Their son was obsessed with horror movies. After his death, they're taking up the torch.
When Kyle Cerilli was a kid, he was mildly obsessed with everything horror.
Nothing too scary, but anything kid-friendly with a monster — "Goosebumps," "E.T.," "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" — was right up his alley. In fact, he loved the horror genre so much that before long, he started writing movie scripts himself.
"That's what he really enjoyed doing," Kyle's dad, Vin, remembers. "So that's what his focus became: writing and film."
Kyle with his parents. All images via Vin Cerilli, used with permission.
When Kyle was 6, he received a frightening diagnosis: muscular dystrophy.
Muscular dystrophy is a progressive disease that would, over the course of his life, strip Kyle of the freedom to walk, talk, run, and play; to laugh, hug, eat — and even breathe.
With Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Kyle's physical functions declined throughout his childhood. By age 12, he was using a wheelchair. Despite his muscle-debilitating disease, Kyle never gave up. "Kyle was just the same as any other kid," explains Vin. "His wants, his needs, his desires, everything growing up was the same as any other kid."
So as any passionate person would do, Kyle continued to pursue his dream of filmmaking. Over the years, he worked at a movie theater, started a production company with his friends (aptly named Morbidly Amusing Productions), and attended Rhode Island College for degrees in both creative writing and film.
Kyle working on the set of a film.
Enter "Slimebuck," the last script Kyle was working on when he passed away at age 30 in 2014.
In classic kid-friendly horror fashion, "Slimebuck" is the story of a boy who finds an alien in his home while his parents are away. It’s "E.T." meets "Home Alone," complete with mad-scientist burglars and a very real puppet monster (at Kyle's insistence, nothing is computer-generated).
A still image from "Slimebuck," featuring a drawing of the alien.
"At the end there, it became very difficult," recalls Vin, noting that Kyle typed most of the script with one finger because he had lost all other strength in his body. "Kyle passed away on April 7, 2014. At that point, he was bedridden and couldn't move for himself any longer, but even that day he was still tweaking his script. Talk about dedication and strength and will. He's the strongest person I've ever known."
After Kyle died, his parents were determined to see "Slimebuck" through to completion.
They picked up where Kyle left off, teamed up with Kyle’s friend, director Tom DeNucci, and just over a year later released the completed 20-minute short film.
"A movie is a movie, but this story is about Kyle getting to have the last word — not muscular dystrophy," Vin says.
Vin and his wife, Annette, are doing everything they can to ensure Kyle's dream of a feature-length film is fulfilled, even with Kyle not here to finish it himself.
"That's what this is all about," stresses Vin, "building awareness of the movie, Kyle's story, and muscular dystrophy."
Vin hopes that his efforts to raise awareness of muscular dystrophy will help other families affected by the disease.
"If it's accepted by everyone a little more," he says, "then the child who's affected is going to feel a little more comfortable."
Of course, Vin also dreams of a time when there will be better therapies for muscular dystrophy and maybe even, one day, a cure.
In telling Kyle’s story, Vin also hopes to share the urgent need for treatments and cures for diseases like Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Although higher standards of care have allowed patients like Kyle to live into their late 20s to early 30s, the disease is still 100% fatal.
If you're a fan of family-friendly horror, be sure to check out the "Slimebuck" short film and website. The crew is also working on a documentary about Kyle.
And check out this video for more on Kyle and "Slimebuck":
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.