Simon (Corey Jackson) is a nightshift operator of an LGBTQ crisis hotline, but he gets increasingly disillusioned with his job, as most of the time he just has to deal with break-ups and other comparatively petty affairs, nothing that would even justify a "crisis" hotline. But then Danny (Christian Gabriel), and he's apparently killing himself gradually, working on an overdose on pills not before he has relayed his story. And at first, the story doesn't sound like much, just the tale of another jinxed lover, but soon it gets dark: You see, Danny, a gifted programmer, is pretty much a newcomer to Silicon Valley, and when he meets Kyle (Paro Tsaklas), a more seasoned programmer who's into Danny as much as Danny's into him, it's really a stroke of luck, and when their sex turns out to be great, it's even better. Plus, Kyle seems to be much better off than Danny, which impresses him quite a bit even if he's not an overly material guy. And after they've been a couple for quite some time, Kyle introduces Danny to his boss Lance (August Browning) and Lance's boyfriend Christian (Christopher Fung), who to Danny's surprise are very open-minded when it comes to sex and drugs, almost force some Crystal Meth on Danny, and then have sex right in front of Danny and Kyle. To noone's real surprise they later turn out to be in internet porn - nothing outside the strictly legal though as Kyle assures Danny. Enter Forrest (Michael Champlin), obviously Lance's boss, and while seeming charming enough, he eventually tries to talk Danny into doing porn. Danny's somewhat shocked by this, so he tries to talk Kyle into quitting his job with Lance, but it's not that easy. Thing is, from here things take a dark turn from there, especially when Simon finds out Danny doesn't just want to kill himself, he also wants to have his revenge on a certain group of people who've done him wrong ...

Basically, Shadows in Mind is a rather brilliant suspense piece, one that works rather nicely on the principle of its two protagonists separated by a (metaphorical) wall, with the one (Simon) having to find a way to break the wall to influence the goings-on on the other side - not a very new concept since even Hitchcock's Rear Window worked along similar lines, but one that's really well applied here, also thanks to the film's deliberately slow build-up that gives the story time to unfold while revealing the truth only by the by.  And also thanks to a stylish directorial effort and a relatable ensemble cast, this has turned out to be pretty aweseome genre entertainment.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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