SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2025 REVIEW! Erin Brown Thomas explores the Hollywood lifestyle of ambition and exploitation in the short film, Chasers. Sophia (Ciarra Krohne) is an aspiring musician who arrives at an LA house party packed with twenty-somethings struggling to make it in this town. From the start, we see that Sophia has withdrawn from her friends, and this party is her first chance to hang out in a long time.
Throughout the party, Sophia pursues her crush, Jacob (Louie Chapman), and asks him if he’d be her “plus one” at her sister’s wedding. Jacob says he’s busy that day, catching Sophia off guard. A bit humiliated, Sophia slips away to confide in her friends involved in their drama. Throughout the remainder of the film, secrets begin to surface, ending in a flashback that has you reliving the story.
It is worth mentioning now that Chasers is shot as a single continuous shot. While this can often feel like a gimmick, in Chasers, the one-shot elevates the drama of each scene. It’s in how the camera moves around the actors like a dance partner and ends in a close-up as an emotional stop.
“A bit humiliated, Sophia slips away to confide in her friends involved in their drama.”
Ciarra Krohne does an incredible amount of the emotional heavy lifting. As the camera follows her throughout the film, her emotions are all on her face. There are moments between Sophia and Jacob that would feel as unique if shot traditionally.
With Chasers, the story is king. It’s an interesting take on twenty-somethings trying to make it in Hollywood and feeling a bit lost in the rat race. Writer/director Erin Brown Thomas keeps the story well-grounded for audiences…particularly older ones… to connect with. Gen Z is too out there for me, but I have a new appreciation for them.
With Ciarra Krohne’s captivating performance and Erin Brown Thomas’s clever storytelling, Chasers elevates the drama of everyday ambition and the search for real connections in a city that can be very shallow.
Chasers screened at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and the 2025 Slamdance Film Festival.
"…captivating performance and...clever storytelling"
