Dad's Dead

Our narrator looks fondly back at his childhood in Liverpool and the antics of his best friend Johnno. Well known for being a showman and a keen one for joking and the like, Johnno starts to change for the worse after he announced that his father has died.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this film. I had seen it was an animation on the website and had assumed it would be an arty thing made by a newly graduated student - don't know why I assumed that, but I did. Happily this film was much better than that and when it finished it was very powerful despite the odd flaw. The plot is disturbing with the speed with which things go from childhood memory to something much darker. The reasons for the change are layered into the fabric well and only the end is a little unclear.

The animation is well used and very clever. A lot of the film is real action with animation used effectively at different points - in it's own right or to animate the digitally shot action. In some cases this is funny, in others it lets us see the monster inside each character and in others it is surprisingly violent and indicative of a mind that is being lost and surrounded by evil thoughts. I'm not a big animation fan but it worked very well here.

I struggled to place the voice the whole way through and was surprised to see it was Ian Hart. However he does really well with the voice over and really brought his character to life. The support cast are good and the lad who played Johnno really did a good job to bring the menace out of him.

Overall this took me by surprise. It is well written so as to allow the plot to build quickly and with force and was very cleverly directed. The animation is a mix of styles and is very cleverly used to portray different things - from a Betty Boop style vision on an ice-cream van to a `Peter and Jane' book to illustrate nice thoughts. The combination of all these things make it well worth a look.

This short film made quite an impression on me when I first watched it. I thought it was odd and quite different from others. It goes through a lot of memories and establishes a rather bleak tone.

Executed with style and skill, 'Dad's Dead' is an exceptionally written short film. Think of it as a roller-coaster ride into a dark mind. While the visuals are stunning thanks to the solid combination of live action and animation. The animated sequences also vary in style and this is fascinating to look at as the entire film feels like a hypnotic experience. It's positively astonishing how Chris Shepherd manages to say so much in such a small amount of time. Ian Hart narrates at a speedy tempo but he certainly grabs the viewer's attention and guides them like a successful hypnotherapist. The main theme, as the title suggests, is very dark but there is plenty of dark humour that brings a balance without being intrusive or taking away from the intensity of the atmosphere. 'Dad's Dead' is an exhilarating experience...albeit short lasting but very effective.

Another outstanding film from Bermuda Film Festival. Like the winner of Best Short - WASP. This film earned a honourable mention for it's powerful insight into what happens inside the mind of a sociopath. It was the most original and different film I think I've seen. Blending imagination with reality in a way I've never seen. It was like mixing fine art painting with a hard urban story. Saying that the technique didn't compromise the punk street feel of the film.

Johnno controls his best friend. Making him do things you just DONT do. We watch as the lies and cheats. Abusing an old man, shattering all of the boys hopes and dreams in the process. I found myself thinking about the film for days. Do people like this exist? If so, what are they up to? And why does society not deal with them? This one also hit the audience hard because of it's brutal ending and no doubt left them feeling at unease with the world.

This is one of the two shorts(the other being the odd Mole Hills) on the DVD of Sunshine. It has a running time of 6 and a half minutes, and a one minute introduction by Danny Boyle. Yes, this is bleak and unpleasant, as well as rather twisted. I suppose if you've never known someone you can compare to Johnno, this may just repel you; however, calling it an attempt to do nothing but offend is a misunderstanding. People like him exist, and this is sadly a credible look at them. Yes, it's nasty, at times disgusting; there's a reason for that. It's a spot-light pointed straight at something extremely dark and brutal. This is a mix of live-action and animation, and it can be quite psychedelic(it communicates its message very clearly, though), and for how grim it is, it can be colorful, as well. The editing and cinematography are interesting, and this not being too long keeps the subject matter from getting you to turn it off before it's over(hopefully). While narration and visuals lock it into the specific region(London?) of Britain, they ultimately result in this being a distinct voice for telling a terribly universal(at least to suburban environments) tale. Acting and writing are marvelous. This is well-paced with nothing overstaying its welcome or being curt. The plot revolves around two youths and their activities. There is a lot of disturbing content, a bit of strong language and a little violence in this. I recommend this to any fan of the medium(who believe they can stomach it, and are willing to ponder what this has to say). 8/10