Husted’s Lost Treasure of the Valley is a 25-minute comedy short loaded with a great deal of silliness. The deadpan jokes and sight-gags come at you at a mile a minute. Much of the humor comes from some grounded reality butt up against some kind of a joke in the style of Airplane! Husted places a great deal of production value into his short. There are physical props that would make Carrot Top giddy like a child and computer animation that launches this indie short to the next level of coolness. This little short gets a lot of bang for its buck.
“…deadpan jokes and sight-gags come at you at a mile a minute.”
What I appreciate about Lost Treasure of the Valley is its story. It’s a simple tale of the protagonist, Jake, attempting to find meaning and purpose, not only in his life but with his passions as well. His story takes several fantastical detours, like Alice in Wonderland, and ends with intrigue, deceptions, and magic. But where the story succeeds, where other comedies have failed, is the story holds together. Each event is followed by a logical next event (no matter how weird it gets). Scene A leads to Scene B to Scene C, even if A and C are entirely unrelated.
That said, this is also supposed to be a comedy. Honestly, it’s more humorous than it is funny. The jokes are good and smart, taking twists and turns to keep its audience off-balance, but in the end, I more admired the short, than laughed at it. The gags and story present humorous and witty ideas, but never comes through with a big laugh or punchline. Lost Treasure of the Valley is fun to watch, will capture your attention, and is worth a watch.
"…physical props that would make Carrot Top giddy like a child..."
I caught LOST TREASURE OF THE VALLEY at the Marina Del Rey Film Festival and loved it. You really caught what’s so charming about the film in this review. The plot is always progressing while still retaining an irreverent sense of humor. Most importantly, as you noted, the budgetary limitations didn’t affect their ambitious vision.
Saw this at the Northeast Ohio Cult Film Fest a couple weeks ago and really dug it. The crowd ate it up too. Thought it was a super special film!
Saw this film some weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised at how eloquently paced it was. It’s actually really funny and has a unique charm to it. For being a short it was able to convey a lot despite the time constraints. The acting is great, editing was super, direction was flawless. I’m excited to see what these guys will make next.
Saw this at the NEO Cult Film Fest a few weeks ago and loved it, glad to see that it’s getting recognition!