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Another idea stored in my head...

I really like the idea. But I might switch it up so that he looks into the mirror and sees things yet to happen maybe a day to a week in the future. Then have the events actually happen to him. Like in a hotel room and seeing him having hot passionate sex. Then later, it comes true and he happens to glance up in the mirror and see the same scene. Now when he sees the killer look up at him, he KNOWS he will be present at the murder scene. How the hell can he stop it, save her and himself. Maybe he even tries to find the girl to stop it. Or runs into the killer who has no clue who he is, and the guys tries to track him. Given his institutionalization, no policemen are going to buy his story. He has no clue when it will happen only the who and where. Really cool idea. I'd write it up! it would make a good feature.
 
I dunno, I think it would be creepier if he stuck with the "seeing the past" version. I really like the idea, by the way, and I honestly felt chills just reading your short description of the guy witnessing the murder in the mirror.
 
I really like the idea. But I might switch it up so that he looks into the mirror and sees things yet to happen maybe a day to a week in the future. Then have the events actually happen to him. Like in a hotel room and seeing him having hot passionate sex. Then later, it comes true and he happens to glance up in the mirror and see the same scene. Now when he sees the killer look up at him, he KNOWS he will be present at the murder scene. How the hell can he stop it, save her and himself. Maybe he even tries to find the girl to stop it. Or runs into the killer who has no clue who he is, and the guys tries to track him. Given his institutionalization, no policemen are going to buy his story. He has no clue when it will happen only the who and where. Really cool idea. I'd write it up! it would make a good feature.

Thank you guys for the positive replies.

Fantasy -- I'm literally finishing a short about a guy who has access to future information, just a different way of "delivery". Plus the short I'm finishing deals with a relationship and how knowing the future can change the present. So even though is not the same, it will be difficult for me to write two with the same general idea.

The one thing about the killer looking into the mirror and smiling, is that it shows the killer knows when/where the "seer" will be at that specific time. I'm not even sure I'm explaining it correctly :hmm:

Like someway/somehow the killer is able to track the location of the "seer" in the future. But I don't want the killer to be able to see into the future in the simplest form. He has to be able to know in a different way, which I haven't come up with yet.

Once again, thanks for the input.
Joey
 
I dunno, I think it would be creepier if he stuck with the "seeing the past" version. I really like the idea, by the way, and I honestly felt chills just reading your short description of the guy witnessing the murder in the mirror.

You have no idea how my wife hates the fact that I have seen that scene in my head countless times over the past 4-5 years. Yepp she think it is kinda weird and creepy but I guess it is just the way my mind works.

I have about 6 other ideas that I'm absolutely positive could be great features. I just have no idea how to go about putting them on paper with life getting in the way of them. I only wish I had a 1/2 hour with Christopher Nolan lol.
 
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Yep, I truly understand your dilemma. How does the killer know in advance that the seer will be there to see what happened in the future-past? It's an interesting cat and mouse. Maybe the killer has the reverse ability, he can see the future in the mirror. That could put them on the collision course.

Following on my original suggestion, the killer is having sex with his victim and looks up and sees the man staring back at him. When the hero looks into the mirror, he sees the sex scene and the girl comes up to the mirror. Later, when he sees her being strangled, he sees the killer. But the killer happened to see him in the bathroom mirror's future and starts planning as he recognizes the guy's ability. Perhaps the phone is by the mirror and the hero writes down an address that the killer can read in the future but stands off to the side so he hero can't see him in the past. Anyway, really messed up idea. I love it. Do write it up.
 
That's a neat idea. I also got chills reading your description of the bathroom murder scene. Great stuff. I'm not completely sold on the murderer being aware of the seer. That might be too much for the audience to accept. I think you could turn this into an awesome traditional murder mystery, except with that one obvious psychic-twist.
 
II think it will work if the killer is the seer. That's it's him doing the killing, but he's unaware of it.

But then that would be like Identity. Or the Sixth Sense. I don't know how you'd get around that.

And I don't really like the mirror as the vehicle. Too simple or something. Or bright. It's just a mirror. What about dark windows instead, they reflect.
 
I absolutely love it! Of course, I have a thing about mirrors. As a small (and weird and creepy) child I used to stare into a mirror and look at my reflection, then start to smile. I would imagine that I wasn't smiling, it was the mirror image that was making me smile, and that it was taking over. I also used to look down the infinite reflections of a mirror reflecting a mirror and imagine that one of those reflections, maybe 10 or 12 mirrors down the line, wasn't a reflection but a different world, and if I looked long enough I would see something happen that would give it away. Scared me to death and I loved it. Again, weird kid with overactive imagination! But I'm fine now.... ;)

Anyway, yeah, mirrors can be creepy, doubly so if you start playing with them. You could work lots of things into this, like a bit of lag, where he sees himself, then moves, but it takes the reflection a moment to move with him. It could also be pretty creepy if he sees the past, but still sees himself in the mirror, with the other people/events taking place in the background.

Love the idea. Some constructive thoughts: I don't think the visions should be explained. Not that you were necessarily planning on it, but I like the idea that it never makes sense to the character; by the time he's let out of the asylum, he doesn't even try, just avoids the subject when he can. I like the killer taunting him through mirrors; knowing that he can't prove anything (being terrified of his power, he wouldn't spend much time looking closely at the events in the mirror).

So maybe the killer gets out, and reconnects with Mirror Guy. He drags him to places where he committed crimes, and forces him in situations to look into the mirror. He makes it clear as he's committing the crimes that he's setting Mirror Guy up for them (then he can't go to the police, because he would know way too many details about the crimes). In Real Time, he's super nice, helping his friend who has never managed to adjust to the outside world, setting him up with dates (who he will later kill), helping him get jobs (where he will take advantage of to rob places, or sabatoge companies, etc), making him meet new friends (forcing overwhelmingly socially awkward situations, making him do things he wouldn't, like run into a bathroom with lots of mirrors).

I love the idea, and can't wait to see where you go with it! And as an aside, if you haven't, there's an episode of Tales from the Darkside you need to see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0716949/ Not much to do with mirrors, but the ending scene is one of the creepiest and saddest scenes ever (I love it!)
 
If I'm correctly following this premise the seer (let's make this easy and call him Sam, Sam the seer) can see a week into the past.
He happens across a mirror that reflects a captured image of a murder from a week ago where the killer (let's call him Carl, Carl the killer) sees Sam.
So far so good?

Consider: while Sam's "gift" is to see reflections from a week ago Carl's "gift" is to see a week into the future.
It may be advantageous to have the time spread be a consistent "rolling window" like in DEJA VU and SOURCE CODE rather than a series of variable events like MINORITY REPORT.

Of course, these gifts could be genetic, meaning you can fabricate a whole convoluted family dynamic to this. Consider making the protagonist Sam a female (Samantha) looking back at her brother or cousin Carl the killer.

Both of these fresh adults are developing their abilities at about the same pace.

Sam has to find clues in the reflections to determine where the next event will be.
Then there's the whole news reporting, only semi-accurately, and police angle to introduce.
Again, by allowing your protagonist "Sam" being a female you can broaden your audience base by introducing a romance aspect between her and an investigative reporter or police investigator.
You could even make it more complicated/dynamic with a love triangle.

Scary thing will be when Sam begins to understand that maybe Carl's murders may have a greater scope of benefit beyond their apparent heinousness, however it just might be he's going mad and she's beginning to notice herself coming apart at the mental seams right on his tail. The increasing insanity might explain why their father(s) (brothers/uncles) left/abandoned them when they were both just children.

With a love triangle going on the cycle could continue with Sam's pregnancy revelation somewhere at the end of ACT II or ACT III. Your call.

The notes and messages Carl leaves just for Sam are increasingly incoherent - or make maddening sense.
What if in the future, Sam's present, he/she sends a message back to Carl?

And you might wanna consider if the time lines converge, like in THE LAKEHOUSE.


GL. Looks like you'll have a handful with this one.
And FWIW, pure thrillers don't commercially perform as well as action movies, so plan accordingly.
 
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I have about 6 other ideas that I'm absolutely positive could be great features. I just have no idea how to go about putting them on paper with life getting in the way of them. I only wish I had a 1/2 hour with Christopher Nolan lol.
I've the same issue with about 60 feature film premises and have a solution for you.
You set up a google docs account use both the document utility to detail ideas and save notes and spreadsheet utility to map out the plot lines.

It'll look something maybe like this:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...EI1dGU1VUxaVDhCQmVnVFBLeUxSaWc&hl=en_US#gid=0

The greatest advantage is that you can update it from anywhere you have computer access, not just at home or even just when your laptop has wifi.

The worst thing you can do is forget an inspired idea.


GL
 
I'm using my cell with no access to a computer right now, just wanted to say tnx for liking my simple idea and for giving me many other options to go with. I'll reply with more details tonite.

JoshL -- "also be pretty creepy if he sees the past, but still sees himself in the mirror, with the other people/events taking place in the back".

That's exactly how I see it in my head, sorry for not adding that info to the first post. Kinda cool we both thought about it lol.
 
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