Author: Joel Fisher

Will Phillips (Moe McRae) is an NFL football player whose career is behind him because of his behaviour and activities off the field. His excessive lifestyle has led to a drinking problem and he’s letting it get out of control as he can’t handle not being the player he used to be.

Then one night while out drinking, Will is rescued by Zephyr (Nate Boyer) who puts him back on his feet and makes sure that he’s not a danger to himself or others. Then next day, Will decides to find his new friend to thank him and realises that he’s living in a shelter for homeless veterans.

However, he still wants to do what he can to say thank you and to thank him for his service. Although once he meets Zephyr and his friends properly, Will realises that his problems pale in comparison to what they’ve endured.

MVP is a drama directed by and starring Nate Boyer and co-written by Geraint Jones. Having served six years in the U.S. Army himself, Boyer seems like the perfect person to portray a vet who has had his life taken from him. With Boyer at the helm in almost every aspect, it could have also felt like a misjudged passion project, thankfully though Boyer leaves a lot of time for the other veterans who have come back home to nothing to tell their stories.

Films such as The Best Years of Our Lives, Coming Home and Born on The Fourth of July have similar themes and MVP may be able to sit alongside them. Although putting them together may give the audience a stark reminder that nothing ever seems to change.

The story of a rich man who seems untouched by life only to learn a deeper lesson is also nothing new and at times the dialogue does feel a little stilted when Will’s eyes are opened. However, the bond between Will and Zephyr becomes stronger and although a little on the nose sometimes, the film’s intentions become clear.

It does also feel a bit too one sided in the story, because despite the parallels between the two central characters starting their lives again, the focus is more on the vet than the former pro-athlete. However, MVP does what it set out to do and may open the eyes of more of its audience as it tells a story of hope and brotherhood.

11 years ago, Lisa Hepner and her husband Guy were made aware of a stem cell treatment that could treat diabetes. However, having type 1 diabetes herself Lisa was sceptical but curious at how such a thing could work. So, along with her husband and a camera they went to investigate the clinical trials which were being held on human subjects to determine how successful or worthwhile the treatment could really be.

The Human Trial is a documentary directed by Lisa Hepner and her husband Guy Mossman which allowed cameras into the sixth embryonic stem cell clinical trial that has ever taken place, and the first to ever be captured on camera. Serving as a fly on the wall documentary, The Human Trial follows various people who have signed up for the trial and how they’ve come to a point in their lives where they’re looking for a cure.

Lisa herself has been dealing with type 1 diabetes for over 30 years and so she knows all too well what they’re going through. However, showing the different people who have all had different life experiences gives the audience a better idea of what people with the condition have all had to endure, even when they look healthy on the outside.

People have also taken to it in different ways and despite Lisa having a family and a full-time job, some have taken a different perspective on their condition. Stories of people who have had times in their lives where they’ve just about given up should tell you all you need to know about how hard it can be.

However, it shows that there is hope and over the course of 10 years, the experiences of Lisa and others during the trial show that progress is possible, but it’s hard.

Showing the story as plainly as possible doesn’t give time for heightened drama or to play on the sympathies of The Human Trial’s subjects. Although, for those who pay attention then they may learn something about how ordinary people can be affected everyday in ways we wouldn’t even know.

Also, despite the reputation of the US medical service it’s good to know that research is being put into making people’s lives better.

Lacey Willowbrook (Jessica Bishop) is a social media influencer who tells her followers about the power of good mental health. Portraying herself as a vision of wellness and beauty, she even invites some of her followers to her home so that she can help them.

That’s where she brings Jordan (Erin Day), Ace (Lawrence J. Hughes) Dakota (Chris Boudreaux), Syd (Mar Sudac) and Brandi (Jay White). However, once they get there despite her welcoming tone it seems that Lacey is determined to give them the help that they need but not the help that they want.

The Willowbrook is a slow burn horror movie about a social media influencer whose influence becomes a little too powerful. Drawn out for just over an hour, the movie follows the people who she has let into her home.

Meaning that most of the running time deals with the guests trying to figure out what to do with their lives, how to get better and what exactly Lacey has planned.

As the titular social media guru, Jessica Bishop plays her role well by giving a performance that remains at just the right level of positivity and unhinged menace without overplaying it. However, for those who were expecting a more straightforward horror movie then they may be disappointed. That’s because The Willowbrook spends more time with its characters than it does with the scares.

In fact, there’s a lot of time where the story focuses on Lacey’s followers invited to her house while they wait around for their idol to give them the help that they think they so desperately need. Thus giving the audience time to think about when the movie is going to start to do anything significant in terms of plot.

Also, it doesn’t play into The Willowbrook’s favour that there have already been a lot of social media horror movies come out such as Unfriended and Spree which say more about the pull of social media and how it damages people. In the end, it feels like The Willowbrook has nothing new to say and it takes a long time to say it. Which for a movie that is just over an hour, may suggest that its audience turns off and does something more productive instead.

Sleep. Walk. Kill. – Review

Edgar (Bill Reick) is a single man, who lives alone and has let his life pass him by. Neither his ex wife or his mother is happy about it, but all he wants to do is be left alone. Then one afternoon, a noise is heard throughout the town and when Edgar watches the news, it turns out that it was heard throughout the entire East Coast.

Updates gradually unfold the mystery and when Edgar finds a woman covered in blood after having killed her husband in her sleep, there seems to be more going on than they first thought. It turns out that to stay alive, they must stay awake and that means letting those people in that he just wanted to go away – his family.

Sleep. Walk. Kill. is a horror comedy from first time writer/director Justin Miller. Clearly showing its influences on its sleeve and audiences may be reminded of films such as Shaun of The Dead and A Nightmare on Elm Street. In fact, the premise of the movie melds the two together so well that it’s hard to believe that this premise hasn’t been done before.

Unfortunately, it shows that although it has a well thought out concept, the parts that hold together the beginning and end have been not done so well.

A film like Shaun of The Dead was a clever idea well executed because it was relatable and it was filled with a great cast of actors who could do the roles justice. The situations they were met with were dealt with in an everyday manner and the characters were just funny enough to keep an audience engaged.

Sadly, it seems that the cast of Sleep. Walk. Kill. don’t all meet up to what was expected of their characters. This means that the audience may know what they were going for, but they missed the mark.

Also, most of the comedy seems to come less from the awkward family situations and more the flippant nature of how they deal with death. A choice which crosses a line when a joke is thrown in to break the tension over a pregnant woman’s sudden death. Starting out with a great idea, Sleep. Walk. Kill just doesn’t live up to its potential making the audience feel like they missed out on something great.

Sleep. Walk. Kill. – Review