Directed by: Brian Gianci / Chris Shenkle Written by: Brian Gianci / Chris Shenkle Genre: Comedy / Thriller |
We'll Test It On Humans
Ernie Mills (Brian Gianci) is a loser should have been the name of this title. Because he is and so is his step-brother, just not in the same way. His brother Kurt (Chris Shenkle) is one of those artsy-fartsy people who is always looking for the next big thing. Right now he's a filmmaker with no credits to his name, and also happens to be couch surfing at Ernie's. This is a big issue for Earnie's wife Joan (Courtney Desman) who blames the step-brother issue for their current marital woes. That's not the case though. Joan is just a bitch. Through to the bone.
The entire situation of Kurt sleeping on the couch, and Ernie's wife using it as an excuse is just an excuse because Ernie himself is a loser. Unwilling to stand up for himself in any situation. He puts up with his cheating as*hole wife. He puts up with her complete disrespect for him because when it comes to Ernie there really is nothing to respect. His self worth is so low it's astounding. At the very start it's easy to like him and hope things work out, the slowly, it's really hard to do anything except pity him. Finally, even liking him is hard. In an attempt to "make" his wife love and respect him, Ernie plans to use a new serum developed at his workplace. The serum is a love potion that so far has only been tested on rats. Before dosing his "loving" wife Ernie has to try it on someone else. When he confides in his brother, the aspiring filmmaker decides this would make a great documentary. His ticket to fame and fortune. Armed with a zillion GoPro cameras, the 2 begin their plot to dose 2 people with the serum. 2 people that would never be interested in each other. Lights. Camera. Action. We'll Test It On Humans is clearly a micro budget film. The cinematography is pretty basic but to the point. It plays out how you'd expect. A little wobble but a lot of heart. The performances themselves sometimes feel a little forced but for the vast majority they are not bad. The 2 lead characters are also creating the film, so if something seems a little off it's understandable. It's a shame Chris Shenkle and Brian Gianci couldn't have either done one or the other. Acted or directed. Ambition is a great thing but ambition without a lot of experience can lead to some missteps. It's a small bit of magic this film turned out as well as it did. A real tribute to these guys. We'll Test It On Humans rests somewhere in the middle of a few genres and still manages to keep enough of each to have kept me interested. For a micro budget title, this one is pretty impressive. Without knowing it's a micro film, or even knowing what that means, it's still an alright movie. Three stars. |
