Despite the fact that I worked as DP/Camera Op on the film, it was still quite a shock to see the end result and the end result is definitely weird. Although the story may not appear to make a whole lot of sense, Matt always seemed to have a very detailed vision of what he wanted to put down on film. So even though many of the images may seem random, everything from the toe to the lighting was very thought out.<br /><br />When I step back and watch the film as a whole (and not focus on the lighting or camera movements) there are things I like and dislike.<br /><br />Once you get past the overall absurdity of the film, you can actually link the images to real life and use them as a kind of metaphor. From there, a story does begin to emerge albeit shaded in the bizarre. (But it's an experimental horror movie so cmon!) <br /><br />The acting is great. A little over the top and sometimes forced (which should be expected) but very solid. Esp. the little kid who I'm sure many of you would be surprised to learn had never acted prior to this film.<br /><br />Matt'direction is energized and loaded with style. He trusts his actors and knows when to let them steal the scene and not the camera, SFX etc. Even lighting. At the same time there is somewhat of a lack of focus in the films' presentation(directing, editing). Come end time, the film is far too long and could have benefited from having at least 7 minutes axed.<br /><br />The sound for me was the biggest problem. It was too amateurish and hokey and didn't match the overall dark yet slick feel of the film. The no lip sync was OK, but the random and poorly dubbed sound effects coupled with the tacky Mario Bros. music became a distraction. Oh well.<br /><br />The lighting of course was great but the direction for a lot of it came from Matt's weird head. I boned up on some Itallian horror to help with getting the feel right, making sure I could translate what Matt had on paper onto film.<br /><br />Overall, Pandora's Paradox is a solid yet bizarre film combining Lynch and Argento with Matt's own twisted ideas. Whether or not you enjoy the movie (and a lot of people will not)I feel that you can't deny the production value of the film coupled with the fact that at the very least it's crazzzzy eye candy.<br /><br />2rights