Trick | Now available online
Watch the award-winning short film Trick, now available for viewing on YouTube
What can I say, Halloween gets me in my feels. It’s the best day of the year, so I’d like to mark the occasion with a little “treat” for everyone. My award-winning short film Trick is officially available for viewing online!
Trick came to life after I decided to pursue a longtime desire to make a film. My only problem with filmmaking was — I didn’t know where to start! It took me awhile to even meet other souls who were making films, much less figure out what I needed to do to get the ball rolling. Slowly but surely, I started learning how to bring my dream to life.
Around that same time, I was fortunate to meet director Shrader Thomas, with whom I share a love of horror. He and I vibed together well, and we started talking about ideas that interested us. Also, the Rack Focus Film Competition for 2023 was about to start. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a contest in which you must complete your short film within three months, from script to final cut. We decided to give it a try. We knew we wanted to do something with gay characters, something that was dark and sexy, all pulled together with a nice David Lynchian bow.
The idea began to gel rather quickly: A gay man on a hookup with a stranger gets more than he bargained for when the date goes horrible awry. It’s a timely topic, given the popularity of dating apps and internet hookups, where it’s often a mystery who’s going to show up at the door. Culturally, it relates to my experiences as a gay man as well. I’m aware of several situations of violence — and even murder — that have occurred to unfortunate victims hooking up with dangerous strangers online. It’s a scary world out there, y’all.
I wrote the script over several weeks. In the final stretch, Shrader bounced it off his friend, Jason Tostevin, a talented filmmaker who gave some pointers on how to take the film over the top.
Thus, Trick was born on an extremely tight budget just in time for the competition, where it won first place. Crazy! It’s gone on to show in a few other festivals, where it’s garnered a couple of other awards as well. I’m grateful for the amazing cast and crew who poured their hearts into the project and helped me and Shrader make something exciting. I love this film with every fiber of my being, and I think a lot of the people who worked on it do too. Hell, we even filmed it in my house, which is an experience I’ll never, ever forget.
Now, before you watch Trick — a trigger warning. I mentioned the story deals with gay characters, right? There’s an adult scene that might make some faces blush. If that’s something that’s going to offend you, please turn away now.
You’re still here? Great! Then thank you for your support on this journey, weirdo.
Now ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, I present our award-winning short film, Trick. Click the link below that says “Watch on YouTube” and enjoy!
