
Nearly a year ago, I’m With Geek were insanely lucky to feature a great short film from prominent filmmaker Josh Crooks. This short, named One Bad Day, focused on Batman as he dealt with an enemy from his past and an enemy within himself. Whilst the sound editing was slightly off, the stellar acting and enticing story sent waves through the I’m With Geek community and left us a little bit excited for what Crook’s had next. Fear no more, as we look at the next is Crooks’ wheelhouse – Narcissists

Narcissists is a film that is brimming with stunning visual content. Crooks, here, has a keen eye for imagery that works. Chopping different colours and themes to each of the three stories, Narcissists is drenched in this somewhat exquisite eye. This use of pallete for each character and the dreamscape visuals impacts your viewing experience in a great way. It’s wonderful beautiful, with somewhat interesting and excellent work being displayed. Crooks is very clever in enhance the intensity of this futuristic neo-noir flick and his greatest skill comes from the aesthetics of the piece.

Add this to the off sound editing that cuts and starts at different volumes and Narcissists falls a little bit below average to be entirely enjoyable. When it works, it really hits and you can see the glistening potential from Crooks and his team. But those moments are very few and it becomes a rather lacklustre affair. It’s a shame because it isn’t like there isn’t talent here. It is just far too underdeveloped to form an excellent movie, which it could most definitely do if more elements were focused and had a little more time spent on them.
(This review is based on an unfinished edit of the film given to us by the director)