Jimmy and Stiggs, 2025.
Directed by Joe Begos.
Starring Joe Begos, Matt Mercer, Riley Dandy, Jason Eisener, Josh Ethier and James Russo.
SYNOPSIS
A perfect storm of lousy news sees out-of-work filmmaker Jimmy Lang spiral into a bender, during which he claims to have been abducted by aliens, and fearing their return, he contacts his old friend Stiggs to help him gear up for war.
Sci-fi, horror, comedy and drug and booze binges combine in Joe Begos’ Jimmy and Stiggs about two estranged friends who come back together to fight off an attempted alien abduction. The indie film is very fun and incredibly well shot for something that takes place entirely in Begos’ own apartment, which goes through several set transformations as well as various levels of destruction.
After a sudden abduction by aliens, Jimmy Lang prepares for their return by arming himself and going on a drug and booze-filled bender, recruiting his old friend Stiggs to help him in his fight against the little grey men. When Stiggs arrives and tries convincing him he’s out of his mind and needs help, he quickly discovers how real the aliens are and the pair must survive against the invaders and their own personal issues that drove them apart.
Begos, who stars as Jimmy and wrote and directed the film, clearly is having a lot of fun in the role as he also trashes his home. Begos and Stiggs’ actor Matt Mercer share a great amount of back-and-forth dialogue that is both engaging and authentic as the two friends simultaneously work together and get on each others nerves. Their acting only gets wilder the more the characters drink, do drugs and commit wild acts of violence against the aliens. It is a fun dynamic that is the backbone of the film.
The amount of practical effects is impressive as the aliens themselves are animatronic and use old-school effects to pump out blood and guts. The fist fights Jimmy and Stiggs gets themselves into against the aliens add to the film’s charm and over-the-top nature as they literally wrestle with a puppet half their size or bash its brains in. Begos also utilizes neat methods of cinematography such as some extended sequences of first-person POV as Jimmy explores the apartment and is practically lifted up to levitate. He even goes so far as to create the impression of blinking eyelids during those POV shots, a fact which sometimes gets a little dizzying when they come too fast, but is still a creative way to immerse the audience into Jimmy’s perspective.
The pacing is good, though some of the fights, both physical and verbal, feel repetitive early on. Thankfully, Jimmy and Stiggs switch it up by adding more weapons to their arsenal or using other intriguing ways to beat their enemies. Again, the practical effects on many of the body horror elements are quite impressive and the bright-neon blood gives the set a vibrant look that differs from other alien invasion/abduction films and serves as a good workaround for the indie budget. After learning this was all shot in Begos’ own home, one can only think of the poor mess that must have been left there.
Jimmy and Stiggs is impressive for what it achieves in such a limited set and its unique visuals. Begos and Mercer’s chemistry is great as the pair of friends bounce back and forth between the good old times and animosity while the craziness of their situation keeps ratcheting up several notches. Begos’ direction is well done and it is a literally bloody fun time.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
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