Simon’s Quest (NR)

Sometimes getting back into the dating game is difficult. It’s scary to put yourself out there. But it’s especially scary if you’re a werewolf. 

This is the scenario raised in “Simon’s Quest,” a short film about Simon’s (Johnny Pozzi) foray back into the dating world as a documentary crew of two – cinematographer Gwen (Talley Gale) and sound guy Robert (Lucas Brahme). 

The story’s well-told and has a lot of similarities to someone struggling to come out as a member of the LBGTQ community. It’s also set in a world where monsters, politely called “afflicted” in the film, are commonplace and it draws parallels to the discrimination that people of the LBGTQ face. It’s occasionally too on the nose, but it’s more often insightful. 

There’s evident passion from writer/director Marley Jaeger in both her story and references to the video game “Castlevania.” The short’s title references one of the games in the Castlevania franchise, “Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest.” 

The franchise is about killing monsters and was Simon’s favourite game as a kid, he tells us. “It was hard waking up one morning and realizing I was one of the monsters I wanted dead my whole childhood,” says Simon. 

This is one of the half-decent lines that brings the love of video games into the story. It’s also one of those lines that made me think: “Wait, is this a parallel to the discrimination of the LGBTQ community, too?” If it is, some of these lines just feel shoehorned in. 

The dialogue’s fine even if the audio isn’t always perfect – like when they’re outside and the actors are competing for us to hear them with kids playing in the background. The audio’s mostly just noticeably a weak spot when they’re outside. 

The cast do well especially for a relatively inexperienced core cast of three. Talley Gale has the most experience with this short, a TV episode and an unreleased film. For Johnny Pozzi and Lucas Brahme, it’s their first roles. Pozzi’s good as the titular Simon, even though the acting gets melodramatic when he reminisces about old times. 

Overall, it’s a good film made by all, and it would have been nice if the story went on for a few more minutes to see what happens with it, but it’s fine where it left off, too. 

– by Daniel Prinn