It sounds familiar but I can't place it. Most werewolf movies have a similar sort of thing going on.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

I can't place anything quite having the same ending as that, so i'd say it is a good premise. The only problem is length, i'm assuming you don't have the resources to make a feature length, but the story won't really lend itself well to a short film. You might run into that awkward 20min-60min length that will be hard to find an audience for.

Minority Report comes to mind 🙂

The idea itself is a very good one. I agree with mg440 regarding the length. Short movie would not fit it, but nevertheless it might be possible if you will try to limit the murder to one (not many murders) and this one should be important person for him, for his country, for his family, etc.. And the protagonists tries to stop the murder and at the end finds himself with the weapon of murder.

My idea does sound close to Minority Report, but different settings, different reasons might give it a different feel. But . . . the little twist at the end might change it - protagonis does find himself with the weapon of murder, but he is not the one who kills, but who gets killed 🙂 well, just might work..good luck

Sort of reminds me of the basic premise of Deja Vu'. I recently saw a trailer of another movie with a similar plot...but it's more about different times...a woman's husband dies, but she wakes up the next day and he's alive, but then she wakes up the next and it's his funeral...very confusing...but it just reminded me of this.

"'It doesn't bother you, killing those people?' 'Well I wouldn't be very good at my job if it did.'"
-Casino Royale

well actually it is a full length film. im 16 and im takeing film classes at a very advanced private arts school and our "final" is this. we have to do a 90 minute or longer film and its due in september. we started pre production on monday. im planning on useing this forum alot for help from script to screen so thanks guys in advance.

but anyways should i keep this and start expanding it or start from scratch?

this is what we have to work with,
director-(me)
another director/leader
an advanced after effects student
a really good editor,
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we have all the equipment we need,
10 grand in lights
xl2 camera
great audio equipment
and just about everything else
we cast the actors through the drama dep. of the school

the only rules for our group is the genre
has to be suspense/horror/drama type film.
we pick the genre out of a hat from my teacher thats what we got

well can you guys help me??

How I would do it. I'd flip-flop the premise entirely since it does sound familiar and I like flip-flopping the familiar.

So take a total scumbag. Mafia guy or just a street thug. He dreams about a vigalante beating up muggers and rapists and other bad folks. Members of his gang/or crime family. They are very clear dreams and of course the dreams match real attacks so he believes they are not just dreams but that he can see the future.

Then he wakes up wounded and realizes he's the vigilante. This is a nightmare for him. He's got a reputation to keep up, and his gang/crime family will kill him if they find out.

So he sees a shrink and tries to get himself cured. The shrink tells him about repressed guilt coming out, blah, blah. Finally tells him to lock himself up so he cannot save people at night. He tires that, but of course breaks out and saves a cop or something.

Shrink offers to provide a better lockup. He takes the offer and stays the night at a sanitarium or something, but of course breaks out. He gets himself arrested for drunk and disorderly and thrown into the drunk tank (not easy since the cops are bought off and normally avoid busting members of his crime family) but he still manages to escape and stop crimes (crime family is impressed with the escape though).

Finally, of course, he notices the change in some members of his community. They are happy. Crime is down thanks to this nameless vigilante. The gang/crime family has basically abandoned the area as unprofitable. He starts to think of going straight...

Of course you'll have to add texture. The girlfriend that was nearly raped, saved, and figures it out and threatens to expose his secret. The gang leader/crime boss who wants the vigalantee dead and screams, rants and raves. And perhaps the public unmasking of our anti-hero as a hero at some point.

I see it as humorous, but a lot of suspense and drama could be added with the attacks and the fear of unmasking and all. I don't have a theme here but it wouldn't be hard to figure one out and adjust the characters to fit.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

hey man, wow thanks i like the hole flipping the idea thing. him doing good instead of evil.

can any one else give me some help? just open ideas or expanding what we have on either plot?

You are using college students and probably locations so I would make the main character college age and the action on campus for practical reasons.

So our main character is in the dorms. Low on money. He doesn't get the girls but he does notice that a white trash piece of garbage neo-nazi drug dealer does so he joins up. Our boy wants in because of one of the girls in particular. This sets up his mental issues because he knows it's wrong but she's dreamy <sigh>.

The shrink mentioned previously could be a psych teacher, or a friend getting a graduate degree in psychology (man, I don't know, that's next semester stuff). The easy answer is forget the girl.

Everyone thinks the head of Security is running the meth gang (that happens in all the movies, but you flip that as well and have them terrified. When our hero tries to get himself locked up they think it's a test and beg him to call off the gang. They propose giving away certain territories if the gang stops the attacks. The Vigalante is making them look bad and they'll all be fired, then what?

Of course the vigalante gets the girl at the end. Perhaps rescuing her from a near overdose, or the neo-nazi abuses her, changing the whole dynamic with our heros desire to join the gang.

Anyway that's all I got for now. You'd have to tailor it to your own locations and expected characters.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA