Close Ups Can Be Deadly
Bruce Von Stiers
Lynn Lowry has racked up an impressive list of film credits, including the George Romano film, The Crazies, along with other cult films like Shivers, The Super and Schism. Some of those have been starring roles, while others like playing the grandmother in Exposure, which I recently reviewed, have Lynn in guest appearances.
Not too long ago, Lynn completed a film short titled Ready For My Close Up. It is being billed as a horror film, but the film has a strong comedic element to it as well. It is a bit longer than some film shorts, coming in with a run time of just under thirty minutes
Lynn stars as Megs Topplethwaite, an actor whose roles had included many horror and action adventure films. But Megs is a bit of a has-been it seems.
But before we meet Megs in the film, we first meet Nurse Becca. She's outside Megs' flat waiting for someone. That someone is Nurse Rose, who apparently takes care of Megs. Some hijinks commence and the end result is that Becca is now going to take care of Megs.
But it seems that Becca has an ulterior motive for being there. She talks on the phone with someone who apparently wants Becca to find something in Megs' flat. Becca is played by Charlotte Mounter, whose recent credits include the films 8ish and The Curse of Halloween Jack.
Becca sedates Megs and then begins to search the flat. As she really doesn't know what to look for, Becca starts opening drawers and doors. In the bedroom, she encounters a dead body. Later, other bodies are found.
With an occasional wink and a smile at the camera from Megs, we learn the how and why of the story. Megs seems to have a penchant towards a specific kind of man. We don't learn the cause of this infatuation until near the end of the film. But it does tie everything together pretty well.
In the meantime, the audience is treated to scenes from films Megs starred in and some comical brutality that results from those flashbacks.
Other members of the cast include George Sweeney, Gary Shail and Dawn Perllman. All of them have had guest appearances on British television series along with feature and short films.
In supporting roles are Stuart Green, Alan Hoare, Stephen Last, Martin Rudman, Christopher Walker and Julian Woodfield.
Another member of the cast was Michael Haberfelner. Asides from acting in the film, Michael co-wrote the script. It was based on an original story idea from Lynn.
The film was directed by Jason Read, whose credits for film shorts dates back over a decade. Jason was also the cinematographer and music editor. The film was produced by Stuart Morriss, who's done several film shorts in the last few years. The executive producers, Linda Marlowe and Chuck Harding, both hold extensive producing and acting credits. The film entities who put things together were the Misty Moon Film Society and Robo Films.
Ready For My Close Up was indeed a fun and entertaining film. Even though it is a horror film, they don't take themselves very seriously. Hence Megs' talking to, winking at and smiling at the audience. Lynn Lowry was excellent as the off kilter former B film actor and Charlotte Mounter did a very fine job with her character of Nurse Becca.
Ready For My Close Up is not available to public just yet. The people involved in this film are looking towards putting together a feature length prequel. But whatever happens, Ready For My Close Up should be available soon.
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© 2020 Bruce E Von Stiers