A descent into imposter syndrome, power, and horror—does this work?

[u/Month_Dangerous]

I’m working on a psychological thriller that explores power, desperation, and self-destruction. The premise:

A mediocre data scientist is on the verge of getting fired. She’s never been talented, just lucky. No real skills, just barely scraping by. When she stumbles upon a high-end escort agency, she signs up—not for the money, but because she knows she has no future in the tech world.

But here’s the twist:

• The agency already knew who she was.
• She was chosen, not recruited.
• And once she’s in, there’s no way out.

It’s not just about money—it’s about control. The elite clients know her fears better than she does. And the deeper she sinks, the more she realizes:

Maybe she was never meant to succeed. Maybe she was always meant to belong here.

Would this work as a slow-burn psychological horror? What would make it more unsettling?

[u/Jordan_the_Hobo]

Reddit isn’t the place to get feedback on this. Unless you’re just looking for more ideas/inspiration. If you read the premise of a lot of films they will sound bad. It’s all about the execution/vision of the idea.

[u/neko → u/Jordan_the_Hobo]

He doesn't have a vision, he's an AI grifter

[u/thisisthewell]

this sounds awful, man. That premise is the most trite, overwrought male-teenage-brain trying-too-hard-to-be-sexy crap I've read. Comes off pretty misogynistic, too. You're basically trying to write a rape/sex trafficking thriller. (edit: to be clear I'm not saying the portrayal of those things is inherently misogynistic or wrong, because that would be nonsense--but this approach most certainly is because its inherent purpose is simply to be titillating or provocative, which makes it exploitive)

That aside: imposter syndrome means you have the chops but don't have confidence. Women with imposter syndrome don't turn to hooking. I'm a woman in tech myself, and the women data scientists I work with have PhDs.

If you're going to write about things you don't understand, at least do some basic research first and know what words mean.

[u/RopeGloomy4303]

Honestly this just sounds like something that was churned out by AI, when asked to come up with a “psychological thriller”

I’m not saying it is, just feels painfully generic and vague.

Not trying to be mean here, but you should really try to work on some way to make it stand out or to emotionally connect with people.

[u/neko]

All that's unsettling about this is how it feels more like an exploitation film concept than a horror one. Like maybe if you researched sex trafficking it could work but right now it feels like you just don't like there being women in stem

[u/easpameasa]

INT: Chinese Restaurant, night

MOSS:
ok boys, I’ve gathered you all here coz management have said they’re gonna fire two of us at the end of the month

AARONOW:
Oh boy, we’re really bad at real estate, aren’t we

MOSS:
That’s right Levene, which means there’s only one possible way out of this for us

AARONOW:
I want no part of your plan to stage a burglary in order to steal leads!

MOSS:
No! That would be a silly way to get over our respective slumps - we gotta start eating ass!

AARONOW:
I dunno if flattery is going to work, Blake seemed pretty dead set on this

MOSS:
I ain’t talking all metaphorical like, I mean we literally take our asses down to the corner and start flogging them to anyone with the cash to spend

I’ll concede I’m no Mamet but like … you get how that would be an utterly bizarre series of events for a lacklustre office drone to take, right?

[u/Corchito42]

Imposter syndrome usually refers to people who do have the skills for the job, but who don't believe that they do. Is her being a data scientist important, or could it be any job?

Once you're in the world of elite clients and high end escort agencies, it starts to sound like a generic thriller. Maybe something less glamorous would convey the horror better?

Just my thoughts. It's entirely possible that the film could work exactly as you've described.

[u/Designer-Addition-58]

IMO something like that would work as a slow burn (think Burning from 2018), keeping it ambiguous and making people connect the dots, rather than laying everything out on the table.

But I'm not a movie maker, so wtf do I know

[u/thisisthewell → u/Designer-Addition-58]

Burning actually has something to say lol

[u/Designer-Addition-58 → u/thisisthewell]

I am not here to comment on the quality of his idea or story, I am here to comment what I think would work better

[u/Month_Dangerous → u/Designer-Addition-58]

That’s actually a great comparison—I love how Burning builds unease without ever fully explaining what’s happening. I was thinking of doing something similar, where the audience isn’t sure if Yuna is being manipulated… or if she was always meant for this world.

Do you think a more ambiguous approach would make it creepier, or should there be a moment where she realizes what’s really happening?

[u/Designer-Addition-58 → u/Month_Dangerous]

Honestly good question, but speaking completely from a consumer standpoint, in your case I'd probably work out a rough sketch of both variants then ask people after :D

I personally like both approaches, it really depends on the movie