I would do a review on this drug-fuelled, extraterrestrial flick but I don’t want too. I have your attention now—why act like Michael Roper when clearly, I am not. I just want to tell you about the awesome shit I saw in this cool, new movie called Fried Barry.
Fried Barry begins in space, high above Earth and it slams you down into the dredges of Cape Town, right as Barry slams a hit of junk into his veins. This injection is only the start of the film and from here the sights and sounds of Fried Barry, under the direction of Ryan Kruger, take control of you for the next hour and a half, much like an alien does with Barry.
In the short video that the film is adapted from, there is no alien plotline. Now at its feature film length, Fried Barry is the story of a stranger in a new world, an alien that uses Barry’s body to indulge in the seedy and illicit pleasures of Cape Town. It is a joy to see Fried Barry grow into a film about drugs, sex, ultra-violence and some very interesting, unsavory characters; that come together for quite the otherworldly trip around the coastal port city.
Ask me what I most enjoyed about the film and I would say it was watching the superb performance by actor Gary Green. The slender, gaunt look that Green brings to Barry gives the character a feral, animalistic appearance; that only gets better after the alien invades Barry in a most unpleasant way. Gary Green is a big reason why I find both the film, and the character of Barry, so unique and vivid. The way that Green goes about contorting his body and face is humorously chilling and I haven’t enjoyed an alien performance this much since Vincent D'Onofrio in Men In Black—and Green’s portrayal of Barry can hold its own when compared to Earl.
Haezer, the South African DJ responsible for stimulating your auditory senses during viewing, has brilliantly composed the music for Fried Barry, and along with the stellar mixing provided by the sound department; this extraterrestrial horror flick becomes a treat for the ears. The raw and distorted, electric chaos that is the soundtrack, helps to bring about the right mood and uniqueness that Fried Barry was probably aiming for all along.
The same can be said for the look of Fried Barry. The colorful visuals along with the brilliant and jarring editing, take your eyes on a journey, where at some point you might have to stop and ask yourself, am I on drugs too? That’s the second, really big reason I enjoyed Fried Barry so much, because when you take the music, the sights and the performances of the film, drink that cocktail down and let it do its work, Fried Barry is one hell of a mind trip—a colorful and fun mind trip—like how Spun was at times.
I had fun watching Fried Barry, I really did and I wanted to bring that excitement to this write up. I don’t think it’s hard to see why the film garnered the attention it did while on the film festival circuit. The nominations and the awards Fried Barry won for acting, directing, sound and visuals, is partly why I believe Shudder was quick to pick the film up for distribution. They knew Fried Barry was unique and it worked. It was something different, something fans of the film would enjoy, even through the film’s grit and darkness. Because when something works, it works, and you know why I like you, Fried Barry? You may be a good listener but you also have a fun story to tell.
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