Jess And Her Pandemic Demon

Jess And Her Pandemic Demon

Bruce Von Stiers

Most of us came through the recent pandemic relatively unscathed. But the lockdowns created bouts of anxiety and depression for some people. To that end, there is a dark comedy film that takes a slightly different look at how three roommates handled stress and depression during the pandemic.

The title of the film is This Sucks. It takes place in the Los Angeles area sometime during 2020. There are lockdown procedures in place and there are confrontations between masked and unmasked people. There are also Black Life Matters protests going on. These things might make a great drama. Indeed, there have been a few drama films dealing with these things. But this film takes those elements, adds intensely ramped up anxiety and depression and turns it into comedy.

Jess is depressed. She used to have things kind of figured out. She was living in L.A., had two cool roommates and a boyfriend. Oh, and a video channel, where she talked about a lot of things. But, with the pandemic, things changed. Her best friend / roommate Erica moved out. She was replaced by Carly, who Jess isn't overly keen on. Ted is the other roommate, but he has his own issues. Jess is afraid to go places, even to the neighborhood grocery store. Somehow, during a demonstration, she was shot or something like that. And, Jake, Jess's boyfriend, has become one of those anti-lockdown people, so that relationship is pretty much dead.

Because of all of her issues, Jess has somehow manifested them into a demonic being. This being gives Jess a lot of crap about what she's doing and saying. This demon is kind of like that old “devil on your shoulder” thing, where it tells you the bad, or wrong thing to do. But is this demon thing really Jess's subconscious breaking out in a strange way? Or something else entirely?

At the heart of all this depression, anxiety and a demon hanging around, is Christmas. Ted and Carly want to know if they're doing anything for Christmas. Carly's family want her to go home to them. Ted, well, there is something going on with that. But it isn't revealed until later in the film just what that is. But it might have to do with Ted being gay, or at least seemingly so. And Jess is at odds with her mother, who can't quite understand what Jess is going through.

Mixed in with all this comedic angst are supplemental characters that add a bit of context to the story. There is Ocean, Carly's snooty sister. It seems that Carly is from a very rich family who just can't seem to understand why she's living in a less desirable part of town. And with roommates even. There is the delivery boy, who brings the trio anything from groceries to take-out food. He tells them that they are his best customers.

Then there is Jake. He and his best friend, Dante, are trying to figure things out. They are both anti-lockdown, but is that really getting them anywhere?

The plot goes back and forth between Jess, Ted and Carly. Somewhere along the way, both Ted and Carly get demons of their own. And so does Jake.

A subplot revolves around a reality dating program for single senior citizens. Jess, Carly and Ted are apparently hooked on the show. The show's host, Webby Alexa, seems perplexed, or even embarrassed at times during her interactions with the various single seniors who are participating in the program. Even though it might not seem like it, this plot element is pretty funny.

While watching the film, I kept wondering if there was a message buried in all the strange, funny interactions between Jess and her demon, and the others and their demons. By the end of the film, all of this makes sense. Or at least it did for me.

April Denise Scott plays Jess. She has been seen in Lessons In Chemistry and The Morning Show. Eric Flores is Ted. He has co-starred in several short films, including The Good Balloon and Slayed! Emily Fletcher is Carly. She previously starred in the short comedy film Matrescence.

Michael Hooper is Jake. He appeared in Honey Badgers and Spectacle. Rachel Amanda Bryant is Carly's sister Ocean. She co-starred in the horror film, Craving, and wrote and starred in the thriller short film, Vexed. Emily Coupe is Webby Alexa, the reality show host. She co-starred in The New Hands and Dark Haven. Brent Grundman is Jake's friend, Dante and Andrew Medjivar is the delivery boy.

Other people appearing in the film include Tristyn Lau, Fernando Martinez, Pat McNeely, Shauna Garrett and Bobby Williams. There is also Thresa Richardson, Marsha Jane Reagan, Russ Cerniglia and Alvin Knight, Sr.

The film was written and directed by Cameron A. Mitchell. He has written the screenplay for and directed several short films. And he also produced a film I reviewed a short time ago, Driven: The Tony Pearson Story.

The cinematographer was Alecia Denegar. She was also the cinematographer for King of Cool, a documentary of Dean Martin. The film was edited by Siani Johnson.

The film also has some good music. There were songs by RoyalBaby, Triple Island, Chris Edgar, Nanjaz and Aaron Atkins. In addition to acting, Emily Coupe is a singer/songwriter. She had a song of hers in the film as well.

The production company that put the film together is Tequlia Mockingbird Productions.

This Sucks is a peculiar but fun dark comedy. Having a demon manifested from a person's depression and anxiety is definitely interesting. Even though this is a comedy, some of the angst that the characters feel could well have been a reflection of real life occurrences during the pandemic.

This Sucks doesn't have an official release date yet. But it will be coming to VOD sometime soon.

If you want to learn a bit more about This Sucks, visit the film's official website at https://tequilamockingbird.productions/thissucksmovie . You can also watch the trailer for the film on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zDeuZUf8TY

Back to the BVS Reviews Main Menu

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _