I figured film fits in with my blog because, well, the title IS "My Boyfriend is a Fictional Character." So awhile back, a fellow blogger introduced me to the online short film "Samyul (a love story)" which was created by Appalachia Collective. According to their Facebook page, they "are a collective of individuals with multiple talents, with the main goal of inspiring people and letting them know they can do whatever they want." That sounds pretty effing awesome to me, and so far, I have been fairly impressed with their work and they look like they have a blast creating it. Please note that while I can tell some of the films were filmed in my town, I do not know, nor have I ever met, anyone from Appalachia Collective, so this little blog post here is completely unbiased.
"Samyul (a love story)" is the first film I watched by Appalachia Collective, and it may have been their first one, actually. I have not done my research on this. It's about a guy struggling with a mental illness. He is the epitome of awkward. One day, he meets the lovely Taryn and they seem to hit it off. As I expected, our pal Sam perhaps falls in love a little more quickly than he should and get the wrong idea of what Taryn thinks of their "relationship."
I don't want to say anymore about the plot because I do not want to spoil it for anyone who has not watched it Throughout the whole film, I could feel Samyul's pain. I could remember a time when I may have fell too hard, too fast for someone who did not feel the same way. Granted, I handled things a little differently than Sammy boy, but I do not have bipolar disorder and my friends are more supportive than Sam's. I felt angry at Taryn for leading him on. She knew he was different when she met him and she said a line in the movie, and I apologize if I misquote because it's been awhile since I've watch it, but it was something like, "Everything I do is calculated." I remember thinking, "you b!%&#!!! You did that on purpose!" One character toward the end that I loved was Ace. He was so hilarious. He was kinda mean to Sam, but I couldn't stop laughing.
The actors did a pretty decent job. I'm not sure if they had experience acting or not. The guy who played Samyul did a great job being awkward. The girl who played Taryn did a good job, though I felt her lines were forced at times. The guy who played Ace totally nailed it. He delivered his lines without missing a beat and was consistent and so funny. His facial expressions matched his line delivery. It was great.
My only real complaint was the sound issue. I had to keep turning the volume up and down as I watched the film. I tried it on my laptop, phone, and on my tv and had the same issue on all three. Sometimes it was blaring loud and sometimes everything was delivered so quietly that I could barely hear. Other than that, I absolutely loved it and wish I had written a review sooner, but like I said, I really only do book reviews. It's just cold out today, I haven't read, and I am procrastinating from my actual responsibilities today. And there are some fictional character crushes in here. As awkward and uncomfortable as Sam was, I kinda had a little fictional crush on him. He was sweet and meant well. And Ace, though absurd, had the humor I'm always look for in my fictional crushes.
You can watch "Samyul" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhDUIlC27rU
NOW comes my favorite part of writing about Appalachia Collective. During the month of October, they are doing a sort of horror short film fest on Fridays. Each Friday they've been putting up horror shorts. So far there have been three. I'm not putting their images up here because I don't know if I have their permission to do so, but I'll do a little synopsis of each one so far and give my long-winded thoughts.
1. Geoslash! - This one was released on October 3, 2014. The premise behind this one is basically, a group of friends go geocaching to find the ultimate prize. They document their fun and games on their cell phones. As it gets dark, danger rears its ugly face.
I'll admit it, though I loved "Samyul," I was not a fan of "Geoslash!". I just didn't get it. At first, I thought I didn't like it because I watched it at 3am after driving back from Cincinnati after watching a power documentary on domestic violence and I wasn't really in the mood for anything other than 1) sleep and 2) castrating all domestic violence perps. So I watched it again when I was less sleep deprived and in a better mood and I still was not a huge fan. I'm not a geocache fan. It seemed more like a group of friends just documenting via cell video their times goofing off. They had some inside jokes between each other. They made some references to "Samyul." The scary/creepy parts weren't really spectacular. I had the same issue with the sound here that I had in "Samyul." The "gay" jokes and stuff were a little distasteful, unless that's really how the guys felt about each other. Then by all means, carry on.
That being said, it did look like they had fun creating the project, and when I work on my writing projects, all I really care about is if I had fun creating it, not whether anyone liked it. So I will give them major props for having fun while doing what they love to do. And for having the balls to post it out for the world to see. I haven't posted any of my writing other than this blog out for anyone to see. Yet. I liked that it gave me some insight into who these guys are as individuals, if they were playing as themselves and not characters. Also, I thought the "hollywood special guest" bit was funny. I'm not going to ruin the little "celebrity appearance" as a spoiler, but it was a nice spoof on a cheesy (in my opinion) popular teen franchise.
You can watch "Geoslash!" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2AD2oIcrqQ&index=3&list=UUvfxPJFHtRJFmRgbzSpwncg
2. SportsGuy98 - This one was released on October 10, 2014. Even though I was not thrilled with "Geoslash!," I decided to give these fellas another shot and watched "SportsGuy98." I am so glad I did. This was MUCH better. "SportsGuy98" follows an online chat, catfish type deal. The viewer is shown the chat session from one side, that of SportsGuy98 himself. You get to see SportsGuy who obviously does not look like whatever pic he may have sent to this poor girl, chat with her while eating cheesy puffs, making a disgusting mess of himself. He's got pictures of this girl all over his wall and he obviously, umm.....takes care of himself a bit....while looking at them. So as most online relationships from back in the chat days (does anyone remember AIM or ICQ or am I older than my audience?) one day months after chatting, the two "lovebirds" decide to finally meet up. What happens after that?
I can't really tell you much after that to spoil it because the film was so short. I don't want to say more, just as there isn't much more to say. I really liked this one. It accurately depicted the kind of creepers that lurk online, preying on pretty young girls who are naïve and want to feel good about themselves. That's what online chatting provided to girls. A way to feel better about their low self-esteem, and a way to meet pervs. It always ended the same: you met a guy you had been talking to forever, thought he was the one, but he thought you were just going to sleep with him. And nobody ever looked like they were supposed to. I'm not sure if people still do that. I guess in the online dating world they do.
Anyway, I thought the SportsGuy98 actor did a phenomenal job of playing his role. He didn't even have to verbally say anything to get his point across. I think he only had one or so actual speaking lines in the whole short film. My only beef with the film is that it was SO SHORT! I want to know more. I am actually, a week later, still wondering what happened after that girl went upstairs. The creepiness factor on this one was high. It was very well done. I loved it, though I felt grossed out and needed a shower after I watched it and I will probably never eat cheesy puffs again.
You can watch "SportsGuy98" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bEBI3uYAGs&list=UUvfxPJFHtRJFmRgbzSpwncg&index=2
3. Intruder - This one was released yesterday and is my favorite so far. Seriously, Appalachia Collective folks, if you ever read this forever long blog entry, you keep getting better and better at improving on the things I initially nitpicked you about early on. And your plots are getting better. I don't know if you planned this or if it just happened by coincidence, but I'm officially sold as a fan.
"Intruder" is about a girl who gets home late after a day at college. She thinks she's alone, but she's wrong. She goes about her nightly business and begins hearing noises. She calls her boyfriend or friend or whatever to come over because she's terrified, but it's too late. The intruder has already begun to carry out his plan. There's not much I can say about the plot without giving away details that I want everyone to see for themselves. These are short films, so I can't go into endless details and I don't want to give away endings.
What I will say is that this, for me, was the scariest of the three horror shorts so far. I'm a typical girl. We all have fears about intruders when we aren't home. What particularly got me though, was that the apartment in the film is eerily similar to mine. I don't have a townhouse; however, the walls are the same color, the floors are the same, the doors are identical, even the kitchen and the appliances are practically the same. So I'm guessing I live in the same neighborhood, rent from the same landlord, or this is one huge coincidence meant to scare the bejeesus out of me. For example, first, the similarities in the apartment. Second, I frequently have a bowl of Count Chocula before bed, just like the girl in the film. Third, I have the same pillows as some of the pillows on the girl's bed. Fourth, I also have the inflatable couch that was in the film, though mine is not inflated and in use. Finally, as this girl, I typically (and stupidly) do not lock my doors in the evenings when I come in. After watching this, I do, but I did not before, and until the infamous car break-in began happening, I didn't lock my doors overnight at all, out of sheer laziness.
I'm not sure if it is all these weird similarities to my own life that made me so terrified of this film or if it was actually scary. I mean it is a girl's nightmare to have an intruder. Especially a girl living alone. And one of my hugest fears is masks. Yes, I should not admit that. I made the mistake of admitting that to someone, and thankfully, that someone has not tried to torment me with the info. I think if we were better friends or he didn't have better things to do, he would. Anyway, if you are reading this and you try to pull one over on me with a mask, I do revenge better than anyone. Be warned.
I thought the sound issues were taken care of completely in this film. I didn't have to adjust the volume. The actress did a fairly good job. The plot was solid. The intruder was extra creepy. Again, he had a mask. I'm not sure if it was an actual intruder/stranger or if perhaps her boyfriend or friend or whatever was the perp. The blood on the cell phone looked pretty believable. The "shower scene" as I will dub it so as to not give away any spoilers was probably as believable as it could be without a hollywood budget to change skin color and alter body parts to look like it would if the actual crime were being committed. I thought the Polaroid at the end was a nice touch. Again, like with "SportsGuy98," I loved it. The Appalachia Collective folks did a great job on this one. I really am looking forward to the final two horror shorts as well as any other projects they may be putting out in the future.
You can watch "Intruder" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyediRU-FZs&list=UUvfxPJFHtRJFmRgbzSpwncg&index=1
If you are still with me on this post, you can follow Appalachia Collective on Facebook or on Tumblr. And if you have any taste, you will.
www.facebook.com/AppalachiaCollective
fappalachia.tumblr.com
Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to get everything out there in one post, rather than multiple so as to not bombard anyone's email or newsfeed. I will review the final two short films separately, time permitting. Enjoy the remainder of the chilly weekend and watch some good short films or read books! Expand your minds!
