On a quiet main street in a dying town, James runs a mattress store the way he always has—simple products, firm beliefs, and no interest in change.

But when a strange new storefront opens across the street, everything begins to shift. Wonder Bed doesn’t sell mattresses. Through a ritualistic experience centered around a mysterious bed known as the Tallahassee Twin, customers are given the opportunity to change something about themselves. All they have to do is answer one question honestly:

“What change do you seek?”

For those who approach the bed in good faith, the results are transformative.

As word spreads, the town begins to evolve. The once-quiet street fills with curiosity, color, and a growing sense of possibility. But for James, this change is not exciting—it’s threatening.

Unable to understand what Wonder Bed offers—and unwilling to accept it—James becomes fixated on shutting it down.

Eventually, James is given the same opportunity as everyone else: to step inside the Tallahassee Twin and ask for a change of his own.

He refuses.

But the bed doesn’t...

I recently toured the indie horror festival circuit with my short Dummy and saw a number of horror shorts that aligned with my own political beliefs. But as much as I agreed with them, I couldn’t ignore the feeling that they weren’t reaching the people who needed to hear the message most. I saw this sort of audience member identify themselves characterized as the mustache-twirling villain so quickly, that it was easy for them to immediately dismiss these films as "woke garbage."

Tallahassee Twin was written around a different idea: Instead of pointing outward, I wanted to write from the inside—to inhabit the perspective of someone who is resistant to change, who is suspicious of what they don’t understand.

Rather than announcing its message up front, Tallahassee Twin invites the audience into a familiar world and lets the meaning reveal itself over time. By the time the story reaches its turning point, my hope is that the viewer is already invested—already aligned with the perspective they’re watching—and is forced to sit with the consequences of it.

But also - this film ain't homework! Tallahassee Twin is undeniably weird, spooky, and fun. Our star is a mystical bed that may or may not kill people. What's not to like about that?

Andrew’s screenplay is ever changing, in a multitude of ways. The bed changes for whoever enters, the settings swing wildly from from desolate to theatrical, and the horror is a nightmare or a dream…depending on who you ask. 

You’ll feel this using what film gives us… The camera! The camera is an actor in the scene just as much as our other characters. It will move differently as we jump from character to character. Is the character uncomfortable in their own skin? Lets stay close with a wide angle to distort the face.

A moment of love and safety, the camera has to be close in that moment, and stay still. This world is moving whether our main character wants it to, so the frame will constantly be in motion around him. The bed says nothing, but the result is always clear. There is so much to say to the audience with just the tools given to us in film, in how you see it. 

The bed! What is inside the bed, and what happens to person who enters? Don’t worry, you’ll see. We are going with a practical first approach, with VFX to assist. Taking something familiar like a bed, and bringing it a fantastical quality is asking for exactly that. Your contributions will ensure that every prop, effect, and set piece works in camera. Then, the VFX comes in to ensure its sold every step of the way. A lot of what I’ve spoken about is quite subtle. But change requires effort, and sometimes pain. In Tallahassee Twin, we won’t be so subtle with the FX to get that point across.

Here's my mood playlist for Tallahassee Twin. Close your eyes and feel where each song brings you. In order, this is the story of Tallahassee Twin for me.

Nick Major-Bowden is a director and sound designer with over a decade of experience across nearly every role in production. His work has been featured on Adult Swim and TEDx, as well as on the indie circuit in New York and D.C.

Andrew Kaberline is a writer and producer based in Washington Heights who blends surreal horror, existential dread, and absurdist comedy. His short script Dummy won the HollyShorts Screenwriting Competition. The script for Tallahassee Twin won the ScreenCraft Short Screenplay Competition, was a finalist in the Nightmares Film Festival Short Screenplay Competition & Killer Shorts, and was in the top 1% all-time of horror shorts on Coverfly (RIP)

Sam Callahan is a producer and assistant director based in Texas and New York. He has produced several short films, most recently including So, You’re Dying (post-production) and Stairs, the latter of which screened at Sundance and SXSW 2026. He is currently in development on two feature films. With a background in data engineering, Sam brings a structured, detail-oriented approach to production while emphasizing close collaboration with directors and departments to support a shared creative vision.

Dusty Austen is a multi-award-winning writer/director, VFX artist, editor, and animator who has been involved in the independent film world for over 20 years. She specializes in kitbash world-building through curated genre maximalism, making high-concept, genre-busting films on small budgets by leveraging new technologies. With her wife Athena Murzda, Dusty created Street Rat Studios -- a low-budget high concept independent film company that celebrates diversity & creative freedom, and has partnered with filmmaker Spooky Madison on their latest venture GrimWire Productions. Dusty was a 2025 recipient of the Trans Film Center / Netflix Fellowship.

Athena Murzda co-founded Street Rat Studios with her wife, Dusty Austen, with a mission to make genre films that center diversity and creative freedom. As a producer, production designer, and actor, she works across every layer of independent film — shaping not just how a story gets made, but how it looks and feels.

Dylan James Amick is a director, writer, and producer based in Los Angeles who excels in existential horror, anti-capitalist comedy, and surrealistic suburban nightmares. He is known for his work in the independent horror scene with his award-winning short Clean Cut and as showrunner for the beloved audio drama The Grayscale. His feature horror script The Estranged was part of The Black List's inaugural Projects Lab, and is currently in development.

Chelsea Rugg is an Emmy-winning editor, stop motion animator, and digital video producer. Through WNET she produced the GLAAD-nominated doc series Caretakers and the Webby-winning explainer show Take on Fake. Her stop-motion short Chapped won Best Animated short at the DC Independent Film Festival, and the gifs created from the film has racked up over 91 million views on Giphy. She is also the editor of award-winning indie horror shorts Dummy and Up Close.

Samuel Romero is a 29-year-old cinematographer and producer of Mexican heritage. Raised between the vibrant cities of Mexico City and São Paulo, Samuel discovered that his unique background brings a distinctive perspective to every project he undertakes. His film Speak Only Good of the Dead garnered a semi-finalist laurel from the Student Academy Awards and won first place from The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. This recognition propelled him into a prestigious role as a judge for the Emmys in the Suncoast Chapter and the Oscar-qualifying Hollyshorts Film Festival. As the co-founder of Manifesto Multimedia LLC, a dynamic startup production company specializing in narrative and commercial projects, Samuel is committed to pushing creative boundaries. In 2025, he was selected for the Talent Demo at ENERGACamerimage. He currently resides in New York City and completed a Master’s degree in Cinematography at the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema in 2026. In 2024, Samuel began a mentorship with ASC Cinematographer Ed Lachman, where they discuss various aspects of cinematography. Through his diverse projects, Samuel aims not only to entertain but also to inspire, educate, and elevate audiences around the world.

Donate!

We're looking to raise $14,000 through this campaign to get us to our production budget.

We are currently in pre-production, with plans to shoot Summer 2026, and complete the film in late 2026 ahead of a 2027 festival run. We pay everyone on our team a fair wage, and your donations will directly go into the pockets of indie film artists.

We need to hit 80% of our targeted goal in order to receive ANY funds from Seed & Spark. Your donations will get us there, and as a thank you for the support we offer many types of incentives at a range of budget levels.

If we get past 100%, then we can cover our stretch goals of covering post-production work and eventual festival submission fees. But we can't do any of this without your support.

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