Review: Friend of the World

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

Friend of the World

Directed by Brian Patrick Butler
Charybdis Pictures; Gray Area Multimedia; Troma Entertainment
50 minutes, 2021
www.facebook.com/FOTWmovie/
https://charybdispictures.com/friend-of-the-world/

At 50 minutes, this post-apocalypse comedy thriller is too long to be considered a short, yet too short to be considered a feature. I appreciate that the director made it just as long as it is supposed to be, without much filler, or a truncated story. Plus, it helps with the micro-budget, which I respect. It is also a perfect length for festivals.

In a similar theme to “The Last of Us” television series, this story is about the survivors of a fungal infection that transforms the affected into zombie-like people, who seem to want to spread the disease more than eat living flesh.

Filmed mostly in black and white, we meet artist/videographer Diane Keaton (Alexandra Slade; any relation to Noddy Holder? Sorry…), who survived a massacre in a secured basement. She manages to get to another floor and meets gruff General Gore (Nick Young). He makes no bones that he is a hardass, giving similar, yet militarily edged vibes of the John Goodman character in 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016).

I am not sure if the virus was caused by a war, or the war was caused by the virus, but there seems to be very few survivors, either by the infection or by gunshot (hence the basement carnage).

The black and white gives this a noir feel, and the lighting is impeccable; it could be now, it could be a 1940s film, though the assault rifles are a giveaway. The constrained spaces of the rooms, the steam pipes, etc., give it an eerie, almost claustrophobic feel, especially Gore’s habitat (okay, room). They slowly make their way through the underground complex, not quite sure where they are going or how to get out. Or if there is anything worth getting out for.

Diane (whom Gore calls String Bean), is a Lefty, and cigar-chompin’ Gore definitely on the militaristic war mongering Right, yet they occasionally find common ground. His comments, such as his hostility towards LGBTQ in his comments, betrays that leaning. But through it all, he’s more accepting of everything, where she is, well, let us say grumpy, having trouble accepting a situation she does not appear to remember getting into. Gore seems to keep her around not just for the only company, but for procreation to get the world restarted, with him as its leader, like it or not.

Meanwhile, Diane misses her girlfriend, Eva (Kathryn Schott), who we see (in color; there are a couple of other color sections) in archival footage shot by Diane in the prologue.

As with Alice down the rabbit hole, Diane and Gore transverse the space running into unusual characters, such as a hairy and philosophizing “rat” man, Berenger (Michael C. Burgess), among other surprises. Is this real, or is it part of hallucinations due to a supposed vaccine they take?

While esoteric at times, this short feature (see what I did there?) never talks down to its audience, but at the same time keeps the attention throughout. A really well-made film.

Available on Troma Now!, TubiTV, Plex, Prime Video, Apple TV and Xumo, among many others.

IMDB listing HERE