This past week, I got the opportunity to attend a few films that were presented at The New Orleans Film Festival.  Normally, when you decided to make a trip to see a movie, you generally know exactly what to expect.  Sure, there will be variations on certain themes, but overall, when you buy a ticket to a certain film, you know what you’re going to see.  However, when you venture to a film festival, there are many chances to check out select films that originate from outside the normal Hollywood system, and if you’re lucky, you may get a chance to gain a peek at something very special.  Well, I consider myself very fortunate to be one of the lucky audience members who got the chance to check out an extremely original and quite hilarious film by the name of The Scenesters.

The Scenesters stars Blaise Miller as Charlie Newton.  Charlie works for a company that cleans up crime scenes.  As the police are leaving a particularly gruesome crime scene, Charlie meets a crew of amateur filmmakers, who moonlight as crime scene videographers.  Director Wallace Cotton (Todd Berger) is doing his job, filming the crime scene for the LAPD when he and Charlie discover some suspicious details about this scene that the police have overlooked.  Seeing a chance at stardom, Cotton and his producer Roger Graham (Jeff Grace) decide to film a documentary around Charlie chronicling his personal investigation into a series of murders.  When this unlikely trio bumps heads with head investigator, and aspiring musician, Henry Muse (Kevin Brennan) the investigation begins to take one strange turn after another.  When this killer begins to play his own little cat-and-mouse game with Charlie and the film crew, it’s up to this highly unlikely group of crime fighters to hatch a plan to catch him, while making the perfect film.  The Scenesters is quite the hysterical ride, full of fun performances and witty dialogue that is very rarely featured in cinemas these days.

The film is presented as a mix between the goings on of a televised murder trial and video evidence being presented that showcases the events of these murders.  The decision to stage the narrative this way works fantastic here, as it masks the low budget of the production.  Also, with so many televised court channels around, the idea to host the film in this setting seems very genuine, and quite natural.

Todd Berger, Kevin Brennan, Monkia Jolly, Juliana Rabe in The Scenesters

The Scenesters excels on so many different levels, it’s truly impressive.  On one hand, it’s a very funny take on the typical police procedural.  After seeing so many hard nose and serious police drama come and go; from David Fincher’s Zodiac, to the weekly goings on of Law & Order and C.S.I., it’s nice to see filmmakers that show the participants of these investigations as real humans, with everyday issues who joke around with one another.  The fact that the lead investigator has a rock band he is constantly plugging is a very human and funny touch.

On top of being a funny take on police, it is also quite the humorous take on Hollywood itself.  In a town with so many hopeful filmmakers, it is a fact that many people working “normal” jobs are just looking for their shot at stardom.  The entire plot revolving around the filmmakers, and the fact that they decide to make a film about Charlie as he hunts down this killer, instead of bringing in the police is a very believable, and enjoyable twist that is sure to entertain.

There’s also a small take on the slasher film, with a serial killer dressed similarly to the killer in I Know What You Did Last Summer, who targets young hipsters and leaves clues behind as if he were a character in Scooby Doo.  The thread that ties the method of execution to the various victims is so clever and hilarious, I really don’t want to give it away.

Blaise Miller as aspiring detective Charlie Newton

As for the performances here, you can really tell that the actors here are working from the heart and you can feel just how much fun they were having making this film.  Blaise Miller is a fun protagonist, who walks a fine line between Sherlock Holmes and Jason Schwartzman’s character from Bored to Death.  Todd Berger and Jeff Grace also bestow many laughs with their filmmaking team; more concerned with getting the perfect shot than the fact that someone’s just been murdered.  Kevin Brennan gets in many chuckles himself, as the cop/rock god who uses every chance he can get to promote his band.  Also giving fun performances are Suzanne May as an ambitious reporter, Monika Jolly as a hard nose cop and James Jolly as a witness to one of the murders.

There are also small roles by Sherilyn Fenn (Twin Peaks), Robert R. Shafer (The Office) and director John Landis (The Blues Brothers) that adds a great deal of credibility to this project, and makes it seem very mainstream.

The fact that the content of the movie is supposed to be taken from scenes of a trial, footage filmed from the crime scenes, footage from the ‘movie-within-a-movie’ that is being filmed about Charlie, and various surveillance cameras seems like it might be confusing.  Well, The Scenesters is presented in such a way, that it is extremely easy to follow, and the end result is a great success.  Director Todd Berger shows a lot of talent in the way he weaves in and out of these various styles and creates a very coherent and entertaining story.

Jeff Grace as producer Roger Graham

Along with the great performances and storytelling, The Scenesters has great dialogue that really had me laughing from beginning to end.  In particular, there’s a scene where someone very randomly quotes a line from an academy award winning movie that caught me so off guard, I nearly fell out of my seat.

Finally, I really consider myself quite lucky to have had the chance to view this project, and it is my hope that it eventually receives a wide enough release to reach as big an audience as it deserves.   The Scenesters was shown at the Edmonton International Film Festival, where Todd Berger took the Best Director award, which was much deserved.  After The New Orleans Film Festival, it is playing at the Austin Film Festival on Oct. 23^rd and 25^th, followed by the Hollywood Film Festival on October 25^th.  If you live in one of these cities, make sure to check this film out.  Otherwise, keep an eye out for The Scenesters, it’s worth seeking out.  Additional information on the film and upcoming screening can be found at www.thescenestersmovie.com.

The Scenesters: 9.5/10

- Krycek