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★★
Directed by: Matt Nagin
Starring: Harold Tarr, Inga Leps, Craig Watson, Matt Nagin, Chris Cook, and Samantha Algieri
Short Film Review by Niall Maggs
Inside Job stars Chris Cook as Josh, an odd character with very little sanity left in him, who has applied and hesitantly accepted an internship at a mysterious company. This mysterious company is owned by an over-the-top drug-ridden madman, known as Mr. G (played by the director himself - Matt Nagin). The company is filled with ridiculously crazy and maniacal employees who are just plain silly and unnecessarily insane. They're constantly in hysterics of laughter and cannot be taken seriously at all. It's almost laughable - and not in a good way. The employees consist of an old man played by Harold Tarr, a sexy yet sadistic psycho played by Inga Leps, a deranged and disturbed creep with long, mangled hair, and many others who make up the madhouse of obsessed individuals who are adamant that the September 11 attacks were an inside job, perpetrated by the US government.
What follows is a shamble of propaganda and political undertones which attempt to be satirical but end up being preachy and forced. It's literally like watching a propaganda film with the intent of forcing political, controversial, and almost offensive ideas down your throat.
Even from a filmmaking perspective it isn't good! The editing is super choppy and could've flowed more smoothly. It features very sharp cuts and there are no fading or gradual transitions. Just *cut*. *cut*. *cut*. And so forth. Even with an iPhone you still have the ability to create a smooth and polished flow, so it's always frustrating to see the opposite because you know the filmmaker has the potential to create a well-edited film, and when they don't, it rapidly loses marks - unfortunately.
The performances are nothing special and there are no key moments from any of the actors, but they were somewhat decent, however very exaggerated. The characters are all so bizarre! Picture it like this, the family from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Part 2 have an ingenious idea, open up a firm in which they're determined in persuading the entirety of America that the government set up the 9/11 attacks. On paper, it sounds like a ridiculous spoof. And it is a ridiculous spoof! Well... at least I hope it's a spoof... because otherwise I don't know what in the hell I just watched! It's just craziness!
In the end, Inside Job is an utter mess. The acting is okay, the script is just average but the tone of the film is all over the place. I can't tell you if it was meant to be funny or serious, or if it was just a spoof film. But what it is, is just an over-political satire filled to the brim with propaganda and genuine silliness. Instead of keeping the Inside Job, I suggest making it an outside job, and bury it in the garden...
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