I Know Who Killed Me

I remember seeing I Know Who Killed Me in theaters. At the time I worked for a market research company, so I’d see lots of trailers, many times, long before the films were in theaters. Upon seeing the first trailer, I was curious to see how it would play out.

I really enjoy the film, which makes me question myself as a potential screenwriter (and I told myself I’d doubt myself less…) I like some movies that did well with critics, but a lot of the movies I like didn’t, does that mean I’ll be destined to write movies people don’t enjoy? I hope not.

One thing I’ve learned, is a writer tends to have a particular theme that is found throughout their portfolio. I think I have found mine, despite only writing two scripts (and those are both rough drafts, only viewed by my professor and I). I am obsessed with the concept of the shadow self. A lot of my favorite films and shows deal with this concept in one way or another (Buffy being the main one with Buffy and Faith.)

For those who don’t know, the film is about a girl named Aubrey who is kidnapped and tortured (she loses an arm and a leg.) She is found and suddenly doesn’t remember her life as Aubrey, she is now Dakota. Dakota is the shadow self. Whereas Aubrey has lived a privileged life, Aubrey grew up with a mother addicted to crack. The film is spent finding the person who attacked Aubrey and trying to find out if Aubrey and Dakota are two personalities within the same person, or actually two different people, identical twin sisters.

I also really enjoy the use of reds and blues in this film. It was one of my first blu rays. I think the first one I bought for myself was Cruel Intentions, but I Know Who Killed Me and RENT were giving to me as Christmas presents in 2007 by a dear friend. He bought them for me as I purchased a PS3 for myself as a Christmas present that year, which is also part of the reason I enjoy the films so much.

I remember the reds and blues popping so vividly on blu ray. Also, the blue represents Aubrey and the red represents Dakota, which I really liked. The blue is more calm and collected, like the proper Aubrey, whereas red is usually fiery and passionate, like the more wild and carefree Dakota.

Could it have been a better film? Sure. But I liked it for what it was. I wish it had played more with the idea of are they twins or split personalities, as rather early in the introduction of Dakota, it is cemented what is the case. I also really liked that it came about from the idea of twin stigmata, which is essentially twins being so connected that they can feel the pain of each other (spoiler alter, they are twins. lol)

I decided to watch it on a whim tonight, as I was seeking inspiration for a second draft of my first script. I’m glad I did, but tonight is when I realized the theme for my writing is the shadow self. The script I’m rewriting is about a woman who doesn’t realize she has a shadow self, and that shadow self comes from her guilt over a crime she committed and its sole purpose is to punish her and those involved.

Now I’m searching through Rotten Tomatoes, as I find myself doing more and more these days. If I like a movie that people don’t like, I want to be able to dissect why I liked it and why people didn’t. I don’t plan to be a writer of anything Oscar worthy, but I want to write things I enjoy writing and that people would enjoy readings (script wise) and seeing on screen.