So Long and Thanks for All the Dangerous Visions Shorts Block
I wish we could have gotten a longer format version of “Consumer,” as Matthew Fisher’s horror tale is ripe for feature film potential. “Consumer” watches like a segment from “Creepshow” even packing in a wonderful synthesized score by Bethany Farnsworth, respectively. I loved the low tech, mid-eighties revenge tale that director Fisher creates, as it’s old fashioned enough, but never feels dated, or dull.
It works well within its short run time and offers some scary ambiguity in the end.
Nate Ridgeway is very good as Matt, a young aspiring artist who spends his days at his local mall. After being tormented by his local bullies, he stops off at a mysterious game store where the owner offers him a free copy of the MS-DOS game “Consumer.” What he thinks is a wish fulfillment horror game for his PC, slowly turns in to creeping horror as Matt realizes there’s more to his gameplay than meets the eye. Director Fisher props up a movie that’s packed with some great themes, and a classic revenge tale, but he also doles some old fashioned nostalgia.
Along with the traditional schoolyard bullies, there’s also the revenge tale that felt straight out of 1981’s “Evilspeak.” Fisher knows how to pack on wonderful eighties aesthetic and pulls back when it comes to really giving us an idea of the film’s somewhat creepy supernatural evil. A lot of it depends on the fear of the unknown and I’m glad we’re never quite given a clear cut idea of what Matt is dealing with, or why he’s chosen to handle this unusual artifact known as “Consumer.” I’d love to see more from Matthew Fisher as he has an interesting visual flair always welcome in the horror genre.
This year, The Chattanooga Film Festival runs from June 21st through 28th (June 21st – 23rd In-Person, and June 21st-28th Virtually).