A Potion For Obsessive Love

A Potion For Obsessive Love

Bruce Von Stiers

Love can be a very wonderful thing. But when it turns to obsession, things can become troublesome.

Obsessive love is at the core of a new film titled Love Potion. It is a psychological horror short film whose main character can't get over a lost love.

Emily is an artist who is having a showing of her paintings at an art gallery. Things are going great; the gallery owner is optimistic about sales of Emily's work and her girlfriends are ecstatic about the buzz surrounding the paintings.

But things take a slight turn when Chris shows up at the gallery. He and Emily used to be together. Now they're not, but you just know he's still in love with her.

Chris learns that Emily has moved on. But he just can't let go. An interaction with a stranger leads Chris to a woman who can help him with his situation. The solution is a love potion that will make the person given the potion to be completely, obsessively in love with whoever gives it to them.

Well, that sounds too good to be true. It's a scam, right? Chris is skeptical, but is so obsessed with getting Emily back, he'll try anything. But in the end, what does it cost him?

Emily is played by Alix Efaw. After graduating from West Point and serving in the military, Alix studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She has been in several stage performances along with acting in films.

David Lee Garver is Chris. David co-starred in the thriller Rift and another thriller I recently reviewed, Division. He was also in Deadly Secrets of a Cam Girl.

David Caprita plays the man who tells Chris about the love potion. From being in episodes of shows like Miami Vice, New Girl and How To Get Away With Murder to films like My Girl, Caprita has been on screen quite a bit. As proof that the potion works, the man's wife, Lilith, seems enthralled by her husband. Aubri Ebony is Lilith. Her previous screen credits include starring roles in Meet The Snows and Terror In Tinseltown.

Lainie Smith is Mrs. Devlin, the woman who has the love potion. She had a recurring role on Men on Pause and was in a recent episode of Chicago P.D. She appeared in Madly in addition to several other films. Emily's new boyfriend Jack was played by Jon Rust.

Shannon Thomas played the gallery owner and gallery patrons included Bob Frederick, Kim Evans, Morgan Middlebrook, Aaliyah Perryman, and Melissa Steis. Ella Rae Littman, Elyse Defoor and Debye Swilley were art buyers. Rebeca Lambrusco played a person serving drinks to people at the gallery.

Angel is a character in the film who gives Chris a cryptic message, VJ Roberts was Angel. She played a newscaster in Independence Day and has been in other films such as Redeemed and My Brother's Keeper. Emily's girlfriends that I mentioned earlier were played by Elizabeth Gibbs, Ana-Lisa Patterson, and Samantha Goodell.

The gallery scenes were filmed at the EBD4 Gallery in Atlanta. The main painting in the film, Flames in Horror, was by Paige Prier. The other paintings and the main sculpture that was featured in the film were by Elyse Defoor. She is also the owner of EBD4 Gallery. Should you visit the gallery, you would find that the artwork featured in the film is available for purchase.

James Carey was the director. He produced, directed, and acted in Madly. He also directed several other short films and a few features. Carey played an admiral in Iron Man 3 and a militant white supremacist leader in Division, the film I mentioned earlier that I had reviewed. Carey also produced the film along with Ahren Steis, Melissa Steis and Lainie Smith.

The cinematographer was Ahren Steis. He was also the cinematographer for the upcoming comedy short film Nitro Brew. Ty Yachaina edited the film. He was the editor for several feature films and the trailer editor for a few more.

Attic Studios was the production company for Love Potion. The film has a run-time of 26 ½ minutes.

Per James Carey, this was a proof-of-concept film. They are hoping to expand Love Potion into either a feature film or possibly a mini-series. As of this writing, those plans are still pending.

The question of what lengths would a person go through to make someone love them again is kind of the theme of Love Potion. Is Chris so obsessed with Emily that he'd use a supernatural potion to win her back? If he does use the potion and Emily becomes his completely his again, what does it cost Chris in the end? At the close of the film, you get a possible answer to that last question. But the conclusion does leave you to wonder.

And in case you might not have gotten the thrust of the film, there is a song playing during the ending credits that brings it forward. That song is Stupid Followed Evil by Benjamin Adair Murphy.

I really liked Love Potion. Not only does it deal with obsession, but the film also provides a supernatural element that has possible evil hiding just under the surface. Love devolving into obsession and good versus evil are always good plot devices and they are done well here.

To see a trailer for the film and to learn more about Love Potion, visit the official site at https://lovepotionthefilm.com/ The film also has an Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/lovepotionthefilm/ and one on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LovePotionTheFilm/

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