Killer Assistant and Clown College – Written Review

Killer Assistant and

Clown College

Written Review

We’ve got an awesome review for you guys today. we’re going to be covering TWO 2019 short films: Michael Whaley’s short horror-comedy, Killer Assistant and Wendy Keeling’s short dark comedy-horror, Clown College.

Thank you, Michael and Wendy, for sharing your films with us!

Welcome everyone to MyIndie Review Vlog, My name is Asaf Angel from MyIndie Productions.

Before we get started, we got some fantastic news, as of the remainder of this season of MyIndie Review Vlog we are now sponsored by Angerman Distribution – A distribution company devoted to the work of independent filmmakers from all around the world.

Being sponsored basically means we now have a little bit of funding to keep the lights on. On a sadder note. I’m unfortunately off my medication since it was discontinued and my doctor refuses to see me to renew my prescription on the count that I am “too needy”. I’m fine though. Keeping it together…

Let’s jump right to it!

Killer Assistant, written and directed by Michael Whaley is a mockumentary with a premise which tackles a boggling mystery regarding famous movie killers. How is it that they are so consistently successful and efficient, doing what they do?

The “documentary crew”, follows a group session of individuals who share something disturbingly amusing in common. They are all personal assistants of famous movie killers. They are the ones who keep the killers so sharp in the game, the unseen heroes behind the carnage and to them we should attribute the killers’ success!

We get to hear a little bit about the world of Killer Assistants from celebrity killers’ assistants Nancy, Stuart and Matthew, portrayed by Elizabeth Mears, Gunner Willis and MyIndie featured artist, Jaysen Buterin. Before the new haircut, so he still had all his super powers at this point.

This short film feels like a proof of concept of sorts, because the idea has a lot going for it. I would love to see the premise played out in a feature someday. Whaley took on solving the age-old overwhelming improbability many a horror fan, burdened by logic, have raised in the past… the question of how on Earth is it possible that these killers are so organized?

Whaley gives us a comedic spin on the day-to-day tasks from the perspective of the assistants, completely disregarding, or at best playing down, the whole horrific side of it all.

Aside for some places where it could have been tiny bit more refined, Killer Assistant is a decent film with an original idea, that manages to bring a comedic, entertaining vibe, somewhat similar to the kind you can see in films like the iconic mockumentaries Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show, or in TV shows like The Office.

It looked like it was a lot of fun to make. Production value was fairly decent, performances were convincing and all in all, it was a fun film to watch and inspiring to boot, especially considering it was made for only US$2,500 according to IMDb.

Killer Assistant scores a 7.5 out of 10 on the Look at Me, I’m A Film Critic scale!
Next up is Clown College, the brain child of actress and filmmaker Wendy Keeling and husband Kevin Keeling. Reportedly, they came up with the idea for the film over booze and fried food. It is also said to be Wendy’s first ever film to be directed in Florida. I have never directed a film in Florida myself, so now I get to feel bad about myself.. Thank you, Wendy. Thank you very much.

The story revolves around a young med student, Quincy, played by Bailey Ingersoll, who is somewhat mentally burdened… the character, not Bailey… who is burdened over the tough relationship she had with her father, played by Jim Dougherty, who had just passed away… the character… I assume Jim is alive and well… and if he’s not, you can’t pin this one on me!

After paying her respects at her father’s funeral, Quincy is bothered by a tooth ache which prompts a visit to the dentist, portrayed by Chad Newman.

Yeah… Well, to treat her tooth ache, the dentist puts Quincy under anesthetic. When she wakes up, things look a little different to her, meaning everyone she sees, is now dressed as a clown.

Wendy gives us depth that lies somewhere within the film, in subtext yet detectable, since at some point at least, it is not easy to make sense of it.

Quincy’s reality is constantly accompanied by an eerie, surreal feel. She isn’t a normal young woman. We get that fairly quickly from her appearance in goth makeup and outfit.

The other characters around her aren’t normal either, with a slight grotesque-feel to the world of the film. They are all a bit hyper and askew from what you might consider to be normal. Interestingly, Quincy doesn’t seem surprised or phased by what she sees, hinting she might know it’s stemming from somewhere within her and not necessarily the effects of the anesthetic.

This keeps the viewers on their toes and provides an interesting, visually entertaining viewing experience which allows us to just sit back and enjoy, rather than try to decipher as the film goes, feeling we will get our answers at the end. Or will we…?

The only issue I had with the film has to do with not enough dissonance between the way characters behave before and after Quincy wakes up at the dentist, but that is just my personal opinion.

Having said that, Clown College is a very impressive feat. Production value is high. It is apparent that the cinematography, set design, costumes and makeup, were professionally and skillfully. The performances fit perfectly with the tone. There is even an interesting cameo in the film, involving an overly large pencil. In this film, that somehow make sense.

Clown College, Scores a 7.5/10 on the Look at Me, I’m A Film Critic scale!
Both Clown College and Killer Assistant are currently on their respective (and successful) festival runs, so keep an eye out for screenings in your area and for further updates on the films’ Facebook pages (links included) regarding their availability… and there are plenty of upcoming festival screenings to choose from and more to come, I’m sure.

If you’d like to catch-up on our past reviews and promos, you can find them all on our website and on our recently launched MyIndie Review Vlog Vimeo channel. Link included.

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! At least one of my several personalities will be here!