Film Hooligans Review

By Jon Dunning

November 15, 2020

Slick, clean, & polished. This short looks and feels more expensive than most films I’ve seen this year. The camera work, music, & lighting is done to the 9’s. Lindquist shows promise as he channels filmmakers like Nicolas Winding Refn, Edgar Wright, & mixes those creative juices with early 00’s horror directors like Steve Beck & William Malone.

Gore and scares are on point. Some seem a little over the top and overtly thematic but actually feel needed to update the over century old telling of this very familiar tale.

Makeup and practical effects hit about 80% of the time. But the scenes are moving at such a frantic pace, that your brain doesn’t have time to hate the obvious old man make-up that looks like it was pulled right off the screen from Bad Grandpa. Setting was a little wonky. I wished it either was a complete modern retelling with updated dialogue, costumes, and performances. Or go all in with the period piece. What we got instead was an uneven setting where only the residences of the house seemed like they were from the period. There are only four actors/characters total and three of them felt like they were pulled out of a separate time completely. Although perhaps, Lindquist is making a creative statement, that the source material is timeless hence displaying multiple timelines affected by Poe’s work. Without context one can’t be sure. 

The performance from the Narrator was fun and charismatic, however it felt like it was meant for a stage play. But when he was murderous and/or in insane mod he really was excellent. Other performances were varying levels of good enough. Although special notes to Mikah Olsen (Officer Sharpe) that not only grounds the story in reality but acts as the audience POV as she is just as confused with the costumes and speak as we the viewers were in a modern setting. 

You can tell that the director is a musician because the music really whisked you away at breakneck speed from one bloody set piece to the next. It felt like a music video from The Used at times. In a good way.

So should you watch it? At a lightning paced 22 min run time and if you are a fan of the source material or not, this has something for every horror fan. So I would say an emphatic yes. 

This short has great bones and talented people in front and behind the camera. It seemed to be a passion project especially for Director McClain

Lindquist and I’m excited to see just what this madman brings to the butchers block next.

Review can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JunKQTbCljw&feature=youtu.be