A Mysterious, Dangerous Party

Bruce Von Stiers

Take one slightly mysterious woman. Add in a visiting cousin. Drizzle in a Mardi Gras party. And top it with a serial killer on the loose. This has all the makings of a mystery thriller.

What I just described is the foundation for a short mystery film titled Unbridled. Sylvie is a woman who is a bit mysterious. Her cousin Chloe has just come for a visit. Sylvie is bored and wants to go out. But Chloe is worried about a serial killer in the area that hasn't been caught. For some reason they are both Tarot card readers. Sylvie is kind of insistent, but she seems to be acting a bit strangely.

Sylvie and Chloe end up going to a Mardi Gras party where all the guests will be playing the card game Cards Against Humanity.

As this is a bit of a different costume party, there are several people with bizarre costume personas. There is Doctor Proctor, Thing 1 and Thing 2, Fickle Finger, Sweeney Todd, Vlad, Mata Hari, Lady MacBeth and Dionysus. There is also Dillinger, Catherine The Great, Jezabel, Paradox, Pandora's Box, Livina and another mysterious woman who's calling herself Lilith.

The film goes back and forth between the tables at the party, showing the people playing the game. Then something tragic happens and things change dramatically.

A couple of things that I need to mention. First, I that didn't know if Cards Against Humanity was a real card game. I looked it up to make sure. From what I read it is a very popular game, with strange question cards and funny but snarky reply cards. The way the game is played in the film made more sense after reading about it.

Secondly, there is an air of mystery and suspense surrounding Sylvie. A few of her expressions and physical actions might lead you to think that she's got something to hide and she's probably dangerous. Even though this was a short film, I would have to have peeked a bit more behind the curtain of Sylvie's possible role of femme fatale. Especially after she tells Chole that a lot of people hook up at parties like the one they're going to.

Aubyn Philabaum starred as Sylvie. She has over twenty screen credits and heads up her own acting studio. Sophia Natania Rubin co-starred as Chloe. She has over a dozen screen credits as an actor, along with being a camera operator on a half a dozen films.

Joel Foster was Dionysus. His character was basically the host of the party. Vic Roych was Fickle Finger. Max Murry was Doctor Proctor. Dexter Masland was Thing 1 and Samantha Madrigal was Thing 2.

Other actors in the film were Leland Hao, Stephen Huffman, Melanie Moreno, Courtney Harmon, Diane Donato, Lily Wexler, Levi Rubin, Samantha Callicut, Asheley Taylen, Gabrielle Bruwer, Babacar Ba, Elizabeth von Isser, Amber Weinstock and Audrey Bailey.

The film was directed by Philip C. Sedgwick. He also did a voiceover as a television announcer. He is a screenwriter as well as being a director and producer. And he is president of Stellium Films, the production company that put the film together.

Lesley Lillywhite wrote the screenplay for Unbridled and was the producer. She also played Lilith in the film. Her screen credits include acting roles, location scouting, location manager and producing. Janelle Velazquez was the on-set producer. Joel W. Rubin was the executive producer.

Joshua Zientarski was the cinematographer and editor for the film. He has worked as a grip, electrician and camera operator on many films.

Elena Maro has composed music for close to forty films. She wrote and performed two songs for this film, Goofy Talk and In The Air.

Unbridled is a fun, quirky mystery film. Sylvie has this mysterious, almost edgy persona. And Chloe is almost like a wide-eyed innocent. The bizarre nature of the card game and its participants lead to some interesting dialog and interaction.

Like I stated earlier, I would have liked to have seen more of an intense buildup of Sylvie's character. Does she have an ulterior motive to go to the party? There is an ex-boyfriend mentioned that could be a motivation. Is Chloe really as innocent as she seems? And I would have liked to have seen a twist revealed at the end. But I tend to like complicated and twisted endings to these types of films.

The acting was decent, with the costumed guests at the party being snarky, Chloe seemed all so innocent, and Sylvie had those intense facial expressions and strange physical actions.

Unbridled has won several awards, including Best Screenplay at the Arizona Film Expo. And it was a semi-finalist at the 2024 Rhode Island International Film Festival. And will be featured at this year's Wallachia International Film Festival. The film has also been submitted to the Santa Clarita International Film Festival for consideration for this year's upcoming festival.

Unbridled has an official website where you can learn more about it. There is also a link to the trailer on the site. It can be found at https://www.theunbridledmovie.com/

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© 2024 Bruce E Von Stiers