CYN (2007)
(Release Date: August 11, 2007 [Hollyshorts Film Festival])

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1/2

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Come on, people... Cyn a little!

J.C. Maçek III The World's Greatest Critic! Sometimes, when it rains, it pours. It was late 2003 when I first launched my Reviews Website, and in May of 2004 an independent filmmaker actually asked me to review her work. Wow, no accounting for taste, but cool! What an honor. But, no accounting for taste, right? It was eleven months before another filmmaker asked me to review his work. Good old march of 2005! That's what I get for reviewing "Video Nasties". It's a specialized genre that attracts specialized fans... and viva la special! I figured "Hey, lightening strikes twice, and all!" But then, WHOA, what the-? In May of 2005 Alex Ferrari contacted me to request that I review his film Broken, an "$8000 ACTION SHORT FILM" with "100 VFX SHOTS"!!! Man... that was... um... less than eleven months! Beep Beep, ZIP ZANG! But then, I'll be damned... seven days later, another short film director (name of Gregory Zymet) contacted me to review his DVD. I'll be damned! Trend? Folks, right now I've got a stack of Indie DVDs with review requests up to my abs that I'm apologizing to directors for not getting to yet. (Once again, guys... especially you armed guys... I'm sorry, I'll review your film soon!) Part of Spring Into Action (2007)! Yes, folks, when it rains, it pours! On June 04, 2007, Alex Ferrari contacted me again with a request that I review his new short film Cyn. Needless to say I was excited (if you haven't seen Broken yet, you shouldn't be playing around on the internet, kiddo). But then... nine days later, Gregory Zymet contacted me requesting that I review HIS new film Wormhole Chasers. Quel Chance! And that's not all... Yet another indie short came in a few weeks later. What ever the reason for the new influx of new shorts (competition, conspiracy, Hollyshorts... On The Lot), this just serves to prove that when it rains it pours! Then again, True Believers, a little rain never hurt anybody. Ferrari's new film Cyn on the other hand? That's a killer! It's interesting to note that the three Indie Shorts on the slate right now (David Branin's Honey, I'm Home, Zymet's Wormhole Chasers and, of course, Ferrari's Cyn) are essentially variations on themes similar to their earlier works! However, in no case are we faced with a retread of the old stuff. The lovely woman strapped into a chair at the hands of armed psychopaths while secrets abound and unseen forces tweak their machinations... it all sounds a bit like Broken. Trust me... this film (figuratively or literally) ain't "Broken". Cyn shows its promise right away as an interesting animated credit sequence gives way to a Point of View shot of a character looking at her captors through a burlap sack. Otto (Frank Rodriguez) and Sugar (Josh Randall) use their bad phony accents (and, uh, guns) to torment the captive Cynthia (hot Stephaine Michaels) while she's strapped helplessly into a chair. But "Cyn" just might have more secrets up her short sleves than just what's hiding under the short shorts and short shirt she's costumed in. And what she doesn't know, the unseen "man behind the curtain" just might. Cyn is a great looking film, evoking in only five minutes some of the more interesting memories of the old Grindhouse-style action and horror flicks of the '70's and '80's. Although a purely digital movie, Cyn has a graininess to its look that would have felt welcome in any given "Video Nasty" library entry. Further, the visual effects (supervised by Dan Cregan) give one hell of an interesting accent to the proceedings, and they culminate in one of the better closing credit sequences I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing. There is a lot of potential in Cyn that could pay big dividends in Ferrari's upcoming feature film Red Princess Blues. The special effects kick ass, and the camera work and framing is excellent (especially for a film shot in only six days) and the music by Felipe Tichaer and Mark Roumelis is a great accent to a very cool movie. The film works very well, but it's quite perfect (again... six days... hat's still off to you, Alex). It's hard to tell at first if the actors playing the bad guys are having trouble finding their characters, resulting in a bit of forced acting, or if the bad guy characters (who do seem to put on fake accents) are poor actors themselves, making the actors who play them absolutely dead on. Further the plot and characters don't come off as truly developed, even though there are a lot of excellent surprises and twists. Instead, Cyn feels almost like a preview to something much bigger (which it may well be). It's a well done short and it definitely leaves one wanting more, but it doesn't come off as a complete or self-contained movie, even if it is enjoyable from start to finish. I, for one, was left amped up for the next stage from Alex Ferrari. Three and One Half Stars out of Five for Cyn: a twisted tale by Alex Ferrari. Like another Southern-state based acclaimed film maker, Grindhouse's own Robert Rodriguez, Alex Ferrari has the spirit and the edgy inventiveness to do great things. He's also got enough digital tricks up the sleeve of The Enigma Factory's Numb Robot division to keep the screen sizzling as he does it. So cool... Bang! Cyn: Superbitch! More twisted tales from Alex to come. Until then... See you in the next digital reel.