Sketch comedy group The Vacationeers broaches the no-budget feature realm with writer-director Todd Berger’s 2008 “The Scenesters,” a painful mix of flat comedy and jumbled visuals. Berger cites “Scream” as an influence at this stab at satire about Los Angeles “hipsters” in the form of a murder mystery that a group of crime-scene videographers hope to solve. It may have pleased someone at some point, but only seems busy and confused from here, and some of the acting is beneath description. With Sherilyn Fenn, Blaise Miller, Todd Berger, Jeff Grace. 96m. (Ray Pride)
“The Scenesters” opens Friday, April 22 at Facets.
Ray Pride is Newcity’s film critic and a contributing editor to Filmmaker magazine.
His multimedia history of Chicago “Ghost Signs” will be published soon. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram as Ghost Signs Chicago. More photography on Instagram.