They're Made Out of Meat (2005)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Stephen O'Regan

Writers:

Terry Bisson (short story)
Stephen O'Regan (adaptation)

Genre:

Short | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

After years of investigation, an alien meets with his partner in a diner to discuss an unbelievably shocking discovery. |

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Tom Noonan	...	Duncan
Ben Bailey	...	Dexter
Gbenga Akinnagbe	...	Merlin
Brenda Dellacasa	...	Stacy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stephen Campenella	...	Andre

Runtime:

USA:8 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Freeloader Productions

Wonderfully funny and clever short film

Two aliens meet up in a roadside diner to review their mission on earth. Duncan is relatively new to the planet whereas Dexter has been probing and exploring all over it for some time. Sensing Duncan's interesting in the humans, Dexter informs him that, despite what it looks like, they are simply made out of meat. Duncan understandably cannot believe this and questions this statement.

A wonderful witty sci-fi short film this that is driven by the simple idea that a pair of visiting aliens cannot get their heads around the idea that these humans are made of meat; their communications are made by slapping their meat together and their noises are controlled by a brain, which itself is made out of meat. The concept behind the delivery is good and it is interesting to sit on the alien side of the table and look at the humans and wonder how on earth we do exist and operate for what we are when really, we are just meat and water.

Of course the appeal of the film to me was not that it gave me deep thoughts about the nature of being but rather the comedy value. The writing pitches the absurdity of the idea that these things made of meat are just walking around (us) really well and it is funny to hear it discussed in these terms. The stuff around the edges of the diner makes it work better because you can understand why the aliens are struggling with the concept. Of course it helps to have two really good performances delivering the script. Bailey is good as he spits his disgust – barely able to deal with how basic these things made of meat are. Noonan is slightly better as he has more of a range to deliver, but again his main thrust is the inability to really get what the other is saying. Together they both work well and I can only imagine it must have taken some work to get takes without laughter (you tell me how easy it would have been to get the shot where the girl presses herself against the window and stays there). O'Regan directs well and delivers the strong script with a real sense of timing and pace.

Overall, a simple but very effective short film that stays with the strong premise summarised by the title. Well worth a look.