I Am No One {2013}

I Am No One (2013)

Directed by Jason Hoover

A review by Mario Dominick

Jason Hoover and JABB Pictures of Illinois have become quite the staple of the underground over the past few years with their series of short film compilations entitled The Collective. The Collective has showcased 10-minute short films from dozens of low budget filmmakers in a span of 6 different volumes, each one based on its own theme.

In The Collective Vol. 6, Jason included a short serial killer film shot like a found footage documentary. I Am No One is the name of the short and as it turns out, what we saw in The Collective Vol. 6 was just the tip of the iceberg as Jason has just released a 60-minute version of this creative mockumentary piece.

I Am No One follows in the footsteps of “serial killer followed by filmmaker” films like Man Bites Dog and Long Pigs. According to Hoover, it is supposedly based on elements from the true crime stories of every real-life serial killer.

We watch as fictional Chicago serial killer Charles Lake is followed around by a filmmaker (played by Hoover himself) and his camera. The filmmaker interviews Charles and wants to get an up-close-and-personal look at his personality and work. Charles’ day job is being a telemarketer. At night he goes out and takes on his second “job”, which is the job of going after and brutally butchering what he considers to be the most undesirable individuals in society. Charles shows no remorse for what he does. The film is divided up into chapters as it focuses on the different aspects of Charles’ life.

I Am No One is a very effective and realistic mockumentary piece. At times it makes you very uncomfortable due to the convincing performances and dialogue. Charles Lake is essentially the kind of normal-looking character you would see in your everyday life and not give a second thought to the idea of them being a monster. When you listen to him talk and hear how unforgiving he is about his actions, you cannot call him anything but that. Jason Hoover does a splendid job of unflinchingly taking us into the life of such a monster and showing us what horrors are hiding behind the mask of normalcy they wear. I Am No One is a deeply unsettling and disturbing piece and is a movie that proves that real life is far more horrifying than any monster story you may have been told as a child. It is also somewhat of a wake-up call as to what we need to do as a society to help those who are psychologically unbalanced and need intervention to prevent them from going to the “dark side” of humanity, so to speak, and committing horrific acts.

For more info on I Am No One and JABB Pictures films, go to www.jabbpictures.com today.