Deceiver

Deceiver was created during the inaugural 48 Hour Film Project Horror/Sci-Fi Edition in Portland, where a compressed timeline pushed our team to rely on instinct, trust, and atmosphere. At its core, the film is a psychological horror rooted in something personal: the quiet, corrosive power of negative self-talk and the way it can distort reality. The idea grew from my own experiences with isolation and self-doubt, moments when an internal voice insisted something was wrong even when nothing was.

Shaela Payne’s performance as Terry grounds the film emotionally, translating that internal conflict into a descent that feels intimate rather than sensational. Rather than leaning on gore or overt scares, our goal was to sustain disorientation, never allowing the character or the audience to fully settle. Deceiver is my first time writing and directing horror, and it reflects my interest in using the genre to externalize internal fears and explore how dangerous it can be when that voice is finally listened to.