The Land of College Prophets

You will either absolutely hate this movie, or really love it. There is no in between with most Cult movies and this project is no exception. If it clicks with you, it's a genuine treat. If it doesn't then watching 20 minutes of it would be too much. Also, definitely not a girl movie.

I watched it with a group of friends, some of them enjoyed it and seemed to "get it" on whatever level. The others "got it" in a different way and had a ball ripping it apart. Those two guys spent another hour skipping back and re-watching some scenes.

Either way it's worth the 10 bucks.

Wow. The DV revolution has spawned this. Digital Film Tree's Founder Ramy Katrib stated the other night while presenting that the DV revolution has done nothing but put powerful creative tools in the hands of mediocre to horrible story tellers. I present to you Exhibit #1: Land of the College Prophets. I applaud the effort of the young digital movie makers as the effort to produce a feature length project is not an easy thing to do. Especially when there is little to no money. That being said, the focus of said projects should be on dynamic story telling and rich character driven dialog. Keep the scope of the project within reasonable limits. This would include not attempting a large scale sci-fi/horror movie without the means to get it to viewable standards. One scene that springs to mind is the "climactic battle" on the front lawn of Tunxis Community College. Here we have "scary monsters" in broad daylight, with college students milling to and from class unfazed by the oncoming holocaust. This scene sums up the trouble with handing newbies cameras and computers. Jeff Goldblum's line from Jurassic Park springs to mind, "Just because you could, doesn't mean you should". I could go on and on pulling each scene apart as common mistakes are made over & over such as 180 rule breaks for no reason, mismatched misenscene, mismatched eyelines, and no match action edits. My advice to the young "filmmakers" is to get into some kind of storytelling school, tighten your aesthetic approaches, and put Adobe Aftereffects away.

The Land of College Prophets shows much promise and will likely be the stepping stone to a great career for writer/director/star, Thomas Edward Seymour. The movie, while being primarily an action film with supernatural/comic book elements, has great dialogue and narration throughout the film. While obviously special effects and a larger budget could have made the film more appealing visually, I would call this an all around success for the filmmaker. This is what indie films are all about and it is rare that you get to see a truly independent action film. Land of College Prophets is a film that any comic fan should see. I look forward to seeing more work from the Hale Manor team in the coming years.

Thomas Edward Seymour and Mike Aransky worked together previously on another low budget and noteworthy movie, "Everything Moves Alone". In that movie the theme and acting are angst-ridden and the visual story-telling is particularly strong. Thomas Seymour now shows his range by crafting "The Land Of College Prophets" which is the polar opposite of the former movie.

Where the acting is subtle and the scenery often open and expansive in "Everything Moves Alone", Seymour now uses saturated, exaggerated colors and claustrophobic spaces in "Land Of College Prophets". Instead of natural, everyday personalities, Seymour amps up the performances and themes in "Land Of College Prophets". The "guy next door" has been replaced by a heroic and angry archetype. Instead of quiet inner turmoil and angst, now the characters explode in graphic, yet stylized violence.

Too see both movies back-to-back would definitely get an audience on their feet!

Great film, which demonstrates what can be achieved on a budget.

There's credible acting, fantastic fight choreography.

There's also some unexpectedly serious gore and gorgeous cinematography - all of which combines to make you realise LAND OF COLLEGE PROPHETS is a masterpiece of low budget, independent cinema.

Great fun, and surprisingly moving at times too. A muscle fest for the main part though ... recommended!

Good luck to Tom, Phil and the guys on their next project.

Please support the collective, as there is huge promise in films like this.