Bad Things ****
In the art of making movies it could be said that making a good film out of something elaborate and sophisticated might perhaps be easier than making a good film out of something simple and basic. The reason for this is simple – many directors can make an action scene exciting but making a simple conversation truly interesting and engaging is something that often requires someone with an extra degree of talent. This is true of Miles Trahan, the writer, producer and director of Bad Things.
The premise of this short film is simple – two young men, Peter (Ryan Castro) and Paul (Justin Serrano), discuss faith and redemption as they disposing of a body in the woods. The entire thing is focused on the conversation between these two men, the body they are dumping providing the inspiration for the conversation but who it belongs to and why they are dead being irrelevant to anything that is happening, and the conversation works so well primarily because of the writing. The back and forth between the characters is very interesting and superb dialogue keeps us interested where other writers might completely lose our attention, the issues discussed being thought provoking and the delivery of the words being electric.
This can also be attributed to the performances, both of which are very good, each actor making us believe in their characters and their differing views on right and wrong. Portraying characters we wouldn’t normally expect to see having such a conversation, it is the actors who really make the characters truly convincing, the one generally seeming remorseful for his actions, even if it is more of a self preservation thing than genuine regret, and the other generally not caring about what he has done and what might come of him for his actions. What we get here is different and proves very effective. From a technical standpoint, however, there are notable flaws.
Shot by a group of college students with virtually no production budget with only available props, locations and equipment, the equipment utilised being three Canon t2i cameras, the limitations of the technology used to shoot the film are clearly evident as are some of the limitations of the location, the place not seeming remote enough for what is going on. The camerawork by director of photography Iain Browne is efficient but there are some things that just cannot be overcome when working with basic filming equipment. Still, for a film what was shot in just one five hour period, it doesn’t look bad and Wade Wilson’s editing, which took about two months, is also quite decent.
Overall, Bad Things is simple and effective piece of filmmaking and a strong effort from Miles Trahan and one that shows man who has definite talent as a filmmaker and even more as a screenwriter. The production company name at the start of the film is Magnificent Waste. Now let me tell you that there is nothing wasteful about this film but, in terms of the writing at least, there is definitely something quite magnificent.
Bad Things is currently going round the festival circuit in the northeast of America and has also premiered online where it can be viewed here: http://vimeo.com/21064824
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Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)
© BRWC 2010.
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