Strugar!

Released 2005, Directed by Zack Swyers - 21 min.

Strugar! is a short film written, directed, and starring Zack Swyers, which was originally produced for a high school film class project. Detective David Strugar (Swyers) is called upon to investigate the mysterious murder of a girl, whose body was found behind Rollercade. Strugar must race to solve the case before rival detective Rick Moranis (Kyle Weis) steals his glory and his girl (Rachel Vanderpool). With his neighbor (Phil Rapisardo) displaying some incriminating behavior, can Strugar solve the case before he becomes the next victim?

The film was shot on Luke's mom's crappy digital camera over Christmas break in 2004. The intense schedule of filming lasted about a week, ending shortly after New Year's. Every morning of filming, Zack would wake up and put on his Detective David Strugar suit. Perhaps the most challenging day of filming was New Year's Day, after a legendary New Year's Eve party at the Drury Inn in Arnold. Details of the party are often disputed and speculated upon. The ensuing day of filming was difficult for actors and filmmakers. In fact, the only thing Zack ate that day was the bite of a Zinger that Strugar eats during the film's climax scene. After all of the hard work, the final version of the film was quite a success. Two years later, it is still screened every semester in Mehlville High School's Film Appreciation class.

Watch the film below!