Goodbye to my friend...RETRO REVIEW DOUBLE FEATURE

Before I get to the retro reviews I just wanted to say a few more words about my friend Erik. Erik had a passion and motivation that extended beyond his natural, gifted filmmaking and writing prowess, and that was his son Garyth. I was fortunate to talk to Garyth a couple times and even honored to have been a part of their movie they created together when Garyth took an interest in doing what his dad did. Erik was an exceptional father. It is in that spirit that if you were wanting to do anything for his family that you can you do the following: In lieu of flowers. Memorial donations may be made in Erik’s name to The Howard County Autism Society, 9770 Patuxent Woods Drive – Suite 308, Columbia, MD 21046 or www.howard-autism.org

Erik served on the board of directors for the Howard County Autism Society (HCAS) and spent many hours volunteering. He ran a social group for autistic adults and was the MC at many HCAS events.

Finally I wanted to say that I really loved having conversations with Erik, not because we had so many similar thoughts on cinema and writing but because we also could be vastly different on those subjects as well. Our discussions were sometimes much more rewarding than our agreements. It's hard to find someone in your life that fills that role and now I have a void there. I am not going to hid the fact that it hurts to not have that and I would do a lot of things differently to have my friend back but the truth is I don't know that in the end it makes a difference, I could not cure what ailed him, no one could. So I am just going to hope he found the peace he sought and honor him in the way I know he would honor me if the roles were reversed. That is to one more time talk about film and filmmaking and how much he contributed to that lexicon.   

R. I. P. ERIK KRISTOPHER MYERS


ROULETTE (2012)

(PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER) 

STARRING: Mike Baldwin, Will Haza, and Ali Lukowski

SYNOPSIS: The story centers on three characters troubled by their pasts and gambling with their lives through a game of Russian roulette, only to find that their lives are connected through overlapping events that have consequently brought them together.

WHAT THIS FILM DOES WELL: First and foremost for a 1st time writer/director film the pacing is impeccable, the beats are perfectly timed, and they are never dragged on or forced (2 very usual mistakes 1st timers tend to make). The reveals through flashbacks are nicely written even when the transitions are a little rough and they sometimes blur between figuring out if this is a flashback or present time. A device again often seen in 1st timer films and its hard to swallow its ambiguity in several key moments. However the cinematography is absolutely on point, the close ups that feeling ratchet the tension, the wide shots that calm the moment only to amp it mere seconds later all lend to a very well thought out conclusion. Also getting you there quicker than you might have thought you would. Erik's talents for writing dialogue and moving pieces, plot points, and even the flashback devices are all taking care of the audience because the realism that it portrays also is a nice blend of blurred lines that really make this story not only plausible but majorly relatable.    

WHY CHAMPION THIS FILM: Well you can see that this is evolution of a filmmaker being put on the map and radar of really exceptional filmmakers. Watching a film like this should give appreciation to why when you can create a one room, gimmicky and not seem so incredibly Indie that it is boresome or tiring. This film is a great precursor to what was to come from EKM and just being in on that and enjoying that should really be enough for any cinephile. Plus its obscure enough and Indie enough to give you mad street cred should you point it out to friends and family down the road. 

YOU SHOULD LIKE THIS MOVIE IF YOU ARE A FAN OF: RESERVIOR DOGS, THE BIG KAHUNA, ROMEO IS BLEEDING, and ANY DAVID MAMET FILM ESPECIALLY HIS ONE ROOM PICTURES

YOU CAN WATCH THE MOVIE ON AMAZON PRIME HERE

BUTTERFLY KISSES (2018)

(FOUND FOOTAGE HORROR) 

STARRING: Seth Adam Kallick, Rachel Armiger and Reed DeLisle 

SYNOPSIS: A filmmaker discovers a box of video tapes depicting two students' disturbing film project featuring a local horror legend, The Peeping Tom. As he sets out to prove this story is real and release it as a work of his own, he loses himself and the film crew following him into his project.

WHAT THIS FILM DOES WELL: It takes a lot of what the writer-director was trying to do with Roulette but he wasn't there yet in his filmmaking prowess to do it, and amps it up even beyond a normal progression that one would expect in a film career. First, self admission I am a sucker for a film about a film within a film type movies but this one is even more than that. The writing is stellar. The pacing is perfect and the subtle nods to the genre of found footage are so well placed it does exactly what good found footage films do, makes you question everything. The mythos of Blink Man is well constructed or at least constructed well enough that you really do get a feeling of eeriness that is perpetuated through skepticism. Where it excels beyond the genre is the human emotional connection and bond that artist has with its subject. Where in you are witnessing an antagonist self proclaim himself a protagonist, you get moments that you do feel for him, that you do understand him, and that you equally dread him. It is a brilliantly written dichotomy that plays out all the way till the very end with one very strong ambiguous ending. Gavin York is a character for the ages and his "performance" on screen sells and excels the writing to another level but also really centralizes and elevates a plot twist that is supremely well executed. The bits of humor at Mr. York's expense and the expense of selling reality to a skeptic audience lends that cherry on sundae touch. This film is a self aware masterpiece because it knows what it is, it doesn't want you to know what it is, and even wants you to feel bad or guilty being one of the ones that gets it. That is stellar filmmaking at its finest. If I had seen this film in 2018, it would have easily been my #1 film of that year, as it stands its one of my favorite of all time anyway.

WHY CHAMPION THIS FILM: This film has already changed the genre and if you are like me tired of same old same old when it comes to this genre itself, this can serve as an incredible refresher.  For anyone studying film, who wants to know how to get an audience to react but not care how they do just that, this is your textbook, this is your masterclass. This film also I think does something for the digital filmmaking aspects too, in that it looks like a documentary, and where that would normally be amateurish at best for a feature "fictional" film it really looks like composed art at times instead. I don't know many film buffs or cinephiles who wouldn't appreciate that. 

YOU SHOULD LIKE THIS MOVIE IF YOU ARE A FAN OF: Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project, and ghost stories.

YOU CAN WATCH IT THROUGH AMAZON PRIME FOR FREE HERE

Here also is an excellent discussion about the movie with Erik from our friends at The Plotaholics (this discussion does contain spoilers so watch the movie first) YOU CAN LISTEN HERE

Go Indie Now also did a deep dive with some fans of the movie in an Episode of our series Fandom Forum (featuring Shane Wilson, one half of The Plotaholics) WHICH YOU CAN WATCH (this is spoiler free):