In Ben Wydeven’s latest short, Raven James has it under control.
In A Hot Summer Chill, long-haired psychic Raven James (Daniel Harris) spends most of his time weirding people out. He can see dead people, yet despite all the drinks he puts down, all the alcohol in the world only does so much. In The Waiting Room, Ben Wydeven’s newest short film in The Raven James Chronicles, James has come to grips with his curse by locking away spirits into his subconscious and rather than him, now it’s the rest of the world that’s acting strangely.
Wydeven’s Makeshift Media Group — which has had a hand in local advertising, filmmaking, even promoting plays for Madison’s Bartell Theatre — will hold a release party for The Waiting Room at the High Noon Saloon on Sat, Aug 29 at 1:00p. Wydeven draws on the same blue and red hues he used in his previous outing, peeling back James’ newest headcase (Bob Moore) via sudden bursts of flashbacks. Behind his psychological prison bars, Moore’s ghost learns to reassess his painful past life and his eventual peace means James still has a chance at finding his own. Wydeven leaves things open-ended, perhaps a side effect of the character’s roots in the director’s fiction writing, with a surprising optimism poking through the murky aesthetic.
- The High Noon Saloon hosts a 21-and-over premiere of The Waiting Room alongside a slate of Makeshift Media Group projects at 1:00p on Sat. Admission is $5.