Character Relationship Map: Effects

Characters

• Dominic (played by Joseph Pilato) — protagonist

  A central participant in the low-budget production who works through demanding scenes and becomes deeply disturbed after viewing footage of a girl being killed. He remains convinced that the killing l...

• Celeste (played by Susan Chapek) — supporting

  An exhausted and frightened participant in the production. She is disturbed by her reflection in a mirror and says that Barney sometimes makes her fear he may attack her with a razor. Her distress hig...

• Lacey Bickel (played by John Harrison) — supporting

  A participant who arranges for materials to be collected and sent to a bus station. He claims that the film showing a girl being killed was a student project and that the girl was not actually harmed,...

• Barney (played by Bernard McKenna) — supporting

  A participant who plays cards and uses cocaine with the others. His behavior contributes to the tense atmosphere, and Celeste says that he sometimes makes her fear he may attack her with a razor.

• Nicky (played by Tom Savini) — supporting

  A participant who is sent to retrieve a mirror. Later, he travels with Dominic and Lobo into the isolated countryside and appears to spot something ahead shortly before the footage ends.

• Lobo (played by Charles Hoyes) — supporting

  A participant who is said to be spending time with an actress found in Pittsburgh. Later, he travels with Dominic and Nicky into the countryside, mentions hunting there, and says that there are no lon...

• TV Director (played by Joe Wittkofski) — supporting

  The production leader who keeps filming moving, praises the performers, and insists on an early start to capture the right light. He manages repeated technical interruptions and later proposes showing...

• TV Sound Man (played by John Sutton) — supporting
• Murdered Girl (played by Jackie Lahane) — supporting

  The apparent victim in disturbing film footage shown to Dominic. Lacey Bickel claims that she was never actually harmed and that the killing was created through special effects, although Dominic belie...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• TV Director → TV Sound Man (Professional Production Colleagues)

  The production repeatedly encounters lighting and sound problems while the TV Director continues directing the setup.

• TV Director → Lobo (Power Supervisor And Crew Member)

  The TV Director sends Lobo up a hill with Nicky and Dominic for the wilderness footage.

• TV Director → Nicky (Power Supervisor And Crew Member)

  The TV Director sends Nicky up a hill with Lobo and Dominic to obtain the morning light.

• Lacey Bickel → Murdered Girl (Professional Filmmaker And Performer)

  Lacey Bickel claims that he made the student film in which the Murdered Girl appears and insists that the apparent killing was produced with special e...

• Dominic → TV Director (Professional Director And Performer)

  The TV Director keeps the production moving while Dominic participates in the filming and is later sent into the countryside for another shot.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Lobo → Dominic (Alliance Production Companion)

  Lobo travels with Dominic and Nicky up the hill while discussing the surrounding hunting grounds.

• Nicky → Dominic (Alliance Production Companion)

  Nicky goes with Lobo and Dominic into the isolated countryside for the planned wilderness shots.

• Nicky → Lobo (Alliance Teammate)

  The TV Director sends Nicky and Lobo up a hill with Dominic to capture the desired morning light.

• Barney → Nicky (Alliance Crew Associate)

  Barney plays cards and uses cocaine with the group, while Nicky is part of the same production team and is sent to retrieve a mirror.

• Celeste → Barney (Conflict Fearful Adversaries)

  Celeste says Barney sometimes makes her fear that he may attack her with a razor.

• Dominic → Lacey Bickel (Conflict Disputant)

  Lacey Bickel shows Dominic the disturbing film of a girl being killed, while Dominic remains convinced that the killing looked real.

Story Analysis

A troubled film production gradually blurs staged violence, personal fear, and an ominous wilderness.

Plot Progression

1. A Production Under Strain
2. Fear Enters The Set
3. The Image Of Murder
4. Hostility Behind The Scenes
5. The Wilderness Watches