Cast/Crew: Directed by Joe Stauffer, written by Joe Stauffer and David Long, with David Long taking the main role as…David Long!
Plot: Indie horror about a serial-killer indie film director, who befriends an aspiring actress.
Thoughts: :
• David is a hairy, servile nice guy, eager to please everyone he comes across; be it a producer, actor or our heroine, Charlotte (Kristi Ray).
• Charlotte is a (failing) aspiring actress who works a job at a topless bar. They meet after he’s kicked out of there for filming.
• It’s nice that she eventually warms to him (and his cringe-inducing advances) otherwise it was starting to get a little sad. Them becoming friends is the most part of the movie, in between David moonlighting as a kidnapper/serial killer.
• I always think it’s funny when movies feature people in the film industry, I imagine the lines plucked straight from the writers/director’s experiences, as is the stereotypical demanding jerk actor (in the fun CSI Miami parody) and Kristi’s mother taking credit for any talent she may have.
• It’s shot hand-held. The film looks pretty decent despite what must be an extremely limited budget. Clever use of obscuring the view which leaves the (no actual) gore up to your imagination.
• The trailer makes it look like a much more expensive film. Also the poster is off-putting (stills from one of the short covered-in-blood sequences) and I think intentionally misleading. This isn’t a gore-fest of any sort.
• Acting/writing is fine, nothing special.
• A few music/no-dialogue pieces towards the end. It must be a big thing for indie movies to commission/license songs.
• Audio levels are fine except for the MASSIVE audio spike 15 minutes from the end. Really annoying.
• Seems the budget was spent on the reveals in the final jaunt. It’s definitely the best part of the film and will leave you thinking better of it as a whole.
Overall: Decent, don’t recommend.
Additional: You can actually watch the film free & legally from the Creator’s website! (They’re using it to look for donations for the sequel)
http://piecesoftalent.com/amissingpiece/