The second short film by future special effects artist George Port featured Peter Jackson as producer, just as Jackson was wrapping up his phase as a filmmaker of bizarre cinema. This short film is another technical exercise in which Port would demonstrate his mastery of special effects. The short film has a short, effective story that is well conveyed thru humor. It's about the clash between two people with different lifestyles. On one side is River, a hippie with a lifestyle based on peace and harmony. On the other side is Ted, a metalhead with a lifestyle based on his passion for heavy metal. The clash between the two is very evident because Ted doesn't share the same tranquility as River. Ted disrupts River's tranquility, giving rise to a feud they fight thru stereo. As absurd as it may seem, River uses the technique of fighting fire with fire. Since Ted is a heavy metal enthusiast, it makes sense that River would use the stereo as a weapon to fight him. What you see in the short film is a battle of sounds. River is dedicated to using sound to record nature sounds and decides to use that against Ted thru the stereo. As expected, Ted responds by playing heavy metal. The situation depicted in the short film is something worthy of a sketch. In fact, the short film has the potential to be an MTV sketch because its style is similar to many of the commercials and bumpers that MTV used to air during its golden age. The short film ends up being quite funny during its brief runtime. Additionally, its final minutes feature an excellent stop-motion sequence of River's house transforming into a giant robot with multiple stereos. This sequence was a good omen of what George Port would go on to do in the field of special effects. Even Richard Taylor contributed to the effects for this short film. It's not surprising that Peter Jackson produced this short film, since Port was part of the cast of Braindead and they apparently already knew each other. The short film's style and humor have a bit of Peter Jackson's flavor. There's even a nod to Bad Taste when, in one scene, you can see a vinyl record of the film's soundtrack among Ted's collection. Coincidentally, the original score was composed by Michelle Scullion, who also wrote the score for Bad Taste. In addition, George Port, along with Peter Jackson and Richard Taylor, founded Weta FX shortly thereafter, one of the most important special effects companies in cinema. So with this short film, the birth of this production company was already being announced. Valley Of The Stereos is a fun short film that showcases the talent of its rising creators. Whether it's because Peter Jackson produced it or because it involves some of his special effects collaborators, it's worth giving it a shot. My final rating for this short film is 8/10.
