THE SEA OF PERDITION

THE SEA OF PERDITION (2006)
UK/IS
Directed by Richard Stanley

CAST:
Maggie Moor - Sly Delta Honey

PLOT:
     A Warren Comics style short portraying a stranded cosmonaut on Mars.

REVIEW:
     I originally intended this review to be put up a couple of days after the review for The Theatre Bizarre was up for a couple of days . The main reason why I decided to really focus on Stanley was to show that with the constraints he had while working on Mother Of Toads, it isn't a fair showing of his ability. If giving free reign to work everything out in a film he can accomplish a impact-full film even if the film is actually a short film. It's just too bad that Hollywood truly doesn't understand film making anymore and the people that bring something different to the screen are the ones left out in the cold.

     I can't really judge Maggie Moor's character Sly Delta Honey all that much due to the dialogue in the short is kept to a bare minimum. She has to act more with her body as she explores the barren planet's surface in search of a way to get in touch with anyone. But what I did see of it, Moor does a decent job as a astronaut lost and separated from the rest of the crew. Yet at the same time Moor also plays a alien doppelganger of the Sly Delta Honey as well who seduces the astronaut it's copying. Moor in this role has no lines yet has to let her body do the acting for her. Even though Moor is the star and carries the short, it's the appearance at the end of it of an alien that just makes you smile.

       This short I have to admit isn't really about story but more about feel of it. This is demonstrated within the first 30 seconds of the film where it open in space and a flying satellite passes by playing a Pink Floyd song. The colors in this shot weren't bright, but somewhat muted. As someone would expect a lot of blacks due to it being in space, instead the main color is an off color purple and light browns mixed. Once the short moves planetside, director Richard Stanley knows how to use barren landscapes to show just how alone the main character truly is. The main shot showing this is when Sly Delta Honey is scanning for radio frequencies on top of a what looks like a mountain while two planets are visible in the background. I love the look and feel of this short as I used to read old horror and sci-fi anthology comics that had to tell a story quickly while also being understandable by all readers. Even though not much story background is giving, Stanley's short film captures the feel of those old cult comics perfectly in its simplicity while also being very well shot that actually left me wanting to see more of this alien planet.   

BEST DEATH:
     Sly Delta Honey's massive information brain drain.

BEST LINE:
     -Traigan a mas astronauts!

FUN FACTS:
     Maggie Moor is the great-grandchild of internationally known, Vaudevillian song and dance team Charlie Brown and Mae Newman.

     Dario Argento is one of Richard Stanley's favorite directors.

     Richard Stanley turned down the directing gigs for both Spice World and Judge Dredd in the '90s.