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BRYAN LOVES YOU Review by David Carter FILM FANADDICT! Suspense is an elusive element for most filmmakers. Terror, sadness, joy, or laughter are all relatively easy to induce in your audience; one simply has to provide them sad or funny. Suspense, on the other hand, is crafted over time. No one event can create that mixture of curiosity and apprehension in the viewer; the whole of the films mise-en-scene has to support it. Suspense also has a laundry list of factors working against it such as the audiences foreknowledge of the plot from trailers and promotional materials, or from simply being versed in cinematic tropes. A character going to investigate a noise in a dark room alone no longer generates suspense; the audience has seen it so many times, they are well aware of what is going to happen even if the characters arent. Its for that reason that a film like BRYAN LOVES YOU is so impressive since it manages to generate suspense and tension despite its smaller budget and neophyte filmmaker, Seth Landau. The film begins with a THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT/CLOVERFIELD style introduction from the government advising the audience that the following film consists of footage reconstructed into a linear format from security cameras and home-video recorders. To whet our appetites, the man (Tony Todd) implies than even hardened government officials havent been able to stomach the entire thing. The story that unfolds concerns Jonathan, a New York therapist relocated in Arizona, and his investigations into the Altar of Bryan, a bizarre cult which seems to have taken over his small town. At first his fascination is a mixture of mere intellectual curiosity and boredom; however he soon learns that there is something not quite right about his new neighbors. The incident that clues Jonathan in to the potential danger actually happens to his teacher friend Linda. She is attacked and bitten by one of her students after she refuses to profess her love for Bryan. She disappears only to reappear a few days later a full believer in the cults teachings and then commits suicide. Jonathan and friend Nicole continue to delve into the teachings of the cult but an attempt to record one of their meetings ends with Nicole kidnapped by a high-ranking member. When she too appears to be brainwashed the next time they meet, Jonathan is left to continue the investigations on his own. He finds an ally in a stranger obsessed with video taping the cults every move but his lack of faith lands him at the cults mercy in an insane asylum. Writer-director Landaus attention to the small details helps BRYAN LOVES YOU be as suspenseful and engaging as it is. Audio drops censor Jonathans last name and the name of the city a subtle but highly effective reminder to the audience of the films found footage concept. Rather than taking the BLAIR WITCH approach and implying authenticity through shaky camera movement and poor focus, BRYAN LOVES YOU does so narratively and through less-nausea inducing means. The characters behave authentically; Jonathan reacts to the majority of the films incidences with an almost detached disbelief instead of cinematic histrionics. The suspense is heightened because Jonathan doesnt seem to pick up on the danger than he is in and his lack of reaction ultimately elicits a stronger one from the audience. Anchor Bays Full Frame presentation of the film further enhances the found footage idea since the aspect ratio is the same as a standard security camera or home video camera in the early nineties, the time period in which the film is set. The print is very good and the soundtrack clear, both things that are typically lacking in low budget productions. BRYAN LOVES YOU is a well-written and well-paced film that is far better than most recent indie thrillers and several mainstream thrillers as well if Im being honest. It would be both easy and a mistake to dismiss the film as another BLAIR WITCH knock-off. While it uses a similar technique and one not original or exclusive to that film - it crafts a fine film with it and one that deserves to be seen. This one will likely slip under a lot of peoples radar; make sure it doesnt do the same for you.