Nathan Harris, also known as MoviePhan, cracked his knuckles and took one last glance at the bedroom mirror to see if his hair remained intact. His dark brown curls were a major part of his charm and drew a lot of attention. He couldn't let his fans down, especially when he was live on camera.
Aged 27, Nathan was a supermarket cashier by day and a reactor/content creator by night, or when spare time allowed it. He had started his channel on a whim on a rainy weekend never expecting for it to take off, but when the likes and comments started pouring only after two uploads, he discovered just how enthusiastic other people were for living vicariously through other people's eyes, so he continued, building a faithful community where once there was nothing.
After only six months, he had amassed over seventy-five thousand subscribers, with hundreds more joining the show every weekend. While most of his content was pre-recorded and then uploaded to YouTube, sometimes he would do live streams and invite his mass of supporters to tag along, usually on the last Saturday of every month. It was that time again, and the spectacle was about to begin.
The chatroom was already live, filled with already familiar aliases and new emoji-spamming users eager to see what the fuss was all about. His team of moderators was on too, despite hardly ever being needed. If there was one thing Nathan couldn't complain about was the civility of those that followed his streams, which was quite a miracle considering the toxicity permeating Internet life. He was grateful for it and even more for all the wonderful new things he had come to know ever since starting his journey. It was time to continue paying back while being as entertaining as possible.
Nathan finished setting things up, made sure the camera angles were perfect, and sat on his comfortable gaming chair with a big, genuine smile plastered on his sun-tanned face. His voice always sounded weird on the microphone, a slight metallic rasp echoing through each syllable. But that was part of the quirks as well, and people wouldn't have it any other way.
"Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the channel. Are you excited for tonight? I know I am. Today, I'll be watching and reacting to 'Hypnotist from Outer Space' by Samuel Brown. This movie came out in 1973, twenty years before I was born and while it's considered a cult classic by many, I've never seen it nor am I familiar with Brown's work, so don't really know what to expect. Going by the title alone, it seems to be a sci-fi movie (obviously!), but I have no clue what the story will be all about other than that there will be hypnosis involved, of course. A lot of you recommended I watched this movie. In fact, it was the runner-up of the last three community polls, so I figured: why the hell not? So far, your judgment when it comes to these instant reactions live streams has been spot on, so let's do this. I have my corn snacks here, my big soda too, and don't be surprised if my cat pops in the frame now and then. You know he loves the attention, too. I hope you have your copy of the movie ready. My reaction starts in 3, 2, 1..."
"Samuel Brown presents... a Samuel Brown film... Hypnotist from Outer Space with story by Samuel Brown... oh wow, this is some Kojima-level name insert right here! Not really complaining, though. If you're proud of your product, you should promote it and yourself any way you can like I always say. Anyway, this opening credit sequence is quite interesting. By now, you guys know I'm not very fond of these longer intros in older movies, but I really like the clever use of light and shadow against the starry backdrop. There also seem to be a lot of spirals in-between. I guess that makes sense since the titular character is a hypnotist. I'm hearing some interesting sound effects in the background too, though I can't quite understand what they are. If anyone in chat who has seen this movie before can tell me about them, I'd love to know. Thanks.
"Oh wow! That's a fantastic transition to the UFO approaching the Earth! This is clearly a practical effect, most likely a miniature, but the way they framed the shot allows you to see so much detail that it looks huge. Even the surrounding colors resemble a spiral. I wonder if just looking at it is supposed to produce a mesmerizing effect... that seems the intent, and the effect is quite staggering on a first glance.
"Oops... I take that back. It was doing so well, but then Brown went for a wider pan, and somebody forgot the strings attached to the miniature. You saw them, right? Upper left corner. If you squint, you can pretend they're not there but... Yeah, yeah, I should probably just let it slide seeing how old the movie is, but you know I can't because it ruins the composition a bit. Well, moving on... it looks like we're getting our first glimpse of the inside of the ship.
"And now, we see our alien hypnotist for the first time and my God, she's beautiful! Because you practically begged me to go blind, I didn't look any of the actor's names so I have no clue who she is but she has the most amazing blue eyes I've ever seen and although I can be mistaken, it doesn't seem like they've been enhanced in any way other than the lighting all around. Speaking of that, so far it's been nothing but impressive, especially in this interior shot! While the cinematography itself is not spectacular, the practical sets are quite believable and her silver costume is amazing, too. Is that full-on latex? Wow, it really is! I didn't see that one coming but more power to Brown for going through with it in the seventies because although the suit is skin-tight, the camera is not really objectifying the woman wearing, but convening a sense of otherworldly power through its sheen. It's a clever and bold directorial choice. Okay, not everything is perfect, of course. I can see some trappings of a 70s B-Movie production rearing their ugly heads especially in the background but the budget for this appears to be quite high so maybe it's in the upper B tier and not the lower one. I wonder what's her name. I hope we get to hear it soon, so I don't have to call her 'alien hypnotist' all the time.
"Ah, look who's decided to drop by. Ladies and gentlemen, if you're new to this channel and these streams, this is Felix. He's a tabby, he's six years old, and he loves to be filmed more than anything else. He's also quite the jumper, as you can see. I rescued Felix from a shelter around three years ago and never looked back ever since. Come here, boy! Want to watch the rest of the movie with me? Look at the pretty lady on the screen! I bet you would love to scratch that perky ass, wouldn't you? Yeah, I get you, Felix. She really is quite the sexy kitten, isn't she? Look, the UFO seems to be landing. Exciting, isn't it?
"Oh wow, that forest is something else! Was it shot on location? Oh, never mind! That's not a real forest, but a detailed matte painting. See the blur around the edges of the screen? That's what gave it away! At first, the twinkling stars above had me fooled with how realistic they were, but I'm sure I know how they did this. They punctured some tiny holes in the painting itself and then flicked either a lamp or a lighter through them just close enough to give off the impression of glow without causing additional reflections on the camera lenses. It's an old trick, guys! It was used on Citizen Kane, for instance, and if you haven't seen that one yet, you should, because it's quite good. And now that the UFO has landed, I'm guessing she's going for a walk. Very intrigued to find out how this will play out now that she's roaming our world.
"Okay, who's this now? A Sheriff? Sheriff of where exactly? His costume is on par too, save for the blurred insignia. This takes place in the US, right? I mean, I think it is, but there was no location card or anything. I'm not really into guys, yet even I must admit he's quite the handsome fellow. You know who me reminds of? A young Luke Wilson if Luke Wilson had blond hair. I guess he caught sight of the ship landing, huh? Something tells me his first close encounter of the third kind will be anything but what he expects.
"Hmm, not sure if my previous remark about non-objectification stands seeing how long Brown's camera focused on our hypnotist's curves right now but if we're supposed to be seeing this scene from the eyes of the curious and rather horny officer, I guess it makes sense. And before you say I was objectifying her myself earlier, I'm aware of that, and I will not pretend otherwise. She's just too damn sexy looking in that outfit, and I'm a man too. If you're offended by my remarks, drop the stream, and find someone else to follow, okay? In the meantime, let's see how this encounter plays out.
"No, Felix! Bad cat! I love you, but my head is not the perfect resting place while I'm trying to watch a movie... Ouch! That hurts, you fat fur ball! Sorry guys, it seems like he wants to star in a movie of his own, too! One second, please. I just need to... there! Now stay put because things are about to get interesting.
