Dreamcrusher

Filmmaker Gavin Michael Booth Tells the Story of a Pop Star Achieving Her Greatest Dream and Seeing it Torn Away From Her The Very Next Day

Story By Matthew St. Amand
Photography courtesy of Mimetic Entertainment

Who murdered pop singer Gwyn? This is the mystery at the center of Dreamcrusher, season one of “Reward,” a new mystery television series from the free streaming platform Reveel.

Windsor filmmaker, Gavin Michael Booth was tapped as showrunner, developing the Dreamcrusher project with William Cheverie and producer Christopher Splaine. 

“I have developed other projects for William over the past three or four years,” Gavin explains. “He saw the interactive horror movie, Fifteen, that I made for Blumhouse, so he knew I could handle an unconventional project.”

Fifteen was made in 2015, and was marketed as the world’s first livestreamed film: a serial killer who goes by the handle “Truman” uses the Periscope video streaming app to capture a series of grizzly murders. He taunts police and his online audience, saying they have only fifteen minutes to recognize where he is and who his victims are. The film, performed live on Periscope, was ultimately taken down because too many viewers believed what they were seeing was real.

Another unique cinematic challenge Gavin took up was his harrowing 2019 drama, Last Call, which tells the story of a desperate man, in the throes of severe alcoholism, calling a suicide hotline. The man misdials, however, and finds himself speaking instead to the night janitor at a community college who offers him a sympathetic ear. The film is a seventy-seven-minute split screen single-take that occurs in real-time, no cuts. Not only did Gavin and his talented cast and crew pull off this feat, but the film has been hailed for its technical prowess and its handling of a highly sensitive subject. 

So, it only made sense that William Cheverie brought Gavin onto the Reward project.

“William had an idea for an interactive show, where each season is a contained anthology story,” Gavin says. “Clues are revealed during each episode—which the audience tracks down on the Web and in social media. At the season’s end, a viewer who solves the mystery wins a prize.”

As an artist who frequently has multiple projects on the go, and ideas for others waiting in the wings, Gavin was perfectly positioned to pitch ideas for this interactive show. Dreamcrusher was one of those ideas, a story centering on up-and-coming pop singer, Gwyn, played by Brittany Charlotte Smith. 

The result is a seven-episode interactive murder mystery where viewers at home can either sit back and enjoy the show, or they can register online to become an amateur detective. The extra twist in this experimental concept is that it prompts viewers to be part of the action, hunting for clues off-screen and competing for a $100,000 cash prize.

“I have collaborated a few times in the past with Brittany, and really enjoyed working with her,” Gavin says. 

Gavin worked previously with Brittany on a few short film projects, such as Artifice, a compilation of five stories portraying a dystopian future, as well as Profiles of Remarkable Neophytes, which appeared at the Windsor International Film Festival in 2024. 

“For the character, Gwyn, a pop singer, we didn’t want the actress to lip sync,” Gavin says. “I knew Brittany could sing, she’s a good actress, and I love working with her. She has all the right attributes for this project.” 

Dreamcrusher was filmed primarily in Worcester, Massachusetts, and Los Angeles, with pick up shots done around Windsor. 

The story for Dreamcrusher presented a unique challenge: to create a story that was compelling in its own right, while weaving clues into the plot that are sufficiently clear—and accessible online—for the amateur detectives following along to identify and track down. 

“I had the title ‘Dreamcrusher’ from another idea I was considering about the music industry,” Gavin says. “That was around 2020. In the end, financing didn’t come through, but I still had the idea when this project came up. In this series, ‘Dreamcrusher’ is the name of Gwyn’s album. I liked the irony of giving the main character’s biggest dream that title… taking this ironic turn.”

He says that, personally, he loves stories about the entertainment industry.

“Most of us have an idea about what happens behind the scenes in the lives of actors and pop stars,” Gavin continues. “I’ve witnessed it, myself, while touring with bands and have seen similarities in the film industry. Anything involving money and ego has intrigue and the potential for corruption. That’s when you start to see that it has a dark side.” 

There is, unfortunately, tragic historical precedent for the Dreamcrusher storyline. Whether one looks back to the 1980 murder of John Lennon or the 1995 killing of up-and-coming pop star, Selena, the dark side of fame has played out in many ugly forms in the real world.

The first episode of Dreamcrusher finds Gwyn on the cusp of her big break-out. As she prepares for a concert in her dressing room at the Palladium in Worcester, one of the realities of rising fame gives the audience a look at a few potential suspects in her approaching demise: a line of people wanting a few minutes of her time before the show. 

It is the big night. Gwyn’s album release concert. Episode One opens with Gwyn standing on the stage in the empty concert hall hours before her performance, singing the single from her album, “I Beat U 2 It,” composed by songwriters Bleu and Brooke Tomlinson. The camera angle on her as she sings her hit song acapella is distant, amid the balcony seats. Could this be the killer watching her?

The scene cuts to the chaos backstage preceding the big show. Gwyn is interrupted by her manager/handler as she readies for her performance. There are numerous people waiting to see her before showtime. Could one of the people who comes in to see Gwyn, each of whom appears to have some kind of grievance, be her killer.

“I am the only one who knows who the killer is,” Gavin says. “Not even the cast and crew know.”

The secrets will be revealed one episode at a time beginning on March 28, when Dreamcrusher first appears on Reveel. The show is also available through iOS devices, Android devices, Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV. For those interested in competing for the $100,000 prize for solving the murder, visit www.rewardseries.tv/ and sign up to become an investigator.

Asked if there was anything else he can reveal about the Reward series without divulging any spoilers, Gavin says: “Season two will be filmed in Windsor.” 

Published in the Your Place or Mine? 2025 Edition