Drummer Boy
2020 · 6m
Directed by Fatty Soprano, Shutterr
Genres: dark comedy, drama
A six-minute, frantic portrait of an obsessed young drummer pushing himself to fervid excesses at his kit and otherwise.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Everyone expects the obsessive-artist narrative to end in transcendence or tragedy; Soprano and Shutterr just let the drummer *be* frantically, surreally unresolved, which is the only honest way to film compulsion.
The formal rigor of cutting to the drum rhythm itself—treating percussion as both sound design and editorial spine—situates this in a lineage of experimental music documentaries that collapse performance and form.
What makes this work on a shoestring is the decision to let handheld camera sync with the drummer's own frenzy rather than impose external order; it's one formal choice that transforms six minutes of obsession into something claustrophobic and hypnotic.
Reviews
The overall effect of the mise-en-scène successfully mirrors the drummer's inner struggle, creating a disturbing, claustrophobic atmosphere. These, combined together, make the film an intense, morbid, fevered nightmare world — one that you will appreciate having witnessed, but nevertheless glad to have exited.