Illusions

Directed by Nick Naylor

Director: Nick Naylor
Actors: Keily Fernandez, Krista Grotte, & Andrew Suchman
Studio:  Inspiration Films
Format:  DVD
Language: English
Release Date:  2016
Run Time: 96 min.

Illusions

A Film by Inspiration Films

Review by C. Dennis Moore

Writer Rod Grant (MR. ENGAGEMENT) has crafted a tense, paranoia-filled movie that waits until almost the last minute to even give you a real hint at who the killer might be.  For all we know, it really is Alexandra. And I’m not saying it’s not. But Grant’s plot is so delicately pieced-together that we’re constantly on our toes and guessing.

Naylor’s direction is also a big factor in the amount of tension ILLUSIONS manages to pull off. He knows just where to place the camera and how to tell a story with few words.  I don’t know what the budget was for this movie, but I’m sure it was small. Naylor (PAWNZ), however, makes it look much bigger than it probably was.

In the movie, Alexandra Myers is having trouble sleeping. Nightmares keep waking her up. Her therapist has her on meds, which he insists she keep taking, insuring her everything will balance out sooner or later. But then the bodies start to appear. First an acquaintance in the apartment building where Alexandra’s friend lives. Then her best friend. Then a co-worker. Soon, there are more dead people than live ones in Alexandra’s circle. And the worst part of this nightmare is the police has fingered Alexandra as their main suspect.

I had a really good time watching this one. I love a movie that is honestly able to notlet me in on the secret until it’s good and ready, and so few movies these days are able to manage that. But ILLUSIONS got it right.

Keily Fernandez (STRATOSPHERE) demands the audience’s attention quite well as the put-upon Alexandra, carrying the movie just fine all on her own. I didn’t always fully understand her actions in the midst of everything going on around her, but then I’ve never been one to react as most other people do to every other situation, so that could just be me. But for me, if I think there’s someone out there trying to hurt me, when my significant other steps into a store to check something out I’m not waiting outside and then following a mysterious figure into an alley. That could just be me, though. Either way, Fernandez made Alexandra feel like a real person and not a character in a movie.

It’s funny that I was the one asked to do the review for the new Rod Grant/Nick Naylor movie ILLUSIONS, considering it feels a lot like a novella I wrote, SAFE AT HOME, back in the early 2000s.

As for the similarities, my story was about a guy in a secure apartment building who becomes the number one suspect when people in the building start dying and he’s the only one without an alibi. Not EXACTLY the same, but similar enough I found it interesting that I was chose to review ILLUSIONS. Not that I’m complaining; I think this one got it more right than I did. Kudos.

About the Director

Nick Naylor is a Florida native who started his acting career at the age of five.  He has grown into a respected actor, director, producer and has taken lead roles in numerous independent films and plays. Despite a full time day job Nick peruses his passions of the arts full time. He attends Venue Actors Studio under Corinne Broskette learning the Lee Strasberg method. He has also trained with the renown Tasha Smith and Annie Cerillo to name a few.  He’s also known for his last comedy directorial debut “Pawnz.”

Website HERE 

IMDB page HERE 

About the Screenwriter

Rod Grant is an Actor/Producer/Screenwriter and Author. He is one of the youngest authors in history to ever publish three titles in one year within three separate genres under the name “Rod L. Griffin.” He has appeared in numerous independent films as well as industrials and commercials and continues to pursue his acting and writing careers. He’s won The Tampa Film Revue’s Best Male Performance Award, as well as the Gasparilla Film Festivals Best Local Production award for  his performance in “Gunn Highway.”  His credits include “Mr. Engagement,” “Pawnz,” and “Illusions” as well as many others.  In 2009 he crossed over into playwriting with the success of his original hit comedy “Women Want Everything!” When he finds time he trains at Venue Actors Studio in the famed Lee Strasberg Method.

About the Reviewer

C. Dennis Moore is the author of over 60 published short stories and novellas in the speculative fiction genre. Most recent appearances were in the Vile Things anthology, Fiction365.com, Dark Highlands 2, What Fears Become, Dead Bait 3 and Dark Highways. His novel, Revelations, is available in hardcover, trade paperback or ebook formats from Necro Publications. His most recent novel is The Third Floor.