“I have a tendency to paint in broad strokes”
Release Date: January 23rd, 2018.
Genre: Crime, Horror, Drama
When I was asked by the director of this film Colin Bemis to review this film, I was a bit anxious, as I have been asked to review other peoples works, but I was not confident in my writing ability. I’m glad I did decide to write this review because what Bemis has created is something unique.
Strawberry Flavored Plastic is a slow burn – crime, horror and drama film about two documentary filmmakers who are looking to make a film about someone with an interesting story in their community. They settle on a guy named Noel, who isn’t quite what he seems to be. He is an extremely well read, classy, and charming serial killer, who has never been caught for his crimes. What follows is a tale of right and wrong, which kept me very unnerved throughout the entire film.
Strawberry Flavored Plastic was directed and written by Colin Bemis. This is his debut film, so I cannot do my breakdown of other films of his that I have watched. I was really impressed by the direction of this movie. I thought he got great performances out of his actors, especially the actor who played Noel. I was also really impressed by all the different shots that were utilized in this movie. The filmmakers utilized a lot of different types of films – there were video in video chat calls, there were the normal point of view shots, there were stationary cameras. I just thought it was super interesting when the camera switched perspectives and mediums, as there was a tonal shift in what I was seeing. It made for a unique watching experience, and I think he’s carved out an interesting directing style that I would be intrigued to see more of.
The film stars Aidan Bristow as Noel. I am focusing on Bristow more than any other actor in this film, as he was the subject of the documentary. I thought he was really great in this movie, especially for someone who I have never heard of or have seen any more of his works. He was able to be this down right sadistic killer in one scene, but in another scene he was this almost complete opposite character. His portrayal of Noel, left me unnerved from beginning to end, as I didn’t know what he was going to do next.
My only negatives about the film is that at times I felt like the film was a little uneven and the dialogue was a bit clunky and there was a lot of it. I feel as if that this was intentional on behalf of the filmmaker, as it was building up and letting you learn more about the documentary subject: Noel.
I give a lot of kudos to Colin Bemis for adding a really unique touch to the genre, although it may not be perfect, I think this is a great stepping stone in to creating his own style. I am definitely intrigued to see what he does next.
I give Strawberry Flavored Plastic a 3.5/5.
Until Next Time!
-Andrew