If Pieces of Talent is any indication, writers David Long and Joe Stauffer must have at least a dozen unsold, completed screenplays laying around between the two of them. The realistic, everyday dialogue and careful attention to character development should be a welcome relief to horror fans. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Pieces of Talent focuses on Charlotte, a down on her luck, struggling actress working as a waitress in a strip club who is also trying to support her alcoholic mother. After he is assaulted and beaten up, Charlotte meets David Long and goes out of her way to make sure he is ok. David says he's a filmmaker who has a great role for her in the perfect project. That role however is not what it seems.
The film is Joe Stauffer's full length directorial debut and is a bit of a slow burn in the vein of Ti West. This is a straight up horror movie and is not hindered or slowed down by typical horror stock characters or any goofy friends thrown in for comic relief. No, Pieces of Talent wants to feel real, it wants to be a story that could happen in the town next to yours. And it succeeds.
The dialogue is written the way people actually talk, which had me hanging on every word. Another strong point of the film is it's character development. We spend a lot of time with Charlotte and her mother and seeing the world that Charlotte lives in. We also get a lot of time seeing Charlotte and David simply having conversations. One scene in a diner leaves the viewer feeling as though they are eavesdropping. That's how rich and authentic these characters feel.
Credit must be given to the actors here as well, David Long and Kristi Ray do phenomenal work in their roles. David Long is never not believable as the aging, optimistic, surfer-dude filmmaker he portrays (also named David Long in the movie), and excels when his perfect "project" comes to light. The guy has creepy and disturbed down to a tee when that side of him is revealed.
The actress Kristi Ray does a superb job as the languishing young actress. She exudes melancholy and vulnerability and hope. She brings to mind the sensibilities of Greta Gerwig in Frances Ha and other roles in the way the world seemed to be happening to her and she can't get a handle on it but desperately wants to and is left just passing the days, hoping for something better. She's that good and I hope to see her more.
The horror of the movie builds as we begin to see what the "project" is that David Long is talking about. The disturbed Long lures young actors to a remote field where he then chases them until he catches and kills them. All of this happens while he is filming and it is the ultimate reality TV. Actual fear and real deaths on camera. One scene in particular stood out to me as Long sat with his bloodied victim, talking to him and laughing not far from a road and only behind a couple trees. A few cars pass and it seems sadly real that none of the drivers would notice a bloodied person not far from the road, or if they did that they wouldn't stop anyway. The horror of all that is that David Long knows this.
I will not go into the role that Charlotte plays in this project to avoid spoiler territory. But I will say that the climax of the film is an inspired piece of obsessive mania.
Pieces of Talent is a fantastic effort from David Long, Joe Stauffer, and everyone involved. It's an independent horror film that breaks the norms: it looks great and displays excellent performances. Catch this one if you can, it is currently making the festival/convention rounds. You'll be glad you did.
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