Dave Made a Maze (2017)

Dave, an artist who has yet to complete anything significant in his career, builds a fort in his living room out of pure frustration, only to wind up trapped by the fantastical pitfalls, booby traps, and critters of his own creation.

Director:

Bill Watterson

Writers:

Steven Sears (screenplay), Bill Watterson (screenplay)

Stars:

Meera Rohit Kumbhani, Nick Thune, Adam Busch

15 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Meera Rohit Kumbhani	...	Annie
Nick Thune	...	Dave
Adam Busch	...	Gordon
James Urbaniak	...	Harry
Frank Caeti	...	Boom Operator
Scott Narver	...	Cameraman
Stephanie Allynne	...	Brynn
Kirsten Vangsness	...	Jane
Scott Krinsky	...	Leonard
Timothy Nordwind	...	Greg
John Hennigan	...	The Minotaur
Rick Overton	...	Hobo
Kamilla Alnes	...	Flemish Tourist
Drew Knigga	...	Flemish Tourist
Etienne Eckert	...	Shadow Dancer

Storyline

'Dave Made A Maze' re-imagines classic 80's adventure films with a modern comedic edge and a higher body count. Dave, an artist who has yet to complete anything significant in his career, builds a fort in his living room out of pure frustration, only to wind up trapped by the fantastical pitfalls, booby traps, and critters of his own creation. Ignoring his warnings, Dave's girlfriend Annie leads a band of oddball explorers on a rescue mission. The handmade fantasy world comes to life with puppetry, stop-motion animation, and in-camera optical illusions, re-igniting the tactile sense of wonder from the movies of our childhoods.

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Plot Keywords:

magic realism | art | tesseract | turning into cardboard | time lapse photography | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Blog Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 August 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dave Fez um Labirinto

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,135, 20 August 2017, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$34,117, 7 September 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Butter Stories, Dave Made An LLC, Foton Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The studio had only enough space for two rooms of the maze to be built at any one time. While one was being filmed the other would be built for the next scene to be shot. According to the producer, the average lifespan of a room was four hours.

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Quotes

Gordon: I can't believe you actually made this.
Dave: Well, it's not finished yet. But pretty cool, huh? The interesting thing is that I started in the center and built outward like a seashell.
Gordon: The interesting thing is that you got lost.

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Soundtracks

Diversion
Written and Produced by Eddy Grant
Performed by The Equals
Courtesy of Ice Records Limited
Used by Permission of EMI Music Publishing Ltd.
All rights reserved.

User Reviews

Fifty-fifty, maybe less

The gorgeous images deserve that you watch this film.

The dreadful dialogues might ruin the moment for you, however.

Now I'll just develop a bit, so you can skip if it's TLDR : I don't know if the same person conceived the visuals and wrote the text, but the former are wonderful while the latter is unbearable. The maze's sets, effects, even costumes are imaginative and fantastic. They keep the promises that made you curious about watching the film.

The dialogue, on the other hand, is written by a slacker. It's the kind of film where the line you hear the most is "Are you okay ?" surrounded by countless other platitudes and a distinct lack of real emotion. Drivel, simply put. Vapid, out of place, lazy, oafish, and much, much less. That's what makes the story. That's also what makes the viewing an ordeal. Thus I can't be sure about the actors : I have a bud of an opinion, but in their defense they had to work with trash.

Likely, you can't predict if you'll endure the talking, which way it will tip your balance. I'm feeling generous, thanks to the handcraft, and I think Jim Henson would have approved.