The Gift

I love psychological thrillers and always wanted to make one but did not want to make just another run-of-the-mill psychological thriller. In fact I wanted to be experimental and create a film that not only has the edge-of-the-seat suspense of a psychological thriller but also presents to the audience additional story elements and twists that provide a unique experience beyond a suspense thriller. The Gift is a result of that experimental effort.

A long time ago, I received a package at my doorstep. It didn't have any shop or shipping label or a name where it came from. It was a plain and simple brown package. That simple package kept me thinking throughout the day about the different possibilities of what could be inside it. I couldn't open it, thinking it was not for me nor throw it away, thinking it could actually be for me. However, this unknown thing inside my home made me feel very uneasy.

Later, when I thought about it, it made me laugh, but at the same time, it also intrigued me - how something seemingly simple but a little different from our expectations can play tricks in our minds. This incident became the plot of my psychological thriller story and “The Gift” was born.

With an ultra-low budget and self-funded project, I did not want the final product to look low-quality. I created a story largely around one character in one location. However, the challenge was to create a gripping story with so little. I drew a lot of inspiration from Hitchcock's thriller storytelling through anticipation and, from David Lynch's visual feel of suspense.

I hope the audience will enjoy this suspenseful roller coaster ride and be thrilled by “The Gift”.