STOP THE HORROR is a 6-minute film based on the true story of a terminally ill patient, Greg Sims. It was promoted as a ‘horror’ film by Australian director, Justin Kurzel (Assassin’s Creed, Snowtown), and it documents Sims’ brutal last days before he died. It captures the unrelievable pain and unnecessary suffering he had to endure at the end of his life.

The film is so distressing, it includes an age-gate and several warnings before the viewer can watch it. When the film begins, a ‘Stop The Horror’ button appears on-screen so the viewer can escape the film if it becomes too distressing. Once clicked, we revealed that Greg Sims did not have that same right - he could not escape the horror. We then give the viewer the contact details of their local politicians so they can express their support for a Voluntary Assisted Dying law.

There are three cultural/contextual factors worth explaining:

1. Voluntary Assisted Dying was not legal in any state in Australia. There have been 30 previous attempts to pass a voluntary assisted dying law in the country. None of them have succeeded.

2. A Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill was introduced in Victorian parliament in 2017 and politicians were going to vote on it. We needed to get the public to engage actively with politicians and express their support for voluntary assisted dying so that lawmakers felt confident enough to make a bold, historic change to the legislation.

3. Justin Kurzel is a well-known Australian director. While he is recognized internationally for directing Assassin’s Creed, in Australia he is best known for his chilling biographical Australian crime horror film - Snowtown.