The Case
Upressplay, a Chicago-based online entertainment endeavor, was founded by
Matthew M. Jones to bolster the efforts of independent and established
filmmakers and artists. Moving beyond a mere repository for content, the site
has a stated purpose to provide networking opportunities, portfolio help, and
resume building while creating an atmosphere and community based on celebrating
the outsider auteur. Over the years, the site has seen incredible growth and a
lot of interest from the industry. More than an iFilms or a You Tube, there is a
real push to appear professional, to have Upressplay become the premiere place
for unheralded talent to find a forum—and eventually financial
payoff—for their efforts. As part of this approach, the collective is
starting to release several of their participants' films on DVD. If Volume
1 is any indication, the level of talent onboard has a ways to go to match
the mandates of the company. Nothing here is groundbreaking. Much of it is
rather routine. Addressing each segment individually, we can start to gain some
insight into the short movies that "made the cut." Let's begin
with:
Stay Dead (29 minutes)
Score: 65
A group of city slickers
ends up in the middle of the Bible Belt, where a chemical plant is turning the
neighboring inbred hicks into zombies. To lament the state of undead horror is a
screed for another time, another review. Zombies are quickly becoming the
Washington Generals of the indie film scene. Still, there is nothing wrong with
attempting to inject humor into the old cannibal corpse routine. Peter Jackson
did it with Brain Dead and Dead
Alive and the results were terrific. Sadly, Stay Dead can't even
stand side-by-side with other non-Hollywood attempts at the genre. Examples like
Scott Phillip's fascinating Stink of Flesh and George Bonilla's flawed
epic Zombie Planet contain infinitely
more invention and entertainment than this minor bit of splatter satire. The
setup takes far too long in establishing a threat, the dialogue is overloaded
with class cracks and cynicism as comic cleverness, and the closing carnage
breezes by without much impact. Granted, this is a shoestring-budgeted affair
meant to make a small but substantive impact, a mini-movie which even has the
audacity to end with a "to be continued" promise of a sequel. Since
nothing we saw inspired confidence—or interest for that
matter—another dip into this failed flesh feasting is unwarranted.
Behind the Werewolf (22 minutes)
Score: 79
A mysterious
supernatural journalist joins with a mercenary, and the pair trace a recent rash
of animal attacks to a canine cult lost in their own world of lupine lunacy.
Similar to the approach taken by Stay Dead, Behind the Werewolf
wants to use standard horror iconography (in this case, the moon-baying
lycanthrope) and turn it on its pointed paranormal ear. Thankfully, filmmaker
Tyler Clapp goes for spoof over satire, even if the result is something that is
far more fascinating than funny. Playing the role of a supernatural
reporter/ghostbuster looking to whip some werewolf butt, Clapp cuts a decidedly
comic swath in his long coat and hat. Like a ghoul-grasping gumshoe with a
special spiel all his own, the writer/director/actor does a nice job of
centering the film. The elements around him range from impressive (the
punked-out actress playing the lead lupus is excellent) to interesting (our
macho mercenary is merely average). Since financial limits allowed for little
effects money, Clapp decides to use crappy CG blood sprays and gun blasts to
pepper his finale. It's campy and kitschy, but still belies a "best we
could do" ideal. Though the title is never explained and the random images
of cartoon animal porn are just juvenile, there is lots of promise in this
presentation. Clapp could actually find himself working within the legitimate
end of independent comedy if he fleshes out his ideas better and works to make
his humor more iconic and less idiotic (Sorry, but Star Wars riffs are
old hat, dude!).
Caleb's Cube (12 minutes)
Score: 75
A young man with
agoraphobia tries to overcome his fears, aided by less-than-helpful theories on
time and space from his roommate. As the only semi-serious piece of the
presentation (and the only one not founded in the macabre), Caleb's Cube
marks a kind of critical enigma for this reviewer. The performances are
passable, the situation set up with style and invention, and the resolution is
not as half-assed as it initially appears to be. Yet there are also reasons to
reject this attempted character study, many having to do with what actually
happens onscreen. As a premise, agoraphobia is a little more complicated than a
couple of comic quips. The roommate character, who more or less arrives out of
left field, does a lot of forced shtick regarding some time cube theory, and the
explanation for how this is supposed to cure our main character is left sounding
a lot like telling a terminal case to play bubble boy. Still, there is an
atmosphere of urgency and a real attempt to create tension. Things play out so
swiftly we can almost forgive the other floundering facets. Indeed, the best way
to describe a viewing of Caleb's Cube is that it's a lot like saddling up
for a ride at the local carnival midway. It has the appearance of being exciting
and engaging, but it actually ends up being a rather underwhelming experience
overall.
Court Jester—"Stand Up"
Score: 30
Lame bar band
music video
Want proof that people will listen to just about anything when
they're good and liquored up? Here's Court Jester, arguing for their place as
Hell's boogie band. The song is a typical stadium rock retread with lyrics
designed to instinctually launch fists into the air. Fronted by what looks like
an air conditioner salesman with a leather fetish and featuring varied
amalgamations of mundane music archetypes, this video violates every tenet of
the genre—it's dull and badly edited (The Monkees showed more instrument
sync ability) and does noting to sell the group. Court Jester may be huge in
their native Northern territory, but that doesn't mean they deserve a shot at
MTV glory. If this clip is any indication, there's no real fear of such fortunes
coming their way anytime soon.
Dye the Sky—"Death"
Score: 55
Lame ass
alterna-rock music video
Made in self-consciously snooty black and white,
this droning drudgery as rockin' out is only slightly better than the beer belch
bawl of Court Jester. Bart Simpson once said that making teenagers depressed is
like shooting fish in a barrel, but no one told this to the oddly named Dye the
Sky. They insist upon pandering to the suicidal adolescent demographic with this
tuneless take on guitar distortion despair. As the lead singer rasps and rails,
the backing track chugs along like an asthmatic locomotive. The band seems
passionate enough about their nu-metal noise, but their lack of originality
really hurts them. As performance pieces go, this is perfunctory at best.
As an example of what Upressplay has to offer, this initial volume is less
than impressive. Each of the five films offered are amateurish, with only the
most minor of semblances to mainstream moviemaking. Of the collection, Behind
the Werewolf is probably the best, if only because it's the most amusing.
Stay Dead can't even deliver good gore, while Caleb's bruised psyche
leads to several illogical plot points. Since music videos are nothing more than
examples of style over substance (and in this case, there is a dearth of both
present), they really add little to the DVD release. Even from a technical
perspective, there is not much to praise here. The transfer is all faux
letterboxing with several digital defects. Grain, flaring and bleeding all make
appearances on these non-anamorphic entities. The Dolby Digital Stereo is also
poorly presented. The menu music is so loud it almost blows out the speakers,
while the camcorder conceits used in the recording of dialogue of each film
means we miss some of the conversations.
About the only place this disc shines is in the bonus feature category. Each
film gets its own special section and its own selection of added content. For
Stay Dead, the extras are a trailer, a slightly amusing (if hyper) audio
commentary, a chance to review the songs on the soundtrack, a gallery, a five
minute collection of outtakes, and the chance to order a T-shirt. Behind the
Werewolf offers another overview of its soundtrack, some funny character
bios, an image gallery, and the animated 3-D short film Phid Takes a
Walk, also directed by Clapp. Sadly, it's not very good. While Caleb's
Cube and Court Jester have nothing in the way of supplemental material, Dye
the Sky gives us a listening room, band info, and a gallery. Even the DVD itself
has some additional features, including trailers and a couple of crappy comedy
songs from some dorks named Mike and Duane.
While it's important to support the efforts of independent filmmakers, it is
also clear that easily available technology has made every schmoe with an idea
think he or she is the next unheralded amateur auteur. As proven throughout its
first volume of releases, the artists in Upressplay's creative commune have a
rather rude awakening ahead of them. No amount of networking can save them from
their less-than-spectacular cinematic selves.
