Film Review: 'Raiders of the Hidden Donald Trump Fetish Doll'

As part of a Crowdfunding campaign for his upcoming film, Angel Connell (ironically played by the film's writer and director of the same name) has offered a prop as a perk for a lucky generous funder: the Donald Trump fetish doll that plays a significant role in his movie.

But what starts out as a simple offer to attract funding leads to more than Angel had in mind, as the campaign leads several groups of varying nationalities and political affiliations to begin descending on his house, ready to resort to whatever means necessary to obtain the doll. How much chaos and mayhem will a simple Crowdfunding bring to this beleaguered filmmaker?

Right off the bat, Raiders of the Hidden Donald Trump Fetish Doll is a short film that is sure to lure viewers in on the title alone. Serving as a continuation of sorts to Angel Connell's short film Evening of the Evil Eye (which also serves as the in-universe film that in-universe Angel Connell is looking to crowdfund), Raiders would appear on the surface to be a "controversial for the sake of being controversial" film devoid of any enjoyable comedy. But thanks to Connell's solid script, Raiders instead turns out to be a nice slice of comedy with the capacity to amuse rather than alienate.

Despite the title's suggestion otherwise, Raiders doesn't only poke fun at Donald Trump. Instead, the film mostly focuses around the chaotic nature of politics in general, amplifying the warfare going on between affiliations to a hilarious degree of absurdity. Much like South Park and Family Guy, Raiders doesn't narrow its humor down to one particular group or political ideology; rather, it takes aims at all of them and therefore is able to avoid coming across as needlessly offensive or biased. Instead, Raiders is able to act as a simple oddball comedy that will certainly be enjoyed by those who (regardless of their political beliefs) find the current state of politics to be insane and baffling to the point of ridiculousness.

Raiders moves at a quick pace, which for a 9-minute film, leaves essentially no room for its cast to be flat or off-the-mark in their performances. That proves not to be a problem for this ensemble cast, with Connell proving to be the glue that holds them all together. Being the film's only "recurring" character, so to speak, Connell does well in his role as the only sane man trying to deal with the tidal wave of weird and wacky that arrives in response to his attempt at getting his movie funded (a feeling I'm sure other indie filmmakers can relate to, albeit to a much less extreme degree). As Connell becomes further and further disillusioned by the violent groups that come in search of the fetish doll, he goes through a comedic--and in the context of the film's political theme, relatable--transformation as he becomes more brazen against the madness surrounding him.

(WARNING: SPOILER ALERT On an additional note: with the film ending on the revelation that the various political parties were being killed off by Connell's fans, Raiders as a whole can almost be seen as an out-of-the-box metaphor for the struggles and eventual benefits of carving out a career in the independent film market Spoilers Over)

Given its politics-heavy nature and its general "extended Saturday Night Live skit" feel, Raiders of the Hidden Donald Trump Fetish Doll is a film that's pretty much guaranteed to turn some away on principle. But for what it accomplishes in its short runtime, Raiders is a well-written slice of laughs that is precisely what's needed in times when politics have us more on-edge and divided than ever before. Add to the mix some surprising subtext that is sure to be appreciated by those who have worked in the indie film niche, and you have a short that is able to be part zany comedy and part political commentary/meditation on the creative process. Be on the look-out for this nugget, especially if you've seen the adjoining Evening of the Evil Eye.

Score: 9 out of 10 attempted stabbings.