My Name is A By Anonymous

aka Alyssa: Portrait of a Teen Killer

Director - Shane Ryan (Amateur Porn Star Killer)

Starring - Katie Marsh (Southland), Demi Baumann (Attack of the Slime People), and Teona Dolnikova (Kansas City Beat)

Release Date - 2012

Genre - Drama/Thriller

Tagline - "Based on the real life teenage "thriller killer" Alyssa Bustamante"

Format - DVD (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     Serial killers fascinate millions of people all over the world.  Some find the crude nature in which they murder to be fascinating while others are intrigued as to why they kill.  When I was in middle school I found a book on serial killers and it really interested me.  The most fascinating of all the killers I found in that book was that of Ed Gein.  I have read several dozen books about this Wisconsin monster and each time it is like discovering him all over again.  Anyway, people murder people all the time.  Most do it for money or revenge but some do it just because they are bored.  Alyssa Bustamante is one of those people who in 2009 kidnapped and killed a 9 year old girl.  In 2012 director and actor Shane Ryan created an experimental film to tell her story.  That film, My Name is A By Anonymous aka Alyssa: Portrait of a Teen Killer, was recently released by my favorite distribution company Wild Eye.  The film was shot for just $300 and was initially released anonymously due to public outcry.  This was later changed and Ryan released it under his name.  The film did not look like my cup of tea but I am a sucker for Wild Eye and anything featuring a real life killer/serial killer so I reached out to them and they were nice enough to hook me up with a review copy.  Thanks Wild Eye!

     The film follows four people; Alyssa (Marsh), her "sidekick" (Baumann), the "performer" (Dolnikova), and the "angst" (Alex Damiano).  Alyssa and her sidekick are friends in the loosest sense of the word.  Alyssa is a bit of a bully that forces her friend to do things.  The two bully other kids younger than them including their brother.  When they are not being bitches to each other and others, they are cutting themselves and other self-harm practices.  We also have the performer who dreams of becoming a famous act only to be shut down by her sexually abusive father.  The fourth character we are given is the Angst who is a bulimic who also has a past of being sexually harassed by her father.  All their paths cross and that leads to the death of Alyssa's neighbor.
     I knew this film would be different when I first laid eyes on the trailer several months back.  The film was shot found footage style which most of you know that I rarely enjoy.  However, this was a different approach to the found footage sub-genre.  The film uses different segments of footage, along with traditional camera work. to tell the story of four different people.  This was a bit of a unique use of found footage.  Sadly, the film jumps between segments very rapidly and this somewhat confuses the viewer.  In fact, the Angst and the Performer's segments could easily be confused as the same person.  The acting in this one is hit and miss.  A majority of the cast does an outstanding job considering how this film was shot but leads Katie Marsh and Demi Baumann have a hard time interacting genuinely with each other which creates several awkward scenes for the viewer to watch.  Their interactions just do not seem natural.  The remainder of the cast, like I stated earlier, did an outstanding job considering how the film was shot.  The story for this one is a loose interpretation of the actual Alyssa Bustamante murder of her 9 year old neighbor.  The film took a dark and bleak incident and made it personal.  Most film that follow an actual killer or serial killer rarely put the viewer in the lives of these living monsters.  This film does a solid job at doing that but waters it down by throwing other characters into the mix.  These characters do serve a purpose at the end of the film but could have easily been written off to make the story more linear and easier to follow.  Finally, the film does not lack any real on screen kills and bloodshed.  Those of you that think this is a blood-filled horror flick will be sadly mistaken.  This film is more of a drama with a dark turn.  Overall, My Name is A By Anonymous is a film that has it's rightful place in the world of cinema but it is not for everyone.  The film tells a real story of a real horrifying event but the way the story was told could have been done a better way that would make the impact of the film more effective.  This film was not for me but it still deserves a watch.