Tweet
Director: Eduardo Miyar
Cast: Valerie Jones Rash, Mark Marple, Mike Malloy
Year: 2018
This twenty-minute short film opens with a stark black and white shot of a woman lying in bed, the room is in shambles. The alarm goes off and she stumbles back to life, and she grabs a book called Blade Of Justice. She eats her breakfast, and reads the book. Gets on the bus, reads the book. She even reads it on the way into the office where she works.
This woman's name is Ange Carter (Valerie Jones) and she's so distracted by her book that she doesn't even notice the hunky co-worker that catches the eye of her cleavage-heavy officemate. When Ange is asked what's so fascinating about this book, she tries to explain but all the other woman wants to know is if there are any sex scenes. Ange gets called into the boss' office, and she nervously obliges - what else is she going to do? She walks in and meets three men - her boss, Mr. Pendleton (Henry Tisdale), and two agents, Marshack (Mike Malloy) and his superior, Doctor Tate (Mark Marple). They're here to interrogate her, though she's not sure about what. They don't believe she is who she says she is, they think she's Samantha Blade… the character from the book she's so enthralled with.
They assume she suffers from fictional dissociate disorder, and that she's impersonating a human being - she is, what they call, a page jumper and she belongs in the fictional world that they intend to return her to. She makes a run for it, but these men mean business. Marshack gets on the PA and lets her know that their best men are on this and that she's not going to make it out of the building. And Marshack? He's a killer, Ange is told. He's killed every one of the suspects that they've interrogated.
But of course, there's more to it than that.
Page Jumper is very nicely shot. The cinematography from Carlos Miranda frequently shows off a film noir aesthetic, giving the whole thing a nice retro style that works nicely in the context of the story being told. Some of the dark scenes are a tad too dark, but overall this is a nice looking movie that comes complete with some cool period fashions and even some nicely done laser battles that, when happening on screen, give the whole thing a fifties sci-fi vibe.
The acting isn't always perfect but it is always good enough, if not better and the leads do just fine. Valerie Jones is solid as our heroine, she's got an interesting screen presence, the right mix of nativity and confusion as Ange and dangerous sex appeal as Blade. Mike Malloy (yep, the same guy who made the Eurocrime! documentary) is plenty entertaining as one of the heavies and Mark Maple just fine as his associate.
The movie also has a seriously great loungey score from Kathryn O'Donnell Miyar and a strong sound mix. The music and the sound effects play a big part in the movie's effectiveness - pay attention to the mix when watching it, it's damn good. On top of that, the scrip from Don Guarisco features some amusingly quirky dialogue and demonstrates a good sense of humor and some enjoyably Twilight Zone-esque creativity right up until the end. Director Eduardo Miyar keeps the pace quick but not at the expense of story development and the end result is an entertaining yarn with some cool twists and an appreciable amount of style.
Page Jumper will be playing at Dragon Con and other festivals and conventions later this year.
