HELLO ALL, Mad Dashiell Here!
The creative duo Austin Vesely and Chance The Rapper met on a music video set in 2011. Longtime friends and collaborators the two bonded over no budget projects being shot on a DSLR camera. Vesely has been behind the camera for most of Chance's early music videos and now the two bring us their first feature film SLICE.
Chance The Rapper plays Dax Lycander, a Werewolf, ex-Chinese food delivery driver. After a local pizza boy in a town called Kingfisher is killed, Lycander is the first suspect due to his checkered past. The story is set in an alternate universe where supernatural events involving ghosts and werewolves are commonplace. The overall tone of the film is described by Vesely as surreal and comedic. "Tonally, I was really inspired by Twin Peaks, if that says anything," Vesely added "I studied Paul Thomas Anderson's movies to figure out how to balance multiple narratives. TV shows as well, like Twin Peaks, to discover how to establish a sense of place. I guess this movie is like Magnolia with ghosts. Just kidding. Kind of."
Vesely said that Lycander was inspired by both The Joker and Harry Lime, whom Orson Welles brought to life on the radio and the big screen in Carol Reed's noir classic, THE THIRD MAN. Aside from those very interesting descriptions, fantastic art, an interesting trailer that gave me a chip-tune flashback, there isn't much info to go on right now. Its refreshing to see such a close group of old friends working together like this and I hope their love for making art with A24 behind them, will bring us a refreshing SLICE to be savored by comedic horror fans. A24 is the American independent entertainment company behind MOONLIGHT, THE LOBSTER, THE WITCH, EX MACHINA, THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER and much more. A24 finds artists with fresh perspectives and gives them the power to find a unique voice. If they are behind a project, then they have my full attention, period.
Thanks for joining me, Mad Dashiell signing off.
