Originality wins again, folks. With a new story-line that audiences aren’t used to, you can accomplish all the thrills and emotionally taxing moments that you want without the need for a multi-million dollar budget. Charles A Christman III achieved this with his latest short film titled The Flower People. I had no idea what to expect when I received my fourteen minute screener, aside from the fact that it reminded me of something straight out of the 1950’s and 1960’s; which is meant in the most positive way possible. A Back 2 Ninety 9 Production and written by Charles & Robin Christman and Andrew Berchick, The Flower People tells the story of a family dealing with the pains of grief and an urban legend that follows with disastrous consequences for whoever encounters it.
Directed by Charles A Christman III and produced by Zay Rodriguez with executive produced Roberto Lombardi, The Flower People finds cinematography by Wendell Raulston Jr. and editing by Scott Perloff. I love what this production did with color, mood and the proximity of angles. It’s almost experimental in the way that these three key components mesh together, and they deliver a hyper-stylized picture that’s rare in independent short films. The choice to film in black and white is what made The Flower People feel like a narrative from decades past, as well as the red roses gave me Schindler’s List vibes with using that as a major focal point. Throw in a ton of close-up shots and wide angles, and yeah, I have no qualms with The Flower People as far as visual appeal goes.
Hannah Kathryn Young, Yasiris Alvarado, Xavier Thorton and Robert Trost star in The Flower People. And while I feel certain cast members had better on-screen chemistry than others, I’d say the actors as a unit delivered some pretty good performances. The story had a lot to do with grief and the actors managed to portray that with their words and not just their actions. Really, my only complaint is that The Flower People didn’t dive deeper into its more action and horror/scifi related elements. Because of this, it comes off as more of a dark drama than anything else, but still certainly something I could see Elvira, Mistress of the Dark horror hosting if her iconic show was still around. In this case, it was definitely better to be safe than sorry!
The Flower People comes highly recommended by me from director Charles A Christman III. I don’t know what the plans are for its future release due to film festivals being on hold, but if you see this at a venue near you in the coming months – go! If you see it pop up on your suggested video feed on YouTube or Vimeo one day – watch it! Final Score: 8.5 out of 10.
