#rvl

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In a previous review, I tackled the long awaited short film THE TAMiNG OF PATTiCAKES by Ryan Logsdon, a prequel to his debut film AGONi. The film was a buzz in the underground horror community upon its release and screening at Slaughter in Syracuse, with a now private video from a Q&A panel with Logsdon and nearly a dozen other independent and underground filmmakers talking about their work, thought process, inspiration, future plans, and advice to bestow on aspiring filmmakers - including Logsdon talking about his personal fears and insight about the making of the film.

I’ve been wanting to review this for nearly two years, and now that I have a copy that was gifted to me, it’s time to cross another one off my list.

AGONi in One Gif:

Wow, that ending though.

Okay, so what is AGONi about? The film centers on that of Maxwell Edison, a thrill or lust killer, depending on how you look at things, and the companions he makes along the way. It’s very much inspired by Fred Vogel’s infamous August Underground series as a found footage snuff film, and it’s framed as video evidence being held by the Agoni County District Attorney’s Office - as displayed in the corner of the screen throughout the duration of the film.

One of the stark differences between the two is that the violence is suppressed quite a bit. In the August Underground trilogy, they don’t hold back any of the punches or shy away from showing you a total massacre and the absolute lack of hope for the victims. With AGONi, this isn’t the case, but not in a bad way. Much of the violence and graphic content is held back, cutting away just before you see the bloodshed take place - leading you to need your imagination to picture what happens next.  Some may say they feel cheated by this, but I feel it helps and it adds to the concept that what you don’t see is often scarier - especially with the sequences that we get around the final act.

Maxwell and his unnamed accomplice are also an interesting mirror to Peter and Crusty, respectively; specifically in Mordum and Penance. While Peter and Crusty are batshit bonkers and off the rails, these two are dark in their own right that isn’t extremely hot tempered and I’m not sure if their cool-headed demeanor makes things darker or not. Similar to the August Underground trilogy, the film has it’s slower moments and it can slog on just a bit. However, when one of those aforementioned sequences comes up, it can feel a bit like whiplash because you didn’t expect it to go that far. By far the most shocking moment comes in the wake of one of the murders, which was brought up during the Q&A panel. It’s an unremorseful shade of darkness that I haven’t seen in quite a while, and it’s twisted in all the best ways that you’d look for in an underground film. On a final note regarding parallels, the film ends just like each of the August Underground films do, which is on an abrupt note during an uncomfortable moment - like slamming on the brakes of your car.

It’s unclear as to what happens to Maxwell and his accomplice from here, but if Ryan decides to pick up the series again (beyond PATTiCAKES), maybe we’ll get our answer. The film isn’t perfect, but what microbudget horror film is? If you’re a fan of underground cinema or just the very niche sub-genre of pseudo snuff films, I’d say to take a look at this sometime if you can track down a copy of the film. It clocks in at roughly 67 minutes, so it’s not very long at all.

I have been struggling to write decent Prinxiety fics, so my bright idea was to ease into it by writing Prinalogical. I spent over two hours trying to come up with something and THIS is the result. I am posting because @illogicalsanderssidesnsfw convinced me and I think its kinda funny. Super short too.

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Virgil enters the room ready to watch a movie with his boyfriends. He pauses at the door and sees them laying across the couch together. He locks eyes with Logan who smirks and then dabs. Roman pushes Logan off with a shout "Dishonor! Dishonor on your whole family!" Virgil lets out a sigh. Turning on his heel he yeets himself into the arms of his loving friend Patton.