The Ordeal, a short film written and directed by Lance Sadia, will grab your attention with a guy named Tyler (played by Chris Grant Wenchell) talking directly to you. Most of the filming took place in a beautiful area filled with green trees and plants, enhancing the scenery. Breathtaking lush greenery that deceives your eyes into thinking you are in another world. And the truth is, Tyler just might be.
Amongst this beauty is Tyler, who is just a tad unhinged. He is somewhat paranoid. Have you ever felt paranoid to the point that you find a place in the woods to secure a drop spot for your shit: literally and figuratively? I don’t get paranoid, thankfully. That’s what this film is about. Tyler, the main character, is a conspiracy theorist and teaches others about preparing for the worst. A conspiracy theorist, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is someone who believes in a conspiracy theory: the idea that an event or situation is the result of a secret plan made by powerful people.
In his vlog titled The Ordeal, Tyler teaches others how to prepare to live in the woods after leaving the city, where he loaded up on ammo and bear spray to keep the bears at bay. He’s just trying to prepare his followers and fellow conspiracy theorists on where to go and what to take to a safe location. Tyler is like, find a place in the woods for your safety, and make sure you remember where it’s at because you might have to go there when the shit hits the fan. He is also recruiting for his militia. I mean, this dude is serious. Tyler is preparing them for the apocalypse. He’s telling them not to eat lab meat, which he has a point because he doesn’t want them to end up as zombies. He doesn’t want a Walking Dead reality going on.
In this neck of the woods where Tyler is, he is going to face something he wasn’t, I’m sure, planning to face. Another man (played by Bob Burgos), not far from him, is looking for gold in a stream. Tyler goes to the men’s room in the woods. Okay, not a room, but a forest. When he returns to his location, he sees a man looking through his stuff. Now, I’m a woman, and if I see someone going through my purse, and they have no business going through it, well, I might be a little mad and say something.
Tyler says something. He and the other man exchange a few words. But what Tyler ends up doing will change his world. Your actions will outlive your words, and he is about to learn that lesson. But will he share that on his vlog? Watch the film for the answer.
The Ordeal is a film that will make you think about what you consume with your eyes and ears. Ordeal, from the Cambridge Dictionary, means a very unpleasant, painful, or difficult experience. I would say Tyler knows firsthand about that.
Thank you for reading my review of the short film The Ordeal, written and directed by Lance Sadia.
Follow Lance on IG
Follow Chris Wenchell (Tyler character) on IG
Tyler has a website too! Check it out here.