Among the loud and busy New York crowds, the overarching skyscrapers, the horns and sirens that wail and break through the overwhelming atmosphere of its boroughs and connected lands; a team formed together and created a film titled “Devils.”
The film was made by independent film company West Egg Media and its team of creatives, with music by D1C3 & Prophetnyc.
Devils impressively says a lot in its 25:51 total runtime. It’s a short-film with music video segments performed by two of the film’s stars which play a role in narrating the film. It’s a neat little way to not only plug in their other talents, but to give viewers a few energetic and catchy moments to keep the film feeling fresh before it ventures back into its dialogue.
There are moments where some shots fall slightly out of focus, but it does not negatively affect the film. Tiny hiccups are absorbed into the film’s ability to draw you in and make you love its characters.
Devils is a true story based on real events. Realizing this while you watch the film helps you understand the artistry of its musicians, and it does a great job connecting viewers to the realization that these moments really happened. Scenes feel as if you are with the characters, and their locations feel true to their themes. City scenes feel loud, busy and genuine, and suburban family scenes feel calm, intimate and true.
Greg Mays does a breathtaking job portraying Jerry; a warm, strong and loving man that would make any of us happy to call Dad. Janelle Yull does a phenomenal job playing Debbie; a strong woman who only wants what’s best for her son Johnny, played by Carmine Grimaldi who skillfully acts out the unbalanced shifting between his unexpected and ever-changing life.
The film tends to jump around quite often; connecting its three stories. It doesn’t take long before you realize that Johnny is the younger version of the John we meet in the beginning of the film, played by the shielded and emotionally dismissive John R. Seeley. His story connects with Sean’s story, played by Sean Werner, who struggles with alcohol and drug addiction.
We spend our moments with Sean while he finds himself in a quicksand situation. He knows he shouldn’t feed his addiction, but his environment knows how to relentlessly steer him further into it.
The two stars connect and cross paths which may be symbolic to how they work together musically. The connection is deep, and even though they exchange zero dialogue with one another, it feels as if they do through the connection of their stories and the music that assists the film’s moments that contain it.
The film successfully covers a lot in such a small amount of time, and that makes it hard to believe it’s a short film. It gives us just enough to fall in-love with its characters, and just enough to make us feel how its characters feel when the world comes crashing down around them.
Anna Mayo and John R. Seeley does an incredible job directing, the film shines cinematically, the film’s editing surpasses expectations, and the cast delivers from start to finish. When two of the film’s stars come face to face, the film hits one of its most heartbreaking moments, and its actors rise to the occasion. The film feels deep, personal, powerful and “real.”
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