Over the years, Found-Footage films have become almost unanimously associated with supernatural horror. When most people think of the sub-genre, Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project are usually the first movies that come to mind, despite a few notorious exceptions like Cannibal Holocaust and The Poughkeepsie Tapes. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, some filmmakers, like Colin Bemis with his new film Strawberry Flavored Plastic, have been hard at work trying to prove that Found-Footage can be used as a tool to tell personal and down-to-earth stories as well.
Bemis’ genre-bending film stars Nicholas Urda and Andres Montejo as Errol Morgan and Ellis Archer, a duo of New York filmmakers attempting to produce a documentary about the mysterious Noel Rose (charmingly played by Aidan Bristow), an active serial killer attempting to reconcile his humanity with his unsavory hobbies. As production goes on, however, the film begins to interfere with Errol and Ellis’ personal life in increasingly alarming ways.
There may be some obvious comparisons to be made with Patrick Brice’s Creep films, but Bemis does a good job at keeping things fresh with his documental approach in Strawberry Flavored Plastic. The tone and overall style of the movie are more in line with an urban thriller than a traditional horror film, and barring a few annoying details that remove you from the experience, it’s easy to believe that you’re watching a real documentary.
Bristow’s talkative psychopath is evidently the main attraction here, with his performance as Noel carrying most of the film and keeping things from getting boring in spite of some hefty (and occasionally pretentious) monologues and uninteresting static camera angles. It’s downright fascinating to see this character attempt to justify his cruel actions while simultaneously being forced to deal with the negative consequences of his violent tendencies.
The protagonists are also extremely well developed, as the film provides a lot of insight into their personal lives beyond the documentary, but the overabundance of these scenes proves that there can, in fact, be too much of a good thing. We’re sometimes forced to endure lengthy conversations and sub-plots that don’t really connect to the main story, and there are also some questionable sequences featuring musical montages that feel like they were ripped straight from an insurance commercial.
In the end, this is Strawberry Flavored Plastic‘s greatest weakness, as there is an abundance of scenes that could easily have been cut from the film without altering the overall plot. With a shorter runtime and brisker pace, this could have been a great example of Found-Footage being used to provide commentary and an introspective view on the darker side of human nature. Nevertheless, as it stands, the movie is entertaining enough but falls just sort of becoming a genre classic.
Strawberry Flavored Plastic will be available on VOD January 23rd, 2018!
