Giugno 18, 2017 | ISSN: 2281-3624/6 Creative Commons Attribuzione 3.0 Italy

The KAOS Brief 1/5 Mara Verena Leonardini

Written and directed by JP Mandarino with an outstanding cast of young actors, The KAOS Briefprovides a refreshing approach to the found footage genre by melting alien encounters, conspiracytheory, and social media obsession. Premiered in Europe as part of the Sci-Fi London Film Festivaland having just been featured at the 2017 Cannes Festival, the movie is an intriguing slow-burn,immersive experience into the fear of the unknown.

Spoiler

Scritto e diretto da JP Mandarino con un cast di talentuosi giovani attori, The KAOS Brief dimostrache il found footage genre – in cui riprese amatoriali e documentarstiche garantiscono veridicitàall’azione e che ha raggiunto, nel genere scie fic, l’apice in District 9 – è in grado di rinnovarsiquando accostato a elementi quali teorie cospiratorie, ossessione per i social media e incontri delterzo tipo.

Un gruppo di quattro teenager decide di campeggiare in montagna per il weekend (ricordate TheBlair Witch Project?). Non appena il video blogger Skylar condivide online le riprese degli straniaccadimenti a cui il gruppo ha assistito durante la vacanza, sinistri ammonimenti cominciano aossessionare i protagonist. Eccezionalmente credibile, parco nell’uso di effetti speciali e spargimentidi sangue, The KAOS Brief seduce lo spettatore ora trattenendo, ora concedendo informazioni suciò che sta accadendo, e offre una visione inquietante sulla nostra apparentemente innocuaabitudine di condividere in rete pensieri, esperienze, segreti…

[riduci]

Mysteriously introduced by a masked figure, The KAOS Brief opens with a hacktivist messagewarning the viewers about the footage they are about to see. The broadcast starts.

Aspiring vlogger Skylar, his twin sister and their boyfriends are heading to the mountains for acamping weekend. Skylar cannot wait to get some new material to share with his subscribers on hisYouTube Channel – Skylar TV. Every moment of the carefree trip is recorded: the weather issplendid, the surrounding breathtaking, and the kids are beautifully enjoying life. We almost wish wewere there. We even start to like self-obsessed, vain Skylar and are amused by his ridiculously well-endowed set of tech toys: iPads, iPhones, Macbooks, even a footage drone.

Meanwhile, something happens to interrupt the idyll and reminds us that, in a horror movie, a crewof playful teens cavorting into the woods can lead to nothing but trouble: during the night, the kidsspot mysterious lights in the sky. “The fun is over!”, we think. But teen spirit is tough to kill. Thekids are too laid back to bother, even when they find impossibly stacked pillars of rocks in theircampsite and burn marks in a nearby field. They just pack up, go back home and order pizza. Andthis is actually brilliant.

Keen to increase his followers and pleased by his explosive U.F.O. uploads, Skylar is too busyvlogging to realise that sharing the footage on his channel may not be the wisest idea. Even when amysterious internet user contacts the teenager warning him that he shouldn’t have shared hisfootage online, Skylar does not lose his cool and continues uploading any updates on the matter. It isonly when two sinister government officers start to torment them in the middle of the night – andwarning them to stop sharing what they know – that the gang start to think that it may be time totake things seriously… From that point forward, the story gradually picks up in tension in agrowingly sinister scenario, involving alien abduction and conspiracy theories.

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Giugno 18, 2017 | ISSN: 2281-3624/6 Creative Commons Attribuzione 3.0 Italy

The KAOS Brief 2/5 Mara Verena Leonardini

Firstly, we are thankful that our likeable bunch of rational teens are far from typical overexcited,wildly emotional horror movie characters. What many producers want is a lot of screaming andrunning about: this is how many movies of this genre try to keep you on the edge of your sit, but isnot it just exhausting, in the long run? Creating suspense is a proper art. It is not aboutoverstimulating the viewer with constant striking twists, or by making aliens appear from behind thecharacters at every turn. This just leaves us jaded and spent. The rhythmic pacing of a goodsuspense story is forged by flirting with the viewer, concealing and revealing information until thethrilling climax. And this is what director and writer JP Mandarino manages to do skilfully in whatwas correctly defined a “slow-burn movie”.

This is not the only strength of the film: Mandarino aimed to make a budget-conscious movie and thefound (here “hacked”) footage genre perfectly responds to this objective. In addition, the hacktivistelement and the obsession for social media add a unique angle to the plot and a refreshing approachto the genre. Utilising all forms of available video footage, from webcam, to handheld cameras,CCTV and even a drone camera, makes it much easier for the viewer to follow the story withoutbeing stuck by a univocal perspective. Most importantly, this prevents one of the constant criticismof the found footage thrillers: during the most dramatic moments, the characters of this genreshould just drop the camera and run. Why do they keep filming? This, indeed, is poorly believable.With so many cameras running concurrently in The KAOS Brief, this problem does not arise.

Moreover, the extensive use of social media and vlogging in the film not only makes it easilyidentifiable to a modern audience. But it also suggests that our apparently innocuous obsession withsharing any events and thoughts so openly in a blog can be actually dangerous, in a society whereprivacy has blurred its lines and where we are far more controlled than we think. Sharingprovocative ideas, or connecting with activist communities on social networks, for example, mayattract unwanted attention from government agencies. This clearly emerges as the story progresses:if, at the start, we are relieved by the fact that Skylar is filming and sharing all those eeriehappenings with thousands of people – which makes us feel somewhat safer and not alone – weacknowledge that this is the very problem that will put the characters in a life-or-death situation.What we feel as reassuring and comforting as part of our day-to-day practice, ends up beinganything but safe.

The last praise goes to the actors, who admirably drive the story forward with excellent believabilityand a touch of reality, thanks to their outstanding improvisation skills. Skylar (Drew Lipson) and hissister Dakota (Charlie Morgan), are extremely spontaneous, and their credibility as twins is terrific.Corey (Marco DelVecchio), and Tren (Akanimo Eyo), although somewhat shy at the very beginning,create some of the best footages in the film.

The weakest element of the story may be identified with the masked figure that opens and ends themovie. The way the secret society KAOS is presented almost generates the feeling that it does notfully belong to the film. However, this does not affects the narrative of a movie which can bedescribed as a clean, immersive and refreshing approach to the found footage horror genre.

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Giugno 18, 2017 | ISSN: 2281-3624/6 Creative Commons Attribuzione 3.0 Italy

The KAOS Brief 3/5 Mara Verena Leonardini

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Giugno 18, 2017 | ISSN: 2281-3624/6 Creative Commons Attribuzione 3.0 Italy

The KAOS Brief 4/5 Mara Verena Leonardini

The KAOS BriefUK premiered at SCI-FI-LONDON FESTIVAL on Thursday 4th May*at Stratford PicturehouseSalway Rd, London E15 1BX

directed by JP Mandarinowritten by JP Mandarinocast Drew Lipson, Charlie Morgan Patton, Marco DelVecchio, Akanimo Eyoproducers JP Mandarino, Edward Singletar, Randall Walk

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Giugno 18, 2017 | ISSN: 2281-3624/6 Creative Commons Attribuzione 3.0 Italy

The KAOS Brief 5/5 Mara Verena Leonardini

co-producer Kenitra Beaufordexecutive producers Aaron Kuhl, Jim Rinedirector of photography Benjamin Gaskellfilm editing Michael Frostcostume design Susan Chanre-recording mixer / sound designer Shannon Deanevisual effects Mike Davisfirst assistant camera Toto D. Guerracostume supervisor Isabel Mandujanoassistant editor Charles Wrightproduction coordinator MJ Caballeroscript supervisor Ting Yu* The film has just won best Sci Fi Feature Film at The International Horror Hotel FilmFestival and Convention in Ohio, US

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