Skip to main content

‘Hotline Miami’ may become a movie, but it needs your help

hotline miami may become a movie but it needs your help
Image used with permission by copyright holder

One of the more bloody and brutal games in the last few years may be getting a live action treatment, assuming it can raise $50,000 in the next 30 days. To bring the proposed movie to life, filmmaker Saman Kesh has launched an Indiegogo campaign that will try to raise the money by September 27.

Kesh’s plan is to film Hotline Miami as a short film, which is being described as a “period piece that showcases the best of the ‘80s stylistically.” The filmmakers also claim that they intend to stay true to the personality of the game created by Jonatan Söderström and Dennis Wedin. Although the creators of the game won’t be directly involved with the film, they have given their blessing according to reps for the campaign. 

“This isn’t going to be a fan-film, but rather, a short film designed for old and new fans alike,” the campaign claims.

The game Hotline Miami is the deranged story of two characters: “Jacket,” a man so named due to his bloody letterman jacket, and “Biker,” so known for his motorcycle helmet. They both engage in mostly divergent rampages that begin when they start receiving messages assigning them targets to kill – typically mobsters. The game then goes on to question the sanity of the protagonists.

The campaign states that the film will use the hotline itself as the primary narrative device. The idea would be that the hotline is a service that people can call to submit a target, and then the service would find the correct hitman for the job.  

“Imagine a short tale that intersects the mood of Pulp Fiction with the mystery of Memento, with a delicious slice of Miami Vice for good measure,” the description reads.

As with most crowdfunded campaigns, the amount you give will determine the reward you receive. Those rewards range from a digital copy of the script to a mention in the film to an executive producer credit complete with a speaking role.

Updated: This article has been updated to clarify the position of the game’s creators. 

Hotline Miami (Pitch Film) from Saman Kesh on Vimeo.

Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
Open Roads is a short family drama video game that leaves a big impact
Tess and Opal ride in a car in Open Roads.

Sometimes, it takes a tragedy to connect with your family.

That idea kicks off Open Roads, the latest indie published by Annapurna Interactive. The short narrative adventure begins with Tess, a young adult growing up in the wake of September 11, 2001, sorting through her grandmother’s belongings after she passes away. That somber process gives way to a domestic mystery that sends Tess and her mother, Opal, on a road trip to discover the family’s secret past.

Read more
This beloved feature almost ruined Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Link looking shocked holding rice.

“Development is going to be chaos.”

That was the reaction of Takahiro Takayama, lead physics engineer on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, when he saw the first prototypes for two of the game’s abilities: Ultrahand and Fuse. The seasoned engineer, who led the physics system on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, as well, knew that this type of physics system was uncharted territory.

Read more
PlayStation Plus’ most notable free April offerings come from Microsoft
Four players stand together in the 4v4 PvP mode of Minecraft Legends.

Sony outlined all the new offerings PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers can expect in April; surprisingly, Microsoft is the company behind two of this month's four offerings, Minecraft Legends, and the Overwatch 2 Mega Bundle.

On April 2, PS Plus can get those two things free of charge in addition to Immortals of Aveum and Skul: The Hero Slayer. Immortals of Aveum is a single-player shooter where players use magic instead of weapons. Although the thing it's most notable for is flopping upon its release, Immortals of Aveum is still a solid shooter that you might have missed out on, and you should give it a shot now that you can get it through PS Plus. Meanwhile, Skul: The Hero Slayer is a tough 2D platformer roguelike that should entertain fans of that genre for quite some time.

Read more