Movie Review // Pay to Die (2026)

Have you ever received an email or seen a post on social media asking you to back a campaign for someone's independent film?   If you're like me, odds are that you not only see these types of posts and get these types of email a lot, but you also try to donate to as many of them as you can.  For a lot of them, you can pledge something like $30 and secure a blu-ray copy of the film you were likely to buy anyway.  But for some of these films, you can get some pretty crazy credits and for some pretty crazy prices.

"Pay to Die" is the newest film from Shawn C. Phillips and Lauren Francesca which asks the question of just how far someone will go to help finance a film.  In the same way that you can watch Johnny Depp portray Ed Wood in the film of the same name and go try and get producers to back his films, "Pay to Die" is about a commercial director named Charles (played so well by Jeff Richards) who wants to make a horror film.  It is the suggestion by Tony (portrayed by James Duval) that the film could be backed by supporters online.  

The whole first act of this film is about the process of creating a KickStarter (or whatever you want to call it) and trying to create a film from other people's money.  It's the idea of having the dad who paid a lot of money for his kids to act in this film to the guy who paid a lot to be the murderer in the film and just hungry for violence.  As with other films (like "Desert Fiends 2") "Pay to Die" is not above poking fun at the way a lot of this goes down and especially with some of the more serious issues (like how backers can get handsy with the talent)

Lauren Francesca plays the titular character Jess, who reminds me a lot of Jessa Flux.  I think if the character was based on anyone with a similar name it'd be Jessa Flux, but at the same time, there are many films out there with the new Scream Queens in them, it's just that I happened to think of her first (which is also a nod to her overall talent)  There are actors in here like Joe Estevez and Robert Carradine while we also have Robert Miano in here playing an aged actor making his comeback.  But there aren't any actors playing themselves in here, at least not directly in the credit listing way.

With Loreli Linklater as an aspiring actress who isn't allowed on set the first day and Shawn C. Phillips himself playing Teddy, the male lead in the film they are making, this is just a fun take on how far directors will go to crowd fund their movie but also a bit of satire (and truth) as to how far fans will go to pledge and become part of that very same movie.  Do I think it's gotten out of hand with the pledging?  No.  You can literally pay to act in a low budget film now, but hey, if you're acting isn't good then people are going to know that.  You can't buy talent.  (And I do want to one day pay for a perk where I get killed by someone in an independent horror film)

While I could watch this entire film as a mockumentary about how independent films get made these days (and, again, I try to support as many as I can so not disrespecting it) this takes a nice twist as it opens up and turns into a different type of film as there becomes an actual murderer on the set of the murder film.  This adds a level of mystery to the film and I won't spoil anything but as you watch you realize more and more people (especially the ones who paid to be on there) have the motiv to go around and actually start killing.

Both Shawn C. Phillips and Lauren Francesca have found a way to create what I think best embodies the idea of modern film making with "Pay to Die".  There is an air of mystery along with the comedy.  There are actors you may not have heard of before teaming up with actors you hopefully have heard of before.  And perhaps most importantly using Robert Carradine as an example, who plays Officer Don, there are these characters who are here and kind of part of mini-stories within the main story and then by the end all of the stories come together into one.

One on hand I think people may not have made a movie on this subject before because if you feel like a film is mocking you paying money to help make it then maybe you'll risk losing potential backers.  But this film took this risk and if you look at the obscene number of producers (associate and executive) then you will see how it paid off.  But I also fully believe that one of the reasons people spend their money to help fund films like this is because it makes them feel a closer sense of community, it makes them feel like they had a part in making it and are more closely related to it than some big Hollywood blockbuster that just premiered on Peacock.