Killing Poe

Killing Poe is the debut film of writer/director Nathan Jacobs. Though begins in the hilarious and irreverent style of a college comedy, it evolves into a character piece that is at once mind-bending and heartfelt.

Poe follows the story of five diverse college students (Matt Bush, Osric Chau, Cyrina Fialllo, Juliana Guill, and Sunkrish Bala) brought together by one literature class from hell. The course is ostensibly about Edgar Allen Poe, but it is taught by a world-class jerk (Rick Plastina) who cares only for flirting with students, smoking in class, and stroking his own ego.

The unlikely crew team up to teach him a lesson, with laughable and horrifying results. Effective jokes abound, but the accidental mushroom high scene is side-splitting.

The best scene by far involves the goth girl of the group (Fiallo) confronting her own jerk of a father before going to face her grim fate.

From its breathless beginning to its increasingly serious and unpredictable conclusion, this comedy teaches the students -- and audience -- about guilt, redemption, and taking risks for love.