Friend of the World

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Friend of the World
Friend of the World.jpg
Directed byBrian Patrick Butler
Written byBrian Patrick Butler
Produced by
Starring
  • Nick Young
  • Alexandra Slade
  • Michael C. Burgess
  • Kathryn Schott
  • Kevin Smith
  • Luke Anthony Pensabene
CinematographyRay Gallardo
Edited byBrian Patrick Butler
Music byStefan Krut
Production
companies
  • Charybdis Pictures
  • Gray Area Multimedia
Release date
  • August 15, 2020 (2020-08-15) (Oceanside International Film Festival)[1]
  • November 22, 2021 (2021-11-22) (VOD)[2]
Running time
50 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Friend of the World is a 2020 American post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror comedy thriller written and directed by Brian Patrick Butler in his feature film debut, starring Nick Young and Alexandra Slade.[3] It is set up like a play established from Black Mirror or The Twilight Zone pulling from inspirations such as John Carpenter's The Thing and La Jetée.[4] The story takes place in the future after a devastating war. A young woman emerges from the rubble in an old bunker, and comes in contact with a US military general who claims they are the last two people alive.

It was written in 2016 under the production Charybdis Pictures.[5][6] Principal photography took place at Gray Area Multimedia in San Diego, CA in May, 2017. The film was shot in black-and-white.[7][8][9]

An independent film, Friend of the World premiered August 15, 2020 at the Oceanside International Film Festival and was eventually released on video on demand in 2021.[2]

Plot[]

A young filmmaker (Diane) is trapped in an underground bunker following a global chaotic event. She encounters an older military man (Gore) whom she must interact with to find a way out.

Cast[]

  • Nick Young - Gore
  • Alexandra Slade - Diane
  • Michael C. Burgess - Berenger
  • Kathryn Schott - Eva
  • Kevin Smith - Thin man
  • Luke Anthony Pensabene - Ferguson

Production[]

Brian Patrick Butler and Kerry Rossall at Oceanside International Film Festival 2017

Pre-production[]

The script was formulated in 2016 and pre-production started around August. Luke Pensabene recommended Nick Young for the part of Gore after his audition for something else. Diane was originally written as a young man, but scheduling conflicts and delays eventually led to rewrites. After altering the character's gender, Butler happened upon Alexandra Slade who was eventually cast. Kerry Rossall contributed to the production by funding the project directly. [7]

Filming[]

Principal photography took ten days and began on May 13, 2017 in San Diego, CA. The majority of filming took place at Gray Area Multimedia, a key location Butler intended for while writing. Outside scenes were at Sunset Cliffs and Mission Trails Regional Park near Camp Elliott. Butler chose to have the film mostly in black-and-white to accentuate the perspective of Gore's world. The cinematography was handled by Ray Gallardo.[7]

Post-production[]

Butler had a rough cut of the film ready within months of wrapping but the final stages were not complete until 2019. Daniel N. Butler managed the visual effects and sound departments.[7]

Music[]

Ode to Joy[5]

Influences[]

In an interview with Times of San Diego, Butler stated that Friend of the World's style was inspired by the works of Samuel Beckett, Jean-Paul Sartre, John Carpenter and David Cronenberg. He mentioned that political anxieties and absurdist theatre helped inspire him to write.[7][4]

Release[]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Friend of the World held a seven day virtual world premiere at the Oceanside International Film Festival on August 15, 2020.[10][11] It was subsequently released on video on demand in 2021,[2][4][9][12] following a screening block at Another Hole in the Head Film Festival.[13]

Reception[]

Critical response[]

Friend of the World received mostly positive reviews from critics. It has an 89% rating on film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 5.7/10 based on nine reviews.[14] Karla Peterson of The San Diego Union-Tribune called it a "twisted, mind-bending journey."[15] Ken Stone of Times of San Diego mentioned Steven Spielberg's success while looking at his early films next to Butler's.[7] Rob Rector of Film Threat compared it to Possum and Dr. Strangelove with some Cronenberg body horror.[16] Melissa Hannon at Horror Geek Life awarded the film 3.7 out of 5 stars, writing "Friend of the World is truly an acid trip of a movie."[9] Joseph Perry at Horror Fuel said it is like The Twilight Zone if Rod Serling and Charles Beaumont ate psychedelic material, or if ideas from Dr. Strangelove, Night of the Living Dead and Apocalypse Now were merged.[12] Lisa Marie Bowman at Through the Shattered Lens said it comes with "a hint of Kubrickian satire," compared a scene to Alien and concluded that surviving the end of the world does not mean you'll have a choice on who remains with you. [17] Hugues Porquier from Battle Royale With Cheese called it "interesting writing" and "clean photography." He mentioned a possible reference to Leos Carax and said it reminded him of Videodrome and Existenz.[3] Jim Morazzini from Voices From The Balcony referenced An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and Dr. Strangelove and claimed its characters as being "archetypes at opposite ends of American society."[8] Jeremie Sabourin at Cinema Smack felt the tone matched Night of the Living Dead as if done by Terry Gilliam and praised Young's performance, comparing him to Senator Ethan Roark played by Powers Boothe in Sin City.[18] Corin Totin of Sick Flix brought up David Lynch, Tetsuo: The Iron Man and said "When we look back on the quarantine days it will be films like this and Host that will stand as an artistic representation of the anxieties of the time."[5] Redmond Bacon at Tilt Magazine acknowledged Butler, as if he had a David Lynch version of 10 Cloverfield Lane and stated "This is how you take on a genre that has been done to death."[19]

Rebecca Cherry at Film Carnage gave it 2 out of 5 and said it makes a good attempt to identify "a more character driven apocalyptic story pulling elements from a modern America" but it didn't completely work.[20] Lindsey Ungerman at Horror Buzz rated it 3 out of 10 and concluded that the film was "definitely beautiful" but "too chaotic."[21] Marie Asner of The Phantom Tollbooth compared Young's voice to Anthony Hopkins and Gerald Mohr. She scored it 1 out of 5 and came to the conclusion that it "would have made a better radio drama than a film."[22]

Accolades[]

The film was nominated for two San Diego Film Awards, Best Narrative Feature and Best Actor for Nick Young.[3]

See also[]

Notes[]

References[]

  1. ^ Milkowski, Jenny (August 13, 2020). "Enjoy the Oceanside International Film Festival from your own couch". CBS 8. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Halen, Adrian (November 17, 2021). "'Friend of the World' streaming and on demand Nov 22nd". Horror News Net. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Porquier, Hugues (August 2, 2021). "Friend Of The World: Review". Battle Royale With Cheese. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c James, Jonathan (July 9, 2021). "Horror Highlights: No Man Of God, Stabby Saturdays, Demonic, Friend Of The World, The Final Ride". Daily Dead. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Totin, Corin (August 12, 2020). "Short Film Review: Friend of the World (2020) Duration 50 min 30 sec". Sick Flix. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  6. ^ "Horror Sci-Fi Thriller "Friend Of The World" Set For Virtual World Premiere On Aug 15". Promote Horror. August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Stone, Ken (July 24, 2020). "San Diego's Spielberg? Q&A With Director Brian Butler Near Sci-Fi Film Premiere". Times of San Diego. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Morazzini, Jim (August 4, 2020). "Review: Friend of the World (2020)". Voices From The Balcony. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c Hannon, Melissa (July 30, 2021). "REVIEW: 'FRIEND OF THE WORLD' (2020) IS A BIZARRE APOCALYPTIC FILM". Horror Geek Life. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  10. ^ "Friend of the World 50 minutes United States 2020". osidefilm.eventive.org. August 11, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  11. ^ Robertson, Brian (August 11, 2020). ""FRIEND OF THE WORLD" – 2020 OCEANSIDE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL MOVIE REVIEW". The Vista Press. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  12. ^ a b Perry, Joseph (June 16, 2021). "Movie Review: Friend of the World". Horror Fuel. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  13. ^ "Another Hole in the Head 2020 ASSORTED FLAVORS 4". watch.eventive.org. December 11, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  14. ^ "Friend of the World". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  15. ^ Peterson, Karla (August 14, 2020). "San Diego filmmaker brings the apocalypse to the Oceanside International Film Festival". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  16. ^ Rector, Rob (August 29, 2020). "The surrealistic Friend of the World works more like a stage play than a film". Film Threat. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  17. ^ Bowman, Lisa Marie (July 29, 2021). "Film Review: Friend of the World (dir by Brian Patrick Butler)". Through the Shattered Lens. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  18. ^ Sabourin, Jeremie (August 17, 2020). "INDIE FILM REVIEW: FRIEND OF THE WORLD". Cinema Smack. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  19. ^ Bacon, Redmond (September 11, 2020). "Friend of the World is a Bracing Stocktake of a Crumbling World". Tilt Magazine. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  20. ^ Cherry, Rebecca (September 23, 2020). "Review: Friend of the World". Film Carnage. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  21. ^ Ungerman, Lindsey (September 14, 2020). "Friend of the World was Attractive but Jumbled". Horror Buzz. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  22. ^ Asner, Marie (August 29, 2021). ""Friend of the World" would have made a better radio drama than a film". The Phantom Tollbooth. Retrieved August 29, 2021.

External links[]

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