and Meaning

Dead in My Eyes is a film about a post-apocalyptic trio that tries to stay together after one of them has been bitten by a zombie. As we have been developing our project, we have been aware of the overuse and stereotypes of the Zombie genre. Although Zombie films and television series have historically told a tale between a social allegory and classic horror, the genre served a deeper and more personal meaning. 

Mairen and Cailin were deeply moved by the haunting metaphor of a zombie film—because, in many ways, it mirrors the aching process of grieving someone before they’re truly gone. It’s the quiet agony of watching a loved one deteriorate, both physically and mentally—slowly losing their spark, the essence of who they were, while they’re still there. The light fades from their eyes, but they’re not gone yet. The hardest part is living in that limbo, torn between the instinct to fight for them and the painful necessity of learning when to let go.

In the most fantastical of stories, sometimes the rawest truths emerge. In Dead in My Eyes, Evan and Spence are forced to watch their friend Iggy slip away right before them. As he transforms, physically and emotionally, into something other, he becomes unrecognizable—a zombie. His fate is inevitable, yet his friends can’t bring themselves to let go. Confined to a single room, they navigate their grief. There’s no escaping what’s happening to Iggy, but how do you let go of someone you love, even when they’re already slipping away? When do we fight to hold on, and when do we let go?

The Plot

• Denial

The film opens with the aftermath of Iggy, the youngest of the group, being bitten by a zombie. Evan and Spence drag him into their basement hideout as Iggy writhes in pain, kicking and screaming while the infection begins to consume him. After a tense struggle, the two finally manage to tie him up, trying to contain the danger before it overtakes him completely.

• Anger

Spence, the group's hothead, vents his anger by punching the wall. Evan, the oldest, internalizes the frustration. The tension lifts when Evan tends to Spence's bloodied knuckles, and they start joking to lighten the mood. Iggy stays calm—until he catches his reflection in a mirror, unleashing a wild scream that attracts zombies who begin banging on the basement door. Spence and Evan struggle to calm him, but it's only when a forgotten children's toy plays a soft melody that Iggy finally relaxes and drifts into sleep.

• Bargaining

Evan is driven by a need to protect Iggy, unconsciously seeking redemption for failing to do so in the past. Spence, however, believes the priority should be minimizing danger—he doesn't want to kill Iggy, but he doubts the wisdom of keeping him around. The boys follow the motto "Minimize threat, stay together," but as the reality of their situation sinks in, Spence is torn. Should they eliminate the threat Iggy now poses as a zombie or hold on to the fragile hope of staying together? In the end, he gives in to the latter, and they decide to keep Iggy—so long as he doesn't put their safety at risk.

• Depression

Iggy's condition worsens, and the once-soothing melody of the toy no longer calms him. His humanity slips further away, fueling the growing tension between Spence and Evan. The situation reaches a breaking point when Iggy briefly breaks free, not harming Evan but showing the potential for greater danger. Evan brushes it off, insisting it won’t happen again, but Spence finally decides with his head, not his heart. The two argue about what to do with Iggy, dancing around the difficult reality of killing him. The argument turns violent, and in the chaos, the toy breaks—marking the moment when the inevitable must be faced. Iggy must be killed.

• Acceptance

Ultimately, Evan decides that he will be the one to end Iggy, wanting to protect Spence from the unbearable decision. Iggy's screams have attracted a horde of zombies to their hideout, and Evan sends Spence out of the room to prepare in case the zombies come after them once Iggy falls silent. Evan grabs a handgun stashed away, sitting down with it in his hands, fighting back tears. The weight of what he has to do presses down on him. Then, the gun fires.

Genre and Aesthetic

Dead in My Eyes, although it has horror elements, is a film that aligns more with the drama genre. The film aims to use the absurd to speak to reality. Aesthetically, it aligns with classic apocalypse media, such as The Walking Dead (2010) and The Last of Us (2023). However, the largest inspiration for the film is Stand By Me (1986). From which the film heavily influences the dynamics of the characters and dialog.

The film explores Sigmund Freud's model of the mind through three boys representing the ego, id, and superego. The three opposing forces battle it out in the conflict of the film. The Ego serves as the mediator between one’s Id self, the primitive, basic, and fully unconscious part of the personality, and the Superego, the ethical component of the personality that provides learned moral standards from society by which the ego operates. The id, symbolized by zombies, represents chaos and societal collapse, while the superego upholds societal order.

The film also incorporates psychoanalytic concepts like "abjection" from Julia Kristeva, which is the horror of confronting things that challenge personal boundaries, such as decay or bodily fluids. These abject experiences force individuals to confront what is socially deemed taboo.

Additionally, Lacan’s Mirror Stage introduces the formation of identity, with the Imaginary and Symbolic Orders representing our ideal selves and societal rules. Donald Winnicott’s idea of transitional objects—like a child's favorite toy—helps navigate the transition from childhood to adulthood.

Why Contribute?

Your Support Brings This Vision to Life!

Dead in My Eyes is a student-run short film that’s ready to go beyond the classroom and into the hearts of audiences. Now, we need your help to take this project to the next level.

This crowdfunding campaign will fund crucial aspects of production and post-production, including cast and crew, props, makeup, sound design, music, film festivals, and so much more. Every dollar you contribute will ensure that the film is as polished and professional as possible so it can make the impact it deserves. If we exceed our funding goal, we’ll put those extra funds into submitting the film to prestigious film festivals and creating an even more polished final product.

What’s Next? Once we’ve reached our funding goal, we’ll move forward with finalizing the film. We plan to finish production by the first week of April, and we’ll be actively submitting Dead in My Eyes to film festivals by summer. We’ll be keeping everyone updated with our journey, and when the film is ready for public viewing, we’ll make the film available for our supporters.

How You Can Help:

1. Pledge: Every contribution, no matter the size, brings us closer to our goal! Your support will make a lasting impact on the film’s success.
2. Follow: Stay up-to-date on the film’s progress by following us here on Seed and Spark and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/deadinmyeyesfilm/?igsh=bDdtMTBhb2U3OHdt#
3. Share: Help us spread the word! Share our campaign with your friends, family, and social networks. The more people who know about Dead in My Eyes, the closer we get to reaching our goal!

Directors Statement

Dead in My Eyes is a film that has lingered in my heart for years. When I was nine, my parents told me my grandmother had only a few days left to live. I will never regret spending her final moments with her, but how could my young mind prepare for the overwhelming reality of seeing someone who had once filled my life with warmth and light now reduced to a shell of herself? Hooked to machines, her skin a sickly yellow, unable to communicate except for the faintest of groans, the experience was both heartbreaking and bewildering. We were, in essence, waiting for her death, yet in the presence of our family, we couldn't help but share stories and laughter, even though the constant beeping of the machines would inevitably silence our voices.

I will never forget standing by her side, watching her chest struggle for breath, her body present but no longer the person I had known. It felt as though she had already left us, long before her final breath. It wasn't until they came to take her away that her presence could be felt again.

I’ve experienced this kind of loss time and time again. After losing my grandmother, I watched my two grandfathers follow a similar path—each of them fading quickly. Men who had been strong, immovable forces suddenly were in a state so passive and vulnerable. With my two aunts, the process was different. Their decline was drawn out, a slow erosion over the years. Their spark faded little by little until they transformed into someone unrecognizable. One of my aunts passed away less than a year ago, and it was in her death that I felt the final push for Dead in My Eyes to leave the pages of my notebook and come to life as something physical, something real.

As I deepened the story’s development, I realized the original spark for the film was rooted in grief—not just the grief I felt for the loved ones I lost but the many forms grief takes. There are people we love unconditionally, people who, once they have our love, begin to change in ways we cannot anticipate. They become unrecognizable. We try to hold on, desperately clinging to who they once were, but as we stay within arm's reach of them, they begin to hurt us.

One of the hardest things I've ever had to do was step away from someone I loved deeply, but through their actions, I came to realize that what they were offering me could no longer be called love. The greatest lesson I learned from them was an uncomfortable truth: sometimes, it's not about the other person; it's about recognizing when you're the one holding on too tightly. I mourn the friendship that could have been, but more than that, I mourn the younger version of myself who didn’t know how to let go.

Creating this film has been an intense journey of self-discovery, as I’ve come to understand the deep, messy, and sometimes beautiful ways grief is interwoven into who I am. There’s a type of grief that is painful and confusing yet still somehow flows with the rhythm of life—something larger than ourselves, something beyond our understanding. But then there’s the darker grief that lingers in the space between life and death, that metaphorical realm where endings are never clear-cut. Life doesn’t offer a clean break when someone leaves you, but through the first kind of grief, I’ve learned to cope with the second. It’s the loved ones I’ve lost who continue to guide me, who gave me the strength to release. They’ve taught me how to heal, how to grow, and how to move forward.

This film is for Anne. This film is for Chester. This film is for Maggie. This film is for Allen. This film is for Lynn.

Meet the Characters

Evan: he is the oldest and feels responsible for taking care of the other two boys. He is kind and caring. Evan is the kind of person who would rather suffer than those around him. Although he is the unofficial leader, he, too, is still a kid. Staying true to the people he loves is how he stays true to himself.

Spence: the most direct of the group. He is consumed with the anxiety of how things should be for them to survive. He’s a ‘smart ass’ and has a hard time admitting when he’s wrong. Although he’d never say it, Evan and Iggy are his worlds. Anything outside of them is a potential threat. Spence believes that logic and emotions do not coincide and uses rationale as a defense mechanism.

Iggy: not only the baby of the three friends but the glue. When he is infected by a zombie, he leaves Spence and Evan, two opposites, to decide his fate. He was the one in the group who truly, unconditionally, loved the others–having looked up to them his whole life, what others saw as flaws, he saw as their strengths. He is now caught in a fight between keeping his humanity or falling victim to the infection.