Ryan Harper Movies
A handful of strangers living on the edge of Los Angeles' sex industry share a terrible secret in this psychological drama. Jimmy (Paul Ben-Victor) is a small-time kingpin in California's underground sleaze empire, and he runs a strip club and peep-show arcade where Tara (Angela Sarafyan) displays her body for paying customers. Tara is working off a sizable debt to Jimmy, and her boyfriend, Jaron (Josh Janowicz), meets with Jimmy's business partner Uncle Lou (Marcus Giamatti) to find out what it would cost to clear her bill. Eager to make some fast money to pay off Jimmy, Jaron teams up with Balery (Brittany Snow), a hooker who wants to get even with an abusive regular customer. One of Jimmy's more unlikely colleagues is Mr. Garrett (Eddie Jemison), a high-school teacher who learns that two of his students, Courtney (Chloe Domont) and Melody (Candice Accola), are attracted to him. Garrett decides to introduce the girls to Jimmy, who wants to lure them into a career in pornographic modeling. And Wes (Clayne Crawford) is a self-centered musician whose career has yet to take off; needing money, he allows his girlfriend, Chantel (Shanna Collins), to earn their keep by working as a streetwalker. Also starring Theresa Russell and James Russo, On the Doll was the first feature film from director Thomas Mignone, who previously distinguished himself making music videos. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brittany Snow
Set in a purgatory where the dead still retain their human form while gradually adapting the instincts that animals are naturally born with, director Ryan Harper's heady horror fantasy follows the bizarre journey of Ana, a woman who finds herself trapped between two worlds following a frightening encounter. Ana is on her way to be with her new boyfriend at a seaside hotel when her jealous ex-boyfriend shows up seeking revenge. A harrowing struggle follows, and as the violent brut attempts to kidnap the resisting beauty, both are killed in a deadly car accident. Later, after emerging from the wreckage and walking down the highway in search of help, the severely injured Ana is picked up by a vacationing American tourist named Gene. At first Ana is reluctant to ride with the gruff retiree, but it doesn't take her long to realize that he's her only hope for reaching the hotel where her boyfriend awaits. Ana doesn't speak a word of English, and Gene isn't at all fluent in Spanish, and when the pair arrives at the hotel they discover something truly unnerving. Not only has the once lavish resort inexplicably fallen to ruin, but the people who inhabit all exhibit strange animalistic qualities. Terrified, Ana begs Gene to drive her home, where she is bitterly rejected by her deceased brother. Dreams of her animal self lead the frightened wanderer to suspect that forces beyond her comprehension may be at work, and as the days stretch on and her visions become more vivid Ana soon begins to embrace the animal within. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvonne DeLarosa, Sherman Koltz, (more)
A young man struggles to hold his family together while keeping his own life on track in this independent drama. P.J. Lee (Thomas Guiry) is a teenager growing up in a decaying industrial town in Illinois. Few kids have it easy where P.J.'s from, but he has it harder than most -- his parents split up several years ago, and P.J.'s father, Carl (John Heard), is in jail on vehicular manslaughter charges he's not likely to shake. P.J.'s big brother, Ben (Clayne Crawford), is married and has a life of his own, through his fondness for booze and other women suggests he's following the same sorry path as his dad. P.J.'s mother, Marianne (Laurie Metcalf), is remarried to a police officer, Randall (James McDaniel), and they have little to offer him other than a chance to join the police academy. When P.J. loses his job as a busboy, he finds he can no longer pay the rent on his house, and has a falling out with his girlfriend, Amy (America Ferrera), who works at the same diner. With nowhere else to go, P.J. moves in with his uncle Vic (Raymond J. Barry), but he soon begins to buckle under Vic's "straighten up and fly right" attitude. The first feature film from writer and director Brian Jun, Steel City was enthusiastically received during its premiere screening at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Heard, Tom Guiry, (more)
A chance meeting between strangers has dangerous consequences in this independent thriller. Anthony (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs) is an entertainment agent who is driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to attend a wedding. Anthony picks up a hitchhiker along the way, Ernie (Rusty Gray), and the two strike up a friendly conversation. But as they become comfortable with one another, one of the men reveals more about himself than he intends, and he soon realizes the possible danger if the information falls into the wrong hands, leading them down a dark road into violence. 30 Miles was the first feature film from director Ryan Harper. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, Rusty Gray, (more)
