The Other Side of Darkness: A Movie Review of James Chapeskie’s Film

Susan Grahm
April 19, 2023, 1:25 a.m.
Posted in News

If you are familiar with the work of up-and-coming YouTube artist, James Chapeskie, then the new film release, Darkness did not offer many surprises. The short film was released in a live premier event on April 12th, but viewers are still tuning in to see the movie that James heavily promoted on TikTok for months.

Those familiar with Chapeskie’s work will easily recognize a familiar plot line complete with fantasy, forests, and magical rescues. Viewers looking forward to these elements will not be disappointed. James, of course, plays multiple roles in the film. He plays an over enthusiastic boy scout named Billy and a villain called Vincent, whose main concerns are his flowing hair and questionable dance moves. Billy’s opening scenes are quite delightful. These include an energetic musical number, a hilarious comic moment where Chapeskie falls in the snow, and an entertaining trip to the forest accompanied by song. People paying close attention probably noticed a guest appearance by famous Tik Tok star Kyle Conners.
 


Most fans of Chapeskie won’t be surprised by the film, but one thing that was unexpected was supporting actress, Rebecca Chapeskie. She does an incredible job playing two male roles, the father of Billy and the sidekick of the evil villain. She seems very relaxed and natural in front of the camera and her witty banner adds humor to the film. Rebecca has excellent potential as a comedic actor. James should be careful that she doesn’t steal from his audience!

The musical track to the film is quite pleasing. Welcome to This Story is a great song with an excellent tempo that would fit well into mainstream film. Another success for Chapeskie is the song, On My Way. This song is an upbeat delight and could easily work in a modern animated film. The song Heat is one of James’ songs that unusually resembled pop culture. The track was quite brief though, but maybe this is something that Chapeskie could rework in the future.
 

The only main criticism of this film would be the plot. Near the end of the film, we see that Luna (played by Nicole Beer) gets turned into a fairy by an old man. This is an interesting premise meant to give context to the hit song Fairy in the Night. However, the fairy idea feels a little half-baked as the old man appears out of nowhere with little explanation. I would have loved to see more context and foreshadowing throughout the film.

Overall, the film turned out to be a smashing success. Box office reports for the first two days are in the thousands and growing. While James has not yet released any financial figures, we at Greasy Grizzly suspect profit to be in the hundreds of thousands. James previously mentioned he plans on purchasing a Bugatti, making the success of the film even more apparent. 
 


For future projects, James has previously announced a new music video known mysteriously as Murky Waters. However, the success of darkness also leaves an open possibility of a sequel. One thing for certain is that fans want more movies, which James is sure to deliver.

If you haven’t watched Darkness yet, or are not familiar with James Chapeskie’s works, follow him on one of his social media platforms to stay up to date. Darkness is also available on Prime Video.


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