The prog-rock, electronica inspired musician Starcadian calls his music “ear movies.” He states he writes songs to movies he wished existed during his childhood. So it only makes sense that Starcadian would eventually create movies. Starcadian: Freak Night is his third collaboration with Rob O’Neill, after Starcadian: Heart and Chinatown. I have not seen either of those two earlier efforts. But, if they are anything like Freak Night, then they must be fantastic.
Freak Night is a 7-minute music video chronicling Sam (Isabella Feldman) is about to finish her shift at work. But just before she clocks out, a big last-minute order comes in. So, she takes the pizza and drives to deliver them. When she arrives at the address, she discovers an underground, intergalactic night club. As Sam wanders around, looking at all the aliens, monsters, and hearing the tunes of the band on stage, she can hardly believe her eyes.
“Now, Sam must escape the otherworldly place before being captured by this person.”
Plant creatures are dancing about, a robot girl (Liesel Hanson), and Wolf Daddy (Weston Meredith). But then, out of one of the TV screens comes the Space Traveler (Rob O’Neill). For reasons unknown, he begins chasing down Sam. Now, Sam must escape the otherworldly place before being captured by this person.
For full transparency, I have never heard of Starcadian until this short movie crossed my path. Now, I can happily claim to be a fan. All entertainment is subjective, so there might be some out there who love the visuals, the costumes, and the like but aren’t too keen on the music; or vice versa. But for me, it all works wonderfully.
“Starcadian: Freak Night is his third collaboration with Rob O’Neill…”
Freak Night looks fantastic. The various puppetry work, special effects make-up, and CGI are very impressive. The dancing plant, whose design pays homage to Audrey II, is delightful. Wolf Daddy, whose screen time is brief, is intricate and detailed. David Mahmoudieh’s cinematography is filled with bold colors and intense lighting. The directing is also quite excellent. The shot composition is stellar, heightening an already strange reality.
Starcadian: Freak Night is awesome, that is really all there is to it. Starcadian’s music is lively and energetic, the visuals are top-notch, Feldman’s delivers a reliable performance, and the whole thing is just fun to watch. This is 7-minutes that is absolutely worth your time.
"…The prog-rock, electronica inspired musician Starcadian calls his music 'ear movies'"
