One of the drawbacks of living a straightedge lifestyle is that I’ve never been on a heroin trip. Ah, life’s little regrets. My curiosity has been satiated thanks to Ryan Kruger’s Fried Barry—a visual journey into the effects of a drug overdose. Or at least, I think it is.
The film’s subject, Fried Barry (Gary Green), finds himself in an abandoned warehouse. In what feels more like a dream, we are treated to a series of disturbing fast-cut images eliciting high levels of anxiety. The beauty of Kruger’s three-and-a-half minutes is his ability to evoke an emotional response amongst viewers with visual images only.
“…finds himself in an abandoned warehouse in what feels more like a dream.”
As Barry, Green is not an attractive person… I mean character. He effectively puts his body through physical contortions allowing Green to use special effects only once.
Not having a proper frame of reference, Fried Barry pulled off enough discomfort to feel that a heroin overdose is not worth experiencing. If there is a criticism, the short’s runtime feels long and becomes uncomfortable to watch to the end. I mean, how much anxiety can one take? But maybe that’s the point.
You’ll want to see Fried Barry solely for the experience. If there is a story, it’s pretty thin, but you’ll appreciate the art and experimentation that Kruger put forth in just under four minutes.
"…you'll appreciate the art and experimentation..."
fried barry feature is out at the end of the year. keep a look out.