"PHANTOM" -- a film by AJ Brooks

And here's my latest screen grab w/ caption:

funny-dog-pictures-ghost-cat.jpg
 
Nice work! Creepy thriller feel.I really like the way the train sequence resurfaced and the final twist. Clearly a well thought out and executed short. Nice job!
 
Really nice film, AJ. Some very strong elements overall. Fantastic cinematography and your lead actress Geppina was top notch-very impressed with her. I liked the use (but not overuse) of flashbacks, like Kurtmo said, the train sequence resurfacing and last twist was pretty effective.

Maybe a little confusing, but it seemed to resolve well. Excellent work!
 
Your a very talented filmmaker AJBrooks and I recall admiring the ideas and subversive elements in your films Red and the Wolf and Voices in the Dark. Now this film is a bold foray i think into a wealth of subject matter, the loss of loved ones, of self-control, of mind and of body. The production is sophisticated and well shot and nicely performed. Where I feel it could have been improved, is a strong focus on the communication of the fundamental story elements and ideas you are expressing. There were times when i felt a little overwhelmed by the variety of ideas/present/flashback/revelations being thrown at me leading to a little confusion. While I gathered most of them, it made me wonder wheter some moments in the film - as regards to pace and atmosphere, could have been better suited to explaining a bit more about your character and her experiences.

Now I say this and i don't mean that to come across as overt criticism, as I did enjoy your film, and it fits upon afine pantheon of very stylistic and thought provoking works you are producing.
 
Very good work AJ. You actually pulled off something I was attempting to do (but I failed) and that's make a complete story with NO dialogue. I really admire that. It was lit beautifully and I loved the piece with the piano. The first time you saw the figure I found that pretty dam creepy too. Your cinematic eye is getting better and better with each film. I love stories that are told visually. The fx work was also great.

The ending confused me a little because it seemed (if I grasped it correctly) that this memory had been buried since childhood? Just seemed odd that this was the first time as a woman she had confronted it since it happened. I was left wondering why now is the memory resurfacing? Also to just realise you only have one arm after all this time seemed like a stretch to me. But I still enjoyed it for its cinematic style and presentation.
 
Very nice looking short. I didn't buy that he couldn't get that girls foot out so I'm glad that was switched. It just didn't look that stuck. :) His was though, reminded me of Fried Green Tomatoes. Right down to him trying to undo the laces.

Great visuals throughout, nice twist at the end. It's tough to tell a story this way and you did it admirably.

Note; the piano noise seemed off when it finally sounded. Way over to one channel. I've had some sound issues with my upload as well so maybe that's what it was.

Nice work.

Mike
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone!

Noel Evans said:
Good job AJ. Aussie or NZ actress?
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South African actually!


Darkline said:
The ending confused me a little because it seemed (if I grasped it correctly) that this memory had been buried since childhood? Just seemed odd that this was the first time as a woman she had confronted it since it happened. I was left wondering why now is the memory resurfacing? Also to just realise you only have one arm after all this time seemed like a stretch to me.
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This was my biggest concern, the believability that someone could actually live on in this delusion for that amount of time. And I felt that concern was satisfied however by the gown and mental hospital bracelet. It's not as if she was living a normal life and went on unaffected by her void of reality. Her perception of herself did not allow her to function and she went insane, institutionalized, and then finally broke out to return to a safe place.

Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
Very nice looking short. I didn't buy that he couldn't get that girls foot out so I'm glad that was switched. It just didn't look that stuck. :) His was though, reminded me of Fried Green Tomatoes. Right down to him trying to undo the laces.
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The Fried Green Tomatoes scene really disturbed when I saw it as a kid, so there was purposeful inspiration from that movie!
 
This was a solid entry like you used to do it. Production quality, actors and story were very enjoyable - even I found her character a bit painful on the whole length of the film. However - many compliments and much luck.

Susanne
 
AJ, I get your explaination. She breaks out, and seeing the house makes all the memories flood back. That works for me, the 'why now' question is answered by 'this is the first time she's been home in many many years' and so it's triggered.

But that wasn't super clear as she was in a swimming costume at the start; that kinda made it look like she had been there for some time, got comfortable, and been quite leisurely about it.

Just an idea, if you had her at home and the house appears to have been broken into, you could set that up as a runner - the audience thinking she had a perpetrator (the phantom) - but in the flashback, it's actually her that broke in the same night after her institutional escape.

Sorry for the detour there, there's TONS about this film I liked. I love there is no dialogue and you create a fantastic mood and complete story visually. Big props.
 
Solid. Loved it. Beginning to end. You know what I liked most? No dialogue. I suppose I could nitpick with the story, but I just understood it all. It was rich, it was simple, it made sense. Kudos!
 
One of the few with little dialogue, little interaction with other characters (except child and father). Did you pull off a thriller - HELL YA! Finally as I approach the ending of this list I get to see a smack-me down-right honest-to-God thriller elements woven within the storyline. I think it could have used better film composition, but that's just me. The tone, superb. The foot in rails did put me also to "Fried Green Tomatoes" (love that flick) and her having a stump a little bit too much like it. Still, it worked, worked, worked!
 
Really beautifully done! The story was very solid, I thought, and the missing arm made the soundless piano make lots of sense. Lovely to watch - very sad.
 
AJ you always come with a solid professional film, good job on this.
The cinematography and lighting were beautiful, just spot on.
I particularly like the flashbacks on the train tracks; it's a powerful setting
and concept to lose someone like that, while disfiguring ones own self.
There are a lot of layers there, and clearly the main character has not quite
come to grips with what has happened. i found the whole thing very poetic,
and i totally understood it, but i have a few questions that need clarification:

1. was the pink ghost her father? or just a vision she is having?

2. was she just let out of a mental hospital? or was the hospital wrist band from when she was a child?

also, great score Herman, and great VFX!
Nicely done AJ.
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
LOL! Way to make a guy feel old. :).
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Haha, I sneak in the punches where I can.

elsmama said:
Really beautifully done! The story was very solid, I thought, and the missing arm made the soundless piano make lots of sense. Lovely to watch - very sad.
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Thanks, that was actually one of the first images that sparked the idea.

Matt Harris said:
1. was the pink ghost her father? or just a vision she is having?

2. was she just let out of a mental hospital? or was the hospital wrist band from when she was a child?
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1. The dark figure was a physical representation of this memory she had been suppressing. In the script the figure reaches her at the end and the cloak opens up and the little girl walks out (Chrismas Carole, ghost of Christmas past) and hands her the coin. But I decided to cut that for logistics sake since it ended up being 2am when we shot that scene. That would have been a great image, I'm bummed I didn't figure out a way to make it work.

2. Yes, she just ran away from the mental hospital, ditched her gown, cut the bracelet, and collapsed by the pool. She was in her underwear, but I guess they look like swimwear.

Thanks for the comments everyone.

I am surprised no one has commented on the title yet, PHANTOM. :)
 
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