My Name Is 'A' by Anonymous

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.

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.

Where does one even start with a film such as this? I guess the first business at hand is this is not the typical horror film, although it is horrific at points in its own way. This is not a "for fun" film, you wont be popping up some corn and plopping down in your favorite chair and settling in for a good time. Instead you will be drawn into a strange dreamy harsh experience, that will captivate and move you, sometimes in ways you may not like. And one more word to the wise this is not a film that impressionable children need to be around, I was warned and appreciated the heads up once I watched so I extend the same to you. 

Shane Ryans film is loosely based on an actual murder case, involving the death of 9 year old  Elizabeth Olten, at the hands of her neighbor (also a child of 15  when she murdered Elizabeth) Alyssa Bustamante. That being said this  film is not the typical "based on" movie, it doesn't try to follow the the "facts" of the crime per Se, it includes a few points but the film isn't a direct interpretation of the crime itself, more of a slice of life look at the society that may have helped create the situation internally that led to the act.  

The film follows Bustamante and "The Sidekick", as they torment her little brother, video tape themselves in various angry teen-aged moments, including scenes of self mutilation in the form of "cutting". However they are not the only characters we watch. There are a several other key players including "The Angst" and "The Performer". It is at times almost difficult to watch but yet stunningly beautiful all at once. It is a film filled with a sad stark reality of mental illness, cruelty, anorexia, isolation, despair, rape and murder. There are moments when the reality of the film is so gripping its hard not to turn away. on occasion I felt almost as though I was peeking through someones window watching their pained lives unfold, which is a credit to both the acting and the directing of this film. 

Please do not get me wrong, I think this is a BRILLIANT film. It does what it is meant to, it makes you think, it creates a conversation, and it most definitely stays with you.  Shane Ryan creates a beautifully haunting film.  The cinematography is stunning, Shane Ryan finds a sad strange beauty in a very morose macabre subject. Its dreamy, and ethereal, in a nightmare sort of way. The score is absolutely amazing, and lends itself to the very  strong mood to the film.  Whatever budget Mr. Ryan had he used extremely well, as the film looks and feels much more produced than I am sure the budget would suggest. 

This is a film that will haunt you with its realism, if you feel nothing while watching this then someone needs to call 911 because you are dead inside. I highly recommend this film if you are looking for something outside the normal horror genre to watch, or if you are a fan of "arthouse"  films. It truly is a work of ART, a film of macabre beauty, hats off to you Shane Ryan!

It's hard to describe this film. Which in this case is a good thing.

It's real, raw, and brutal (and vulgar) in many scenes, more like a silent film or music video in other scenes, and beautiful like a full blown fantasy in others.

Only loosely based on the Alyssa Bustamante murder of Elizabeth Olten, this shouldn't be considered a true story, only an inspiration for a film which digs far deeper into the state of mind than any sensational news headline could imagine doing.

This movie is based on a true story of a teen murdering a preteen. It's depressing, horrid, terrifying and terrific. I hope the director has more up his sleeve that are even half this good.

The film starts out with introducing us to seemingly random teens, doing things that teens do that make adults scratch their heads in wonder. We have a pair of girls who are almost constantly filming themselves while doing everything. Being bored, touching an electric fence with their little brother, arguing, and preening. And wrist cutting. Yes, these girls are so randomly bored that it seems even that the most painful things that they do to themselves have no effect on them, except to record it to their camera and social media accounts.

The next teen we're introduced to is bulimic, and we find this out in a most disgusting way. She has a father who, it is implied, likes to rape his daughter, and she is stuck in the situation as we learn that her mother has long since left the relationship,probably due to her husbands disgusting lifestyle.

Lastly we meet a girl who dreams of being a singer. She is very talented, and is already quite a good painter. She is friends with a young girl probably half her age, and we see them hanging out together playing, and eating at a restaurant. The teen though, seems to have a questionable father too. We feel that she is trapped in her existence as well, hoping for something better to come along.

These story-lines remain separate through the first hour of the movie, almost telling a non-linear story. But slowly, very slowly, you start to realize that all of these teens have something in common, and even though you have a clue of what it might be, you've given in to your emotional investment, and you're hoping that you might be wrong about the conclusion of the film that you haven't even seen yet. The hints are slow in coming, and you are horrified and infuriated at the same time. You know the end of the story, but you want to know the how's and the why's.

The music in the film is amazing, and pulls the narrative along as there are some long stretches without dialog. There are no character names in the film, but you actually don't need any. You start remembering them by their traits, and that's all you need to move the story forward. The director gets great performances from all of his cast, and at some points you feel that the actors are actually doing the film themselves. There are some great styles of filming as well. We get some black and white, still shots, full frame and a webcam look.

This movie describes teen angst and boredom very well. I can remember some of the feelings myself. And what I can't remember, I have a teen of my own that I can identify some of the characters actions with. The long weekend and summer days with nothing at all to do. The identity crisis, and most of all, the peer pressure. The wanting to fit in so bad, that you're willing to do just about anything for anyone to prove it. The director masters all of these emotions in the film, and pulls the viewer into caring for most of these characters even though we have an idea that they are going to do something terrible.

By far the most saddening and horrifying thing about the film, and the director nails it head on, is how every hope and dream you've had up to this point in your life, every bad situation you're hoping to get out of, and every piece of your soul that you hope to gain back with adulthood, can be shattered and lost forever in one split second act. A decision you'll never come back or recover from. Ever.

This film will haunt you. Find it.