Hair of the Dog

Terry Wickham has amazed me time and time again. Over the past several years, I have had the opportunity to view many of this man's creations.

Naturally, I was not left unimpressed. Many of Wickham's videos have been rather outstanding, considering most of them have been quite low-budget. I've seen many higher-budget films which cannot compare to Wickham's direction.

Hair Of The Dog marks Wickham's best short film yet. A lawyer wakes up on the floor of his house, completely unaware as to the happenings of the previous night. The only clues to his personal mystery are a headache and a large, bloody knife. Curious, the lawyer backtracks his entire night to discover what really happened, and whom he should avoid, before it's too late.

Wickham has done a tremendous job of casting, with such sure-to-be upcoming stars as Chris Weir, John Dylan Howard, and Mia Troche.

Overall, an outstanding movie, and a phenomenal director.

Hair of the Dog is absolutely fantastic. The only real problem I had with it was I wanted more than just the 45 minute run time.

Chris Weir and John Dylan Howard specifically did an exceptional job under the direction of Terry Wickham. Their performances were captivating from beginning to end, and always kept me guessing what would happen next, or more accurately, what had already happened.

Mia Troche adds volumes with her wannabe-porn-star segment, although one must wonder what it is that Mr Howard saw in her to PREVENT her from taking off her clothes.

After seeing a few other pieces from Terry Wickham, most of them self-written, I am excited to see whatever he churns out next! I don't doubt for a second that it'll be worthwhile.

I could go on a rant about how the above "review" is a shameless plug for the director... but I won't. I'm too much of a nice guy to do that so I will just talk a lil about this film and why it works and works well.

Like with any movie, the writing is first and foremost the most IMPORTANT aspect of the film-making process. Without it, you have nothing. Thankfully, "Hair of the Dog" features an incredibly well written script from a very talented writer by the name of Tim Clark. The dialogue is very witty and really gives the actors some wonderful material to work with. It would be really nice to see Tim get more projects as a result of his work on this film.

Also, the film features some great thrills, tremendous atmosphere and features a nice eerie score that really enhances the mood of the film. It may be a short flick, but it's effective and accomplishes what it sets out to do and it does so in spades.

Hopefully someone with distribution capabilities will take notice of this independent gem and release it unto the public for many more of you to check out. With all of the rubbish we have been handed by Hollywood as of late (i.e. remakes, pointless sequels/prequels, etc.), it would be awesome to see a "good" film - an original film - get pushed into the spotlight for a change. Let's hope so!