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THE LAND OF COLLEGE PROPHETS
Produced by Mike Aransky and Philip Guerette
Directed by The Hale Manor Collective
Written by Thomas Edward Seymour
Editors and Directors of Photography - Mike Aransky and Thomas Edward SeymourTommy - Thomas Edward Seymour
Rye - Philip Guerette
Bells - Tina Angelillo
Jonah Joe - Russ Russo
Midas - Matt Ford
Third Reich Jones - Paul Desimone
Professor Holiday - Carmine CapobiancoI'm not even sure where to begin. Pigeonholing THE LAND OF COLLEGE PROPHETS is as easy as figuring out which flavor of Jell-o tastes the best. It's part comic book and part video game; it's an action movie, a horror flick, a drama, a comedy, a satire. It's a pastiche of so many genre conventions that it shouldn't work. However, not only does it work, this fanboy megaflick is a completely rocking good time that reminded me of all those dream projects my filmschool buddies and I would cook up during those late nights on campus.
Directed by "The Hale Manor Collective," or more secretly known as the joint efforts of Thomas Edward Seymour, Mike Aransky, and Philip Guerette, we're introduced to the characters in pure videogame style. One by one their still images flash across the screen - names at the bottom in big, bold letters. There's the anti-hero, Tommy, a walking contradiction with his shaved head, tattoos, and catholic collar. Next is Rye, whose facial expression looks as if he needs to go to the bathroom. Bells, the dreadlock-sporting cutie that Tommy makes his woman. Eventually, every player is revealed, and in proper RPG Fashion; every one has a role to play that's essential to the over all plot.
Tommy and Rye are part of a collective of forward thinking pugilists, like Einstein by way of Ali. They attend college where their group has prospered for years protecting all that the school and the surrounding town represent while mocking conformity, pop-culture, and nancy boys. They could easily fall into the category of "bully" but their mentality is that of a martial artist who is only concerned with the fight of worthy opponents. Their antics and their demeanor own more to anime than live action cinema; fun moments are more cartoony than they should be, such as a scene where our heroes bring booze to class and fuss with the professor.
The Hale Manor Collective addresses such issues as loyalty, love, patriotism, and honor as our heroes test their friendship after tragedy strikes. While duking it out Tommy and Rye release a long-sleeping demon from an ages-old well. The monster possesses a local scrapyard worker, Third Reich Jones, who comes across as dunderheaded as he is muscle-bound. Tommy and Rye rely on magic, skill, science, and their compatriots to send the demon back down the well.
In the grandest of comic book adventures we know the outcome before it happens. THE LAND OF COLLEGE PROPHETS doesn't break any ground in terms of story, structure, or character, and the canvas is at times too broad for such a lofty production. As a comic, the grandness of the story could have been realized more fully. My only nit-pick is that I wanted more; more in the sense of the epic story that's only hinted upon. A larger budget would have helped but in the end I enjoyed myself far more than I did during the recent Fantastic Four movie [which got the characters (except for Ben) all wrong].
There's no comparison for the characters in COLLEGE PROPHETS, which makes the film easier to grasp since there are no pre-conceived notions as to who these people should be. There's just enough back story for viewers to believe the motivations as to why these people do what they do. It would be nice to see a few mini-series or one-shots to flesh them out a bit more to see Tommy put on this priestly garb for the first time or Rye take revenge upon the man who stole his rib bone as a child.
The biggest surprise of all is that Hale Manor's last film was the drama, EVERYTHING MOVES ALONE. Calm and sure-handed, EMA was a dramatic coming of age film that smelled of film school whereas COLLEGE PROPHETS is anarchy, reeking of too many late nights in the basement of the science building. That might sound like insult, but it is not. The opposite nature of the works exemplifies the versatility of the craftsman and I'm curious to see what's next.
COLLEGE PROPHETS isn't a perfect movie, but it's perfectly satisfying. Made by Fan boys for fan boys, COLLEGE PROPHETS is one giant in-joke that works on those who get it. Chances are that if you frequent this site you're the type of person who's already in.