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Having only recently graduated, Clayton (Clayton Thompson) is ready to
take the world by storm as an artist, and he wants to model himself after
Hemingway, as someone who can draw from his rich experiences, who can turn
the most excrutiating lows in his life into stories of great artistry.
Thing is, Clayton hasn't had any crucial experiences, he has led a
somewhat sheltered life with a girlfriend, Mikaila (Katie Adkins), whom he
loves and has a very steady relationship with. Plus, today's world of
distractions and noise is hardly fit to provide him with the existential
turnaround he feels necessary for his art. So he has come up with an idea,
why not spend a few nights in the woods entirely cut off from
civilisation, and entirely on his own, without any cellphone or even any
idea where he is, just to achieve that epiphany he thinks he needs - and
of course putting the whole thing on film for posterity. Mikaila is dead
set against it, thinking he's risking his life for a stupid idea, and she
leaves him in no doubt about it, too, but promises to drive him out into
the wild, and to pick him up after 5 days. Despite Mikaila's
reservations, everything goes very well at first, and Clayton does a good
job settling in. The silence and lack of distractions get to Clayton
though, and he starts to hear noises he thinks suggest that there's
someone or something there besides him - and not seeing whatever it is of
course only messes with his mind, so much so that eventually he abandons
his campsite. He makes it to a mysterious cabin that contains nothing but
six eerily looking chairs in a perfect circle and a book with blank pages.
And this is where Clayton really starts losing it ... Found
footage films are pretty much a dime a dozen these days, but The
Nothing is one of the few that gets the approach right by really
making the approach the central part of the film's premise and really
builds upon it rather than making it just an aesthetic or budgetary
choice. Apart from that, director Clayton Thompson still tries to make the
film as cinematic as possible, chooses interesting angles and shots, and
puts an emphasis on atmosphere to really draw the audience in. And his
central performance is suitably relatable and disturbing at the same time,
which fits the movie rather well. Worth a look for sure. And
if this has gotten you interested, you can watch this movie now on Avail
TV, either via the app, or directly on the website:
http://www.availfilms.com/video-on-demand/
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