Several years ago when I was trying to complete my collection of films that Kevin Smith either directed or had something to do with I came across Drawing Flies. When I first saw this film I thought it was alright and only watched it a couple of times since then. This film was made right after Mall Rats and has some of the cast from that film which in my view is very cool to see. It's been a year or two since I have watched it so let's see how it holds up and if it is better than I remember it being. On with the autopsy!
Drawing Flies follows Donner (Jason Lee) who after a series of events leads him to tricking his friends into going onto a trip into the Canadian woods to find Sasquatch. At first everything seems to be fine, but the deeper they get into the woods the deeper his obsession gets. After his friends find out things get even worse and it leads to a breakdown in the group. Will Donner find what he is in search of or will he become a victim of his obsession?
The plot of this film does seem quite simple on the outside which it is, but when you look at it deeper there is more then just a simple film of a man in search of Sasquatch. To me it actually speaks about friendships and how the stresses of life can make you do things you normally never would to those who you are closest to. I could be wrong, but that is what I got from the film. One thing I can say is that it does have a very Kevin Smith feel to it, the films is very dialogue heavy and deals with relationships in one way or another. If you are not into something like a Kevin Smith film then you will probably not like Drawing Flies. Personally I think it has gotten better with age and it works better for myself as a film the older I have gotten.
The cast like I mentioned before is comprised mostly of people who also was in Mall Rats. Jason Lee plays as Donner who is obsessed with finding Sasquatch, Carmen Llywelyn is Cassidy who seems to care for Donner deeply but gets conflicted by his obsession and lies, Renee Humphrey plays as Meg who is a sympathetic friend who cares and worries for Donner, Jason Mewes who plays the friend who literally gets hurt because of Donner's deception, and last but not least you have Martin Brooks who plays as Jake the friend cares so much for Donner's well being and shows it by sticking with him no matter what. The cast is quite good even though some of their acting is not so great at times and that could be due to the cast being fairly new to acting in films. Nonetheless great cast!
The presentation of this film on this release is a major upgrade from the older DVD release. The older release was quite blah, but worked for the time being. This release simply looks great, the picture is way clearer and the detail is very high. There of course is some film damage and debris here and there, but nothing to major that takes you out of the film or that becomes distracting. Along with the great presentation there is also some damn good special features that include the older ones from the DVD release as well as a couple extra ones that include an all new intro from Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes! If you are a Kevin Smith film fan than I think you will dig this film because like I stated before it has the feel of his style of films that are character driven and big in dialogue. Give this film a chance!
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: Matt Gissing & Malcolm Ingram
Lead Actor/Actress: Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Carmen Llywelyn, Renee Humphrey, Marting Brooks
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Blu-ray Release Year: 2013
Theatrical Release Year: 1996
Time Length: 76 mins.
Rating: Not Rated
Region Code: A
Release Company: Horizon Movies
Website:
www.kinolorber.com
ADDITIONAL SCREENSHOTS:
Several years ago when I was trying to complete my collection of films that Kevin Smith either directed or had something to do with I came across Drawing Flies. When I first saw this film I thought it was alright and only watched it a couple of times since then. This film was made right after Mall Rats and has some of the cast from that film which in my view is very cool to see. It's been a year or two since I have watched it so let's see how it holds up and if it is better than I remember it being. On with the autopsy!
