This short film is a proof of concept for Apocalypse Now Now, an adaptation of the beloved South African novel of the same name. Via Short of the Week:
Whatever the analogues one arrives at, Apocalypse Now Now is a proof-of-concept of rare quality and pedigree. Based off a celebrated series by author Charlie Human, this short is a brief introduction to the world of Baxter Zevcenko (Garion Dowds). A snarky, monster-porn-dealing teen, Baxter might be a serial killer. His girlfriend, Esme, is missing, and he’s the prime suspect. To clear his name, he’ll turn to Cape Town’s grizzliest, drunkest bounty hunter, Jackson ‘Jackie’ Ronin (Louw Venter), a supernatural warrior who helps unlock a conspiracy across time and space.
The goal for the Apocalypse Now Now team is to build a groundswell of support for a feature version of the story, and, as is so often the case with these kind of teasers, the short is simplistic on a narrative level. It develops only a single representative scene of Human’s work, though the use of narration by Baxter early in the film does a large amount of expository heavy-lifting to set the context. If you dig these kind of speculative works however, you’ll find a ton to like about Apocalypse Now Now. With proven source material, the tone is gleefully vulgar, full of gore, drugs and foul language. Baxter as a character is instantly understandable, a jaded, wise-cracking teen, he is charmingly nonplussed as the ontological nature of his world falls down around him. Gorgeously shot, the film succeeds both on the practical and VFX levels, using extensive set design and its grimy South African setting to great effect.
We’ve read the book and loved it. Hopefully thered be a full length film soon!