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Home | Film Review: The Guy Knows Everything (short film) (2013)

Film Review: The Guy Knows Everything (short film) (2013)

SYNOPSIS:

The story follows bar pals who face off in a game of sports trivia, when a stranger, with a penchant for whiskey, ups the stakes with a seemingly unending knowledge beyond sports into their personal lives. With the clock ticking towards a midnight deadline, will the group survive using their wits alone before the money and time runs

REVIEW:

Trivia questions have always been a rage, spinning off game shows and board games alike.and it is precisely this craving that 386 Films addresses with their 26 minute short entitled The Guy Knows Everything. It’s ten p.m. and Kenny (John Coffey), Len (Reggie Peters), Brick (Jayvo Scott) and Jerry (Ken Luzadder) are four friends who have gathered at the local bar for an evening of one dollar a question sports trivia, with the winner of the pot being the one with the stumping question.

A stranger walks in (Paul Phillips – former guitarist for Puddle of Mud is superb in his first starring role) and it is immediately apparent that there is something odd about him. Quietly, but with shifty eyes, he takes a seat at the bar, orders and downs three shots of whiskey in rapid order before taking notice of the game being played at the corner table.

Kenny is asked, what was the halftime score of the very first Rose Bowl game? He ponders and appears stumped. A few moments later, the stranger blurts out the correct answer, confidently also following it up with the game’s final game. Visibly irked, Kenny takes offense. The other three chime in with statements like “you’re not even playing” and “you’re not taking our money.” Unfazed and with a somewhat c**ky smirk and stride, the stranger approaches the table and reassures them that he is not interested in the money, but more so the game. He lays four one hundred dollar bills on the
table and his offer is this; at ten dollars a question, with the game ending promptly at midnight, he will answer any question. If he is stumped, the table wins it all.

The four take him up on the offer and a flourish of questions are thrown at him, which he correctly answers. Time progresses and suspense builds, with various patrons trying their luck, to no avail, for the guy truly appears to know everything.

The game takes a turn, removing itself from indigenous, obsolete sports questions and going to questions of a more personal nature. Through these questions we learn that Patricia, a bystander with an extensive knowledge of hockey who has already tried unsuccessfully at stumping the stranger has an unseen birthmark; that Kenny was born in Massachusetts; that Len’s father died a penniless drunk with VD; and that Brick has $84 dollars in his wallet.

But, it isn’t simply answering every question correctly that amazes and bewilders the quick gathering crowd. It is the deep nuances of added information emphasized along with the answer-information that only the person asking would know, that turns everyone’s perception from astonishment to trepidation.

In a superb camera shot fully conveying eeriness, the stranger flashes three fingers toward the bartender, ordering three more shots. With a soundtrack implying haste and a quick camera glance at the wall clock reading 11:50 p.m., the stranger casually declares that the time for stumping him is growing short.

By now the audience is beyond amazement and fully into the throes of fear, all except for perturbed stuck up Kenny, who prior was obviously the weekly trivia game king. Now dethroned, he has taken offense and cracks, breaking into a frenzy of quick question asking that takes a morbid turn.

The waitress delivers the three shots and the stranger reaches up, removes a napkin from her tray, writes something on it, folds it in half and hands it back to her while whispering something in her ear.

What did the stranger write? Say?
Will Kenny eventually stump him?
Who will reign as winner?

Fast paced, with captivating, creepy overtones, The Guy Knows Everything is sure to grip both suspense and horror lovers alike; a film that would easily rest comfortably in any Twilight Zone connoisseur’s collection.

With a well written script, precise camera work and a complimentary accompanying soundtrack, it is no surprise that the film was offered a featured screening at the 2013 Sundance Showcase, nor that it is considered one of the top ten short films of the year by The Conduit Speaks. Also favorably reviewed by All Things Horror, Killer Reviews, Apocalypse Later, Lair of Filth and Staying Scared, this film is certain to continue accolade achievements throughout the film industry.

The Guy Knows Everything (short film) (2013)

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