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Binge
USA 2014
produced by
Andrew Glessner, Wesley Mellott, Susan Chang, Paul Bauman, Tyler Pittman (executive) for Thinking Art Entertainment, Oneiric Studios
directed by Wesley Mellott
starring Andrew Glessner, Bex Etter, Derek Mentzer, Susan Chang, Brandon Thomas, Rosanna Nelson, Alex Serrano, Kenneth Walker, Jess Elser, Luke Emory Oyler
written by Wesley Mellott, music by Paul Bauman, specialmakeup effects by Tyler Pittman
review by
Mike Haberfelner
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Max (Andrew Glessner) tends to drink a bit pretty much on a daily
basis, but this New Year he really overdid it when he accused his best
friend forever (and almost girlfriend) Miranda (Bex Etter) for not putting
out and gravely insulted her, then got so roaringly drunk that he doesn't
even remember how he got home anymore. The car in his driveway say he
drove, but he can't remember a thing. Thing is, there's blood on his car's
bumper ... After New Year's, Miranda doesn't want to see Max anymore,
ever - and that and a few other incidents convince him to give up drinking
for good. It's not easy, he suffers all the withdrawal symptoms in the
book, and he has nightmares that get weirder and weirder, and that start
to suggest the blood on his bumper might be human. Also, he time and again
finds alcohol bottles in his mailbox and the like, obviously left by an
anonymous donor who wants to get him back to drinking again. But Max
remains strong. After quite some months, Miranda finally calls Max to
bury the hatchet ... and she's actually impressed by the new sober Max,
and soon they become more than just best friends. At Halloween, Max and
Miranda are at a big party ... where Max feels somewhat out of tune with
the others, as he's the only one not drinking (even Miranda has a few),
but he stays strong. But then, when they want to leave, they are stopped
by a guy in a demon mask who drugs them ... and when they wake up, the two
of them and Max's buddy Steve (Derek Mentzer) find themselves all tied up
and threatened by same madman who has a grudge against Max - that might
have to do with last New Year ... A very nice movie that
manages to blend its message about sobriety with a very tense thriller
plot that's even allowed to veer off towards the surreal time and again,
and the concept really works, too - first and foremost because despite the
movie's rather depressing subject matter, writer/director Wesley Mellott
really tries to entertain, keeps his imagery interesting, and doesn't
dwell on the pain of his protagonist for too long but keeps things
floating throughout. Plus, the film's really good at keeping the audience
guessing, and even though it seems like a logical solution in hindsight,
the finale will very probably surprise you. Add to that a decent ensemble
cast with a great central performance by Andrew Glessner, and you've got
yourself a pretty good film!
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