A Night of Etheria: Slut
Chloe Okuno wins over the audience with a twist on Little Red Riding Hood in Slut.
Last week, I talked about the sleek and stunning De Noche y De Pronto. This last short didn’t have that kind of modern polish or animation. It had that seventies-style grain and grit, but damned if it wasn’t a crowd-pleaser. It won the Audience Award at Etheria. It won five others so far, it’s probably the most decorated short film of the festival, and I can see why as it also won my personal award… I don’t have a cool statue or anything, just my own gushing.
Before I saw minute one of Slut, I was into it. The trailer promised a grainy, seventies-era take on Little Red Riding Hood, and I definitely love a re-imagined fairytale, the darker the better. More than that, I’d read a few reviews and pieces on it and on Chloe Okuno that all seemed to agree she was one to watch. I’m right there with them, but more on why as we go…
Slut centers around an awkward teen (Molly McIntire) with thick glasses — she literally cannot see two feet in front of her, something used well for comic effect — and the desire to be seen as attractive in her small Texas town circa 1978...ish (just judging by the fashion). She’s unwittingly caught the eye of a big, bad drifter (James Gallo), who takes violent exception when she gives herself a slightly more provocative makeover. I won’t tell you the rest because I trust that you WILL find a way to see this one.
Slut was an AFI thesis film written and directed by Okuno, in her second year as a directing fellow at AFI. “It was an idea that I had for a while,” Chloe says in our talk before I’d seen it. “I always wanted to do a semi-modern take off Little Red Riding Hood. It’s so funny. A lot of people don’t even realize that it’s a Little Red Riding Hood thing, which is good. I don’t want it to be too obvious. Didn’t want to put her in a red cape or anything like that. It’s so funny how it evolved because initially my idea was to set it in this really urban setting, but I always wanted to have our main character, our heroine, fighting against the big, bad wolf at the end and making it entertaining and scary and fun.”
“Sometimes small town America has more of that outside-the-real-world vibe that a fairy tale has,” I offer, “Arrested in time.”
“Oh, my God. Completely, completely. I was really jazzed we got to use a roller rink. The powers that be kept trying to push us to shoot at a bowling alley because there are less logistical problems and me and my producer (Lisa Gollobin) really fought for it.”
As for the film, it was definitely dark and with a good deal of violence by the end. The climax had the audience cheering out loud, but (here’s the part that took me and, I suppose, the rest of the audience by surprise) we were also laughing throughout. I never expected it to be so funny. I was prepared for it with Shevenge (and boy did I get it), but I wasn’t ready for this one to tickle me so much. The humor wasn’t inherent in the plot. There were just these little beats and character moments that Okuno and McIntyre seemed to find. McIntyre was just great. I don’t know if she’s the kind of actress who likes comparisons, but she put me in mind of Tina Majorino, with that sort of naturally retiring persona, but with confidence itching just under the surface, and the sort of beauty that isn’t ostentatious, but grows on you the more you get to know her.
I was also surprised to see Sally Kirkland (definitely a Hey, It’s That Lady of film and TV with an IMDB that’s miles long), probably the most recognizable face in all the films at Etheria. I had to ask Chloe what it was like to work with her. “She was so great. She’s really cool. I mean, honestly, I was so surprised that she wanted to do it because her role, even from the beginning of the script, is a non-speaking role. Grandma never had any lines. So when she expressed interest. I was like ‘You’re Sally Kirkland. Why do you want to do this? But excellent. Thank You’ She just wants to keep working, she’s a passionate actress and she was so great.”
When I let Chloe in on the fact that she’s a buzzed-about filmmaker, she laughs.
“I don’t know if that makes you self conscious for me to say, but I saw a lot of buzz.”
“Make me self conscious. Go ahead. It’s fine.” She laughs again before moving onto the work and the future (as buzzworthy directors tend to do). “I’ve been working on a feature film. It’s still in the development process, but it’s another horror/thriller. It’s about this girl, this preacher’s daughter who gets possessed by the devil after she falls in love with this boy who’s involved in the occult. It’s quite a bit darker even than Slut. It is a bit of a take off of Romeo and Juliet, actually. Apparently, I just take well known stories and…”
I have to stop her there because I’m just a huge fan of TV Tropes and I personally love a well-known story, idea, or dynamic retold when it’s done well. “No. It’s good. It’s rare that you see something that’s a unique take instead of just… modern high school setting and that’s it.”
“I hope so. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens.”
I definitely want to see what happens, so I’ll be following Okuno. You can follow her work, too, on Slut’s official site and Facebook or follow Chloe, herself, on Twitter.
Etheria Film Night is accepting film submissions for 2016. Check their website for more info here. You can also follow them on Twitter and like them on Facebook.
Next up: The highlight of Etheria — Ursula Dabrowsky’s Inner Demon puts us through the wringer.
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