REVIEWS FOR INDEPENDENT FILM, LOW BUDGET FILM, SHORT FILM & WEB SERIES
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The supernatural has always fascinated us. Aliens have always interested us. Bigfoot and Nessy will always have an audience of believers and non-believers alike. It's with no stretch of the imagination that myself, and near any filmmaker on the planet, know that if it's unknown or possesses some kind of power, people will want to know more. It's in our nature, coursing through that red stuff within our bodies. But what about a ramekin? Yes reader. You read that correctly. What about a plain, off-white ramekin? Sounds pretty... well... boring right? But what happens if that ramekin holds some kind of special powers? Including the power of possession? Most of our fears in general are grounded in losing control of ourselves. This is why the supernatural, based on an eventual possession, are so fear inducing. So why not a simple ramekin? With such powers hiding within, is it not just as scary as your favorite demonic force rambling around the planet? Honestly? No. No it is not. That still doesn't stop filmmaker Cody Clarke from inventing a feature length film, with just such an evil force. In fact - having such a stupid little thing, that oozes such power, may be what makes "Ramekin" so entertaining. Simple can equal scary. It may not in this case, but the weirdness did manage to hold my attention. For it's comedic premise and laughable bad guy, this was a fun little film to watch. The fact that Cody Clarke and his troupe didn't present this as a completely serious, completely scary production, makes it all the more fun. For anyone who ever loved movies such as "The Toxic Avenger" or even, to some extent, some of the "Scary Movie" films - this buds for you. Definitely.
Aside from being amused by the overall idea of this film, how did the production actually stack up quality wise? Visually? Pretty well. Once you consider that "Ramekin" mainly takes place in one apartment, it's easy to understand why it looks decent enough. An easily controlled space generally translates to a film that looks good. There's no overly complicated camera work here, just the tried and true basics. "Ramekin" is all the better for it. What I couldn't understand... was the audio. I mean... it was damn near perfect. So much so... that I would guess it's all an overdub. If that's the case, and I'm pretty sure it is, boy oh boy that must have been a lot of work. All the sound effects. All the sync-work. Must have taken a long while. And it all does fit! The issue is that it's way more perfect than it is natural. There is no variations in tone or volume. It sounds as if someone was standing still... speaking into a mic. I gotta say, after a few minutes, it was very noticeable and I never really got used to it. The question is this - why not just use the camera audio? Or have recorded the audio via boom mic, as the movie was filmed? Everything was done in a controlled place... this shouldn't have been all that hard. Moving on.
Some of the line deliveries felt a little off. A little scripted and hollow at times. I'm not totally sure if this awkward feeling was because of the overdub... or from the scripted dialog itself. My guess would be a little of both. What I did love, aside from the general concept, was the comedy. This wasn't "in your face" jokes, rather comedic in action. Near the start of the film, our protagonist goes through a scene involving the ramekin and a dish rack. I did laugh at the repeated actions. I just couldn't help it. "Ramekin" is full of situations so silly... you really have to laugh. It's funny to watch! Between that and the unusual lines, on purpose unusual... you may find yourself chuckling and not really know why. Excellent! At the end of the day, despite some of the unnatural feeling audio, I had fun watching this. It was one of those films you start off wondering just how much you'll be able to take, then realize you never took your eyes off the screen. A fun time all around and easily an above average film. The only thing missing? That high pitched screech sound from the "Psycho" movies. For those who watch, you'll know just when I mean. |
