Derek Jones (Andrew Johnston) wants to be a novelist, but right now paying the bills means he's stuck making viral video ads. While he's been in the game for three years, humiliating himself on camera for corporate clients, Derek has yet to achieve the holy grail of viral - 1,000,000 views on Youtube. When his boss finally issues an ultimate, "make a video that "cracks a mill" or be fired tomorrow, Derek joins up with Clive (James McFay), his decidedly amoral friend, to make one last viral video that will push Derek's sanity to the edge.

Written and directed by Nikos Andronicus, Ad Nauseam picked up the prize for Best Foreign Feature at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in 2013 but has seldom been seen stateside since that fest run. That all changes with the film's pick up by indie distributor of all things cheesy Cheezy Flicks. The unrated film is recommended for audiences 17 or older, a fact you'll catch on to the deeper you go into the 91-minute film.

Filmed on location in Sydney, Australia, my gut tells me that Ad Nauseam is likely to play better for its home crowd, though one certainly can't ignore that the film's sole fest win was actually here in the U.S. 

Ad Nauseam is an acquired taste, occasionally quite funny with a freestyle performance by Johnston that keeps the entire film flowing and keeps you watching. That said, an awful lot of the humor fell flat and much of the film felt like it was edgy for the sake of being edgy. Cheesy? Oh yeah, it's here. There's a reason that Ad Nauseam fits nicely within the Cheezy Flicks catalogue, though it is important to note that the film has had digital releases including on iTunes. 

While I fancy myself a fan of Aussie cinema, Ad Nauseam was a disappointment but at Cheezy Flicks's usual low prices you can hardly go wrong in giving the low-budget indie a chance. 

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic