Basilisk
Detroit, Michigan | Film Short
Horror, Drama
After speaking to a sentient surveillance device called the Apparatus, Tree Stick confesses that she feels her life has gone down the wrong path. But in an act of divine intervention, she's informed that her thoughts have been stolen. A nightmarish journey ensues in order to get them back.
Basilisk
Detroit, Michigan | Film Short
Horror, Drama
1 Campaigns | Michigan, United States
48 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$4,225
Goal: $7,500 for production
After speaking to a sentient surveillance device called the Apparatus, Tree Stick confesses that she feels her life has gone down the wrong path. But in an act of divine intervention, she's informed that her thoughts have been stolen. A nightmarish journey ensues in order to get them back.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
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After speaking daily to a sentient alien recording device called the Apparatus, Tree Stick confesses that she feels her life is down the wrong path. Then in an act of divine intervention, a guardian angel-like entity interrupts her to inform that her thoughts have been stolen and that she must go to a mysterious white building in the middle of nowhere to learn more and set her life on the right track. In a split second decision, Tree Stick chooses to take agency over her own life and drive to this unknown place. However, in her journey she tests her relationship with the Apparatus and discovers the truth of what she must do to think her own thoughts again.
What is worth more? Technological perfectionism or human imperfections?
Basilisk is a story that was built to answer this question. It explores how far we as people will go to obtain efficiency and find the cheat code out of personal inadequacy. The film fleshes out a prominent correlation between artificial coping devices through the Apparatus and imposter syndrome through Tree Stick. At a wide glance, a question echoes: Why isn’t your life right now everything you wanted it to be? Certain digital forces in the film convince Tree Stick that she needs to buy into some scheme to answer that question, but others argue what you are right now is part of your journey.
This heart of the project is presented by a deeply surreal narrative ripped out of an anxiety induced nightmare. The technological themes of the film are translated into haunting cosmic body horror: cameras and phones are substituted with Cronenbergian lifeforms and employees of mysterious companies are interchanged with people spawned from slimy walls of meat.
Tree Stick doesn’t know where to take her life next but also feels like she’s been living the wrong one to begin with.
The only real glimpse we get into her everyday routine is that she resides in a cozy trailer and repeatedly speaks into the Apparatus like a YouTuber does to their vlogging camera. She persistently interacts with this alien device every day thinking she’ll get one step closer to a happier and more content place in life. Typically, Tree Stick would perform as this outgoing and bubbly internet personality, but on this specific day, the act is dropped. We witness the most raw and vulnerable version of herself after her confession that she feels like she’s no longer thinking her own thoughts… and that she believes someone has stolen them.
Tree Stick’s visual appearance lies in the cross section of American cowboy and goth. This design uses both spheres of fashion to portray a striking character that is motivated to stand out by their visual and personal identity. While in her journey of finding a life with more meaning, Tree Stick also aims to find an identity that feels more true to herself- that having a direct correlation to her visual appearance.
The Apparatus is a terrifying alien recording device that comes from unknown cosmic forces.
Not only is it a sentient killing machine, but it’s also Tree Stick’s personal camera. Everyday she records a confessional video diary into it hoping to reach some form of catharsis. Instead of a lens, the Apparatus crafts a holographic idealized image of yourself to gaze into. Thus it operates like a crystal ball, a powerful force to manifest your dreams with. But unlike a crystal ball, the Apparatus lures you into a trance when you stare into it. If you look away, it will sound out a piercing alarm to regain your attention. Or worse… it might deploy some back up…
The Apparatus looks like the fusion between a tripod mounted camera and a deep sea flower. The holographic “selfie” image generates in the dark center of a flower shaped head. Some parts of the Apparatus are built from mechanical objects and others from gelatinous flesh.
Now more than ever, we are seeing technology further enable people to be emotionally dependent on it. Young people feel even more isolated and dissociated online even after the pandemic, and with rising AI integration into society we are struggling to feel human.
Having been that young person asking that question and having that autopilot feeling be perpetuated by the technology in my life, I believe I can provide a unique angle to this conversation and present it through a beloved niche in the horror genre. And with a background in VFX and post production, I have brought surreal worlds like this to life and am very excited to do the same for this one as well.
We already have an all-star cast and crew assembled who are passionate in bringing Basilisk to life. And with locations already secured, pre-production in motion, and production scheduled for early this spring, our biggest goal right now is to lock down the remaining funds of our budget.
With a total estimated budget of $18,500, we have fortunately secured $11,000 of that sum- which is already 60% of the total price for this project. That means we need a final $7,500 to bring this project to life.
If we fortunately raise more than $7,500, then we will start aiming for our STRETCH GOALS...
- If we raise $10,000 - we will be able to rent more advanced equipment, such as probe lenses and high quality drones, to capture visuals at an even more striking degree and purchase higher fidelity robotics and materials for our props such as silicone latex.
- If we raise $12,500 - we will be able to have another day for production that can provide us with more time that we can use to filming extended cuts of scenes which have previously been cut down for budgetary reasons.
- If we raise $15,000 - we will be able to have multiple premiere screenings across the Midwest, ranging from Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo to Chicago and Columbus.
With your support, you can help us tell this story that comes in at a very important time right now, especially with growing artificial intelligence directly threatening all artistic mediums out there, but especially film. Your aid will go directly to helping us pay the local artists for their hard labor and fabrication of real handmade props, special effects, and sets.
In appreciation for your support we have outlined several special incentives as seen on our page here. From your name in the credits, to exclusive artwork and merchandise, including signed one-of-a-kind storyboards.
Thank you so much for your support of our campaign, feel free to share this page with anyone you think would enjoy this film and our message. Also be sure to visit our web page here for more information! I hope with your efforts and ours we can both bring Basilisk to life!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*We are also fiscally sponsored by From the Heart Productions, which means through our 501 (C)(3) status, your donation may be tax deductible*
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Production
Costs $3,200
Help us support our talented crew by providing funds for equipment, sets, and locations.
Art Department
Costs $1,400
Provides the labor and equipment expenses for our art department, most notably silicone latex, makeup, Tree Stick's wardrobe and more props.
Casting
Costs $1,000
Help us pay our hardworking and dedicated cast for their performances in the film!
Post Production
Costs $1,000
Brings the final film to life through editing, VFX, color grading and sound design.
Meals
Costs $500
Provides meals to keep our cast and crew full and energized throughout our shoot days.
Promotion
Costs $400
Help fund us to promote the film, from producing promotional materials to submitting to film festivals.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Jack Chisik is an independent filmmaker and editor residing in Metro-Detroit, MI. Chisik finds inspiration from the intersection of normal and bizarre. He appreciates narratives that challenge viewers to analyze the abstract with "out of bounds" visuals that shock the senses while also leaving an impactful deep resonance, often tapping into 21st century nostalgia. Chisik is intricately involved in all processes of filmmaking from conception, direction, visual and practical effects, and original scoring, leaving his unique touch on every project he puts forth.
Miles N. Reuben is an award-winning independent film director and screenwriter from Detroit, Michigan. Inspired by lineage and Detroit’s history, Miles worldbuilds with each film, reflecting his experiences through narrative cinema. His acclaimed works include “Merlot,” “NILE,” and “Heaven In Detroit.” After earning his BFA in Film Studies from Wayne State University, his films have screened at international museums, festivals, and theatres. Miles is a NOVA 24 Photo & Film Festival board member and a 2025 Detroit Narrative Agency Producers Fellow.
Cookie Isenberg is a Metro Detroit native, now living in Chicago after earning a BFA in acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University. Cookie is a writer, reader, perfume sniffer and cat lover. They are most interested in surrealist or magical realistic works across all formats.
Sam Grima is a cinematographer from the greater Detroit Metro Area. Over the years, his dedication to cinematography has led to a diverse portfolio of work, ranging from commercials, narrative short films and docu-style projects. Sam is heavily inspired by the works of Hoyte Van Hoytema, Robert Yeoman and Emanuel 'Chivo' Lubezki, utilizing wide angle lenses, large format cinematography, and the occasional very much loved anti-frame.
As gaffer on Basilisk, Griffin Bergers brings years of experience in narrative and commercial lighting, working once again with longtime collaborator and D.P. Sam Grima. Griffin’s approach to lighting focuses on reinforcing tone and emotion in a way that feels natural and unobtrusive, allowing the story to lead while the visuals quietly elevate every frame.
To view the rest of our all star cast and crew visit our web page here
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*We are also fiscally sponsored by From the Heart Productions, which means through our 501 (C)(3) status, your donations may be tax deductible*
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
After speaking daily to a sentient alien recording device called the Apparatus, Tree Stick confesses that she feels her life is down the wrong path. Then in an act of divine intervention, a guardian angel-like entity interrupts her to inform that her thoughts have been stolen and that she must go to a mysterious white building in the middle of nowhere to learn more and set her life on the right track. In a split second decision, Tree Stick chooses to take agency over her own life and drive to this unknown place. However, in her journey she tests her relationship with the Apparatus and discovers the truth of what she must do to think her own thoughts again.
What is worth more? Technological perfectionism or human imperfections?
Basilisk is a story that was built to answer this question. It explores how far we as people will go to obtain efficiency and find the cheat code out of personal inadequacy. The film fleshes out a prominent correlation between artificial coping devices through the Apparatus and imposter syndrome through Tree Stick. At a wide glance, a question echoes: Why isn’t your life right now everything you wanted it to be? Certain digital forces in the film convince Tree Stick that she needs to buy into some scheme to answer that question, but others argue what you are right now is part of your journey.
This heart of the project is presented by a deeply surreal narrative ripped out of an anxiety induced nightmare. The technological themes of the film are translated into haunting cosmic body horror: cameras and phones are substituted with Cronenbergian lifeforms and employees of mysterious companies are interchanged with people spawned from slimy walls of meat.
Tree Stick doesn’t know where to take her life next but also feels like she’s been living the wrong one to begin with.
The only real glimpse we get into her everyday routine is that she resides in a cozy trailer and repeatedly speaks into the Apparatus like a YouTuber does to their vlogging camera. She persistently interacts with this alien device every day thinking she’ll get one step closer to a happier and more content place in life. Typically, Tree Stick would perform as this outgoing and bubbly internet personality, but on this specific day, the act is dropped. We witness the most raw and vulnerable version of herself after her confession that she feels like she’s no longer thinking her own thoughts… and that she believes someone has stolen them.
Tree Stick’s visual appearance lies in the cross section of American cowboy and goth. This design uses both spheres of fashion to portray a striking character that is motivated to stand out by their visual and personal identity. While in her journey of finding a life with more meaning, Tree Stick also aims to find an identity that feels more true to herself- that having a direct correlation to her visual appearance.
The Apparatus is a terrifying alien recording device that comes from unknown cosmic forces.
Not only is it a sentient killing machine, but it’s also Tree Stick’s personal camera. Everyday she records a confessional video diary into it hoping to reach some form of catharsis. Instead of a lens, the Apparatus crafts a holographic idealized image of yourself to gaze into. Thus it operates like a crystal ball, a powerful force to manifest your dreams with. But unlike a crystal ball, the Apparatus lures you into a trance when you stare into it. If you look away, it will sound out a piercing alarm to regain your attention. Or worse… it might deploy some back up…
The Apparatus looks like the fusion between a tripod mounted camera and a deep sea flower. The holographic “selfie” image generates in the dark center of a flower shaped head. Some parts of the Apparatus are built from mechanical objects and others from gelatinous flesh.
Now more than ever, we are seeing technology further enable people to be emotionally dependent on it. Young people feel even more isolated and dissociated online even after the pandemic, and with rising AI integration into society we are struggling to feel human.
Having been that young person asking that question and having that autopilot feeling be perpetuated by the technology in my life, I believe I can provide a unique angle to this conversation and present it through a beloved niche in the horror genre. And with a background in VFX and post production, I have brought surreal worlds like this to life and am very excited to do the same for this one as well.
We already have an all-star cast and crew assembled who are passionate in bringing Basilisk to life. And with locations already secured, pre-production in motion, and production scheduled for early this spring, our biggest goal right now is to lock down the remaining funds of our budget.
With a total estimated budget of $18,500, we have fortunately secured $11,000 of that sum- which is already 60% of the total price for this project. That means we need a final $7,500 to bring this project to life.
If we fortunately raise more than $7,500, then we will start aiming for our STRETCH GOALS...
- If we raise $10,000 - we will be able to rent more advanced equipment, such as probe lenses and high quality drones, to capture visuals at an even more striking degree and purchase higher fidelity robotics and materials for our props such as silicone latex.
- If we raise $12,500 - we will be able to have another day for production that can provide us with more time that we can use to filming extended cuts of scenes which have previously been cut down for budgetary reasons.
- If we raise $15,000 - we will be able to have multiple premiere screenings across the Midwest, ranging from Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo to Chicago and Columbus.
With your support, you can help us tell this story that comes in at a very important time right now, especially with growing artificial intelligence directly threatening all artistic mediums out there, but especially film. Your aid will go directly to helping us pay the local artists for their hard labor and fabrication of real handmade props, special effects, and sets.
In appreciation for your support we have outlined several special incentives as seen on our page here. From your name in the credits, to exclusive artwork and merchandise, including signed one-of-a-kind storyboards.
Thank you so much for your support of our campaign, feel free to share this page with anyone you think would enjoy this film and our message. Also be sure to visit our web page here for more information! I hope with your efforts and ours we can both bring Basilisk to life!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*We are also fiscally sponsored by From the Heart Productions, which means through our 501 (C)(3) status, your donation may be tax deductible*
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Production
Costs $3,200
Help us support our talented crew by providing funds for equipment, sets, and locations.
Art Department
Costs $1,400
Provides the labor and equipment expenses for our art department, most notably silicone latex, makeup, Tree Stick's wardrobe and more props.
Casting
Costs $1,000
Help us pay our hardworking and dedicated cast for their performances in the film!
Post Production
Costs $1,000
Brings the final film to life through editing, VFX, color grading and sound design.
Meals
Costs $500
Provides meals to keep our cast and crew full and energized throughout our shoot days.
Promotion
Costs $400
Help fund us to promote the film, from producing promotional materials to submitting to film festivals.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Jack Chisik is an independent filmmaker and editor residing in Metro-Detroit, MI. Chisik finds inspiration from the intersection of normal and bizarre. He appreciates narratives that challenge viewers to analyze the abstract with "out of bounds" visuals that shock the senses while also leaving an impactful deep resonance, often tapping into 21st century nostalgia. Chisik is intricately involved in all processes of filmmaking from conception, direction, visual and practical effects, and original scoring, leaving his unique touch on every project he puts forth.
Miles N. Reuben is an award-winning independent film director and screenwriter from Detroit, Michigan. Inspired by lineage and Detroit’s history, Miles worldbuilds with each film, reflecting his experiences through narrative cinema. His acclaimed works include “Merlot,” “NILE,” and “Heaven In Detroit.” After earning his BFA in Film Studies from Wayne State University, his films have screened at international museums, festivals, and theatres. Miles is a NOVA 24 Photo & Film Festival board member and a 2025 Detroit Narrative Agency Producers Fellow.
Cookie Isenberg is a Metro Detroit native, now living in Chicago after earning a BFA in acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University. Cookie is a writer, reader, perfume sniffer and cat lover. They are most interested in surrealist or magical realistic works across all formats.
Sam Grima is a cinematographer from the greater Detroit Metro Area. Over the years, his dedication to cinematography has led to a diverse portfolio of work, ranging from commercials, narrative short films and docu-style projects. Sam is heavily inspired by the works of Hoyte Van Hoytema, Robert Yeoman and Emanuel 'Chivo' Lubezki, utilizing wide angle lenses, large format cinematography, and the occasional very much loved anti-frame.
As gaffer on Basilisk, Griffin Bergers brings years of experience in narrative and commercial lighting, working once again with longtime collaborator and D.P. Sam Grima. Griffin’s approach to lighting focuses on reinforcing tone and emotion in a way that feels natural and unobtrusive, allowing the story to lead while the visuals quietly elevate every frame.
To view the rest of our all star cast and crew visit our web page here
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------