Movie Review: Shooting April

　　Reviewing Shooting April, the new film written and directed by Tod Lancaster, has been a lot harder than I originally thought because after watching it, the only thing I can really think is "…that was pretty f***ing crazy." And while one line would assuage some people, I don’t really think that’s something most others would be content with, so bear with me as I try to gather my wits throughout the course of this review.

　　So, Shooting April was pretty f***ing crazy… DAMN. Hang on. Deep breath...

　　

　　Despite suffering from the logic flaws of other films shot in a similar way (Cloverfield, Diary of the Dead), Shooting April manages to rise above it on the strength of both its story and the absolute knockout performance by its lead actor. It hits all the right spots, being both funny and disturbing at the same time, and Lancaster shows his ability to create tension that builds up until it’s released in a final act that is so dark, I’m having a hard time getting it out of my head.

　　Shooting April is made up of a series of videos recorded by three friends: Truman (Matthew John Prater), Weasel (Eric Fagundes), and Doug (Darius Safavi). Truman is the leader of the group, the loud boisterous one who lacks any fear and any conscience. Weasel is the opposite of Truman, horrible with the ladies and would probably scream if he saw his own shadow. Doug, the third man, is the guy with the camera shooting the footage and occasionally chiming in with his two cents.

　　The reason they are shooting footage in the first place is for their website, where they post a variety of videos of them doing stunts and engaging in all sorts of other debauchery. For the first half of the movie, we follow the three as Doug tapes Truman destroying property, having sex with a girl in a boat at a party, and setting himself on fire, all the while trying to outdo himself and to get Weasel to "grow a pair" (that’s the technical term, Google it). At one of the parties they attend, they meet a girl named April (Rachel Seiferth), who’s shy and from the looks of it, way too nice to be associating with people of this caliber. Naturally since Truman considers himself to be a god, he thinks he can get her to sleep with him on the first date. The other two disagree, and it becomes a bet: if Truman can do it, he gets 100 bucks. Unfortunately, things begin to escalate and eventually get out of hand.