Crooked Features

The British low budget film industry is massive, there are countless films made every year, from shorts to features, documentaries, promos..what is done big budget is also done low budget.

The key to low budget film-making is knowing your limits, the film you produce is not gonna look like a film that Jerry Bruckheimer has produced. When I say knowing your limits, it's more knowing the scope you have within those limits and how best to exploit them.

This film knows that inside out. I've literally just finished watching it and I reccommend you head over to HERE and purchase yourselves of a copy right now! (You can finish reading this when you've placed your order).

Let me say first off that I know the director Mike Peter Reed (a little at least), he was the Sound Recordist on my short that was filmed recently and my copy of his film came included in the package with the sound rushes. Secondly I'm not giving him a thumbs up review because of that, I genuinely enjoyed this film!!

So what's it about? Basically (i say that too much), porn director Rod Shuffler (Julian Lee) after recieving his third SHAFTA for Lifetime Achievement, sets out to go mainstream, however things are not meant to be that easy!!...

Filmed as a mockumentary (a-la-Spinal Tap etc), it follows the cast and crew of "Attack Of The Clowns" as they wade their way through the production.

The key players are brilliant, natural and most impotantly funny! Pano Masti, who plays David Goliath and Kate Naughton who plays tortured First Assistant Director Tanya Hyde steal the show completely.

Although, the whole mockumentary format has been uber-exploited since Spinal Tap and more so since the advent of DV filmmaking (god know's I've got a couple of mockdoc scripts myself!), this film does the job far better than others I've seen.

You have to accept the production values before you sit down to this. It's low budget, DV, documentary style, if you accept that you'll enjoy it. It may appeal more to filmmakers because of the subject matter, but then maybe I'm being a little hard on non-filmmakers who would probably enjoy this. The best viewers for this are the ones who know their films (and in some places music, eg: the scene with David and Sandy in the car!!).

It's a very geeky film, there are references littered throughout, even to the extent of a Tie Fighter sound subtly thrown in for good measure. It's these little touches that make it shine and the sorts of things that made me choke on my drink.

Cheers Mike :)

Crooked Features - 9/10