Panic Fest Short Film Review: BROWN FISH (2017)

Hi, again ghosts and ghouls! I’m back with a review of another short film.

Today, I’ll be talking about the short BROWN FISH, written and directed by Troy Deutsch. What a ride this 15 minutes was, let me tell you.

It’s tough to get me interested from the get-go with short films, and most of the time, I go through the whole thing upset about the fact that the beginning was so boring that I wasn’t able to pay attention for the rest, because I was so disappointed in the first few minutes. They really need to draw you in immediately. Well, BROWN FISH was a pleasant surprise, with fun music, crazy colors, and a protagonist that had me tearing up laughing.

BROWN FISH is the story of a woman (Rachel Moulton) meeting her friend (Sean Kazarian) in the park after her goldfish goes missing. Kazarian is her “voice of reason”, as she rambles about how she couldn’t imagine where her fish could have gone until she made a shocking discovery that sends her running from her apartment she shares with her roommate Shirley (Kelsie Jepsen).

The short itself is absolutely hysterical. Moulton is amazing at playing a woman that’s seen some shit (no pun intended), and it was incredibly believable – it felt like me having a conversation with one of my best friends. The fact that it was so relatable (is that bad that I found this relatable in some bizarre way…) made it so much better. The visuals are enthralling – everything is in bright colors, and the music that goes along with it is just so…funny. I don’t know what other words to use, really – it sets the tone for everything going on through the entirety of the short.

Now, here’s where I get into my usual shenanigans when I try to decipher the deep meaning behind the short. Honestly, at first, I took it at face value as being something hilarious. Which regardless of whether or not I got the meaning right, it’s still hilarious. And you should all definitely watch it, even if you just take it at face value, because wow, what a story. I’m chuckling thinking about Moulton’s performance again…

Anyway, to me, this story is about the absolutely outrageous things people will follow on the internet just because their friends do it (they reference a Buzzfeed article where the source of the hilarity comes from). From eating Tide Pods to selling absolute garbage on Facebook, we all know someone that follows ridiculous trends laid out by the media, no matter how stupid, clearly dangerous, or just insane it is. Regardless of the warnings or clear indications that it’s just a terrible idea, people will do it because a website, or someone they trust, tells them to.

I could be totally wrong, and this could be in the same vein as The House That Jack Built on, somehow, a more bizarre scale? And made of feces? Regardless, please watch this short. If you’re in a bad mood, you’ll enjoy it. If you’re in a good mood, you’ll enjoy it. If you think that all of these ridiculous fads of people selling junk that doesn’t work or do anything helpful for your life are ABSURD, or you read a Buzzfeed article one time and you thought it was dumb, you’ll enjoy it.

BROWN FISH does what not many shorts do: reel you in (get it? Get it?), and keep you guessing…but also have you laughing. And confused. And laughing some more. And then you have an existential crisis because you’re trying to decipher the strangest story ever told.

So until next time, stay spooky…and be careful who you choose to be your roommate.

Kelsie Jepsen in BROWN FISH
Taylor Krauss
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