"LOVERS" a film by Josh Chiara

I really didn't enjoy this film very much and the plot was just a little weird and disturbing for me. Sorry, not my cup of tea.
 
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Sarah - yes, art is subjective, but plot I don't believe is quite that subjective, this didn't have weight, just a lot of skin.

Lawrie - ha ha ha
 
Interesting look and feel to this. An improvement over last fest for sure. The actors were pretty believable as well considering the characters they were playing. That must have been a real challenge on set.

A little vague in areas and hard to decipher but maybe that's just me.
Lots going on for sure.

MAH
 
this is a one hot flick. i think your actress did a great job with the role. the story was there and there was lust for sure and that is a good thing, but not sure about love. ah, what do i know about vampire love though?

liked the shots you got too and liked the red coloring also. you got the monster feeling for sure.

nice job!!
 
Can you please explain the plot to those who didn't get it? I watched it twice and I got it a lot more the second time but I feel like if I watch it again it will make me feel a bit sick.

I like the lighting and I thought the acting especially at the beginning was absolutely great.


Could you please actually explain it though instead of saying different people take different things from it or whatever? Honestly, I could not tell characters apart lots of times. I could not tell who was who or the motivations behind what they were doing or what they were even doing. I am not being negative though. I just want to understand.
 
I enjoyed this the most of the films you've entered here. The lighting and cinematography was interesting and good. The performances were strong.

I guess my major problem was that outside of the main plotline in the red lighting, I had no idea when in time the other scenes took place. I couldn't tell who turned who into a vampire, and when.

I agree with Jackson, I'd love a specific explanation of the plot you were trying to convey.
 
I'm still a little confused by the story - at first I thought it was some meeting place for serial killers?!?
The acting and cinematography were great - the cut to the woman murdering the couple was really stark and realistic.
Good film!
 
Hmm as others have said, the plot is a little hard to decipher.. but that actually didn't bother me so much. It was a very moody piece, and kudos to your actress for taking it all the way... I really got a sense of her character's obsession and I think that (more so than the sex itself) is what might be making people uncomfortable. She's really quite disturbing, and I dug it. Congrats man, good job!
 
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Loved it, great use of overt sexuality to display the very profound psychological issues at the core of these two characters and their unhealthy relationship with each other. Expounding on the reasons of who and why they are the way they are, is not that necessary to me, I think not knowing just adds to the unsettling sense this film needs. The only thing I didn't like was the red lighting, a little bit more skin tone thrown in in that shot with the red as more of a highlight would have made it epic looking for me. But that's just me :)
 
Oh yeah, this film has an element to it - the sexuality of the 'gal - and violence that is designed to make men's penises shrink... that will effect the emotional reactions some chaps here have to the film, clouding objectivity?

Its a matter of taste of course... nom!
 
I keep on going back and forth on my final rating on this one—definitely in the high range either way. Your actors did an awesome job committing themselves to the role, and minus the first sex scene on the lap (a little zip up might have been a nice touch, the end of it is a bit awkward), the way you filmed the sexual scenes went from hot, to f-ed up, to f-ed up and hot.

Growing up, I had this book as a kid: pictures on the right hand side, empty blank page on the other. It was about a unicorn and a flood (no fairies or princesses!), and you made up the story each time you read it because there’s no text. This movie reminded me of that—minus the unicorns, plus the make-up-the story part.

This is the only film I watched twice all the way through (not b/c I'm pervert) and both times I saw it, my read of it changed. I don’t mind the ambiguity... is this about her turning into a vampire, is there some sort of body double, were they lovers in the past, all this seems like it is, but I like not knowing. This ambiguity makes the film stand out. Plot aside, I understood it at a thematic level--vampires have messy, saucy lives--not as much plot-wise. It was intriguing mysterious, and after a second viewing I enjoyed it more. I liked the darkness in the shots at the restaurant, the dampened effect it created. The film works for me on a visceral level. Great work.

Also nice touch with the teeth and dentures at the end too!
 
For that red lighting part, was that all from gels over the lights? Or did you put a filter over the shots in the editing? Or a combination of both perhaps?
 
A very solid attempt . I got really tired of the red lighting. Im wondering if lighting the BG red and separating the actors from that would have given the same effect you were after and be less harsh?

And the music, same thing. It had a defined mood and tone, Im not 100% sure fulfilled its purpose when married to this piece of narrative.

I really would have liked to see this on the whole a bit more amped up. For the type of people they were it seemed a touch melodramatic at times.

But again, I thought this was mostly well done.
 
I think you shot this film with a Virtual Gameboy. :)

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I'm just teasing.

Cool film buddy. I like the reversing strange atmospheric music, only it starts clipping at one point and gets very distracting. I have to ask myself if this film would work as a feature, and with a lot more meat, yes, but it's not very indicative in this short. I don't know if I could stand 60-90 minutes looking at a red screen like that. I would cut into those scenes quicker and spend most of my time in the "normal" looking scenes.

I liked how you exposed your images. They look very nice. You know what you're doing when it comes to acquisition. I liked your framing.
 
WOW! I'm really upset this didn't make the finals. I keep double checking the Finalists page to make sure I didn't just miss it. Well, believe me, you guys are a winner in my book.
Cheers,
-M
 
This was an ambitious film, looking to humanise the violent sexual relationship of two vampires, without gloss, and with real emotional consequences. Depicting it within a romantic context (and style of cinematography) and music.

This is a poetical film, that was bold in its use of sexuality, and far too mature for most of the viewers in this festival. I would encourage you to keep exploring your cinematic voice, and to pay special attention to the coherence of the ideas you are expressing in your art. It is a difficult discipline to paint with such colour as it were, and not lose as a few scenes behind.

That said, this film for any relative iq, is fairly discernable and easy enough to follow, and would fine a very welcome place I think in any horror themed film festivals.

Decent performances, especially from our vampiress. Good work. Intimidating and erotic.
 
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