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THE LONG WALK HOME
Written and Directed by Mike Stoklasa
Staring:
Rich Evans
Mike StoklasaMan, oh man. Those little bastards got me.
GMP Cinema has crafted one of the greatest filmic practical jokes of all time, and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Please don't read any farther if you don't want to spoil the fun for yourself. Do yourself a favor and visit the GMP website and order the film.
I had been e-mailing Mike Stoklasa for one reason or another when I mention his film GENERAL GORE.
"Dude, that's so old school. You should really see what we're doing now."
A week later Mike's new film THE LONG WALK HOME shows up in the mail. Mike gave me instructions to contact him as soon as the film showed up. For days he was telling me to hurry and watch the movie. He was looking for some feedback before he went wide with the film. The entire time he was adamant that I didn't read any other reviews as he didn't want anyone influencing my thoughts and respective feedback. The truth be told, I never read any reviews for films I haven't had a chance to check out myself so this was no big issue. I promised Mike that this weekend I would watch the film.
Mike Stoklasa creates an intense thriller about a cop on the edge. The tone is set perfectly with the inclusion of one of the best introductory trailers I've seen for an amateur production. As the film played out I made notes regarding how interesting the use of camera position was. There might have been something scribbled about the at-times melodramatic dialogue, but that wasn't a big concern to me.
Roughly a third of the way into the film there's a noticeable tone shift. THE LONG WALK HOME starts hiding behind cliches and bringing them to the forefront of the action. "Okay Richards, the film is a satire," I thought outloud.
But the best was yet to come.
Eventually flaws became noticeable. Boom microphones are barely visable, but they start popping up in shots. Eventually so did the entire camera crew. "Christ Stoklasa, did you get lazy? What the hell happened? Why am I bothering to finish this."
No, Stoklasa didn't get lazy. He got smart. After a few minutes you start to realize what's really taking place. He isn't making fun of tired, old Hollywood cop dramas. He is making fun of the amateur film experience. The trials and tribulations that befall us all as we go through the making of no budget efforts. He does it in such a way that the natural progression of the story feels very unnatural and discomforting until the final revelation is revealed at which point the viewer slaps their forehead for not realizing earlier that they are being duped, just like I did.
Oh, it's also the longest submarine joke ever set to video.