If you like "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" -- in its many forms, written and cinematic; if you're into Ambrose Bierce, the "Devil's Dictionary" guy, you'll want to check out "Party." Woelfel has creatively adapted Bierce's ideas. Yes, once more there's a hanging (as in "Owl Creek") which is at the center of the story -- but other elements make this more akin to a 70's-style Star Trek or Twilight Zone (nowadays "Outer Limits"). Think Kirk (Shatner) versus the Gorn; or Next Generation fans may remember the episode where Picard (Stewart) faces off with the Gorn-like critter speaking entirely with analogies -- kinda like I'm doing here, eh? Amusing, dryly droll. Not so much the chase and suspense stuff of "Owl Creek." This is gallows' humor with the emphasis on humor -- but a real gallows, too. And a pretty lady, a drunk, a businessman. For the lit crowd, think Sartre's "No Exit" (Bierce predates him, of course) -- only much shorter, and funny. A blast, in fact. UC Davis has an annual short-film fest, mostly student stuff, Woelfel got mobbed by fans after "Party" was shown there and he'd identified himself as director/writer/composer. Women were tearing his clothes off, fortunately he was wearing Gor-Tek; still, an ugly scene. On a UC campus? Hard to imagine.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
