Well, this was something different from Rickey Bird Jr., after his previous short film, Machine Gun Baby, permanently scarred my brain. I can respect a man who tackles different themes and topics, and while A Well Respected Man may not be as dastardly bizarre as his previous endeavor, I can definitely see a styled look beginning to immerge. From Hectic Films and now available to stream on Vimeo, A Well Respected Man sees an average corporate executive vying for a long-awaited job promotion on the day the world is doomed to eternity courtesy of a large comet. What ensues is a multi-award winning 21 minute mini-movie that shows just how quickly a mental break can occur and what the people around you will do facilitate that dangerous path. Starring Thomas Brill, Kelli Maroney and Chelsea Newman, this short was produced by John R. Blythe, Tim Bird, Thomas Haley and Rachel Bird.
Two things jumped out at me rather quickly, and one I’m sure other reviewers in this genre have pointed out. First, the irony is not lost on me that Kelli Maroney appears in this short film after infamously co-starring in 1984’s Night of the Comet. I’m glad to see she’s still doing her thing in and out of the horror and science fiction genres. Secondly, I felt like the news segments spliced into A Well Respected Man were used as satire to poke fun at the world’s current batch of young people. With the way news outlets were reporting on some stupid story instead of the fact that a comet was headed for Earth, it was a way of doing “See No Evil. Speak No Evil. Hear No Evil,” but instead – sub out the word evil and replace it with the word stupid. If you don’t give it attention, it can’t hurt you, right? A Well Respected Man proves that theory very, very wrong.
To its credit, this short film is very well shot. Although it’s not quite horror, I’m happy to be reviewing a scifi-drama with a little more depth to it. Another theme addressed here is how a little bit of a power can go to our heads. Still crazy, satirical, well acted, and well produced, I have no qualms with this title except that the CGI comet showers were just below the standard that the rest of this picture was measured to. A Well Respected Man is written and produced by Rickey Bird Jr., who also executive produced the picture alongside Leonard Mcleod, Adam Beck and Jay 6. Find it on Vimeo today! Final Score: 7 out of 10.
