Before coming here to write, I read through the Trivia for this film. The very first item says that the writers spent almost a year perfecting the script. I don't want to be unkind because this is a student film, but how did this ever make it out of the school it came from? Even considering the fact that this was written by what I assume are 20-somethings, actual humans don't talk like they do in this film, and you shouldn't need to be older than 20-something to know that. I can't really even fault the actors for this because they seemed to be trying to do their best with what they were given. The editing was jumbled to the point that there were times I didn't know who was where, and what they were talking about. It's as though there were sections cut that were important to the story flow, but were seemingly just chopped out. On the other hand, there is a scene with stale doughnuts that repeats. It's exactly the same scene, about 20-30 minutes after it's originally seen. For a moment I thought it meant something -- that it was yet another story arc that was started, but not finished -- but no, it wasn't. Considering one of the Trivia items is that the film was only finished a week before the release date, it makes a little sense, but still would have been caught by anyone who watched it once through after the final edit. The story was a lot of different ideas that never really fit together. We go from one character, Jacob, being struck by lightning, and after a long stretch of filler, seems to die. And then a title card says "Two Months Later," where Jacob is driving a car, with his two friends, on the way -- the first time -- to that doughnut shop with the leftover stale doughnuts. After a bit of that, we have another title card that says "Two Months Earlier," which theoretically would bring us back to where we were before "Two Months Later," but no. Now, through dialog, we find out that Jacob was struck by lightning "a few months ago." From there, the story completely changes into the discovery of a "global disease," but not a virus, so apparently, not COVID. And THAT then spirals into a discussion of how it started, why it continues, and why this hapless trio of friends seem to be immune. I'll leave all that unspoken here. In my mind, I tried to fit this film into being a satire, but that didn't work because it really satirized nothing except maybe how people stay the same as they were in their freshman year of high school? I don't know. I couldn't make anything I tried to find in the film actually work in the world of film. It's not satire or a parody or drama or a mystery, or even science fiction. I DO know that it was a student film, so I've, again, tried to not be unkind about it. But didn't ANYONE say "no, this just isn't what you think it is?" I won't say to "not waste your time," but I won't recommend it either. It's a one-watch and done. I gave it three stars because I could see that whatever the final result, a lot of work was put into it, and the three main actors had very nice teeth. They do, really! Proceed with caution.

While the film may have some issues, considering the film was a high school project, I think it is very well done! The passion of these filmmakers is visible and I can't wait to see what they do in the future.

Review copied from Lonely Wolf Film Festival and pasted here to keep all reviews in one place. "A lightning strike sends Jacob (Zane Zakroff) into a parallel universe, a hellscape of his neurotic defence's making, one where he can't see or communicate with his two best friends who are in the same room as him(!). What starts as a daydream coma where the only way Michael (Zach Fox) and Davis (Ernie Colquette) can get through to him is through letters and post-stick notes, which leads him to piece together his reality to the point it's so overwhelming that he attempts suicide; and if this wasn't stressful enough, this friendship trio gets hit with a global pandemic disease they must try to survive at all costs. If you think this thickens the plot, wait until the film takes a bonkers turn when the real version of Jacob's imaginary ally in the form of girlfriend Ava (Zola Feasel) during his hallucinatory coma, is the cure thief and author behind the world's impending doom. Behind Memories of Reality's science fiction facade lies a coming-of-age drama about boy-meets-girl drifts away from best friends; this is an exquisite metaphorical odyssey into the tense coexistence between relationships and friendships, where theoretically one can longitudinally rule out the other. This is ultimately Ava's vendetta story. John Christensen and Nolan Lawlor rely on an infectiously charismatic predominantly-emerging cast, a witty convoluted script, and hand-held realism to tell their far-fetched fantastical tale. For a student film production, this is a formidable entry; Christensen and Lawlor's ambitious feature-length scale believes in the ninety-minute magic rule and offers these co-directors a big canvas to hone their depiction of Jacob's mental subjectivity and manoeuvre an ensemble cast and multi-location cinematic spectacle. Though imperfect, screaming for a sharper context in less unambiguous verisimilitude, narrative silence, and more subtextual visual storytelling, Memories of Reality proves compelling and ambitious enough as we work our way in deciphering its eccentric world. Complex but uneven, exhilarating but perplexing-an outré film with a big personality. Rating: 7/10."