In one of the coolest, yet simultaneously bizarre, short films ever released by professional fans, writer/director Joe Lynch and actor Ryan Kwanten, who last teamed on the perpetually forthcoming LARP comedy Knights of Badassdom, have put out into the world Truth in Journalism.
The fascinating mockumentary, which had its world debut at Comic-Con last week, recreates and lovingly satires the gritty cinema verte style of the iconic Man Bites Dog (1992) to tell the story of Eddie Brock aka Venom.
In a 17-minute story that is sure to satisfy fans of ‘80s and ‘90s comics far more than Spider-Man 3 did, Lynch recreates the passion of a group of serious French filmmakers who decide to tail disgraced journalist and “shaper of the truth” Eddie Brock (Kwanten) around 1988 New York City. Recreating the nihilistic grit of the ‘80s Big Apple (not to mention the post-Frank Miller and Alan Moore comic book era) is almost as amusing as the nods to Brock working out in his crappy apartment to the sounds of Europe’s “The Final Countdown.” Of course, it is littered with Easter Eggs from The Amazing Spider-Man #299-300 (1988), where Eddie Brock and Venom made their original appearances.
It is an odd, but strangely satisfying recreation of 1980s comicdom and late 20th century documentarian styles. Lynch has called this “one for us,” but there is no denying that it is great advertisement for True Blood’s Kwanten. Could this be his audition for the role of Eddie Brock in a future Amazing Spider-Man sequel? If so, he has our vote.