Kill Me

Waking up in a bathtub full of blood, with a long gash on his forearm, Jimmy (Charlie Day) calls out feebly “Siri, call 911!”

“Playing 911 Radio,” announces Siri, as music fills the room.

If you’re uncomfortable with this kind of humour in a film dealing with mental illness and suicide then Kill Me, which screened as part of SXSW 2026, is not for you. Writer/director Peter Warren has personal experience of such things, however, and reflects the dark appreciation of absurdity often found amongst the afflicted. The story goes to some difficult places and is by no means all about laughs, but its comedic elements will likely appeal most strongly to those with lived experience.

Recovering in hospital, Jimmy is visited by a social worker. As she talks about safety plans and supervision, with his visiting family members chipping in to highlight his history of manic depression, he strives to get one thing across: he doesn’t remember getting into that bathtub. He doesn’t remember handling a knife; he doesn’t remember taking the pills that they found in his system. He was feeling just fine earlier that night and he doesn’t feel suicidal now. He’s just terrified, because he thinks that somebody is trying to kill him.

Unfolding as a mystery in which Jimmy’s own name is on the list of suspects, the film picks up pace when he manages to make contact with Margot (Allison Williams), the 911 operator who took his call that night. At first she just wants reassurance that he’s okay, whilst he hopes she might remember something that will give him a clue. She definitely doesn’t intend to get caught up in his schemes, but events keep getting in the way of her attempts to escape. Just as there are shadows in her past which predisposed her to ignore the rules about looking up callers, there’s something in her personality that is drawn to exactly the kind of obsessive investigation that Jimmy is undertaking.

Warren skillfully balances different possibilities as we watch the investigation develop, with one apparently conclusive piece of evidence after another undermined by a new revelation or an injection of common sense. Jimmy’s sister (Sam Rothermel) is his fiercest critic, infuriated by the whole situation. He even wonders if she could have done it, though any audience member who has gone through this sort of thing will be able to see how much she loves him, and salvaging their relationship becomes one of the film’s unspoken hopes. Their fractiousness also provides a warning about what Margot could be getting herself into as she and Jimmy grow closer. Still, Jimmy’s psychiatrist (Giancarlo Esposito) is positive about their friendship, and may be looking at this escapade as a means through which his patient can form better connections with the world – until things begin to get seriously out of hand.

With richly developed characters, great performances and some cute observations to make about crime show-inspired investigative techniques, Kill Me is great fun throughout, even when it’s breaking your heart.

Reviewed on: 13 Mar 2026