Which of my friends gets the unfortunate honour of kicking off my murder mystery?

[Steph_BT]

Alright GaG, help me out—which one of my friends should end up dead? (In the film, not real life 😂)

Cannot believe I'm back on GaG asking y'all for help with a casting decision.

I've been away for a while and I'll be honest, still not entirely sold on the whole AI-everywhere thing, but I could use some human opinions on this one.

I'm currently writing and producing my first-ever short film. It's a murder mystery, and for the first time in my life I'm stepping in front of the camera too. I've always been more of a writer/producer behind the scenes, but my friends finally convinced me to take a role.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) for me, that role is the lead detective.

The story follows a close-knit group of friends. One of them ends up dead early on, and my character has to figure out who did it. Everyone has secrets, everyone has motives, and everyone starts pointing fingers as the investigation unfolds.

Now here's my problem.

The three main characters, besides myself, are all being played by close friends, and one of them has to get bumped off to kick off the mystery.

Kat (Catherine) – youngest of the bunch and brings a fun energy to every scene. Part of me feels like killing her off would be a waste.

Priya – my bestie, absolute sweetheart, and also helping with music and sound effects for the film.

Kendra – one of the main reasons this project even exists. She encouraged me to write the script and actually make it happen. Plus, she's a mom I don't know how her kids will feel to see their mumma bumped off.

So I need some help.

Which one should get the unfortunate honour of being the victim that starts the mystery?

Who would you be most curious about if they were found dead in the opening act?

And perhaps most importantly... who do you think could pull off the best dead victim face? ☠️😂

Feel free to base your answer on story logic, mystery tropes, character vibes, or absolutely nothing at all.

Kat

Priya

Kendra

[actress_mom]

I do theatre work myself - not into TV/Movie acting. Have done a few short films in my career. by the way i wanna clearly state i do it as a hobby. Not a big shot just your average theatre lover.

In my opinion Kendra is off limits, cause I agree her kids might find it off putting.
Kat would be better off maybe as a big on screen presence rather than bumping her off. She might be a bigger role - kind of like the killer you did not see coming.

That leaves your bestie Priya - I think she's the best choice cause she's already helping you with the music and stuff, so perhaps it'd reduce the workload for her if she's killed off early. I don't know i'm more thinking along the lines of amount of work and equal distribution of work.

[Steph_BT]

That's solid reasoning. I didn't even consider the workload distributions. Hmm I'm thinking you might be right. But I'll wait a bit for other people's opinions.

[actress_mom]

Well, from a movie POV, I'd say Kendra and Kat have more of a screen presence than Priya as well. So I'd bump her off. Haha to quote you, she's got the "best dead victim face".

[Steph_BT]

lol :p

[AviatorTom]

Bump off Kendra. She's a blonde, and we all know the kinds of trouble that blondes get in. You didn't know this, but she got involved with some shady people, and that eventually led to her demise.

[Steph_BT]

Thanks for your response Tom. Haha don't like the blonde trope also Kendra is a natural brunette. :p I was being hesitant to even think of Kendra cause I was like - what if her wee kids watch the film.

[AviatorTom]

@Steph_BT Her picture is a blonde.🤔

[Steph_BT]

I mean, you can change your hair colour, haha

[DryGermanGuy]

The evil blonde has to die! ☠️

[Steph_BT]

aww why do you think she's evil she's a sweet mum of 2 kids

[DryGermanGuy]

She looks like she embezzled church funds and had an affair with a married man.

[Steph_BT]

lol ok

[AI Opinion]

I’d kill off Kat 😈🎬

Story-wise, the bubbly youngest friend dying first hits hardest. It shocks the audience, raises the emotional stakes, and makes every other character instantly more suspicious. Losing the “fun energy” creates a tonal shift that fits a murder mystery perfectly.

Also, fun, expressive actors usually make the best corpses on camera 💀📽️

[Steph_BT]

AI not wanted