Berenice – 2014 – Based on a story by Edgar Allen Poe

This is a story that originates from Edgar Allen Poe. As such I had high hopes for it but it turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment. The story itself is gruesome enough but I find the acting lacking a bit against the usual standards in Jeremiah Kipps films. It’s interesting that it revolves around mental illness I some sort though. I love movies like that. However I think this suffers a bit too much from being too short. As this is the third Jeremiah Kipp short I’ve written about in a short while I see a pattern. I want them longer, but still as intense as they are now. I don’t know if that’s even possible but I can dream can’t I?

This short is included in an anthology that’s out on the market right now. I haven’t seen the other segments but you might want to check it out. It’s called Creepers, a fitting name don’t you think?

7/10

http://www.creepersfilm.com/

Painkiller – 2014 – a truly gruesome little piece!

It’s not often movies really give me the creeps but this one do! The story revolves around two scientists that try to create the ultimate painkiller. It’s an organic organism really and it’s inserted into the test subject’s body. It attaches itself on the spinal core with the idea to absorb all pain the person feels. Sounds good if not even great in theory doesn’t it? Well of course it goes wrong and the organism integrates with the person and requires pain to continue living. And if this painkiller doesn’t receive enough pain the person dies ultimately.

It’s truly gruesome piece which indeed shocks me. I can’t take it when people gets inflicted with more and more pain and actually enjoys it. When it’s, in fact, is imperative for their very existence.

Just as TheMinions, also directed by JeremiahKipp, I wish this was a feature film. It would have been interesting to see how it would hold up over a bit longer time than just 15 minutes. I’m not if I could take it! It’s not that it’s a very gory film and that might be the strength about it. Less is so often more. That doesn’t mean it’s totally without gory effects either. If you’re into August Underground Mordum you might be disappointed but if you’re just after the discomfort this film brings you, it should hit the spot!

8/10

The Minions – 2014 – A new short from Jeremiah Kipp

I’m Jeremiah Kips greatest fan! I guess I’m not but for the time being lets pretends that it’s so. I admire his way of taking a very simple setting and make it very suspenseful. That is a great talent and he clearly makes use of it in this short. There doesn’t even have to be much of a plot, most of it is mysterious in this one. It’s still very suspenseful and you can’t wait ‘til you se what really going on. Of course this comes as a surprise of sorts in the end.

Most of this short is told in past tense but what really happened is hidden from us. We can only guess. For me it was somewhat of a surprise to watch the end. I had not expected that ending. I knew something was coming, a twist of some kind, but not exactly what. The only thing wrong with it really is that in IS a short. I would have liked this to be a feature film. That would have been amazing! Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a very rewarding film!

8/10

Short films of Jeremiah Kipp

I got a query if I was interesting in reviewing a few genre short films by Jeremiah Kipp. I didn’t think about long, I always thought that writing about flick you know nothing about is the most rewarding. If I could choose I’d write about stuff like this all day long. Short flicks or feature films that almost no one knows something about. I like writing about blockbusters and big budget films as much as the next guy too, but when people send their work to me it’s like Christmas time really. I just love getting stuff for consideration!

Contact

Contact – An about eleven minute long tale. As always, the short flicks are always the hardest to figure out. There’s no time to develop an in depth story with dozens of characters. But there’s not always a need to either. This particular story might revolve around one single event but it’s still pretty intense. I really like the imagery that Jeremiah Kipp delivers. There’s no need for much dialog and the few lines that are in there serve a purpose. I get the feeling that this is an exercise in suspense and it’s a successful attempt at that. At the end I can think of multiple solutions to what this film is really about. Pay attention and I think you will too.

Crestfallen – Short flicks also has the advantage that you can watch them a few times without wasting too much time. Imagine an epic film with a duration of  two and a half hours and that you see that three or four times in a row before you realize what’s it about and what to write about it. It’s an impossible task really! But with this six minute piece it’s different. If you don’t pay enough attention the first time you can easily make up for it right away. Not that the plot is very hard to figure out in the first place. I think it’s very well told using the imagery. There’s not much doubt about the storyline even if it’s not told entirely chronically. Maybe that’s just what appeals to me with this one, which I like very much. The sounds and the music emphasize the imagery very nicely! It’s quite an emotional tale which proves that you really can tell a heartwarming story in six minutes!

Drool – for me this is a very sensual… no sexual piece! It’s about four minutes long and kind of strange to watch. There are basically two bodies rolling around in some sort of gel. It may be a metaphor for something else but I interpret is more or less as a sexual act. I think what we see is the final stage of an intercourse with a mesmerizing orgasm ending. How much can be done I four minutes? Well, it’s not about what; it’s about how! It looks great but to be honest this one is a little too arty for me to enjoy at the fullest. A great play with the imagery though! There’s no dialog at all, and it’s not needed.

The Days God Slept

The Days God Slept – This one is hard to figure out. I mean there must be some morality to it right? Some bottom line, something the film is supposed to tell us. I’m not sure if I get it at all but that doesn’t mean that the ten minute long film isn’t good. I really like it! It shows the same degree of mastering the imagery. There are plenty more dialog in this than all the others short flicks put together. It seems to be a somewhat bigger production and there’s certainly a nice vibe to it. I just wish I could figure out what it’s really about. It obviously has something to do with religion and something else not usually connected to belief in God or a supreme being. There’s this stripper which claims that things are both precisely and not at all as they appear. I think this clue is very important and I based my solution of the movie around that, which, of course, doesn’t mean that I can put my thought into words.

Overall I really like the short films of Jeremiah Kipp! As I’ve said over and over again, the imagery is the strong side of these flicks, the thing that really stands out. There is acting way superior to the acting of most short – amateurish – flicks. This of course means that this is not amateurish at all! It seems to me that Jeremiah Kipp knows exactly what he wants and makes I happen! Very Nice!