Helen's Cat Tale

Helen's Cat Tale

Bruce Von Stiers

Hairball is a strange and delightful comedy short film. The premise is that a slightly older single woman named Helen is lonely. And she has an affinity for cats. And somehow, she is able to turn her dates into cats.

The film opens with Helen and Matthew making out in an apartment. Things get a little bit steamy and she need to take a breath. They are being watched by a cat. She pours them some wine, but with a little something extra included in Matthew's.

All of sudden things take a strange turn for Matthew. He coughs up a hairball. What? Oh, yeah. It gets even weirder after that. Helen feeds him cat food out of a tin. And that is kind of a precursor to sex. Or is it? The film leads us to believe that's what happened. But did it really? The next morning Matthew is gone but Helen has a new cat.

But apparently Helen is not satisfied with a one and done date, even though she's added a new cat to her family. So, there is a plumber, J.J., who she connects with. And there is also William. With William's visit to Helen's apartment, we learn that the reason she's alone is that her husband and son have died.

But does Helen keep on adding to her cat family or does she get what she deserves? You'll have to watch the film to find out.

Monique Parent stars as Helen. Monique has a whopping 160 films that's she's appeared in. Those films include The Aerialist and Killer Ambition.

Marshall Hilliard is Matthew. He is a veteran of soap operas, having recurring roles on General Hospital, Young and the Restless, Guiding Light and Days of Our Lives.

Vincent De Paul is William. He has had roles in films such as Waking Up Dead and Nothing Is Impossible.

Vince Lozano is J.J. the Plumber. He has had recurring roles in The Last Ship and Golden Revenge along with appearing in Promising Young Woman.

We only see Helen's husband and son in photos. Macen Delesio plays Helen's son. Paul Logan plays Helen's husband. Among his many film appearances, he had a recurring role on Keeping Up With the Joneses.

The screenplay was co-written by Nancy O'Brien and Monique Parent.

The film was directed by Nancy O'Brien. She has numerous acting credits along with producing the western short film In The Blood. O'Brien also is directing and producing the upcoming horror film, 3rd Floor.

It was produced by Nancy O'Brien, Monique Parent and David Bond. Bond has served as producer on several horror films.

Howard Wexler was the director of photography. He's been the cinematographer for films like The Macabre and Cassex.

Danny Draven is a veteran producer of horror films. He does the editing for this film. His wife, Jojo Draven, provided the music for the film. She has composed for films such as 3 Bears Christmas and My Babysitter The Superhero and Barbie and Kendra Storm Area 51.

The film is just under seventeen and a half minutes long. The production company for the film is Dark Revenant Films.

Hairball is indeed a strange but delightful comedy. The premise is pretty wild, and the sight gags are interesting, although a couple of those are almost on the gross side of things. Parent does an excellent job as Helen, and the other actors were good, especially their parts in the sight gags.

Hairball is a finalist in the upcoming French Riviera Film Festival. The festival is taking place May 19 th and 20 th of 2023. The festival has a web page listing the finalists, including Hairball. If you want to check out additional information on the film and other finalists, the link to the web page is https://frenchrivierafilmfestival.com/finalists-2023/

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