The Scenesters (2009)
A series of murders are being committed and it seems the killer is among a group of associates and friends in L.A. who all have a hand in investigating. Some of these people are filmmakers who have decided to film the scenes from the inside, and so there is both the omniscient footage of the overall situation and the footage being shot by the film (video) crew itself. Then there is added footage from other sources, like a training video for crime scene cleaners and the ongoing excerpts of a trial in a courtroom where the main characters appear to talk about the events in retrospect.
So what "The Scenesters" is first of all is complex, an interwoven and sometimes surprising tossed salad of points of view and styles. Some viewers will find it sloppy and annoying, or just confusing enough to give up, but in fact it makes pretty good sense, and the dumbed down acting can be forgiven or absorbed as intentional. Because these are meant to be regular people who happen to be caught on camera.
It's impossible and senseless to talk about plot here, beyond the step by stop procedure of finding another victim and getting more clues and false leads. It's only gruesome in small doses--this isn't a slasher film by any means. If anything it's a little too hip--a film made by young people for young people (people in their 20s, let's say). But that's also what keeps it current and fresh.
It's so much about how it's made you ought to at least try to watch it. I see that the IMDb rating is really low, under five stars, and yet the few actual written reviews give it nine or even ten stars each. That's revealing: people who are into movies and how they are made and really want to work at enjoying them (and who take the time to write reviews) got more out of the this movie. It doesn't mean it's flawless, not a bit, but it's very very interesting, one of the more intriguing movies I've seen in awhile.
