Lyra
St. Louis, Missouri | Film Short
Horror, LGBTQ
In a world obsessed with connection, Ash becomes unnerved by their roommates peculiar behavior, questioning everything about her life and reality itself. Lyra is a psychological body horror film exploring isolation, desensitization to violence and the slow erosion of reality in the digital age.
Lyra
St. Louis, Missouri | Film Short
Horror, LGBTQ
1 Campaigns | Missouri, United States
11 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$1,275
Goal: $6,000 for pre-production
In a world obsessed with connection, Ash becomes unnerved by their roommates peculiar behavior, questioning everything about her life and reality itself. Lyra is a psychological body horror film exploring isolation, desensitization to violence and the slow erosion of reality in the digital age.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Lyra is set in the underground queer scene in St. Louis Missouri, a tight knit community built around shared struggles and support. But as life becomes more and more influenced by the online world, that connection becomes fragile.
We follow Ash, who decides to move in with a new roommate to ease the financial burden of living alone in 2025. Leena, a charismatic bartender, decides to let them move in. Things begin to slowly take a turn for the worse as Ash struggles to feel comfortable in the new apartment, strange sounds begin to fill the house as Ash begins to unravel the peculiar behaviors of their new roommate. As their paranoia begins to builds, they turn to a mysterious friend on their phone for answers as they desperately search for the truth, no matter what it takes.
Our story starts out warm, the comfort of routine amongst friends lulling you into a state of satisfaction, looking towards the future with hope. But as that routine begins to crumble for Ash, they dive head first into a state of confusion as the rug is pulled out from under them.
Lyra dives into the ever changing landscape of the modern age, as AI psychosis rapidly becomes a looming threat to people around us every day, Lyra explores the reality of what happens when we place complete trust into an AI companion, allowing it to dictate our decisions and interfere with personal relationships. As human beings we did not evolve to be exposed to this level of unimageable violence. The first time you see something horrific, your body reacts with fear and disgust. But the 100th time? Nothing. The normalization of violence against those we view as 'other' slowly shifting our internal threshold of what we view as socially acceptable.
When you meet someone, how long does it take before you truly know them? A year? Perhaps two? Everyone goes about life on a different schedule, but for neurodivergent people that time frame may not be linear. Often seeming to go from zero to 100, that sudden shift in dynamic can be jarring for others. In Lyra, we follow two individuals struggling to find a balance in their relationship as mental health begins impacting the way they see each other.
With Lyra we will be shining a light on how all these issues disproportionately affect the vulnerable people in our communities. Economic distress, mental health, and isolation compounding into an unstoppable force impacting those around us.
Another key goal for our film is to have queer representation that steps outside the bounds of traditional story telling, instead of forcing our characters into limiting roles like the gay best friend, or commonly used relationship tropes, this story focuses on portraying complex characters who's identities are respected, and not treated as a spectacle.
Many people who are working on this project are a part of the queer and neurodivergent community, myself included. It is our goal to authentically represent these identities through this film and strike up a conversation as to why we often aren't thought of as worthy of being leads, unless it's a film directly about queer romance.
With the help of our talented cinematographer Adrian Petrosian, Our aesthetic vision for Lyra will be full of trippy visuals, capturing Ash's dissent into psychosis though angles and lighting that take you directly into their mind. Every shot intentionally bringing you through a journey of comfortability, eerie emptiness, then fear.
Photo credits in order left to right: jsparducho_ , fiereekers, sevynnm, jasminekelso, jordierwitt.
Through meticulously chosen locations, purposeful set decoration, and wardrobe with high attention to detail, we will bring this story to life, sucking you into a world that feels like its shrinking every time you try to take a breath.
Lyra is a special effects heavy film, ambitiously taking on two full life-like animatronics and more. We will be utilizing practical effects to create visceral visuals not possible through other means, designed to immerse the audience directly into the protagonists deteriorating world view. A majority of the budget we are crowdfunding for will be poured into the special effects budget, from mold-making and casting silicone, to the technical animatronic parts and blood (lots of it ;)
I wrote this script in late 2024, which means i've been able to slowly work on special affects throughout the past year! But i won't be able to jump into the nitty-gritty work until after we reach our campaign goal. I have shared some of the progress of the effects i've already done on my Instagram @veffects which you can check out if you'd like an extra sneak peak!
Another portion of our budget will be going into the food and catering for our cast and crew. Our goal is to support local small businesses in the St. Louis area, circulating it through our economy instead of giving it to conglomerates and large corporations.
Why did we pick june?
Our goal is to begin filming Lyra in December 2026. While we have begun pre-production already, my team needs some time when we reach our goal to kick the special effects work into high gear! As soon as crowdfunding comes to an end we will be able to begin working on the really big stuff, the technical aspects of animatronics take some trial and error to work smoothly, so we will be working on them through July and August, as we lock down locations and all other pre-production work.
When will it be released?
After we finish Production in December, we will move on to the post-production stage. We will be screening the premier at a local St. Louis art galley in early 2027! The virtual premier will be available 1 week after the in-person release.
Stretch goal
This film is a passion project deeply personal to me, and everyone who is working on it. With our $6000 budget, a majority of the work provided by the crew will be volunteer based, if we are able to exceed this goal we will be able to do more than give them delicious food, we'd love to compensate them for all of their time!
If we don't raise a minimum of 80% of our Seed&Spark funding goal, we won't receive any of our funding, so we need your help!
To bring Lyra to life and execute our vision, every contribution, no matter the size, brings us closer to creating this film and shinning a light on how AI psychosis has begun snowballing into a bigger and bigger problem everyday.
Support our Seed&Spark page! By hitting the heart button at the top right of the page, you help us reach more people and spread the word!
FOLLOW US on Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube, and Facebook @Film_Lyra to stay connected and join our movement, taking control of the narrative and subverting the idea that the use of AI is good for art.
Every day I will be posting videos on all of our social media diving deeper into the story and message behind this film, so follow us on your favorite platforms to continue learning more!
Share the love with these pre-written messages!
I’m so excited to support @Film_Lyra, An upcoming body horror short film about AI psychosis. You can join us in shining a light on how AI chatbots have begun infiltrating lives, controlling the decisions and thoughts of those unlucky enough to succumb to their charm. Check it out: https://seedandspark.com/fund/lyra#story
I just pledged to @Film_Lyra, A psychological body horror film about AI psychosis being shot in St.Louis Missouri! Join me in strengthening our community by supporting local art. Join me: https://seedandspark.com/fund/lyra#story
We need more queer art! Especially in this day and age, it's more important than ever to support local artists trying to bring their vision to life. I just learned about an upcoming body horror short film @Film_Lyra and i'm so excited to be supporting them on their journey through their crowdfunding campaign! Join me in supporting: https://seedandspark.com/fund/lyra#story
You gotta check out this upcoming short film about AI psychosis 0_0 @Film_Lyra The practical sfx are going to be sick af Check it out: https://seedandspark.com/fund/lyra#story
Every interaction brings us closer to making this film a reality, so thank you for being a part of this story’s future!
We want to create an experience that not only unsettles the audience visually, but also forces a deeper understanding of these topics that sticks with you long after the story ends. Every aspect of this project, from the practical effects to the visual story telling, is being approach with genuine passion, care and love for independent horror filmmaking.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Food and catering for day 1 and 2!
Costs $320
Our goal is to give back to the St. Louis community, we will be purchasing our catering from local businesses to support our city!
food and catering for SFX day!
Costs $220
SFX days are heavy... we've got to nourish our cast and crew to keep morale up while we work on our gore!
Food and catering for day 3!
Costs $250
On day 3 we will be filming at a bar location with lots of extras! We'll be supplying food from a local business to support our community!
Food and catering for day 4!
Costs $360
On day 4 we will have even more extras! We want every meal to be yummy, pizza is good but not 5 days in a row!
Bar location
Costs $500
We have a vision for Lyra... And the perfect local bar to shoot at! We will need to pay the bartender for the duration of our shoot day.
Wardrobe
Costs $300
We need approximately 5 outfits for our lead characters. For our super special sfx scene we need to make 3 copies of the same outfit!
Hair and Makeup
Costs $200
Help us look our best! Support our makeup and hair artists by helping pay their kit fees!
Apartment location
Costs $1,500
Most of our film will take place in their apartment. This location needs a specific vibe that is a little hard to find but we can do it!
Human hair wig
Costs $180
For our animatronics, we need to get a wig and cut/style it to match the actor!
Props!
Costs $170
For the bar and party scenes in particular, we need to dress up the space with drinks, games and more to set the mood at our locations.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
My name is Vermilion Novak (Director/SFX)
I am the writer and director for Lyra as well as the head of special effects. I have been working on this project since 2025, and am very excited how close we are to bringing this film to reality. I am very passionate about creating realistic effects, and how they work on screen. I am going to be bringing my experience with creating and painting animatronics directly into this film project, focusing on life-like silicone effects that capture the delicate softness of the human form.
Adrian Petrosian (Cinematographer/DP)
Adrian is an award winning cinematographer committed to producing inspiring, cinematic imagery. He brings incredible attention to detail to every shot, with a keen eye for direction and composition.
Griffin Smith (Producer)
Griffin Smith is a St. Louis and Kansas City based producer and gaffer. He has produced over 12 projects of his own and helped produce films for various others. As the lead producer on Lyra he can’t wait to help bring the vision to life.
Julia Maret (Art Director)
As art director for Lyra Julia is passionate about bringing this script from it's conceptual stage to reality. Capturing the uneasy ambient horror of the film through set design and direction, bringing it from a concept to a tangible experience.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Lyra is set in the underground queer scene in St. Louis Missouri, a tight knit community built around shared struggles and support. But as life becomes more and more influenced by the online world, that connection becomes fragile.
We follow Ash, who decides to move in with a new roommate to ease the financial burden of living alone in 2025. Leena, a charismatic bartender, decides to let them move in. Things begin to slowly take a turn for the worse as Ash struggles to feel comfortable in the new apartment, strange sounds begin to fill the house as Ash begins to unravel the peculiar behaviors of their new roommate. As their paranoia begins to builds, they turn to a mysterious friend on their phone for answers as they desperately search for the truth, no matter what it takes.
Our story starts out warm, the comfort of routine amongst friends lulling you into a state of satisfaction, looking towards the future with hope. But as that routine begins to crumble for Ash, they dive head first into a state of confusion as the rug is pulled out from under them.
Lyra dives into the ever changing landscape of the modern age, as AI psychosis rapidly becomes a looming threat to people around us every day, Lyra explores the reality of what happens when we place complete trust into an AI companion, allowing it to dictate our decisions and interfere with personal relationships. As human beings we did not evolve to be exposed to this level of unimageable violence. The first time you see something horrific, your body reacts with fear and disgust. But the 100th time? Nothing. The normalization of violence against those we view as 'other' slowly shifting our internal threshold of what we view as socially acceptable.
When you meet someone, how long does it take before you truly know them? A year? Perhaps two? Everyone goes about life on a different schedule, but for neurodivergent people that time frame may not be linear. Often seeming to go from zero to 100, that sudden shift in dynamic can be jarring for others. In Lyra, we follow two individuals struggling to find a balance in their relationship as mental health begins impacting the way they see each other.
With Lyra we will be shining a light on how all these issues disproportionately affect the vulnerable people in our communities. Economic distress, mental health, and isolation compounding into an unstoppable force impacting those around us.
Another key goal for our film is to have queer representation that steps outside the bounds of traditional story telling, instead of forcing our characters into limiting roles like the gay best friend, or commonly used relationship tropes, this story focuses on portraying complex characters who's identities are respected, and not treated as a spectacle.
Many people who are working on this project are a part of the queer and neurodivergent community, myself included. It is our goal to authentically represent these identities through this film and strike up a conversation as to why we often aren't thought of as worthy of being leads, unless it's a film directly about queer romance.
With the help of our talented cinematographer Adrian Petrosian, Our aesthetic vision for Lyra will be full of trippy visuals, capturing Ash's dissent into psychosis though angles and lighting that take you directly into their mind. Every shot intentionally bringing you through a journey of comfortability, eerie emptiness, then fear.
Photo credits in order left to right: jsparducho_ , fiereekers, sevynnm, jasminekelso, jordierwitt.
Through meticulously chosen locations, purposeful set decoration, and wardrobe with high attention to detail, we will bring this story to life, sucking you into a world that feels like its shrinking every time you try to take a breath.
Lyra is a special effects heavy film, ambitiously taking on two full life-like animatronics and more. We will be utilizing practical effects to create visceral visuals not possible through other means, designed to immerse the audience directly into the protagonists deteriorating world view. A majority of the budget we are crowdfunding for will be poured into the special effects budget, from mold-making and casting silicone, to the technical animatronic parts and blood (lots of it ;)
I wrote this script in late 2024, which means i've been able to slowly work on special affects throughout the past year! But i won't be able to jump into the nitty-gritty work until after we reach our campaign goal. I have shared some of the progress of the effects i've already done on my Instagram @veffects which you can check out if you'd like an extra sneak peak!
Another portion of our budget will be going into the food and catering for our cast and crew. Our goal is to support local small businesses in the St. Louis area, circulating it through our economy instead of giving it to conglomerates and large corporations.
Why did we pick june?
Our goal is to begin filming Lyra in December 2026. While we have begun pre-production already, my team needs some time when we reach our goal to kick the special effects work into high gear! As soon as crowdfunding comes to an end we will be able to begin working on the really big stuff, the technical aspects of animatronics take some trial and error to work smoothly, so we will be working on them through July and August, as we lock down locations and all other pre-production work.
When will it be released?
After we finish Production in December, we will move on to the post-production stage. We will be screening the premier at a local St. Louis art galley in early 2027! The virtual premier will be available 1 week after the in-person release.
Stretch goal
This film is a passion project deeply personal to me, and everyone who is working on it. With our $6000 budget, a majority of the work provided by the crew will be volunteer based, if we are able to exceed this goal we will be able to do more than give them delicious food, we'd love to compensate them for all of their time!
If we don't raise a minimum of 80% of our Seed&Spark funding goal, we won't receive any of our funding, so we need your help!
To bring Lyra to life and execute our vision, every contribution, no matter the size, brings us closer to creating this film and shinning a light on how AI psychosis has begun snowballing into a bigger and bigger problem everyday.
Support our Seed&Spark page! By hitting the heart button at the top right of the page, you help us reach more people and spread the word!
FOLLOW US on Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube, and Facebook @Film_Lyra to stay connected and join our movement, taking control of the narrative and subverting the idea that the use of AI is good for art.
Every day I will be posting videos on all of our social media diving deeper into the story and message behind this film, so follow us on your favorite platforms to continue learning more!
Share the love with these pre-written messages!
I’m so excited to support @Film_Lyra, An upcoming body horror short film about AI psychosis. You can join us in shining a light on how AI chatbots have begun infiltrating lives, controlling the decisions and thoughts of those unlucky enough to succumb to their charm. Check it out: https://seedandspark.com/fund/lyra#story
I just pledged to @Film_Lyra, A psychological body horror film about AI psychosis being shot in St.Louis Missouri! Join me in strengthening our community by supporting local art. Join me: https://seedandspark.com/fund/lyra#story
We need more queer art! Especially in this day and age, it's more important than ever to support local artists trying to bring their vision to life. I just learned about an upcoming body horror short film @Film_Lyra and i'm so excited to be supporting them on their journey through their crowdfunding campaign! Join me in supporting: https://seedandspark.com/fund/lyra#story
You gotta check out this upcoming short film about AI psychosis 0_0 @Film_Lyra The practical sfx are going to be sick af Check it out: https://seedandspark.com/fund/lyra#story
Every interaction brings us closer to making this film a reality, so thank you for being a part of this story’s future!
We want to create an experience that not only unsettles the audience visually, but also forces a deeper understanding of these topics that sticks with you long after the story ends. Every aspect of this project, from the practical effects to the visual story telling, is being approach with genuine passion, care and love for independent horror filmmaking.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Food and catering for day 1 and 2!
Costs $320
Our goal is to give back to the St. Louis community, we will be purchasing our catering from local businesses to support our city!
food and catering for SFX day!
Costs $220
SFX days are heavy... we've got to nourish our cast and crew to keep morale up while we work on our gore!
Food and catering for day 3!
Costs $250
On day 3 we will be filming at a bar location with lots of extras! We'll be supplying food from a local business to support our community!
Food and catering for day 4!
Costs $360
On day 4 we will have even more extras! We want every meal to be yummy, pizza is good but not 5 days in a row!
Bar location
Costs $500
We have a vision for Lyra... And the perfect local bar to shoot at! We will need to pay the bartender for the duration of our shoot day.
Wardrobe
Costs $300
We need approximately 5 outfits for our lead characters. For our super special sfx scene we need to make 3 copies of the same outfit!
Hair and Makeup
Costs $200
Help us look our best! Support our makeup and hair artists by helping pay their kit fees!
Apartment location
Costs $1,500
Most of our film will take place in their apartment. This location needs a specific vibe that is a little hard to find but we can do it!
Human hair wig
Costs $180
For our animatronics, we need to get a wig and cut/style it to match the actor!
Props!
Costs $170
For the bar and party scenes in particular, we need to dress up the space with drinks, games and more to set the mood at our locations.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
My name is Vermilion Novak (Director/SFX)
I am the writer and director for Lyra as well as the head of special effects. I have been working on this project since 2025, and am very excited how close we are to bringing this film to reality. I am very passionate about creating realistic effects, and how they work on screen. I am going to be bringing my experience with creating and painting animatronics directly into this film project, focusing on life-like silicone effects that capture the delicate softness of the human form.
Adrian Petrosian (Cinematographer/DP)
Adrian is an award winning cinematographer committed to producing inspiring, cinematic imagery. He brings incredible attention to detail to every shot, with a keen eye for direction and composition.
Griffin Smith (Producer)
Griffin Smith is a St. Louis and Kansas City based producer and gaffer. He has produced over 12 projects of his own and helped produce films for various others. As the lead producer on Lyra he can’t wait to help bring the vision to life.
Julia Maret (Art Director)
As art director for Lyra Julia is passionate about bringing this script from it's conceptual stage to reality. Capturing the uneasy ambient horror of the film through set design and direction, bringing it from a concept to a tangible experience.