SB Shorts Program (SBIFF, 2011): USA

Reviewed by Katie Funk. Viewed at Lobero Theater, Santa Barbara.

The Extraordinary Fight of Atticus Walker and The Monster in His Mind directed, written, and acted by Michael Karman, is one of the shorts that played at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival that completely stood out in my mind as a great work of art. A green monster that exists only in the mind of sir Atticus Walker and continuously writes negative messages saying things like “You Suck” and “You are a Horrible Writer”. All the while Atticus is attempting to get hired as a writer for a big company and has this monster to deal with around every corner he sees. The humor of this short was impeccable and the actor, writer, and director that played Atticus, Michael Karman, did an incredible job carrying the whole film. He plays an insecure writer where we get to see his insecurities played out by his imaginary monster that follows him wherever he goes. At one point Atticus attacks the monster and tries to kill him. It was all quite humorous and fun to watch transpire. At another point when he goes in for a very important interview the monster sets him off right before hand and makes him think that he is going to get sick. Atticus throws up right into the guys jacket that is there to interview him. The audience was just reeling with laughter and remorse for this poor guy. Thankfully toward the end Atticus overcomes the monster in his mind and decides that he isn’t going to listen to the negativity anymore. I really enjoyed this short and felt that it carried the entire program.

Another short that really stood out during this program was The Fourth Horseman directed by Joseph Dietsch. This was the longest and last short to be played during the program lasting at about 20 minutes. It started out at what seemed like a classic western following an outcast on his journey through the empty and vast desert wastelands. However, this story was set in a future where cannibalized humans ran rampant in an attempt to survive what remained of a nuclear ravaged landscape. We followed this outcast referred to as “The Drifter” as he joined a band of men being led by The Reverend Jake Aldridge who preached as if he were a true reverend however soon we learn is a sociopathic man leading other men on a journey to find some kind of “treasure”. I loved the uncanny humor brought into play at every turn throughout this film. One wouldn’t expect humor like it but it was very funny in a strange and unveiling slowly kind of way. As if you didn’t know if you were supposed to laugh but by the end of the film realized that you had just watched a comedy and not a classic western. Finally the men get to the treasure that they had been seeking, an underground bomb shelter containing a 1950’s family. This family had never seen the above ground and these people had never seen a family like them before. They were using silverware and dressed in formal dinner clothing all a stark contrast to the barren landscapes and cannibalism we had just been exposed to. It really made you think about the life that we lead and what it would be like for two entirely different worlds to collide unknown that the other ever existed.