In Jason Croot’s sequel to 2010’s Le Fear, we are presented with a director’s goal of creating this horror blockbuster, but when ideas from Nollywood gets thrown around, and a worthless producer comes along, the blockbuster dream falls apart. That is the basic premise of this film by independent filmmaking triple-threat (Writer, Director, Actor), Jason Croot.
Recently, I was approached by Jason Croot to review this film – and I obviously chose to do that. Honestly, I did not know what to expect from this independent comedy horror-parody about filmmaking. In the end, I think it actually turned out okay. Look, it’s not perfect – but for what it is (being a mockumentary-like independent parody) it is pretty good. The film is going to have problems with keeping a general audience happy, due to it having disappointing transitions – and time jumps. But with that having been said, as this niché faux pas-genre piece it works fine. Think Curb Your Enthusiasm or the Scandinavian Klovn – these are faux pas sitcoms, and the film does adopt similar storytelling methods. A fun little side note is the fact that the film’s character introductions have these ‘character-title-cards’, very reminiscent of the Sergio Leone/Spaghetti Western-homage in Community‘s A Fistful of Paintballs-episode.
I have a few problems with the music and score – as it, at times, is too cliché. Some cliché musical-choices could have been acted out, rather than simply played in the background – e.g. at the very beginning when Carlos Revalos (the director) reveals his blockbuster-plans. Speaking of Carlos Revalos – Kyri Saphiris’ performance is probably the best thing in the film. His character also stands out, due to the rest being very stereotypical and cliché.
Now, this is an honest review – as should be clear by now, as I’ve both pointed out things that work and things that don’t. However, do understand that this film is a very good example of faux pas filmmaking – and I do think this is a nice stepping stone for Jason Croot in filmmaking. With that having been said, I do think this would’ve worked better as a short, or a series of shorts – as I believe faux pas often does. I’ve been informed that this film will be released in 2015.
Overall Score: 5.9 out of 10.0. While its form is questionable, it stands as a fine example of independent faux pas filmmaking. I do like these faux pas-tellings, and therefore there is potential – an independent diamond in the rough.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 