My Name Is 'A' by Anonymous

If you've seen director Shane Ryan's earlier work then you'll know what you're in for, and also see how he expands his origins of handling found footage films. If you haven't seen his earlier stuff and are expecting some mainstream crime thriller or a Lifetime show, then you'll either be greatly disappointed with its hard-hitting realism, or pleasantly surprised (while also being left enormously depressed).

Keep in mind, Ryan's work will never have a laughing moment, or a time when it seems like things "might be okay." They start off seriously ill, and the sickness only worsens until it eats away your entire body, mind, and soul. His films are not for the faint-of-heart, but also not for those seeking sex, gore or cheap thrills. There's something very deep and meaningful underlying all of this. He never glamorizes murder, but seems oddly fascinated by its evil. So fascinated, in fact, that everything always feels so very real. In a sense where you feel part of this may have had to be lived or experienced by the filmmaker. It's so close to real life (without ever feeling like some "Reality" Show) in a way neither Hollywood or even Independent cinema ever seem to capture.

When you hear that this film is about the real-life murder committed by Alyssa Bustamante, you'd probably think that the film would center around that event. And you'd be wrong. Instead this movie tries to explore "who is Alyssa Bustamante?" and I'm not sure how much if any of it is accurate.

The weird thing is that the movie has a lot of awkward sequences that seem to be there to pad out the length, and don't seem to in any way service the story. At one point there's a really awkward shower scene, and at the halfway point in the movie we have to watch a music video in what I assume to be Russian?

The real story of Alyssa Bustamante is disturbing on its own, and it would have been better to tell the story of the actual events. The lying, the manipulation. Pretending to help look for her victim, all the while keeping entries in her diary about the thrill she got from it. That would have been good subject matter for a documentary of a murder. Instead we follow a girl with a terminal obsession with Russia.

Honestly, I would recommend to avoid this.

In all I found the premise was reprehensible and the execution of it was really amateurish and wouldn't recommend it to be frank - if you want to learn of Olten's untimely fate then watch a documentary, this my friends is not the way to learn.

My Name Is 'A' by Anonymous is unlike others. It captures emotion, good and bad. Reading reviews I noticed many people just look at the "amateur" film style and how "messed up it is". The film tackles real world issues, but is portrayed as characters. This movie is brutal and sad, there's no confusion there. The only reason I haven't rated it 10 stars is because it isn't much like the true crime committed by Alyssa Bustamante. Many people get confused when they see her name on the movie cover, and then watch it and don't see much resemblance.

Regardless, My Name Is 'A' by Anonymous is a 9 star worth film. People who rated it lower probably didn't understand the movie personally. I would completely recommend it to people who can stomach dark topics and disturbing imagery. A great film.

This is a rare movie to find on DVD but I was able to grab it at an underground indie horror and genre film shop near my house in CT. Usually when I buy a movie(which is very often, maybe too often), I watch it within a day or two. However, this movie sat for a couple of years. There has been multiple good wild eye releases even though they are all microbudget films, some with out any budget to even speak of. One of their releases, "Final Entries: The Video Diaries of Maddie O" is another rare film and is, in my opinion, one of the scariest found footage movies ever made. It's cheap, it's grainy, it's bizarre and creepy, it ACTUALLY HAD a story. This is where I say, "My Name is A" is beeeyond terrible. Could possibly be the single worst film I've ever seen. I started watching it last night but turned it off after 33mins, only to resume it this morning just to see how it played out because the actual case this movie is built around is quite interesting and very disturbing. The movie doesn't even relate to the actual crime AT ALL. The movie tries to portray this corny vision of wasted youth or urban decay but falls flat on its face within minutes of the film's start. The story doesn't do the crime justice. There is no narrative to speak of, as the movie ATTEMPTS to be some kind of cheap version of "Gummo" but instead comes off idiotic, immature, and poorly conceived. At least in "Gummo" we were engaged. There was scenes tying the film together as a whole unit even with the glimpses into random characters lives. This movie has too many characters that aren't explained. By the end of the film we realize these girls are all damaged in their own way and living out their own personal hells but it's too little too late. In real life the murder was committed by one girl, Alyssa Bustamante, yet the movie shows her as a side character if you will. Some butt ugly anorexic girl gets the most screen time but who even is this girl? A family member? A friend? Some random nasty chick? I've seen some real bad movies but it's rare to never that I stop a film due to its awfulness. The last one was the after dark horror fest movie "Unearthed" which was equally awful in a different way. There is no explaining here, no flow, and no story what so ever. This movie did not do the actual case justice as this movie seems too nasty and amateur. This story should be done by someone with actual talent. Someone who actually knows how the case really went down. It should play out in traditional movie format with aerial shots of a shanty town and drone shots of the deep wooded area where the murder took place. There should be more dialogue and dialogue that makes sense for that matter. Ultimately, this IS a rare movie so if you find it for a dollar or two, pick it up, just to own it. However, I would not recommend watching it as it is a total waste of time. Let it sit and rot on your shelf where it belongs. Shane Ryan is an awful director with no future.