"What if Evil came in a pill?"
"What if Evil came in a pill?"
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Reviewer |
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Jonny Cage |
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Year |
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2008 |
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Director(s) |
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Liz Adams |
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Writer(s) |
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Liz Adams |
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Actors |
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Suzy Cote |
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Runtime |
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13m |
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Categories |
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Killer |
Synopsis
Mr. and Mrs. Allen are getting out of the house for a while tonight. Lauren, their regular babysitter, is already hard at work getting dinner prepared and doing some minor chores for the family. She is a sweet, hard-working, college student whom they trust with their greatest treasures; an infant, and a toddler. But tonight is different…tonight Lauren starts a new medication that is supposed to help her focus on her studies. Focus she does. So intently does she focus that she is oblivious to her new prescription’s Side Effect.
Review
(First off…thank you again Liz) One day I was paroozing IMDb and stumbled across this film. I was curious at first, then after a bit of research became so intrigued that I had to get a copy of it. Received the movie in the mail, opened it, put my daughter down for a nap, and then proceeded to watch it…twice! The film is so powerful in the sense that it’s one of those “subject matters” that cause uproar. I remember telling the writer/director Liz Adams that she should plan on getting major crap for this film based on its subject matter alone. In a generation were it’s easier to get prescription drugs over illegal drugs, and that our own Western Society has become a worshiper of the almighty painkiller, is it any wonder that our desensitization has reached a new low?
The story is not a new one by far. Have you ever heard the one about the stoner babysitter who was so high she cooked the baby instead of the turkey? No? What rock have you been curled up under? It’s one of those universal “don’t do drugs” stories that are meant to scare/guilt trip us into saying “no” to drugs. This film personifies this story; even going above and beyond by amending it to fit the 21 Century-form of drug-addiction: medication. This story goes to show just how far we are willing to plunge into the blackened abyss just to find that one small minute of ease. We are a generation of wieners, complainers, justifiers, and catalysts who can’t wait for the next drug to make their lives “easier”.
The acting in this film was better than expected. Usually short films are plagued with poor acting but, this was different. Like my review I did for The 9th Circle (2007); I stated that the minimal script gave the actors the ability to focus on capturing their characters. I believe that to hold true for this films as well. I was very impressed with Virginia Newcomb’s performance as Lauren. I liked the way you could physically AND emotionally see her regression into her own psychosis. Rarely are both areas visible, let alone from a newcomer. The only one I was not impressed with was Mr. Allen ($29 or two for $50…sorry, I had to. It was killing me). His reaction at the end of the movie was just, blah. He almost didn’t seem to care. Maybe I missed something, maybe I didn’t. Normally…I’m not wrong.
The gore and effects were of an odd sort. It is difficult to describe because of the subject nature and the fact that I am a father myself. This is something that scares me; this concept, this idea, this fact! This shit happens! And I think I fudged my briefs when they showed the oven shot. From the, oh, two, gory parts of the film I can decipher that the SFX artist on the set of this movie…knew his/her job very well. Watch the “making of”, behind-the-scenes footage and tell me the way they got the baby’s arm to look so freakin’ real was not a stroke of absolute freakin’ genius!
I am normally not one for the behind-the-scenes footage or anything like that but, Chuck, the evil side of my conscience, told me to watch this one. I’m glad I did. Wavering slightly from my normal format, I have to mention that the behind-the-scenes footage shown on the film’s DVD has got to be one of, no THE, funniest I’ve ever seen in my many years of movie viewing entertainment! Just had to make that little note.
My next note that I’ve only had the pleasure of using a small handful of times is to address research; yes, I said research (listen…if you’re quiet enough you can hear high-school students crying). Now, I’m not easily baffled but, that amount of research done, and provided here is astounding! The sheer fact that this DOES actually happen, and not just occasionally, and you can do months worth of research about it makes this film that much scarier. To think that we could be prescribed a drug to help us function and end up on trial for triple homicide because you slaughtered your entire family with a coat hanger, scares the hell out of me! They say that medicine has only come so far...I think we’ve gone too far and have ended up releasing the innermost evil that lurks inside us all.
Wrap It Up
Very rarely do you come across a film with that much of an impact...let alone a short film! You have made a wonderful film Liz, with a beautiful marriage of gore, implied terror, and a powerful story. You have tackled a Goliath here, I hope you know that. People, this is what happens when medication goes unchecked. Let this film scare you into thinking twice before you take that medication you “think” you need. This film could be a staple for this depraved generation…this Generation Rx.
22/25