King Ripple (2016)
Starring Keith Stanfield, Callaghan Belle, Torrey Wigfield
Directed by Luke Jaden
Received it, watched it, debated it, pondered it, watched it again… then eventually wondered what over-the-counter pharmaceutical I could ingest in high dosages to help me process what the fuck I’d just murdered 10 minutes of my life for.
From 18-year-old director Luke Jaden comes an apocalyptic mind-bender called King Ripple, and while you’re either thinking of grabbing a bottle of booze or wanting to pitch the name to an ice cream distributor, hold the phone.
This oddly interesting quickie tells the story of a man (Stanfield) who’s been dubbed “King Ripple” (presumably a pseudo urban legend) and the dystopian world he’s created for himself smack-dab in the middle of Detroit. When a small group of young adults decide to test the theory of whether or not he exists, let’s just say that things don’t go according to plan… what we have here is an otherworldly venture into the created macrocosm of a man that simply wants to exist alone in it – piquing your interest yet?
Jaden excels in getting the best look possible out of this short film, with its desolate peek into a hollowed out metropolis on the fringe. But the idea of the creation is a little muddy, and just when this thing looks as if it’s ready to ramp up, BAM! It’s over.
I can predict some good things in the future for budding director Jaden, but this one stumbled out of the starting gate and got shot in the good foot towards the finish line.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
