Stalker Guilt Syndrome (2002) User Reviews

An uncanny insight into the neurotic male mind

[celaycock · 9/10 · 22 August 2006]

We've all done it - you're sat on a packed train and for a moment you realise that your random glances around the carriage have landed on a girl's eyes, and they are looking back at you. You wonder if they are staring at you. Could there be more to it? Does she *like* me? So begins Stalker Guilt Syndrome - a short film in which we hear the thoughts of a guy just trying to get to his girlfriend's apartment.

Only, while the main character might appear to be a normal guy and have normal thoughts it soon emerges that he is a hapless neurotic, with a hilarious outcome.

They both get off at the same stop. They both head in the same direction. They both head towards the same street. He thinks she thinks he's following her, she thinks he's following her. Comedy ensues.

There are dark undertones to Stalker Guilt Syndrome, there's no denying it, but this is a hilarious watch and I suggest you check it out pronto. I first saw it one night on TV, but the film is now available for free (and legally so) on Atom Films.

You won't be disappointed.

Funny and Disturbing

[BJJ-2 · 8 April 2003]

A clever and funny short film about an innocent man's paranoia after simply by chance following a woman who happens to be walking in the same direction as him.Marc Maron gives an excellent performance,even though most of the time it's his inner thoughts we hear and not his voice.As all good shorts should be,well-paced and edited.A minor gem.

My favourite short film

[shes_dead · 10/10 · 29 August 2005]

This is my favourite short film of all time. To me it's everything a short film should be; it's simple, it has a storyline perfect for the short film medium, it looks great (16mm film??) it has a sense of humour and the story is just told really well and without pretence.

Most short films are boring, sometimes because they try to do too much, sometimes because they try to do too little. Mostly though, short films tend to be style over substance. Stalker Guilt Syndrome succeeds by entertaining you for a full 10 minutes and leaving you satisfied at the end. Shame the film maker hasn't gone on to do any more.

If you liked this then I would recommend 'Trevor' and 'Bullet in the Brain'

Extremely funny short

[EricExpress · 10/10 · 9 November 2002]

It's a great short film which is primarily voice over. It is about a man accidently following a woman, as in they just happened to be going the same way. It reminded me of Christopher Nolan's "Following," except accidental and with an entirely different tone, mood, and this was funny. Got a lot of laughs. Hilarious. Check it out if you can.

Nice idea, badly executed.

[wes-62 · 6/10 · 13 November 2000]

"Stalker Guilt Syndrome" is a film that shows a man afraid of being called a stalker, because he accidentally has to follow the same route as the woman in front of him. Trying to resolve her thoughts, he starts to show rather deviant behavior. I think this is a nice idea to make a movie from. At first I found it shamefully realistic, but his thought became more and more farfetched and it became rather boring. If you accidentally stumble upon this movie, watch it, but please don't do to much effort to see it. This film is not worth it.

Too creepy for me...

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 27 February 2008]

There are some topics that are comedy-killers, such as cancer or crib death. No matter how hard you try, it's just about impossible to make the topic funny and people are definitely very uneasy about laughing about the subjects. Another such topic is the theme of this short film--stalking. No matter how hard you try, it's amazingly tough to make the topic funny and probably would best be left alone. However, the makers of this film thought they could do it. They tried very hard and occasionally the film almost made me smile but I still couldn't get past the creepy feeling that this isn't funny and there are really sick people out there whose minds I don't want to be able to read! Reasonably well made, occasionally interesting--this film is a strange little experiment that didn't quite succeed.

great stuff

[GregSinora · 31 October 2002]

A film that's great entertainment. The idea for the short was clever as it brought out a sense of empathy within me, having often found myself in the same mental state of paranoia as the main character (i wonder if anyone else has experienced SGS?). The acting was good as was the pacing and the script- which kept getting funnier and more cringe-inducing as the film progressed and the main character kept looking more weird and crazy towards people. Overall a great short that worked on many levels because of good acting and a sharp script and defiantly a sense of empathy. Highly recommended.

The other guy missed the point

[acrocker-2 · 13 February 2001]

This short obviously wasn't intended to be realistic- it's a comedy why else cast a comedian, Marc Maron, as the lead, especially one who plays to his neurosis? For a short this was pretty funny and at 11 minutes I would recommend it.