The Knife That Killed Me is a 2014 film adaptation of Anthony McGowan's book of the same name, with some specific edits that were present for the sole of purpose of saying "cyberbulling is bad". It is about knife crime and a metaphorical 'death', protagonist Paul being imprisoned for murder.
Entering production in 2011, there was some post-production hell until it was finally released in July 2014 after a kickstarter-backed tri-platform cinematic release and worldwide live-stream. It was filmed entirely at purpose-built green screen studios in York and starring former Waterloo Road co-stars Jack McMullen as Paul, Rosie Goddard as love interest Maddy, and Oliver Lee as Shane.
It is possibly one of the most under anticipated cinematic releases, the production barely publicised though with a healthy budget of £3 million and being distributed by Universal Pictures and Focus, though it did come in the Huffington Post's Top 10 films of 2014, above American Hustle, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The LEGO Movie, etc., coming to critical acclaim in the United Kingdom and internationally.
Paul moves to a new school, also his dad's old school, after his mum's death and tries to be friends with everyone, including school bully Roth. No-one else in Roth's gang wants to deliver an unspecified package in a school bag to rival leader Goddo, so Paul gets the privilege and is to carry a knife to protect him. At the same time, he begins to hang out with "the freaks". The opening exposition akin to Mean Girls' describes them as below the glee club, and so Roth keeps trying to stop Paul from associating with most of them, the exception being Maddy Bray. Maddy Bray is very pretty. Paul pursues her, but she already has a boyfriend in Shane. The freaks, Roth's gang and Goddo's gang all end up participating in a turf war at the end, and Shane falls onto Paul's knife. Paul is stabbed but survives, Shane dies and Paul is given life in prison. The final words, in a voiceover from Paul, are "it was the knife that killed me."
Tropes in The Knife That Killed Me:
- Adaptation Expansion
- All There in the Manual
- Computer-Generated Images: The entire film was made in green screen studios
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Dawson Casting: Here and there. Whilst Jack McMullen was 22 and playing Paul, Rosie Goddard was 14 and so younger than Maddy. - Development Hell
- Double-Meaning Title
- Downer Ending
- The Film of the Book
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Fridge Horror/ Harsher in Hindsight: The school it's set at, though never named, is Corpus Christi in Leeds. Shortly before the release, a teacher at the school from the time the author was there was stabbed to death by a pupil. The book itself was written as a criticism of the fact that 50% of teenage deaths in London at the time were knife-crime-related. - Never Bring a Knife to a Fist Fight
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Goddo, short for his surname 'Goddard'.
- Title Drop: the very final words
