In Memory of Johnny Kevorkian

Johnny Kevorkian, Writer, Director, amazingly talented person, who has left us too soon.

Having been a journalist for half of my life nothing annoys and excites me more than sitting down with friends and family to watch a movie, and predicting within the first ten minutes, the plot or criticise my way through the whole film. (Yes, I'm a barrel of joy to watch a movie with).

Sitting down to watch my first movie of Johnny's "The Disappeared" I was surprised to find myself intrigued at the atmosphere, lighting, scene structures and wonderful unfolding of a truly great horror movie. This wasn’t a big budget film, however it passed as one because Johnny Kevorkian knew how to tell a story. I was as equally satisfied with “Await Further Instruction”, another of his wonderfully directed horrors where one couldn’t help but feel empathy towards the characters and having what any good story should have both Pathos and Catharsis. As the rhetoric pulls you in to relating with the scenario of family, holidays and all the opposite personality and age differences, you grow attached almost immediately through the characters being so relatable. For example, everyone has that one grumpy family member, finicky, prejudiced or at the very least picky relative that you’d rather not spend any time with but do for the sake of duty and because it’s the holidays.

You also grow to pity some characters, understand others and on top of it, the use of the right lighting and music sets the tone perfectly. Before I knew it, my heart was pounding and something like their situation that seemed impossible still managed to instill that fear and actually, lingering thoughts about what perhaps, if any, was the message behind the story, And that, that is true art. Johnny knew how to take any story, make it relatable to anyone, no matter where in the world it was based. He understood humans, their fears, their passions, their nature.

Here is his interview about Directing and making a good movie: Interview

And here is his show reel, intense and effective as he was: Show Reel

Trailers for:

The Disappeared

Await Further Instruction