If the title wasn’t anything to go by, it’s a horror movie about horror movies. Serena Brooks (Alexandra Socha) is an up-and-coming actress living in New York, with some reservations about forging a career as a scream queen. Understandably, she wishes to avoid typecasting. Oh, the irony. Her best chance at recognition is a leading role in horror director Alabama Chapman’s (Alex Hurt) first feature length film, a director whose previous leading lady was murdered. A case of bad luck, perhaps.

We are taken into a kind of horror movie inception several times throughout the film, with different short films being referenced and a larger, feature film being made with Serena Brooks at the helm. She arrives on set haughtily, quickly accustomed to star treatment, and wins favor with mysterious director Alabama Chapman (Alex Hurt). The “cast” is only comprised of five other actors, and there is a distinct line between Alabama’s crew and the New York cast. Tensions are already running high by the time they reach their secluded filming location, but the lines between film and reality blur heavily as shooting develops.

The audience is rarely apprised of the “reality” as it occurs in this film, with “fake” movie scenes nudged in between “real” movie scenes to the point where the actual plot twist is revealed early in the film with confidence due to the audience effort required to decrypt it. The entire film is doused with eloquent foreshadowing , and more than a little intelligence. You’ll find yourself looking for explanations and running round in the same circles as the film’s characters- but hopefully in the safety of your own home.

Writer and Director Michael Walker has created a new nightmare for casts of horror movies everywhere, and wicked new ideas for their crews. Is any scream queen safe?

Cut, Shoot, Kill will be released on Video-On-Demand August 8^th by Freestyle Digital Media.

–Muertana