See, this is why you never wear khaki shorts and a sweater delicately tied around your neck. You’ll be robbed by a punk rock thug outside a liquor store… and you’ll deserve it! Seriously, though, I wasn’t sure at first whether I’d classify Jonny as a horror film or as a dark drama. Jonny doesn’t have any slashers, monsters or ghosts. It doesn’t have a high body count or lots of screaming. So, I was left with a big ol’ question mark as to how I’d go about reviewing it on HorrorSociety until I realized that I was left with a very honest and raw emotion. As much as I love scary movies, I’d rather it stay fictional and without any resemblance to real life. The fact of the matter is hundreds of innocent people are robbed and murdered every day across the country and the scenario can happen to anyone of us. Getting robbed has been the plot of thousands of movies since the invention of motion pictures, but here’s why Jonny really left its mark on me.
Charles Chudabala is the epitome of masterful acting. I’ve already seen his work in feature film 2 Jennifer and shorts like The Deep End, but in these movies he played himself, a variation of himself or some sort of drunk, witless wonder. Jonny is the first short film I’ve seen him act as a completely different person and I was moved. I believed that he was being robbed by Jonny Ramagila (get this guy on “The Walking Dead,” please!) and that his life was in danger. The believable performance was brought to life in all the right ways – tense pauses in speech and awkward movements, the fluctuation in the sound of his voice and, most of all, his facial expressions. It was a heart stopping performance that made me want to jump through the computer and save him… or at least call the police. I didn’t know Charles was capable of delivering such a haunting, pleading, guttural performance and I’m absolutely shocked and in awe of his talent.
Jonny is dark and sad and it breaks the fourth wall. The cinematography by Jeremy Thornton is exquisite and I can’t help but wonder how the team at Red 11 Pictures were able to produce something so productionally perfect while in a parking lot. All of the right scores are in place, the camera angles change to line up with the level of intensity happening in each shot, the audio levels are perfect and louder in all the right moments. What I like the most about all of this is that it couldn’t have taken very long to film Jonny. I imagine this five minute short was completed in the span of one night and edited within a couple days. But, you know what? This short film from director Jose Liera and producer Kale Flores has award winning potential and shows that independent productions don’t have to be low class. You can make something special with a small cast and small crew and it can still move someone, just as it did me.
And it has blood in it! Can’t forget to mention that on a horror site! Special effects were created by Brad Bruce and the ending had me feeling like I watched a scene from “Sons of Anarchy” and “From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series.” Very Cool! Final Score: 10 out of 10. That emotional punch alone is worth a perfect score.
