Tell

I've been watching Film Riot for a couple years now, and only recently did I stumble upon this short directed by Ryan Connolly.

This was his first short apparently and I have to say, I've seen a lot of first time shorts... this one is pretty good among the others I've seen. Very rarely will you see a GREAT short film done by a first timer; that's rare if even possible. To be clear, this short film is good, not great.

Some people might have issues with the picture quality, but that's because the camera they used is a very old model/simple type of camera. Nothing too fancy at all. Basically on the same level as a Canon T2i. To me, that's not a problem. If anything that's inspiring to other indie filmmakers to still go out and make movies and not let the lack of stellar equipment stop you from doing so.

The acting was okay... passable.

The story is pretty good, and I'm 99% sure based on Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart. I say that because it has similar elements and it's title is "TELL". I actually find that pretty cool that someone adapted Poe literature into a short film, set in modern times.

And as I recall, I have no issues with the editing or sound design. The lighting and color grading seemed to fit the short well.

Overall, a pretty good diamond in the ruff and highly recommended; especially if you're into indie filmmaking, it might inspire you.

I will keep "TELL" and film riot separate because when i watched it i wiped out the name of their youtube super hit show. First thing the story got me totally and by saying that i mean it was nicely interactive between the story and the audience. I found this 33 (waw) minutes short film very well paced(somewhere something very little was missing). In terms of camera angle and a little shakiness turned me down a bit but hey considering the budget and the crew that's the best one can get for sure. But, if i compare this film to other big budget short film, guess what, it will still make a big impression on them. One fact can do it all, "TELL"'s soundtrack was extremely catching and it kept me in tense most of the time. Last but not least a well graded film. I am no guru in terms of any of the issues i just talked about but i know what is comfortable and fun to watch and what is not.

Good job Ryan connolly.

Taylor is having another big fight with his girlfriend Jenny; storming out, he remembers the drunken advice of a friend, collects a hammer from his truck and goes back inside to brutally murder her. The moment is easy, however covering up the crime is another thing – only made more difficult by Taylor struggling to keep a hold on reality.

Tell manages to be both obvious but yet very effective at the same time. I see that the reception to the film is very mixed because people generally see it one way or the other but for me it manages to do both pretty well. As a horror of sorts it is all about the tension and build, although there are scenes of violence, really the whole film is about the tension. It does this very well and often I was on the edge of my seat, but at the same time my brain did not let go to the point where I was blind to what the film was doing. See the problem with it is that it is really using every trick in the book – and yes it is using them to get good results, but they still feel like tricks.

So the half-seen figures, the blurring or reality/imagined, the camera staring in one direction waiting for something that may or may not come and, of course, that building noise of a score. This latter one is the key thing and it really does help raise the tension. Credit to Ryan Connolly, he knows the genre and he knows what works, using everything to build a simple but very effective film. The cast support him well in this, particularly Bruno, who is a physical manifestation of the tension in the film – he balls it up and sells it. Likewise Eva, although dispatched early on, she remains a creepy presence throughout.

The film is very much about genre clichés and familiar old tricks, so I do understand the reservations about it, but at the same time it uses them all together very well to make an effective, gripping and tense 30 minutes. Well worth a look for what it does well.

The first thing I want to say is that I might be a little "prejudiced" about this movie, because I am a real fan of the FilmRiot you-tube show and I'm watching it for a really long time. I'm really impressed about this movie Tell, they created. It has a fantastic script (my opinion) and it's very well acted. I think the cruel storyline really succeeded along with the background music. But you won't lose any sympathetic for the main character, even after all his murders. I don't want to say too much about this movie, you have to watch it for yourself.... which can't be a problem since it's free to watch! The You-tube broadcasts quite exploded in popularity the last few years. The, not too long, free to watch movies, are a good way of wasting time for almost every one. This community has grown so much, that the quality is increasing to a high level. It's showing us you don't need a Hollywood budget to make a good film.

The internet is really competing against the high budget films in cinema's and on DVD's. Projects like Tell, witch are almost getting to the "cinema" quality, will make "buying" films superfluous. I think projects like Tell, can really gain popularity in the future. People are looking more and more for ways to watch films cheap, like Netflix or even illegally downloading them.

Hopefully this will be our future. At least TELL is one step in the right direction...

I have to say I am a big fan of Ryans You Tube channel "Film Riot" and I thought his film "Losses" was very well shot even though it lacked a good story line.

However, I waited nearly 3 years for this film and I expected something amazing, but instead got something that was OK.

I purchased the Blue Ray with the signed script (Which took for ever to come), just so I could see the behind the scenes and see how Ryan did his scripts. But even the Blue Ray was OK and nothing amazing and I was slightly disappointed.

The acting was above average, but for a short film it was alright but not a 10 out of 10..... More of a 6 out of 10