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johnisapokemon
Reviews
The Ringer (2013)
Chris Shepherd's masterpiece
I've watched all of Chris Shepherd's films from his dark Dad's Dead to comedies like Who I Am And What I Want. But for me this film is his most affecting. In an interview he said that this film was loosely based upon him meeting his estranged father. He's changed the facts to weave a narrative that juxtaposes a Hollywood version of fatherhood, created in animation, with a gritty Ken Loach style reality of what its really like to meet your father. It's subtle and powerful. 9/10
Dad's Dead (2002)
A total classic
I first came across Dad's Dead ten years ago when I was a student studying moving image. I was under the impression that animation was very much about cartoons. But watching Chris Shepherd's dark masterpiece made me realise that all animation doesn't have to be a formula. This dark coming of age story showed me that I could make projects that broke conventions and explore the darker side. This film inspired me to animate and eventually get a job in the industry. So I have a lot to be thankful for with this short film.
When I look at the comments I can see a lot of hate for this film. But I think this is because it does something the audience don't expect. Most films in this commercial age pander to the audience. The maxim being to give the viewers what they want. Which means that cinema is slowly dying. But Dad's Dead doesn't do this. It's almost saying 'bollocks' to the audience. Which I personally think is brilliant. Ignore the haters!!! It tells the story of a gullible young boy who hero worships his friend only to find that he's a sociopath. His friend Johnno is no friend at all and he leads our narrator (played by the brilliant Ian Hart) into the path of destruction.
Chris has now made a sequel to Dad's Dead called Johnno's Dead which has been doing really well at the festivals. He brings back the same cast to play the same roles ten years on. They should put both films on the same bill as Trainspotting 1 and 2 as they both explore the same ground. Its well worth checking out and if you can see them back to back you will be in for a treat as they are both classics.
9/10
Johnno's dead (2016)
A powerful journey into obsessional destruction.
I recently saw Chris Shepherd's new film Johnno's Dead at the London International Animation Festival where it won the Best British Short Award and I loved it. I've been writing my dissertation on Chris's films and thought Johnno's Dead was a powerful combination of live action and animation. It is also the sequel to his award winning short Dad's Dead
Dad's Dead was a film about somebody who realizes that their best friend was a sociopath and ultimately this friendship lands the narrator, played by the brilliant Ian Hart, in prison. Johnno's Dead is set twelve years later when the narrator leaves prison. It charts the narrators progress as he comes to terms with how the world has changed. The story gives the illusion that the narrator has put any grudges behind him but we realise the hasn't and is consumed by settling his scores with Johnno. What follows is a brilliant subjective point of view of destructive obsession. There's some incredible animation in the film, like the bit with the CGI buildings growing across the landscape.
If you get the chance to see the two films together you can really see how clever the two films are. How are jokes and themes run across both films and how we see the same actors 12 years on.
I think the original Dad's Dead is one of the greatest British short films ever and Shepherd has picked up where the first one left off. But he uses modern technology to his advantage to tell the tale and updated the style. I just loved this sequel. Dad's Dead was a massively popular film which polarizes the audience. Some of the IMDb comments are against the film which goes to show its worth as it doesn't pander the audience. Johnno's Dead is the same. It packs a powerful punch in the cinema. It's a Marmite film which so happens I absolutely love. 8/10