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Ever since I finished studying TV and film in college I've wanted to produce a zero budget film with the help of friends, but I've never had a particularly good idea for it that can be done on a shoestring budget, enter Smile Dog.
For those who don't know, Smile Dog is an internet campfire story revolving around a cursed image of a spooky looking husky that causes mental harm to anybody who sees it (similar to BLIT, another short story).
So, why would I want to make an adaptation of Smile Dog as opposed to making something original? Well, there are several reasons. First is that I find the concept of Smile Dog extremely interesting and I'd like to homage to it. Second is that I want to develop my own esoteric style without worrying about whether the material I'm working with is good or not (if you want to understand what I'm going for watch any Andrei Tarkovsky film lol). Don't worry though! My short film won't follow the creepypasta exactly.
As for the actual production of this film I plan to do it as guerilla style as possible. I'd like to invest in some equipment if possible and pay people if I can but otherwise I'm going to use all of the cameras, microphones and other film gear at my disposal and somehow try to make it work. Maybe I'll even shoot some scenes completely on my own.
For distribution I'm hoping to put it on PeerTube, long live free software!
I don't have any finalised idea for the story just yet but I've attached the plot that I've developed so far to this blog post, enjoy!:
A journalist is investigating a mysterious image that is said to cause mental harm to anybody who views it, the Smile Dog. At the opening of the film they're interviewing somebody over a video call who claims to have seen the Smile Dog image, yet they seem perfectly fine. Cue an exposition dump. When asked what the image looks like they're unable to provide an answer, prompting the journalist to accuse them of faking. The interviewee asks why the journalist is so interested in the Smile Dog in the first place. The journalist reveals that they lost somebody to the image. The journalist's accusation is cut short when there's a knock at the door, a mysterious letter is put through the mail box. Inside this letter is a note about the Smile Dog with the text "I'm just trying to spread the word at the bottom". Attached to the letter is another page with an image on it. The journalist quickly realises what the image is and throws it away without looking at it.
Some time passes and the journalist goes to see somebody in person for an interview. This person is visibly disturbed and quiet. This person accepts an interview but only gives quiet uncomfortable answers to the interviewers questions. They were sent the Smile Dog image by somebody who wanted revenge on them. They describe that after receiving the image they fell the the ground as the world around them went black. All they could see in their mind's eye was the image. Eventually they were able to become well enough to get back to something close to a normal life but they were never quite the same. Every night they saw the Smile Dog in their dream's telling them to "spread the word". It promises to leave the victim alone if they do spread the word, the victim doesn't want to inflict this pain on somebody else. What would become of them if they did spread the word? All of this is shown in a flashback. The letter the journalist received is shown again. The journalist, clearly fascinated and somewhat desperate, looks to the Smile Dog victim and pleads for them to tell them more: "What does the Smile Dog look like? What does it sound like?". The victim develops a blank stare and merely states "it's all too horrific to say" before bursting into tears.
Later that evening the journalist is sitting alone, thinking about the Smile Dog. They state that after dozens of interviews they still don't know everything that they'd like to. They consider that perhaps the only way to end the madness of their insatiable curiosity is to take on whatever madness awaits the victims of the Smile Dog. They think they're strong enough to handle it given their line of work. Perhaps they could even use their curse for good by sending the image to somebody who deserves it in order to spread the word. Maybe what the Smile Dog says about spreading the word is true. The journalist looks at the letter they received which is scrunched up in the corner. They take a deep breath and look at the Smile Dog image.
Upon looking at the image they have a flashback to a relative having seen the Smile Dog image. They then wake up in a field. A dog is running from them Alice in Wonderland style. Eventually the dog turns around and they wake up with a respirator on their face. They end by monologuing that the image isn't as bad as everyone says and they want to spread the word. The camera pans to the Smile Dog image.