By Edward Brown

Fck’n Nuts was easily the best 12 minutes of my week. (I won’t get into the details, but I had a pretty good week!) I’m a huge advocate for independent films & ladies in the movie industry, and Fck’n Nuts is one of those movies that makes me so proud to be that. The film is a bizarrely funny and terrifying short, written, produced, and directed by a woman named Sam Fox. It’s put together by her production company, Foxy Films. The credits reveal that she also handles the film’s wardrobe, some of its art, and a little bit of its photography. How can you not be impressed by that work ethic?! 

There is just so much to like about this project. The color palette of the film is fantastic. Scenes are bathed in melancholy blues. They’re highlighted by electric or bubblegum pinks. There are shots judiciously dotted with purple bruises. But most importantly, Fox contains that spectrum of light under the specter of an ominously inky darkness. She cleverly creates an effectively haunting (and whimsical) atmosphere with nothing but hues. All of that makes the short visually stunning in the same way a kaleidoscope wows a kid.

Fox’s camerawork also deserves mention. She makes really smart use of her actors and set designs. First-person perspectives throw you into the fray of the story and make a tiny, little set feel appropriately immersive. Closeups range from being pleasantly intimate to downright portentous. Slow pans build tensions that eventually get cut with the precision of a scalpel by the script. What she and her crew are able to accomplish in a dozen minutes makes you wonder what they could do in 90. 

The cast is great. Sandy (Maddie Nichols), and Dan (Vincent Stalba) do a lot to make the film a success through their dialogues and body language as boyfriend and girlfriend. Sandy’s helicopter parents, Mommy (Michele Rossi) and Daddy (William E. Harris), have bit parts, but are wholly necessary to the film’s plot with their constant lurking. Fox enables her troupe to freshen up the “meet-the-parents” trope with humor and horror in a way that would make Ben Stiller proud. 

The final scoop of praise that I’ll heap on is for the film’s practical effects. They pay homage to '80s horror movies in a way that feels nostalgic. (No decade did horror movies like the '80s!) Fox sets up her reveals and gags in a way that engage you rather than take advantage of the audience you provide. They’re not over the top goofy or blatantly overutilized. They just work and, in an industry of Michael Bays, directors like Sam Fox who enamor you in earnest are refreshing. Ultimately, Fck’n Nuts is fck’n hilarious and really well done. However, *Spoiler Alert* if you have a nut allergy this film might not be for you! 

For more info about Fck'n Nuts visit: www.samfoxyfilms.com/press