Shortfilm Review: FLOWERS OF THE NIGHT (2015)

Tim Neff (left) and Jennifer Linch (right) as killer vs. killer in FLOWERS OF THE NIGHT (2015) - Sunshine Pictures

My research this past week for the July 13 Hit List brought my attention to an article online that spoke of filmmaker and actress Jennifer Linch who I am very much new to. Her latest project, Flowers Of The Night won the Grand Prize at iCannes earlier this month, and much to Linch's approval since entrenching herself into film with the establishment of her own production company, Sunshine Pictures, and much to the delight of action fans at that.

Clocked in at about twelve minutes, the story takes off in graphic novel fashion with a neo-noir setting and a narration that briefly sets up the backstory, centered on homeless orphans who are taken in and raised to become killer mercenaries with near-limitless money, wealth and influence at their disposal. That all changes when a betrayal ensues and the women, led by an assasin named Lily, escape from their organization with a plan for redemption, and vengeance against their employers. Moving quickly from its exposition, Flowers Of The Night takes off right into the action with Azalea (Donna de Muerte) and Nightshade (Morgan Macedo) as two of our three sexy assassins advance into the lush hideout owned by Matthew (Tim Neff), the last line of defense for the organization's boss, Hunter (John Paul Ouvrier).

The film is shot almost entirely in black and white with just a few colors left unfiltered, primarily the blood graphics used throughout the scenes. The acting is mostly good with Neff bearing the brunt fot the film's dialogue midway into the shortfilm leading up to the final fight with Lily, played by Linch. As for the action, none of it slows down and delivers all of its intended effect with good choreography, cinematography and pacing, and each principle actors clearly evoking their training and experience on camera - as per Linch's own standards as well.

Much of the opening is left to the imagination, which services the simplistic appraoch the film takes in getting things going, and there is plenty of depth to observe here with Neff and Linch right down to the intense finish. More importantly though, the absolute centerpiece here for a shortfilm of this kind is the action designed accordingly by Neff and longtime independent actioner Fernando Jay Huerto, and for a workable proof-of-concept like this, it doesn't disappoint.

Flowers Of The Night is currently being groomed for a feature-length production from Sunshine Pictures while on par for future fest screenings at L.A. Neo Noir Film Festival on August 8, and plans for entry into Sundance next year, as well as festivals in Italy and Greece. An air date for the shortfilm's online release is not yet available, so feel free to check out the trailer for the shortfilm below, as well as the clip now up and running in this week's Hit List!

THE HIT LIST - July 13, 2015

It's never a dull week when finding content online to share. Indeed, a new batch of stunt reels with an extra dash of tricking are now online, followed by new trailers as well as a couple of stellar action gems which keep things nothing short of exemplary...thus why the Hit List exists. Let's get to it!

First up are two playlists with the first showcasing this week's stunt packed demo reels from Lukaz Leong, Greg Rementer, Adam Chase, Benjamin Hoffman, Dan Dargan Carter, Dom Kegel and stuntwoman Elisabeth P. Carpenter. The playlist beneath features a small batch of tricking samplers led by the gang over at Martial Club, Micah Karns, Matt Emig, John Franks, Lee Hye-Ji, a video highlight reel from a preliminary round at a Red Bull jam in South Korea late June, and a fun little demo reel featuring Jimmy James Pham.

Moving forward, there is a TON of content here and coming soon and fortunately some of these projects are offering preview clips and trailers. To start things off, a clip has since gone viral for director and actress Jennifer Linch's new shortfilm, Flowers Of The Night, a tale of three assassins on their quest for vengeance. The film earned the iCannes Film Festival Grand Prize on July 7 in Beverly Hills, California in the wake of the sudden passing of festival co-host, Londy Pictures founder Rebecca Guzman who died at the age of 32 the same day. (H/T: Examiner) The other three videos come courtesy of Bat fan-flick Beyond: Rebirth helmer, filmmaker and action director Phillip Forteza with a new trailer for his next project, Ghost Ops starring Stef Valencia, the Dragon Ball Z: Light Of Hope creatives over Robot Underdog's newest contribution to Stan Lee's online heroic universe in the form of Vigilantes - due for an August release, and a trailer for Matthew Salanoa's Golden Gun-inspired 007 fan film, I Only Need One.

Alas, the fighting begins for this last leg of the Hit List this week and the first load comes straight from indie actioner Shaun Charney at Dragon Phoenix opposite actress Tatiana DeKhtyar, Cinematic Fight Studios's latest fight scene with inductee Nhan Du, David Conk's latest from Wolf Stunts called The Fugitive, and two collaborations between filmmaker Federico Berte and industry stunt coordinator Geo Corvera for the action short, Knock Out, and a stellar ensemble gathering of masked stunt perfomers at war in Combatants.

But FIRST..let's liven things up a bit. The first video in this portion is a promotional contribution from Epic Rival to the forthcoming Playstaion 4 release of the 16-bit game, Phantom Breakers: Battle Ground Overdrive with actress Gemma Nguyen in a dazzling cosplay of sword-wielding epic epicness. The game itself is available online as of July 21 and you'd be wise to click here to learn more about it, otherwise, watch Ms. Nguyen do her thing in the video below, and then enjoy the rest!

And now, for some of the longer form material, and kicking things off is Blood And Bone helmer Ben Ramsey's latest proof of concept short, Interface. Highlight of this have been previously seen in stunt reels performed by stuntman Christopher Balualua who principally performs the action designed by Arnold Chon as per the theme - a cyberpunk dystopia where virtual gaming is taken to a whole new level.

Maverick cinematographer and filmmaker Devin Graham (handled as @devinsupertramp) can pretty much film the shit out of any freerunning sequence, and there's a good chance you've sampled his work on Youtube (or Facebook, as typical as is the nature of viral video). And so it is, once again with his second fan-offering attributed to the new game, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, shot in 4K. The organically-performed stunts, as seen by French Freerun Family are nothing short of breathtaking with a filmic standard that dares to put Hollywood to shame! (H/T: Reader Ben Hoffman)

Up next is another offering from the folks over at Singapore-based JUO Productions (formerly branded as Jaze Phuaductions) with a new fan film spoof on the hitman genre Lucky Strikes, centered on Jaze Phua as a hitman assigned with eliminating the luckiest man in the world. The audio and acting aren't much here, but it brings plenty to the table stylish and impressive action and choreography toned with plenty of laughs, and even ornamented a little bit toward the end with some Gun-fu action, which I'm sure fellow contributor James Couche should be pleased with.

This was a treat to catch and you might enjoy it yourself.

Multifaceted filmmaker and stuntman Ulrik Bruchholz shares the same lineage as any fan of the action genre. Point in fact, it was at the age of ten that his evident love for film would ultimately bring him to the foray of German martial arts action cinema with credits that now include Kampfansage: Der Letzte Schüler and Arena Of The Street Fighter, whilst experimenting with aspects of the craft both in front AND behind the camera. Bruchholz has since compiled footage highlighting all of his achievements in a massive new career demo reel titles 22 Years - chronicling more than two decades of doing what he's loved since childhood. The evolution starts at around the six-minute mark.

And lastly, an action-packed Donnie Yen hero mashup...because why the hell not?

Talk about a Hit List...boy oh boy. Last week's Hit List was a trip too, so be sure to check it out if you've missed it. Otherwise, feel free to subscribe to these channels for future content, and if you yourself are a QUALITY content creator or a stunt performers with a kick ass reel, share it with us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!