Synopsis:

Touted as the "Big Chill" for the 90's, a group of friends who both hate and love each other gather after the suicide of a mutual friend and spend the evening, drinking, reminiscing and eventually sleeping with each other in an attempt to make some sense out of their lives and loss. Each character has personal demons to confront and collectively, they have to come to a meeting of the minds if you will regarding where they will go from here. A decent indie entry for the digital medium.

Audio/Video:

The audio is presented in a 2-channel stereo platform that is somewhat soft and requires the volume to be boosted to clearly hear the dialogue. There is no surround presence so the audio is contained in the center and fronts. The music used throughout the film though adds a somber mood mixed with a measure of dread to create a thoroughly depressing atmosphere. As was the director's intent.

Director's Commentary. The commentary is actually a how-to on making an independent film in the $50,000 budget range. The filmmakers are crazy about the project and freely give nods to their Director of Photography as well as the grips and the friends and family members that populated the film. If you are interested at all in making an independent film, this commentary has your name written all over it. Given their excitement and knowledgebase, they do give the sense that anyone can produce and direct an effort of this type. Given their candor, I'd have to agree with them.

The video is something of a letdown however. Taken directly from the Beta master, the transfer is full of marks and fleckings and a great degree of color loss/fading. The blacks pixel whenever they are employed and the overall visual texture is one that is pasty and unflattering. The widescreen transfer is actually cropped even further by the director. On the upper left hand quadrant it falls lower than the balance of the crop. Per the commentary track, there is a time/counter/code that they could not excise due to fiscal concerns and the only recourse was to crop the film more than was desired. The end result is a jagged cropping job that tends to cut the top of the players heads off in any given scene. Video wise, the transfer is muddy and more closely akin to a 2nd generation VHS copy in its presentation.

Extras:

In addition to the commentary track, the film boasts nine deleted scenes. None of which really add anything to the film and all are in fair to poor condition. There is also an interactive Drinking game that you can play (should you drink) that has you take either a swig of beer or a shot of something considerably harder once your character either drinks, talks about sex or makes a reference to the deceased. Once selected, icons for each of the characters pop up on the screen (at the bottom) identifying when and who should drink.

There is also a 10-minute interview with the Director of Photography as well as the producer and Director of the film. It essentially echoes the sentiments established in the commentary track but puts a face to the voices if you will. Lastly, the instructions for 23 drinking games are included as well if you have the time or inclination to participate in this game for the inebriated.

Overall:

I have to admit, while the film did take an unexpected turn at the end, overall, it just wasn't a good movie. The actors for the most part seemed contrived and appeared to be acting. The level of believability was zilch. Having seen the big chill and the obvious relationship to this movie, it's impossible not to compare the two. If you look solely at the story, they are the same. The difference is in the presentation by the actors and the visual style of the director(s). While interesting, it really doesn't hold your attention. The other problem with the film is it's poor visual quality. It makes it very hard to watch the film as it is so poorly presented. The Indie movement is the undercurrent that drives mainstream films and generally has some incredible hard-hitting very-un artsy fartsy content. Sadly, drinking games is not one of those wonderful entries. The commentary track is invaluable for any burgeoning filmmaker but the rest of the film is pretty bad. It was written in 7 days and filmed in 18 days and it shows. Because of the wealth of information provided in the commentary track, I'd suggest you rent it. Rent it