That is pretty much exactly what happened to me when I averted my eyes to Ryan Kruger's experimental short Fried Barry. It's an absolutely trip, in more ways than one.
Now I've never really done any drugs, especially not heroin, but Kruger has potentially captured the visual effects of someone who has, and it's actually quite terrifying, and rightly so.
So, within we I take a look at Fried Barry, as well as giving you guys your first look at the feature film which is based upon said short.
Fried Barry is not an easy watch, not by any stretch of the imagination. However, Kruger has captured some exceptional imagery thanks to the talents of Gary Green (Fried Barry) as he contorts in such unimaginable ways, and the facial expressions are something else.
Kruger gives us these quick shots and close-ups of Green's face and Green just continues to pull you in. I mean, you want to look away. That's the natural reaction, but Green has such a way that you almost become mesmerized with his actions. But to truly enjoy this you MUST go into this knowing that it is an experimental film as otherwise you'll be disappointed.
The short comes in at just over three minutes, and that's more than enough to witness, well, the actual beauty of this piece. It's just a well shot short, it's fast-paced, utterly unique and you have absolutely no idea where it's going. We, the viewer, are going on our own drug induced trip with this one. Check it out below and let us know what you think?
And next, well, if you thought the short was bizarre, wait for the feature. It will blow your balls off!
Get this, Fried Barry, the feature, will have Barry going on a bizarre joyride across Cape Town, all the while he has been possessed by an alien visitor. So, yeah, wait a minute. How did it go from a drug addict trippin' out to have him become possessed by an alien? Well, it wasn't meant to happen. People were just clamoring for more as it turns out, so Kruger hammered out a scene breakdown for Fried Barry over the course of three days and then began to workshop the scenes with his cast, instead of using the traditional script and alas, the Fried Barry came to be. There was a lot of "improvisational energy," said Kruger.
Now, surprisingly, Gary Green isn't even a trained actor, but they just had to have him return as Barry in the feature. But Green had only ever done stunt work and appeared as an extra in several productions, but the lead in a feature film? It was a big step for Green, but "Gary threw himself into the role, putting everything he had into the performance" said Kruger. And the result was the performance of a lifetime. As is evident from the short, Green truly is something else and no-one else could possibly play the role of Fried Barry.
And Fried Barry is a sort of first for Kruger, too, as this is his first feature-length directorial debut as his previous work included directing music videos for some of South Africa's biggest artists, and it appears as if he has brought some of that experience into his feature and as thus created something truly quite exceptional. While we've only had an early and brief look, we know that Kruger is onto something with this and we can't wait to see what he has for us.
Synopsis: Barry is a drug-addled, abusive bastard who - after yet another bender - is abducted by aliens. Barry takes a backseat as an alien visitor assumes control of his body and takes it for a joyride through Cape Town. What follows is an onslaught of drugs, sex and violence as our alien tourist enters the weird and wonderful world of humankind.
The film also stars Chanelle De Jager, Bia Hartenstein, Sean Cameron Michael, Johnny Pienaar, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Steve Wall, Deon Lotz, Joe Vaz, Tuks Tad Lungu, and Grant Swanby.
Fried Barry is currently in post-production and is slated to be released at the end of 2019. For more information, be sure to hit up and 'like' their official Facebook page.
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