My friend once told me that if you need an idea for a feature, just watch any episode of The Twilight Zone for inspiration. Writer/director Wes Miller brings us this sci-fi suspense film about a woman chained to a bed and the man who has to kill her to stop the future she’s destined to create. The premise, of course, isn’t an actual episode, but it gives off that vibe while exploring time travel and the idea of changing a catastrophic event. In Rian Johnson’s Looper, he used the ethical dilemma, “If you could go back in time to kill Hitler as a child, would you?”
Kill the Girl opens on a man (Joseph O’Connor) unloading groceries and preparing a meal. It’s revealed that there’s another person in the room, a woman (Gracie Winchester) asleep in a bed. He calmly eats his food and watches her until she wakes, startled to find herself chained up. She struggles to break free to no avail before confronting him. He lets her know that he’s there to kill her. She pleads with her captor, introduces herself as Kate, and insists it must be a case of mistaken identity. Kate soon learns that the man is Jake, and he confesses that when he was younger, he heard a voice telling him she would become President and ultimately be responsible for a nuclear war. As Kate tries to stall and understand this crazy man and his voices, truths are revealed to her that only she would know.
“…he heard a voice telling him she would become President and ultimately be responsible for a nuclear war.”
Miller does so much with his film in a confined space. If you’ve read any of my reviews before, you know what I love: a single location, a handful of characters, and a good story. This easily could have felt like nothing more than a short film, but instead Miller takes his time, letting the characters banter while revealing their backstories and motivations, with a few little twists and turns along the way. There’s even a point where the characters discuss the science behind how time travel works in this world. That’s where a third character comes into play, providing clarity and even more confusion. Who this person is, the backstory behind them, and how everything is revealed make for an intriguing addition.
I looked at Miller’s credits, and he already has a few features under his belt. For this particular film, and in a good way, it feels like he was given an assignment by a teacher and applied everything he had learned. He begins in black and white and even plays with the aspect ratio to introduce the story, using both techniques effectively. A one-room feature could easily become boring, but through handheld camerawork, editing, and smart close-ups, he keeps everything visually engaging. Although I’m not a filmmaker, I found myself inspired watching him experiment with all these different techniques. It seems like something Hitchcock would have done when he was starting out. And speaking of Hitchcock, an ominous score comes to mind, and Miller adds the right element of music to keep the tension going.
For screening information, visit the Kill the Girl official website.
"…seems like something Hitchcock would have done..."
