Youssef Delara and Victor Teran gave themselves quite the challenge with “Snap.” Not only does the story have roots in disturbing true events and a touchy mental condition at the core, but then they infuse it with an exceptional dose of style and set it all to a beat, ultimately making the film feel as though it has a pulse.
Jake Hoffman leads as Jim, an antisocial shut-in who expresses himself through music, making beats, uploading them to the web and amassing a following all from the comfort of his own home. When Jake gets a gig fixing an office computer and crosses pathes with Wendy (Nikki Reed), she inspires him to try to come out of his shell. Trouble is, when their romance doesn’t exactly pan out, Jim can’t handle it and his inner demons assume control.
For the sake of a brief introduction, we can boil “Snap” down to that cut and dry synopsis, but, in full, the movie is much more than that. Delara and Teran never spoon-feed information, making viewer interpretation a major part of the experience. In order to do that successfully while putting every little bit of their tight budget and schedule to good use, the pair had to be exceptionally well prepared, as did their cast.
While celebrating the “Snap” world premiere at SXSW, Delara, Teran, and stars Reed and Thomas Dekker sat down to discuss the challenge of handling the material in a sensitive manner, infusing the film with a degree of authorial expressivity, and much more. Catch it all in the video interview below.