Genre: Paranormal Horror
Concept: When an internally misogynistic college senior finds a haunted ring, she must use her classmate’s spirit as a guide to solve her murder, confronting the dangers lurking around campus, and her own misconceptions, in order to avoid meeting the same fate.
Currently in pre-production
Jenny is designed to utilize the horror genre’s ability to prey on very real fears as a vessel for a story about objectification, victim blaming, and violence against women. It leverages power dynamics and false appearances to guide the protagonist, and the audience, to challenge their own misconceptions about Jenny and her killer. This piece also sets out to criticize behaviors that can lead women to be a part of the problem. Ella is forced to confront the harsh reality of the situation and, in turn, bonds to Jenny–and so many women who came before her–for the rest of her life.
Jenny aligns with themes I have explored in much of my previous work. As a filmmaker, I am particularly passionate about the relationship between women and the horror genre. Despite the tumultuous history between them, I believe horror to be a particularly strong medium for telling stories that feature women, especially because of the very specific and real fears that come with living life as a woman.
The script was drafted starting in May 2025 and was locked in September 2025. During this process, it was very important to me that I created an effective ghost story while maintaining the themes. This script was intended to do more than just scare the viewer, but also to leave them with something to think about, and I believe I was able to achieve that.
The visual design of the film hinges on the contrast between the real world and the "ring world" -- how Ella sees the world when wearing the ring. The ring allows her to not only see Jenny's ghost, but also to see others the way Jenny knew them. This reveals the true nature of several people who played a role in her trauma in life and ultimately her murder. The target is for this world to be colored very differently and potentially employ some visual effects to ensure sufficient contrast between the realities.
An excerpt from the screenplay.
Characters:
Ella (21): Ella starts the film out deep in the hole of internalized misogyny. She believes there is a right and a wrong way to be a modern woman, judging and shaming some girls who don’t fit this mold in the same way misogynists often do. Our main character, Ella is a girl who is blinded by her fears and her prejudices. She’s part of the problem and refuses to acknowledge this until she comes face to face with the subject of her judgement and victim of a heinous crime. The connection she forms with this spirit shines a light on the real villains in Ella’s world.
Jenny (20): Jenny is everything Ella hates. As a victim, Jenny is very blamable. That’s the easy story at least. Her true nature is able to break through to Ella much better in death than it ever was in life. By reaching through the veil, Jenny guides Ella to find her killer and bring him to justice. We meet Jenny briefly when she is alive before seeing her as a spirit for the majority of the film. Must be okay with SFX makeup.
Professor Dove (35): Charlie Dove is that young cool charming professor that is a fan favorite amongst students. At least, that’s how he is perceived. He is well liked and respected, so if someone were to accuse him of doing inappropriate things with his students, many would be hard pressed to believe it. Rumors or not, Ella finds out exactly what kind of extra credit Professor Dove offers to the girls in his class. Girls like Jenny.
Dan (23): TA. Boy next door. Good friend of Ella. Dan is there for her throughout the roller coaster she goes on while trying to solve Jenny’s murder. What she doesn’t know is that he was there that night Jenny was murdered, and he may not be the good friend she thought he was. He wasn’t expecting her to say no, and he wasn’t expecting her to run or scream or fight back, so he panicked and pushed her a little too hard. He needed her to stop screaming is all. And he couldn’t just let her go or she’d tell everyone and ruin his life. What else was he supposed to do?