I Know Who Killed Me
Aubrey Fleming is a regular high school student with friends and family. One night, she unexpectedly disappears. Two weeks later she is found unconscious in the middle of the woods. When spoken to, her loved ones realize she has forgotten her identity and the personality living in her body is Dakota Moss, a character that Aubrey created in one of her stories for an English assignment. Dakota denies ever being Aubrey knowing that they look identical. Now, Dakota must try to unravel the mystery of how her and Aubrey co-exist and find out who abducted Aubrey that night.
The film struggled financially against its small-scale budget of $12.0M, earning $9.6M globally (-20% loss).
8 wins & 4 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
I Know Who Killed Me (2007) exhibits deliberately positioned plot construction, characteristic of Chris Sivertson's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 45 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.5, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Aubrey Fleming performs as the lead in her high school production, showing her as a talented, aspiring writer and performer living a privileged suburban life with loving parents.. The analysis reveals that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Aubrey is abducted by a masked torturer while leaving her boyfriend's house, violently thrown into a vehicle and taken to an unknown location.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to The rescued girl awakens in the hospital and insists she is not Aubrey Fleming but Dakota Moss, a stripper with no connection to the Fleming family, entering a new identity reality., moving from reaction to action.
At 53 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat Dakota discovers evidence of stigmata-like connections and begins to believe she and Aubrey might be separated twins, experiencing each other's pain. The killer is still active, and Aubrey may still be alive and suffering., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 79 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Dakota realizes the torturer is someone close to the Flemings. Her phantom pains reach unbearable levels, indicating Aubrey is near death, and no one believes Dakota's theory about their connection., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 84 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Dakota identifies the killer's location through her stigmata connection and chooses to go alone to save Aubrey, accepting their twin bond as real and using it as her guide., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
I Know Who Killed Me's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping I Know Who Killed Me against these established plot points, we can identify how Chris Sivertson utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish I Know Who Killed Me within the horror genre.
Chris Sivertson's Structural Approach
Among the 2 Chris Sivertson films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 6.5, demonstrating varied approaches to story architecture. I Know Who Killed Me exemplifies the director's characteristic narrative technique. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Chris Sivertson filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional horror films include Lake Placid, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Cat's Eye. For more Chris Sivertson analyses, see Heartthrob.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Aubrey Fleming performs as the lead in her high school production, showing her as a talented, aspiring writer and performer living a privileged suburban life with loving parents.
Theme
Discussion about stigmata and the concept of shared pain between twins or connected individuals, establishing the film's central theme of dual identity and sympathetic wounds.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of Aubrey's world: her relationship with boyfriend Jerrod, her writing aspirations, her close family dynamic, and the introduction of the serial killer threat in the community.
Disruption
Aubrey is abducted by a masked torturer while leaving her boyfriend's house, violently thrown into a vehicle and taken to an unknown location.
Resistance
The investigation begins as Aubrey's parents and police search for her. Meanwhile, scenes of brutal torture are shown, culminating in her being found on a highway, severely mutilated with missing limbs.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
The rescued girl awakens in the hospital and insists she is not Aubrey Fleming but Dakota Moss, a stripper with no connection to the Fleming family, entering a new identity reality.
Mirror World
Dakota's world is revealed through flashbacks: a harsh life as a stripper, living alone, representing the dark mirror opposite of Aubrey's privileged existence.
Premise
Dakota struggles to convince everyone of her true identity while experiencing visions and phantom pains connected to Aubrey. She investigates her own past while the Flemings desperately try to reclaim their daughter.
Midpoint
Dakota discovers evidence of stigmata-like connections and begins to believe she and Aubrey might be separated twins, experiencing each other's pain. The killer is still active, and Aubrey may still be alive and suffering.
Opposition
Dakota investigates her connection to Aubrey against everyone's disbelief, following clues about their shared past. She experiences intensifying phantom pains, suggesting Aubrey is still being tortured. Suspicion falls on various characters.
Collapse
Dakota realizes the torturer is someone close to the Flemings. Her phantom pains reach unbearable levels, indicating Aubrey is near death, and no one believes Dakota's theory about their connection.
Crisis
Dakota must decide whether to abandon her search or risk everything to find Aubrey. She processes the horror of their shared suffering and prepares to confront the truth alone.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Dakota identifies the killer's location through her stigmata connection and chooses to go alone to save Aubrey, accepting their twin bond as real and using it as her guide.
Synthesis
Dakota confronts the killer, finds Aubrey still alive in captivity, and fights to save her twin. The killer is revealed and defeated. The twins' connection is validated as Dakota rescues Aubrey.
Transformation
Dakota and Aubrey recover together, their existence as separated twins confirmed. Dakota has found her identity and family, transformed from isolated stripper to connected sister and survivor.