Opening up a short film to review is a daring thing. With such a short amount of time to captivate an audience, it’s easy to love or hate what you’re seeing on screen. However, once again Ryan M. Andrews shows that he is one of the most promising horror directors out there. Instead of throwing all his praise up here, you can read my full review of My Old Man below.
My Old Man is written by G.M. Giacomelli and directed by Ryan M. Andrews (Black Eve, Sick). It stars Adrian Cowan and Robert Nolan, whose acting credits include “Psychic Investigators,” Red: Werewolf Hunter, Andrew’s Sick, and “Out of Time.”
“After losing everything – her child, her husband and her job – the beautiful Cleopatra visits a dingy, subterranean lair where an enigmatic old man waits for her arrival.”
So, I started my praise of director Ryan M. Andrews above, but I’m going to jump back into it now. I wasn’t a big fan of his 2010 feature film Black Eve, but it still managed to nab worldwide distribution at retailers such as Walmart and Target. Since then his production quality and talents as a director have grown exponentially. His most recent flick, the zombie survival story Sick, is a near perfect example of what you desire in a more thriller than blood splattering zombie film. My Old Man looks to continue his streak of noteworthy directing, and I think it will do very well when it is released to the film festival market. What Andrews has is the superb ability to put together a capable film crew and an eye for atmosphere that rivals most other directors. These attributes, coupled with a dark and blood boiling script by G.M. Giacomelli, contribute to My Old Man being an above average short film.
Robert Nolan plays one of the leads in My Old Man and he is probably one of the most talented actors I’ve seen in terms of developing characteristics for portraying a new character. I’ve seen him tackle multiple roles at this point, all of which are different. You want him to play a cop? He plays a believable cop. You want him to play a serial killer? He plays a believable serial killer. You want him to play a clown that shoots unicorns from his butt? Well, he’ll probably do that too…and believably! Specifically in this short film he plays a coked out, government hating psycho. And, again, it is a believable and realistic performance. I think what makes it realistic for me is the fact that he doesn’t go overboard with his emotions and thoughts on the world. He has just enough enthusiasm, just enough hate, and just enough sideways philosophies to come across like a real coke head. Although, I don’t know if this is a good thing…
As a production, I have no criticisms with the crew who helped create My Old Man. If anything, I give them a lot of applause for filming in a dark, no windows basement and still managing to have no problems with lighting and audio. The yellow tinged look to the movie was a genius idea too. My only real complaint is with the special effects make-up job on Nolan. He is much older here than in real life. As a fledgling special effects artist myself, I noticed the make-up job – primarily on his forehead – looked a little oversaturated, but the rest of his 65+ year appearance was spot on!
Giving this one an 8.5 out of 10. Lost some points for not being in your face horrific, more-so psychologically damaging. Lost some points for not having a crystal clear ending; not that that’s a bad thing, I like to think. Overall a super solid production with great actors and just the right amount of emotion and development in the right places.
