General Background

The main concept of our story is inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen tale, "The Red Shoes". The tale follows a little girl who becomes infatuated with a pair of red slippers until they force her to dance nonstop. We see how a symbol of beauty and vanity become the cause of this little girl's pain and anguish, even forcing her to cut off her own feet in an effort to stop. Our director and writer both share a love of period pieces, women-led stories and a gory horror with something to say (not mention some fun kills!). We already knew we wanted to combine the 1960s go-go aesthetic with a classic slasher vibe but once we dove into The Red Shoes, we knew it was going to be a deliciously sinister match.

Synopsis

Our story follows five young, beautiful, fame-enticed go-go dancers who work in the "27th most famous go-go club of the 1960s", Wanna Gogo, under the cruel eye of their boss, The Donna. On what was supposed to be a normal night, the girls are horrified to see one of their own fall dead on the floor wearing a pair of stunning, sparkly, enchanting red boots. None of the girls fully know what's happening but when The Donna challenges each of the girls to dance in the boots in order to determine who will be Wanna Gogo's star, the boots become the only thing anyone can think about. How far will these girls go for fame? Would they kill each other? Not if the boots kill them first.

Inspiration

Outside of The Red Shoes, both our director and writer took inspiration from multiple women-led movies from different genres and decades but all with similar themes and aesthetics.

• BLACK SWAN (2010)
• VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1967)
• FAME (1980)
• CHICAGO (2002)
• SHOWGIRLS (1995)
• BURLESQUE (2010)
• LAST NIGHT IN SOHO (2021)
• MOULIN ROUGE! (2001)

Distribution Plan

Once post-production is complete and a final cut is solidified, we plan to host a premiere (an incentive included in some of our donation packages) where we will collect ticket sales and put the funds towards festival submissions. From there, we plan to submit to short film festivals around the country, especially ones dedicated to horror films and women filmmakers.

Yearly Timeline

JANUARY: project conceptualized and 1st draft written

FEBRUARY: production team acquired, social media launched

MARCH: department heads acquired, budget drafted

APRIL: casting launched

MAY: cast acquired, begin location scouts

JUNE: launch crowdfunding, finalize script

JULY: merch sales, secure locations, finalize budget

AUGUST: ATL crowdfunding event, secure equipment, promotional photoshoot

SEPTEMBER: preliminary rehearsals, secure crafty plan

OCTOBER: final rehearsals, production up the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th

NOVEMBER: begin post-production, secure final cut

DECEMBER: host premiere, begin festival circuit

Challenges

Like any independent short of this genre and ambition, we face quite a few potential risks and challenges.

1. Firstly, we are higher budget for an indie short. At nearly $30k, we'll not only need huge, dedicated support from our donors but grants, merch sales, fundraising events and possible out-of-pocket spending will be needed too. It's a heavy financial commitment but we'll need every penny we can get to make this project the way we want it and we'll do whatever we can to make that happen.
2. Second, as fun and campy as this film is, it will involve many complicated moving parts. There are multiple gory deaths requiring us to have A LOT of special effects makeup, special hand-crafted props and top-notch stunt coordination. We also have several wardrobe changes with handmade and vintage costume pieces to make our cast look as authentic to the era as possible. Along with multiple location moves, the use of extras and a complex final scene, we need to make sure we have everything needed to pull it off.
3. Lastly, we understand that there is often a certain stigma around horror, especially horror by and/or about women. It tends not to be taken seriously and while that stigma is slowly fading (or at least, changing), we don't want audiences to get distracted by the pretty colors and short skirts. Behind it all, there's still a message we're telling about a struggling desire that affects performers in the real, modern world.

Budget Breakdown

Stretch Goals

• $5,000: Location secured
• $7,500: Equipment secured
• $10,000: Art secured
• $20,000: Production greenlit
• $29,000: Fully funded!
• $32,000: Extra special (funds post and distribution)