„SET KILLER“ (WT)- PITCH

„SET KILLER“ (WT)

A horror Comedy

by Nikita Vasilchenko & Jinglin Huang
& Michael Kleinfeld

“During the filming of a low-budget action movie, members of the cast and crew are being murdered by equipment usually used to shoot movies, such as dollies, cranes, and lights.”

Short-Synopsis

Mike, a middle-aged former nurse, replaces a young production assistant (P.A.) on a low-budget action movie being shot in Bulgaria. When his predecessor mysteriously disappeared, Mike, a lifelong film and action fan, eagerly stepped in to fill the role.

As filming continues in studios in Sofia, more crew and cast members die. Initially, the deaths seem accidental, but then someone is killed in the middle of a scene by being hanged from the studio ceiling, like in a western.

The producer and the lead actor want the filming to continue, as it is both a financial and personal investment for them. Mike wants to catch the killer so that the producer will notice him and, as a thank-you, produce one of the scripts Mike wrote a long time ago. As more people die, the local press begins reporting on the incidents, and suddenly, Hollywood sales companies are calling to secure the movie’s rights. This only strengthens the producer’s determination to finish the project, even as the deaths continue to mount.

The shooting is finished, but the killing continues: people are dying during post-production, which generates so much publicity that the Cannes Film Festival invites the movie for a special midnight screening. Mike, our P.A., finds clues about the murderer and plans to confront him at Cannes.

#Equipment killing

An Arri Max light of 20KW is being used to melt the face of a crew member.

A man’s head is getting decapitated by a Dolly Wheel.

A crew member gets decapitated by a giant clapperboard that was turned into a guillotine.

The Creators

Nikita Vasilchenko and Michael Kleinfeld studied together at Macromedia University in Cologne. Both being big fans of horror and genre films, they collaborated on several student projects. However, „Set Killer“ marks their first major feature film collaboration.
Jinglin Huang joined Michael’s Team in 2017 on his feature movie „Sanitatem“. She is a huge horror fan and fantastic painter, the main painting coming from her.

Jinglin and Nikita will write the script, Michael will direct the movie.

*Michael Kleinfeld(left) – Nikita Vasilchenko(middle) – Jinglin Huang(right)*

Having Michael & Nikita Vasilchenko worked as production assistants (set runners) on major sets, they brought their firsthand experience and filmmaking knowledge, as well as their technical expertise, to create this horror comedy about a killer on set.

_{„The story is told from the perspective of a young Set-Runner who finds himself caught in a web of lies, deception and murder between the film’s crew, the producers, the actors and the killer.“}

Characters

Protagonist: Mike (WT) – P.A. (Set-Runner)

A former male nurse, dissatisfied with his job and seeking a way to turn his life around, discovers an opportunity to pursue his lifelong passion for movies. Encouraged by a friend, he decides to try his luck on a movie set. Mike, having harbored ideas and scripts since his school years, finds renewed passion and envisions the possibility of having his work produced if he can establish a good rapport with the producer.
Starting at the bottom of the hierarchy, he secures a job as a Set-Runner on a low-budget action production set to film in Sofia, Bulgaria. The film stars a once-prominent actor from the 80s, hoping for a Hollywood comeback.

Steven Seagull (WT) – Main Actor/Producer/Writer

A B-Movie action star from the 80s, is struggling to find work in the current industry landscape. Desperate to resurrect his career, he endeavors to bring his dream project to fruition. Fortunately, he secures a producer from Bulgaria who is willing to invest millions in the movie. Steven pins his hopes on this project, seeing it as his ticket back to Hollywood glory.
At the moment of filming, this movie becomes the centerpiece of Steven’s life, and he is willing to do ANYTHING to ensure its completion.

John Tischler aka John T. – Director

John has been working in the industry for over 40 years but never really made the jump from action movies to more serious Academy Award winning projects. Seeing everything the industry has to offer he takes this job just for a quick buck in hopes of finishing the project quickly, leave movies behind and spent the rest of his days on a beach in Thailand.

Tom – Producer

A young, energetic, but overly confident man, who got all his money from mommy and daddy, believes he has the prowess to become a multimillion-dollar, award-winning producer in Hollywood. Preferring to follow his own instincts rather than heed advice from others, he persists until his vision is realized. Initially amiable to everyone, he exhibits narcissistic tendencies, prioritizing his needs over others once he no longer requires their assistance. Thinks that money can buy everyone and solve any problem.

Manuel (WT) – Set-Manager

Good-natured and friendly, he works as a mentor to the Set-Runner, teaching him the way of filmmaking. However… He is the Killer. While his actions seem motivated by a desire for respect and retribution against those who disrespect him, his true motivation is financial. Having invested in the movie through blockchain, he realized early on that the film’s quality wouldn’t be good enough. To protect his investment, he devised another method to generate attention and ensure a return on his money: through murder.

CREATIVE KILLING

A man’s face is getting melted by an HMI Light (Ari Max) – OPENING KILL
First Kill – An actor is killed by small explosions in the blood packs on his body. Initially, everyone stands up and claps, believing his performance was incredibly realistic. But then they realize that he truly died.
An additional Boom Operator is killed by an excruciating sound transmitted through his headphones, which he cannot remove. (His face explodes in the background while the rest of the crew shot a scene)
AD gets stabbed during a crowded extra scene.
A crew member is decapitated by a giant clapperboard rigged to function as a guillotine.
A man’s head is getting decapitated by a Dolly Wheel.
A member of the post-production crew is killed by the intense heat in the server room.
A Green Consultant is killed by toxic gas coming from a generator.
Printer Kill – A face is smashed against a printer, and several pictures of the fractured face are printed out afterward.
Exit route signs are altered, causing victims to run through the wrong door and fall into a trap.
Catering Kills (Food or Coffee is poisoned)
Animal kill (The Killer swaps a trained lion for a wild one)
Cable death – Someone trips over an unsecured cable and smashes his head.
An actor’s face melts away due to a severe allergic reaction.
The producer is slowly choked by his bow tie, right after selling the movie.

“Nobody from the crew/cast wants to finish this movie.”

REFERENCES

Director

Michael Kleinfeld

Know each other since film school in 2013, Michaels first feature „Sanitatem“ world premiered in Shanghai and recently released on streaming.

About Michael

Sanitatem

Debut-Feature from Michael Kleinfeld

World premiere: Shanghai International Film Festival

To project site

Writer

Nikita Vasilchenko

Know each other since film school in 2013, Nikita created a lot of horror shorts. His latest project „Seoul Trinity“ win a lot of screenplay awards around the world.

About Nikita