Mary, a young, female vocalist reflects on herself, her writing, and her experiences as her band is set to record their first album.

Review by Victoria Angelique:

The short film, NAPALM GIRL, has a score of a harsh metal instrumental music score playing as Mary begins to speak on camera to tell her story as a musician. The feeling is very intimate in this rehearsal space, with the focus only on Mary and getting occasional glimpses of the rest of the band. It’s clear this is her story.

The first word that Mary uses to describe her feelings for trying to break into the metal genre of music is indignation. Her frustration is one many artists feel, primarily female artists, that doors have to be forced open just to be heard. Mary is seen as equal by her bandmates, but not within the genre as a whole. To make her mark as a musician in a part of the music industry that is dominated by mostly men, Mary will have to be as loud as possible, something she stated that she is more than willing to do to make her mark. She sounds like a reasonable woman, that she could take constructive criticism that would help her improve her craft, but that would involve being allowed into the spaces for that opportunity to happen. 

The most profound part of Mary’s interview is what sets her apart from other heavy metal groups; it’s that the lyrics she and her band write are their way of dealing with what’s going on in the world. The stereotype for heavy metal is that the lyrics typically depict the macabre, occult, or other dark themes. Deviating from the stereotypes to deal with real world issues should help Mary and her band stand apart from other groups by playing something that breaks the trope. 

Mary also got quiet as the band got louder, to the point where it was almost hard to hear her, as she talked about her family. This actually made more of an impact, because it shows how grateful she is to live in Toronto and understands her family background more than most people her age. She has a bigger appreciation for her parents and it’s because of them that she is able to live her dreams.

Depressed divorcee who also lost her furry best friend unexpectedly finds strength and purpose in an impulsive rescue.

Review by Julie C. Sheppard:

Let’s Go is the title of this poignant short and, in this case, it is a phrase of motivation. After wallowing for six months after a painful divorce, the main character Jessie is lucky enough to have a good friend Carly to encourage her to start her life again. The actress playing Jessie proves able to portray a woman who has reached rock bottom, staring catatonically at a store freezer or drinking too much wine in her messy house and falling asleep on the couch to gloomy TV ads. Her depression is more fully confirmed with the narrative device of letting us hear her inner negative self talk. In contrast to this gloom, the performer playing Carly gives off energy, confidence and warmth and motivates her friend to dust herself off and get moving, notably urging her to run, a former favourite activity.

The cinematography tells the story in a smooth naturalistic manner which works for this domestic tale, except for some effective close-ups, notably of Jessie’s expressive eyes, some low shots, and a CGI twinkle. While the film presents several musical pieces, two stand out: How Long Must I Wait? is a rueful song which matches Jessie’s initial sadness, and Grateful Day, is an optimistic song near the end, as Jessie rescues the dog from an abuser and enjoys her life once more. A satisfying film, it affirms that even after a devastating situation, with a combination of caring friendship and inner motivation, all is not lost. 

Two roommates, desperate to feel successful in the milieu of New York City, turn to macabre money-making schemes by performing underground surgeries and serving human meat to unsuspecting customers.

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Review by Julie C. Sheppard:

Two unlikely misfits come together in the feature The Flesh People, a grisly, yet riotous comedy. The filthy apartment is the main setting which starkly represents the broken dreams of an aging stage actress, with little left to show of her career but old show posters, a bygone rehearsal schedule and a sexually graphic drawing on the wall representing her biggest onstage flop. At first, it is hard to see how the two main characters will connect, being from such different walks of life, but we gradually discover from the brilliant screenplay that they are linked by failure, her lost career and the fact that he has dropped out of a prestigious medical school, that will likely devastate his hopeful parents. It is oddly heartwarming to see this duo support one another in their loneliness and begin to develop a friendship.

These performers play well off each other as they share giddy sessions of getting high and find violent, but ingenious ways to survive. They use skills they gleaned from their former careers to keep from starving: her acting finesse to fool victims and his comfort with sharp instruments, to perform hackneyed, yet hilarious surgery given his truncated, but useful medical training. The wet, gory visuals of operations are nauseatingly brilliant – – so realistic – – as are the gooey sounds of slicing and dicing. The confident cinematographer is not shy using extreme close-ups to magnify terrifying drug trips and vicious murder scenes. Jazzy musical refrains are used sparingly, but aptly serve SOC transitions, highly dramatic interactions and longer monologues, notably by the actress.

This film offers both horror and moments of light. Despite the dark themes of failure and despair, when these two characters break moral taboos (though with surprising ethical standards about children), there is a distinct undertone of humour bubbling below the surface in their fight for survival, and their almost childlike playfulness to achieve their goals.