ZUGZWANG - An MFA Thesis Short Horror Film

Hi! My name is John and I'm fundraising for my MFA thesis at Loyola Marymount University: ZUGZWANG - a short horror film that is also a proof of concept for a television series of the same name. We are filming in late January/early February and are looking to raise $6000 by mid-January.

 

 

 

BACKSTORY

 

I want to make this piece to bring awareness to sleep paralysis - when you awake before the rest of the body, making you unable to move or speak for a few seconds to minutes. I have experienced sleep paralysis in the past and it is anything but fun. During this, your body is still going through rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep, so you can hallucinate. One of the very common hallucinations most people see is colloquially known as the Shadow Man, Hat Man, or Fedora Man. There are many who believe this "Shadow Man" is actually a demon out to kill them. I wanted to play on this belief in a cool way for my thesis.

 

STORY

 

ZUGZWANG, follows Ian, a man with sleep paralysis experiencing visits from the Shadow Man, who he believes killed his father, as he confronts his past to save his and his mother's lives from the devious demon. Its tone is similar to the short versions of Oculus and Lights Out. ZUGZWANG is a trippy, dream-full, and scary mix perfect for people not looking to sleep at night.

 

LIGHTING

 

As with any horror, lighting is very important. We plan to bring an eery, dark lighting to this picture to make you not want to rest at night.

 

 

COMPOSITION

 

I'm very influenced by the composition of Hereditary (2018), Insidious (2010), Get Out (2017), and Oculus (2013). We plan to create something with similar daunting, tight, and inescapable feelings.

 

 

 

LOCATIONS

 

The locations are mostly interior with one exterior scene outside of a house. The film will mostly be in bedrooms, a kitchen, and a meeting room.

 

 

 

 

VFX AND SOUND DESIGN

 

VFX and Sound Design are extremely important parts of the film, especially for the Shadow Man and the horrifying sounds that horror is known for. These are pricy features that will be improbable to achieve without your help.

 

OUR ASK

 

As a Black filmmaker, my goal is to be one of the new Black faces of horror, and producing and writing this piece is my first chance. I have an amazing director, Healin Kweon (also an LMU MFA candidate), great producers, and a diverse crew attached to my project. We are currently in pre-production and need donations to continue on. We are asking friends, family, and anyone else to please donate and help our vision come to life.

 

 

Your donations will fund: location fees, post-production fees, catering for cast and crew, wardrobe and props, rentals, film festival fees, music composition, and more.

All donors will be specially thanked in the credits and may receive a gift (such as the lookbook, script, link to an early viewing of the film, and more) dependent on their level of support. An update will be given on our social media when the film is available to watch.

 

THANK YOU

 

Thank you so much for your support and help. We really appreciate it. Spread the word!

 

Instagram: @Zugzwang_short

My website: johnrossthompson.com

 

(Pictured: Top - John Thompson, writer-producer; Bottom - Healin Kweon, director-producer)