Reviewed by Aaron Haynes

If the title wasn't already too long enough (and if it wasn't a sniper movie title), I'd suggest that it carry the subtitle "Andres's New Actual Sense of Humor: The Movie." I don't think it's any secret at this point that the community's favorite sneering, snarling, furious typist has mysteriously and without warning acquired not only a sense of humor about himself, but a sense of irony as well. It was apparent before Sniper@ADLH was released in the 2003 Winter filmfest, but the movie plays like the official announcement of the fact: in this rapidly evolving new era in the 3DMM community, we're presented with a kinder, gentler, funnier Andres De La Hoz. Someone check the temperature in hell real fast. Something tells me all us blaspheming heathens are gonna get to do some sledding.

The fact that this is a sniper movie directed by Andres is surprising enough. We open with a Christian gathering led by Melrose Let Down, who rambles out heavily stereotyped dialogue for a good five minutes before the punchline, leading into the title sequence. The first few times I watched this, I thought it was a really cheap and unimaginative potshot on Andres's part. You'd think a comedy directed by someone who has this much to say about movies would make more intelligent points. Same with the stabs taken at Pikios, Jeff, Maltby, Domke, the list goes on. In fact, they were SO stereotyped and exaggerated that I became suspicious that something else was going on, and now, after something like ten watches, I think I get it. The easiest misconception to make about Sniper@ADLH is that it's Andres making fun of his favorite targets as well as himself. In reality, it's Andres spoofing the way he portrays his targets, not the targets themselves.

Did I lose you? Take another look at the opening scene with Melrose. Now think back to all those archived religion threads and the way Andres takes the time to crush every individual sentence the people unlucky enough to defend their viewpoint bang out. Take a look at the way he sums up the other guy's viewpoints, rewording their argument in such a way that it sounds extremely stupid, before he even gets to picking it apart. Now, once more, think about Brother Melrose's dialogue in the opening sequence, and the way his logic sounds ridiculously flawed (the pie especially), even for a spoof. This is Andres spoofing HIMSELF, not Melrose or even religious doctrine. The whole movie carries this vibe to it, in fact, creating a level of self-parody and irony that's practically waist-deep.

This may sound like I'm reading too much into it, but think about the tone of the whole thing. All of Andres's most common targets are here, not because he's using the movie to attack them, but because we KNOW they're his favorite targets. It's a side wink and a nudge in his own ribs; they're portrayed in the movie in a way that greatly exaggerates, but simultaneously mirrors how Andres seems to look at them on the board.

Not that this means potshots aren't taken for their own sake. Jeff Ching sings "Addicted", Robert Domke slams his fists and face into a keyboard while screaming incoherently, Space Goat is portrayed as a redneck (noticed this in Powerplay, too; did I miss a running gag somewhere?), and so on. And the community is actually portrayed in interesting ways, usually for the sake of a gag. Cool 3DMM Shit's design is a smart and funny joke in itself, as is Andres being 'deported' from the board and returning to an unidentified Central American country. And the best joke in the entire movie, when our favorite loudmouth remembers and misses the board a week after being banned, is worth probably an additional ten points alone. The Greg's Playhouse sight gag is utter genius.

Technically it's pretty shoddy and while some of the legendary ultra-precise Andres camerawork can be found if you look for it, it's clear that he slapped this together pretty quickly. For the kind of movie Sniper@ADLH is, it works, but not in such a way that you don't notice. This is something that's always fascinated me about both Andres's personality and movies -- how does one with such incredibly high standards for cinema and storytelling expect his movies to be received? The really weird part is almost everything he's made is heavily concept-based, which is a style of filmmaking widely open to interpretation. This echoes more through DHIADW and ACTA than Sniper, but even in a silly comedy I found myself wondering and looking for hidden cinematic intentions. Nevertheless, it's well-acted, animated competently enough, and while it meanders a lot on things that are more likely to get a wry smile than a laugh, it's surprisingly well-timed, as I found out on subsequent watches. And an interesting note I didn't pick up on until long after the festival, Andres does the same sort of symbolic commentary Redux did by using Salvador as Pikios's character actor -- it was almost a pre-emptive stab in a way. Just something kinda interesting. Maybe it's just me.

So, as it stands, this is a pretty interesting insight into Andres's character, packed with some genuinely funny if over-the-top community-based humor, and bottom-line one of the most entertaining short movies I've ever seen. I'd like to see Andres explore this direction of filmmaking further, especially if, as he's said repeatedly, he's gotten too lazy to make any really major projects anymore. If a sequel or spinoff ever becomes likely, I'm gonna be extremely disappointed if I don't get smacked down a peg or two.

Critical Score: 80/100.
Personal Score: 85/100.