Famous Last Words

High school junior Willa Cresky arrives in Hollywood, California, with her mother, Joanna Cresky, and her new stepfather, a film director named Jonathan Walters. Willa and her mother have just moved from Connecticut to live with Jonathan. As they ride in a stretch limousine to their new mansion at 2121 Sunbird Lane, Jonathan points out landmarks and recounts the history of their home’s previous owner, actress Diana Del Mar, who died there. Alone in her new room, Willa performs a secret ritual with a ring and candle, attempting to contact her deceased father, for whose death she feels responsible. During the ritual, a minor earthquake shakes the house. Later, when Joanna checks on her, they discover that the ritual candle has mysteriously relit itself. Willa quickly hides her ritual objects, unsettled by the event and burdened by her secret guilt.

During their first dinner together, Jonathan discusses the “Hollywood Killer,” a serial killer who has been murdering actresses in Los Angeles and staging the killings to recreate violent scenes from classic movies. Jonathan gives Willa expensive gifts including a Gucci backpack and a new laptop, making her uncomfortable with an overly earnest speech in which he says that he could never replace her father but hopes to be “friends.