Reviews

When I watch a short like Boy-Next-Door, I find myself with a kind of bittersweet feeling. On the one hand, I'm happy. I'm watching something that has been well thought out, seamlessly executed and just daring enough to be interesting. On the other hand I find myself lamenting the level of comedy generally produced. TV and films are so consistently packed with easy, condescending crap that we find ourselves judging excellence within a scale of mediocrity. Then you see someone like Davis, who, without the "benefit" of studio notes or substantial budget; can create a really cool little comic gem. Producers and network suits need to turn to the Travis Davis' out there for material and stop awarding deals to people simply because their resume or agent may demand they should. Boy-Next-Door has, hopefully, gained the attention of the right people to facilitate more work from Davis. It's really fun and very well done!

A really terrific and surprisingly big, short film. Unlike many shorts I've seen (I think I served my millionth customer this afternoon), "the Big Thing" had someplace to go. It also provided a really fun ride getting there.

It was written, cast and shot extremely well. It also displays excellence in the areas less obvious, such as lighting, sound (great foley) and just the perfect amount of the right kinds of visual effects.

But, what really appealed to me the most was the seriousness with which this odd story was handled. The credibility of the entire undertaking was reliant on its excellence to a greater extreme than many other stories may have required, and the filmmakers delivered big time.