This review was originally published by the editors of OpenFilm.com http://netlabsystems.com/reviews/videos/meliasean-you-don't-know-me
Other genre movies on Openfilm, like Chance Meeting and A Lovely Side to Darkness, have tried to create atmospheric suspense while confining the action to an enclosed space. But this is the only one that truly succeeds. For a first-time director, Sean Melia sure knows how to ratchet up the tension.
The movie concerns a video shoot gone awry. At a house party, a jokey and affable filmmaker named Neil (Neil Magnuson) claims to have come up with an idea for a short film that will gain more than 1 million hits on YouTube. His girlfriend, Stefanie (Stefanie Frame, way out of Magnuson's league, but no matter), arrives, and the couple dive right into the production of the viral video. It involves two hidden cameras, Stefanie playing dead and Neil playing a trick on his friend and host, Michael (Michael Hogan). Needless to say, complications arise.
Most of the action is told through Neil's POV - in the opening scene we see Stefanie through his wobbly viewfinder - and Magnuson's performance is essential to what makes the film work. At first, his friend's reaction to Stefanie's "dead" body is disquieting, and then even more disquieting. Michael claims this could jeopardize a promotion at work, and pretty soon he's brandishing a power saw and covering his bathroom in plastic. Neil's response is to act like a kid (or an audience member, for that matter) who laughs at something terrible because to do anything else would make it seem too real. Magnuson plays it beautifully, as everything around Neil unravels.
Shot over two days in the director's Brooklyn apartment, You Don't Know Me is the obvious product of considerable preparation. Melia got two TV actors to play Michael and Stefanie. These are small roles, and they're both played to the hilt. He sought out bands on MySpace to give the film its pulsing indie- rock soundtrack. The editing and sound mixing by Lee Eaton make everything about the house party and its bloody aftermath seem authentic. Notice the way the right side of Michael's face falls into shadow when he finally makes a full confession. Or the way one particular shot lingers on the stairway, subtly capturing the perspective of the second hidden camera. Or the way the POV switches after the first real murder is committed. This is a very handsomely mounted production that benefits from just the right choices.
