Anthony Raus’ Films: Written Review

Anthony Raus‘ Films

Written Review

Hi everyone and welcome to MyIndie Review Vlog, the show that gives you spoiler-free reviews of indie films. My name is Asaf Angel from MyIndie Productions.
Today I’ll be reviewing two short horror films, both written and directed by MyIndie featured artist, talented U.S. indie filmmaker Anthony Raus.

Thank you, Anthony for sharing your work with our show.

Let’s jump right to it! The first film to be reviewed is 2017’s The Audition.

A young, beautiful actress, Hollybeth Gourlay shows up eager to audition for a role in a new project by young, charismatic director, Jackson Trent. The actress settles in front of a camera with a million-dollar smile, hoping to make a good impression.

Her charm and innocence are both adorably apparent, as they also indicate her total obliviousness to what lies in store for her.

Anthony cleverly took a minimalist approach to this psychological horror story he concocted by assigning most of the visual perspective to come from the point of view of the young director by using the audition camera. We, the viewers mostly experience the story through his eyes.

Anthony wisely built the structure in a way where the lines between the young director’s film and the real world are blurred. We don’t initially know if the actress is acting in a scene, or whether or not there even is a scene.

Anthony managed to give substantial depth with a fairly simple approach. He succeeded in capturing Hollybeth’s vulnerability, as her performance was admirable. Combined with the dominant and methodical nature of Trent’s character, also wonderfully performed, the visual language made their Master and Captor dynamic disturbing, yet intriguing.

There were a few issues regarding structural choices, I would prefer were handled a tad differently, but in total, this film greatly displays Anthony’s rising talent as a storyteller and his refreshing ability to give value and depth using very little means, as it feels there are more layers to this story that can not be unveiled in the short time of this review, such as different aspects of social commentary that arise from the dynamic between the two characters. There is also criticism directed at the world of show business, and its tough and challenging demands upon young performers who plunge into it with hopes and dreams of success.

There are also fine examples for efficient storytelling that testify yet again to Anthony’s growing skill. He tells us everything we need to know about the director’s character by simply using the actress’ reactions. He conveys to us how long she has been in this ordeal by showing us, rather than telling, the changes in her state of mind as the film progresses. There are a lot more examples, but I don’t want to give too much away or spoil. It is definitely best for you to explore this one on your own.

The Audition gets a 7.5/10 on the Look At Me, I’m a Film Critic scale!

The film is available for streaming on Angerman Distribution’s Vimeo On Demand Channel, link below.

Next up, is 2018’s horror short, Abstraction.

Justine, a young woman and once an up-and-coming successful writer, portrayed by Mary Liz Adams is struggling to complete a project that will hopefully revive her career. Upon negative feedback from her publisher, Gabe, played by Gary Fizer, regarding her latest creation, Justine reaches a point where things take an unfortunate turn, causing her to gradually spiral out of control.

It feels Anthony meant to break Justine’s character, as it is an important element of the journey she takes. He used quite an interesting visual approach as he depicts two separate worlds, where one seems to give commentary on the other. Justine’s newly invented characters are manifested in her mind and shown to us in their own story-world.

Anthony parallels Justine’s experiences with developments shown in the fictional world she built, culminating in an event that lets us realize that her mental state is in trouble.

The visual parallels between worlds, one the reality of the film and the other being the fictional writing of a character, although used before in films such as Adaptation, American Splendor, Stranger Than Fiction, The Dark Half and others, were wisely applied to let us, as viewers, better understand Justine’s character and what she goes through. The visual language Anthony chose, gives much depth to his characters with seemingly little effort.

Although there were some choices I did not entirely agree with, it is apparent that Raus has interesting vision that does not dwell only in the narrative, but is brave enough to embrace a more formalistic approach to filmmaking. This story may be better utilized in a feature-length script, where it can be explored in more depth. Being an independent filmmaker with limited resources, Raus shows he is on the right track and will likely improve substantially once he has more to work with. Definitely one to watch.

Abstraction gets a 7.5/10 on the Look At Me, I’m a Film Critic scale!

The film is currently on its festival run, so stay tuned for its release.

Until next time, keep supporting Indie Film. Watch, Share, Spread the word! My name is Asaf Angel. I thank you for tuning in to MyIndie Review Vlog. I’ll see you next Thursday!