#ryan logsdon

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.

Hey, guys. PSFilms is doing a very limited re-releases of my friend Ryan Logsdon's first film "AGONi". I spotlighted this before, as well as the prequel "THE TAMING OF PATTICAKES" - which is included as a sneak peak bonus feature.

This is an unexpected review for a film that I didn’t think I was going to have the honor of tackling for quite some time, but I was approached by an acquaintance of mine recently who asked if I could write something about it. Prior to seeing it in our group chat, I had only heard small details about it and that it was screening at Severed’s 10th Anniversary Short Film Night last year. However, after that, I didn’t hear or see much else from others who have seen it. Since, as of writing this, the film doesn’t have a current IMDb page, I wasn’t sure when or if I’d see it pop up anywhere.

But that’s all over now, and as the darkness clears, something is looming in the distance. Let’s take a look at RVL’s THE TAMiNG OF PATTiCAKES, a quasi-prequel to his 2015 film AGONi, a film some of you may remember that I spotlighted in here as part of one of my Year of Horror events, which centers on the crimes recorded by impulse murderer Maxwell Edison through his video camera.

THE TAMiNG OF PATTiCAKES in One Gif:

Just a little bit, Maxwell. Just a little bit.

Right away with the opening sequence, it gave me strong Lucifer Valentine vibes with the editing and use of the color pink; feeling slow and almost dreamlike in nature as he begins to tell someone, Jax, about a dream he had of the two of them, and a creative use of a “wishbone”. It feels like something that only he [LV] and Fred Vogel could conjure up to create something both horrific and depraved, but also having a childlike glee with how casual Maxwell and Jax are as they go about their way of documenting their torture/murder spree. If that wasn’t enough to give you a hint as to what’s in store, the film’s title proudly pays homage to the roughies of the 1970s, which adds another layer to the grimy sickness that we’ve yet to scrape the surface of.

Following the opening credits, we get sequences that are reminiscent of that from the August Underground trilogy; such as unfeeling, cold basement shots and a cemetery trip that has the same slow, dreamlike vibe to it as the opening scene. Being a prequel, we get a look into what his childhood and upbringing was like, and oh boy, does he not hold back at all with telling us how he really feels. Much like the August Underground trilogy, there’s slower moments of calm to break things up, and we just focus on the day to day life of both Maxwell and Jax - which can add a layer of discomfort as remnants of their pasts and insecurities manage to find a way to bubble to the surface.

Just like with the August Underground trilogy, we get a sucker punch that comes out of left field during the film’s final moments. While the build-up to what this is has been implied during a much earlier scene, it still catches you off guard when it finally comes; being a double dose of shocking taboos, one of which you almost never see come up anymore due to the subject matter and is partially one of the reasons why August Underground’s Mordum remains so high on many lists for disturbing or extreme horror films.

RVL makes a return as Maxwell Edison, and he does an impressive job at portraying both an unhinged serial killer and that of a kid who seemed to never fully grow up; being almost frozen in time due to the circumstances of his past with no way of moving forward. In a sort of snobbish and pretentious way, both Maxwell and his victims share the common denominator being akin to the summary of AGONi; “...an abhorrent nightmare where there is no return or hope of escape.”. While Maxwell’s victims that are roped into his world have no chance of rescue, Maxwell himself is imprisoned to this place in more ways than one where he’s truly long gone; having no hope of returning to the loosest idea of a normal life, if that’s even a viable option for him.

The film runs about 22-23 minutes in length, and it doesn’t feel like a long sit or watch compared to other lower end projects with similar themes that can feel like pulling teeth. If you’re a fan of AGONi, I’d say give this a look when it officially comes out if you want to see how deep the rabbit hole goes. If you’re a fan of (or simply curious) about low budget, independent, and underground films, give this one a go as well. The film is 99% complete, which RVL just waiting on the score to be finalized before it can be added to the final cut and I’m sure will be an extra cherry on top to see it to completion. It’s going to be interesting to see how it turns out, and I look forward to what I hope will be more fantastic work to come - both from RVL and the underground community.