doing it. The grief of leaving yourself behind. The guilt of becoming someone your old self wouldn't recognize. Have you ever looked back and realized how far you've come? This film show how empowering change can be and hard it feels to get there.

This story came to me in a dream during a time when I was Jack — in complete denial that I was struggling. I turned it into a script when I was Taylor — aware of my pain but too afraid to help myself. Today I'd like to think I'm Mia. The events in this film are surreal, but the horrors and triumphs are not. I've killed many versions of myself to get here. I've loved them, grieved them, and left them behind. This film is for all of them.

Culturally, this project tackles universal themes of mental health and self-transformation through the perspective of Black characters. This allows us to ask a quieter question: what happens when we take Black characters outside of the contexts their identities are so often confined to, and place them inside a dream? A fable? A world that exists entirely outside of everyday life?

In this story, Taylor's struggles are not about race. They're about being human. Audience members of all backgrounds get to see themselves in her — and Black characters get to be the faces of a story that belongs to everyone.

We're planning a 2-day shoot at a single location in New York City. The creative vision for this film is intentionally contained which means we can put the majority of our budget exactly where it belongs: in the people making it.

Most of our budget will go towards paying our cast, crew, composer, editor, colorist, and hair and makeup team fairly and on time. The rest covers the tangible costs of making a film that we are happily accepting in-kind donations for — camera equipment, crew travel, location fees, props, and wardrobe.

What we need

Outdoor pool in NYC or the surrounding area that needs to be emptied.

See our wishlist for more info on how your generous contributions will be used.

Stretch Goals & What Your Support Unlocks

$25,000 Greenlights production — We shoot the film.

$30,000 Covers post-production — We edit, color and finish the film.

$35,000 Covers festival distribution and marketing — We make sure the film gets seen.

Budget Breakdown