A One-Night Stand Breakdown

Bruce Von Stiers

Many people, including me, have had one-night stands. They can be exhilarating, exciting and a lot of fun. They can also be not so much fun, with a mountain full of regret during or after the tryst.

But what might happen to some if they suddenly have a psychotic break after a one-night stand? That is the question that one short horror film brings forth. The title of the film is Lovergurl.

The film opens with two women seducing each other on the bed in what looks to be a hotel room. One woman peels off the stocking of the other woman. But in the hallway, there is a woman walking towards the hotel room. She stops at the door, getting ready to knock on it, but doesn't.

The film moves to an outdoor scene. It's one of the women from the hotel room. Her head is tilted like either she's been hung or she's possessed. She straightens her head and runs forward, screaming. Then it's after the one-night stand and the same woman wakes up alone. The other woman had apparently had her fun and left. But there is the stocking that had been removed. She plays with it and then, suddenly, things start to become very strange and intense. She opens the room curtains, and someone stares back at her.

This is the start of very weird scenes in the film. The woman seems to be having some kind of breakdown. And there are different color lights that keep flashing and obscure music that keeps playing.

Weird things are happening and she doesn't know what to do. Eventually she passes out on a rattan love seat. Then she wakes up. Only it isn't her, it's another woman. This too sets up a whole sequence of strange events, including finding a stocking in an envelope, a missing person flyer and running through a cemetery.

One thing to point out is that there is no dialog in the film. The story is told through the actions of the women, the various changes in lighting, sound effects and music.

Kris Salvi wrote the screenplay for the film. It was based on a short story that Alfred Hitchcok was going to base a new film on. This was either in the late 1920's or early 1930's. Kris found the partial screenplay, scene descriptions and storyline notes that Hitchcock had worked up. Kris used all of that as the foundation for what Lovergurl became.

Kayla Garabedian played the woman from the one-night stand who didn't stick around for morning pillow talk. She starred in the horror film, Familiar, and has co-starred in a number of horror and drama films.

Jen Drummond played the jilted woman from the one-night stand who seems to be having some kind of psychotic break. She starred in Night of the Werewolves and Tales from Shakespeare: Folios & Follies.

And Kayla Caulfield was the third woman, the one who wakes up on the loveseat. She starred in Lightkeepers, co-starred in Higher Methods and was in The Families Feud, a film I reviewed a couple of years ago.

I mentioned that Kris Salvi wrote the screenplay for Lovergurl. He was also the director. He has acted in a bunch of short films, including The Banana Movie and Insurgent. He has also been the screenwriter for several films.

Deborah Del Negro was the Executive Producer. She has acted in such films as Dessert and has been a producer of films like Step Right Up and Turn A Mad Dog Loose.

Jimmy Jackson was the co-producer. He was also the film's composer. He has composed music for nine other films and has produced several.

Christopher Di Nunzio was the director of photography and editor for the film. He was the cinematographer for films such as Exeter at Midnight and Hope Ryder.

The film was produced by Private Eye Films, which is Kris Salvi's production company.

The original logline from the Hitchcock material that became Lovergurl was “A Woman experiences a nightmarish tragedy during a brief romantic encounter.” I think that the film takes that statement and builds on it to create a very strange and intense horror story.

Although there wasn't any dialog, the facial expressions and actions of the characters spoke volumes. And the music was both strange and intense as well.

Lovergurl will be shown at the December 2025 Winterdance. This event will be held in Millbury, Massachusetts and is sponsored by the Greater Boston Film Collective.

A formal release date for Lovergurl will be coming sometime soon.

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© 2025 Bruce E Von Stiers