When perfectionist director Carlos Revalos sets out to make a classic style horror film (the 23rd film of his lackluster career) nothing will stand in his way – except for everything, and thus the satirical comedy “Le Fear II: Le Sequel” is born. A grassroots independent film if ever there were one, “Le Fear” manages to suffer from the typical pitfalls of low budget production while still offering the viewer fleeting glimpses of potential.
The focal point of the story is the comedic sraightman, director Carlos Revalos (Kyri Saphiris) who is forced to invest $500,000 of his own money in order to secure $10 million to make his epic horror masterpiece (thus creating the element of a movie in a movie). From the start, one can tell “Le Fear” wasn’t written by Hemmingway, but it can work in that it doesn’t make any attempt at being serious or plausible.
Filmmaker Jason Croot paints an unobstructed mural of what will unfold throughout the tale. With great placard style intros of each character, we pick up six months after the initial meeting between Carlos and the investor (Andrew Tiernan) as filming of the movie is about to commence. When movie snob Carlos sees exactly what his half a million investment has bought; no set, childish props, and a sub par cast, his shock is understandable. “This is real life bloody horror!”
When a film lacks the limitless budget of a Hollywood blockbuster, the characters themselves become vital to its success. While I won’t pretend to claim that I have heard of or seen any of the cast in anything else, I can safely say there are hits and misses with each.
Kyri Saphiris makes for a perfect Carlos. Seemingly the only sane individual involved in the production of the horror movie, Saphiris employs a perfect and near constant befuddled, sour milk face in the wake of the miscreants surrounding him. The most comical parts of the movie all involve the listless Carlos and his dealings with the various cast and crew assigned to him – and there’s just something about a British accent that makes every line that much better.
I also liked the character Jacques (Hadrien Mekki) who plays the impeccably dressed cameraman tasked with shooting the movie. Mekki comes across as a typical French born snob as he treats his trade as an imperial art form and oozes sexuality with those he encounters. The Nigerian producer Efi (Seye Adelekan) is comical in small doses, though his antics can quickly become annoying.
One mistake “Le Fear” makes is adding too many unnecessary characters. As various makeup artists and talent are introduced in seemingly every scene, the movie gets muddied down with too much dialogue. Most of the other characters fail to add humor and as such, scenes become clouded with noise as everyone is vying for attention from the camera (though Leila Reid offers some chuckles as the production assistant Jessie).
By the end, you’ll find yourself forgetting who each of the characters are even supposed to be. While Saphiris is genuinely funny, he gets drowned out by the likes of Racquel, Africa, and a completely unfunny Queenie to name just a few. Ensembles can succeed when each player involved has their own distinct role. When a hodgepodge of people are dumped into a mix together, the result is chaos. I wasn’t sure in some areas if the actors were even following a script or just nonsensically rambling.
The flaw in the sound is explained as part of the movie in the movie having shortcomings in the budget, but with cars in the background and a generic white noise throughout it gets very distracting. You can actually hear the lens of the camcorder as it zooms in and out, and by paying careful attention, you can even hear someone off screen laughing at one of Jacques lines near the end.
“Le Fear II: Le Sequel” has a handful of laughs scattered about, but the overall story is bland at best. Indie films are a true niche, and if you fancy yourself a connoisseur of the art, you may be able to sit through it with ease, but the casual movie fan may quickly lose interest.
by – Matt Christopher
