Director Moore Creates Breakout Indie Horror Film
Imagine going to university for the first time. Meeting new people, making new friends, and keeping up with your new schedule all can take a toll on the average first-year student. Now imagine that the university is controlled by puppet masters who take over students minds and control their every action. Scary, right? This is the premise for the new film, STU FILES, by award-winning director Garrett Moore, arriving in late Summer 2018. It follows the arrival of student Stephen Swan, played by nominated Best Obscure Actor, Stephen Swan, to his new school as he tries to find his way around. He is helped out on his journey by the nominated Best Supporting Supporting Actor, Silas MacDonald.
Moore is known for his crowning achievements in the film industry, often seen as an indie film icon, bringing new light and revelations to the silver screen. In an interview, Moore stated that he sees himself as the “Wizard’s era Michael Jordan of Indie film making.” Moore also brought up about how he drew on many of his own experiences in university to help him develop his script. “I really think I nailed it when I portrayed both Stephen and Silas walking down the hallway. I can remember walking down the hallways many times when I was in university.”
However, Moore isn’t the only star in the show, MacDonald also brought up how many times he stared into a fluorescent light to keep himself in character. “Wearing sunglasses was always going to be part of the outfit,” MacDonald said. “But by the end of the filming? It was a necessity.” MacDonald plays character Silas MacDonald, a second-year student who appears to guide Stephen around but is really indoctrinated by the unseen puppet masters the whole time, only showing Stephen the better parts of the school. MacDonald’s experience in front of the camera is in full display in this film, as his experience in such classic films such as Classroom Days, Hallway Blues, and Obscure People in Obscure Places, coincidentally, all films by Moore. MacDonald was able to manipulate his place within the scenes of these three films so naturally, it seemed as if a camera was just placed, facing down a hallway and someone hit record. MacDonald really took everything he had to the front here, playing an indoctrinated student can be a hard role, as it’s easy to just appear to be a stiff robot, but MacDonald really fleshed out his character with what was given to him.
Swan is a newcomer to the stage, however, and, although it hurts to say it, it shows. His acting can be stiff and unconvincing at times, but he manages to pull through most scenes well enough, keeping the audience engrossed as long as he has MacDonald to back him up. Swan plays the protagonist, Stephen Swan, who is shown around his university’s campus before he notices something amiss with one of his teachers. This is where the film really begins to take a hold of its psychological horror, thriller vibes, bringing up new twists so often, it can be hard to keep up at times, and Swan agrees. “Yeah, it really just seemed like Garrett just grabbed a camera and said ‘Hey! Let’s go film this and this and that’ll be that. I don’t understand why anyone would see this movie.’” Swan was critical of his director, but he ultimately showed some respect for Moore, describing Moore as an “Abhorrent genius who abuses his power.”
Overall, the film has it’s high and low points, with its peaks around the point where more of the actors are on the screen and bounce off of each other organically. Where the films valleys lie are when Swan is left floundering in the shot by himself, often compromising the believably of the film itself. In this humble film reviewers opinion though? This film is a must watch.
