Writer-director Chris St. Croix’s Killer Content opens in the past, where we meet Jexy Diamond (Katie Keene), a well-known social media influencer, as she desperately tries to defend herself from an assault by a religious killer. In a stroke of luck, Jexy is able to take down her assailant. Jump to the present, and Jexy finds herself at a crossroads as her PTSD has made it virtually impossible to produce more content, and the publicity of her attack means she is constantly hounded by her “fans” and the press.
Hoping to begin fresh, Jexy decides to go to her grandmother’s Christmas cabin for a sabbatical of sorts with her manager, Kyle (Nathan Freitas). Haunted by flashbacks, she slices her own wrist in a moment of breakdown and overdoses on her psych-meds, triggering a vivid PTSD vision of her prior attack. Morning comes as she struggles to sleep.
Jexy’s forest sanctuary is interrupted by a knock at the door. Unfortunately, it’s one of Jexy’s fans who wants to learn how to improve her own social media channel, hoping Jexy’s advice can help her go viral. At first, Jexy insists she leaves, but ultimately relents and unlocks the door. Of course, this is Jexy’s first of many mistakes. When Jexy’s consulting session ends, Megan gets envious and then tases and ties her up.
“Jexy’s forest sanctuary is interrupted by a knock at the door…”
Killer Content, a fan-obsession thriller, offers a modern take on a familiar storyline. The twist comes when Jexy’s manager and Megan’s boyfriend enter the picture. It gets crazy, but what I like most was the last twist. Let’s just say that social media influencers aren’t exactly well-adjusted individuals and carry issues of their own.
Films like this are why I enjoy independent movies. It’s simply a fun ride, and all the while I’m thinking to myself, “I could see Hollywood totally screwing up this story.” There’s just this sense I got that nobody involved in this production was accountable to the big studio publicity departments. Just write a good story and get it to the screen.
At the center are Katie Keene and Casey Casmira’s performances as Jexy and Megan. Roles reverse a few times by the end, and I should have seen them coming. Casmira is especially good when set up against her boyfriend Donnie, played by Diego Gómez. Overall, it’s a simple, solid story played to maximum effect.
Killer Content is a stark reminder of how celeb fandom can spiral into obsession and how the stresses of fame can blur the line between locked in a battle that exposes the addictiveness of social media fame in a battle over the addictiveness of social media fame.
For screening information about Killer Content, visit the Strike Back Studios Instagram page.
"…a fun ride..."
