True Fiction review: A young writer gets more than she bargained for when she takes on a job working for her literary hero.
True Fiction
Avery (Sara Garcia) is an aspiring writer who dreams of being as successful as her literary hero Caleb Conrad (John Cassini). It’s a literal dream come true than when she bags herself a job as his assistant. The job isn’t the typical making cups of tea and photocopying though, as Caleb is in need of inspiration for his new book. Rather than the usual tasks, Avery is instead subjected to a series of psychological tests to map her personality. As these tests start to build in their intensity, Avery starts to struggle to keep a grasp on her reality, leading to deadly results.
They say never meet your heroes and this couldn’t be truer than for Avery. Even before she agrees to his tests, Caleb is a prickly personality, the stereotypical abrasive hermit genius. His world-weary pessimism is balanced by her own ambition and dreams, with the film showing both sides of the writing world. Avery is desperate to become somebody, anybody, whereas Caleb now has to resort to extreme lengths to stay relevant. They make for interesting bedfellows because, in a strange way, they both want to achieve the same thing, they just have very different ways of going about it. These two characters are brought to life by the very able duo of Garcia and Cassini. Garcia gives great wide-eyed ingénue, whilst Cassini channels his inner Jack Torrance. What’s really interesting though is that, typically in a genre film like this, it would just be our lead who goes on a journey, but with True Fiction, both characters are in a state of constant change. It makes the film one of those rare occasions where there is an argument to be made as to which character is actually our hero, and which is the villain.
True Fiction
True Fiction takes the archetypal ‘cabin in the woods’ story and gives it a bit of a spin. Directed by Braden Croft, the film elicits plenty of Stephen King vibes, the obvious comparisons being Misery and The Shining. As with all King’s best work, it is the story that is strongest within True Fiction. Given much of the film is just Avery and Caleb conversing, it’s important that we care about these characters and what they are saying; thanks to some clever writing, we do. Croft weaves plenty of intrigue, mistrust, and deception throughout the piece, to the point that the audience, much like Avery, starts to question reality. This cleverly put together narrative is backed-up by some clever direction, Croft keeps the cameras tight to really ramp up that enclosed isolated feeling. Add to that some nifty lighting, and the whole film begins to exhibit a modern-day Gothic feel.
Unfolding like any good psychological thriller, and having a distinct Stephen King air to it, True Fiction is a rather impressive genre film.
True Fiction was reviewed at Arrow Video Frightfest 2019.
