Hate* (*a comedy)

HATE *A COMEDY is a short dark comedy in which when you become terrified by the fact that a chicken is wielding an axe or a syringe full of Drain-o and realize it, you start to laugh at the fact that that's the point of the film: to scare you and make you laugh at the same time. I love the hilarious notion chickens are allowed to live the average human lifestyle with no questioning or phobia, while still being recognized as a chicken. An example is in the beginning when Paul is telling his story to the police, and how he greeted Pembrooke when he first moved in, while eating fried chicken at the same time, resulting in a negative reaction from the poultry. "Maybe you were eating someone he knew" says one of the cops. GENIUS! This short goes right up there with NIGHT OF THE LIVING BREAD, LOAF, GEORGE LUCAS IN LOVE, and (forgot the title) another short in which a man driving down the freeway in L.A. doesn't realize the road has been shut down to serve as an emergency landing zone for a falling aircraft (the title was a triple-digit number). Catch HATE on HBO if you can.

HATE* A Comedy is one of the most innovative short films, I have ever seen. The idea is fresh and hilarious. The acting is quite good with new talented faces that are exciting to watch. You actually find yourself cheering at certain points in the movie. I highly recommend this film to all.

No, this is NOT a French flick. It's actually a dark comedy about a homicidal chicken who stalks his next-door neighbor relentlessly. It's like David Fincher doing a cross between "Babe" and "Cape Fear". The writer/director team of Drew Daywalt & David Schneider were truly inspired when they came up with this twisted little tale. The world they and their cast & crew created was seamless -- a world in which people never question the ability of a chicken to drive, type, play cards...or even wield an axe. This kind of stuff is perfectly normal in their Everyland, USA. HATE* brings a smile to my face every time I watch it!

This short film is one of the best I've seen. It's hilarious, unique, and unexpected. They've been showing it with some regularity on Cinemax recently (Apr./May 2001), so if you get a chance, check it out.

This tale of a negro sharecropper's life in post-Antebellum Richmond crackles with the kind of veracity and oomph usually reserved for heartfelt flag-day celebrations and the occasional creative briss.

Making a rare appearance in an American film, Dame Sophia DeGueering turns in a heartbreaking performance as Mary Applebee, an aging Southern matriarch with a secret past.