The Dead Kid

Filmmaker Gergory Goyins reminds us what it's like to be at the difficult and transitional age of late childhood in his film The Dead Kid. Annie Baxter lives a normal life. She plays with her friends, camps outside at night, explores her hometown, and she starts noticing boys, hoping they notice her too. Her innocent desire for one boy's attention allows her to look the other away as her crush bullies another child. After the bullied child goes missing, Annie is burdened by her lack of action to defend the boy. Goyins wonderfully illustrates the fear and guilt weighing us down from little mistakes we make for the sake of acceptance by our peers. Most importantly though, the film reminds us to forgive ourselves for these little mistakes. In only 27 minutes, Goyins tells a small story with a big and long lasting emotional impact. This film deserves to be seen and heard.

It broke my heart, it touched my heart. Having been bullied many times as a child who was close friends with a 'black' girl in a very small segregated town in Maryland during the 70's, the story brought back all the memories of what she and I dealt with. I cried for Frankie, I cried for his parents and I cried remembering my friend Michelle. I love that the film showed that not only did Frankie's death affect his parents,but the whole community. It should do just that. Otherwise we can never hope for change. It's a beautiful film. It's genuine in it's truth and respectful in it's delivery of a very profound message. Annie being consumed with remorse locked in the freezer and then being forgiven by Frankie's spirit was incredibly moving. As was having Mr. Dunbar save Annie and carry her home with tears in his eyes as he held her tight to him, filled with poised yet obvious relief and concern for her. Through out the whole film you are made to revisit your own moral fiber. Loved it!

"The Dead Kid" is everything you hope for when you start watching a short film. The cinematography is strong, the sound and editing are invisible (sound is so often a short film's downfall), the score is present at all the right times but not overtly so—the film is feature- quality. But ultimately, what stands out most after viewing "The Dead Kid" is how well-written it is. The story has a forward-motion rarely seen in short films, and even features. Every scene matters in this film, nothing is nonessential. You find yourself deeply engrossed in every character, the main and the supporting. Dialogue is genuine, moments are real; you will find yourself moved to a multitude of emotions throughout the film's entirety. Well-crafted and meaningful, Gregory Goyins and his team of filmmakers have made a substantial piece of film that is surely the beginning of long-line of significant work to come.

The Dead Kid is a wonderful half hour short that touches on the topics of bullying, racism and peer pressure without being heavy handed on any of the issues. Rather, the director/writer Goyins weaves elements of these social issues into the fabric of a place in time that we can all relate to.

The bullied kid in the piece is a target for many reasons, reasons that we can all remember when thinking back to our school aged years, and reasons that kids can still relate to today. The story further delves into a surprising direction when the bullied kid goes missing, and it takes us into all too familiar territory where peer pressure and the need to be liked play significant roles in the choices we make at a young age.

I would recommend this short for viewing by any middle school anti-bullying organization.

Director Gregory Goyins latest masterpiece, The Dead Kid is a thoughtful meditation on the thin veneer that separates life and death, and upon which life, in all of it's fragile interconnectedness rests.Children become the perfect vehicle to explore the theme, not only because we've finally become witness to the danger and the harm of bullying, but because they are often the silent victims of the failures of the adults around them.

Seamlessly binding the terror of the Atlanta child murders into the story, a steady feeling of uneasiness parallels the disturbing events that surround the disappearance of Frankie Thomas, and the disarray and confusion that this creates in a small community. A sort of psychic trauma begins to envelope those involved, tilting reality askew and hinting that the sextant is not merely misaligned, but that the stars themselves have come disjointed. There are no isolated events in this universe as tragedy begins to self perpetuate. Artfully blurring the boundary between life and death, sanity and madness, The Dead Kid resonates powerfully as it hints at the fragility of a life and the web that binds us all.

It would be easy to see this film as a reflection on bullying, and it is that, most assuredly, but in this masterfully sensitive adaptation of Gillian King's short story, Director Greg Goyins again demonstrates a level of insight and command of the medium which is rare among young directors .