In his debut film Mad World, writer/director Cory Cataldo takes viewers on a journey through the lives of four suburban teens whose lives are the definition of dreadful, in a shockingly realistic fashion.

The film begins with Will (played by Dylan Vigas), an overweight and unappreciated son of a father who has moved him to a new town where he befriends three of his schoolmates Cory (played by Gary Cairns), John (played by Matthew Thompson), and Jevon (played by James Lee), the town’s so-called misfits. Inspiration for the characters came from Cataldo’s own experiences as a mistreated student in Atlanta, Georgia.

“I just didn’t like school very much. I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia—I actually like Atlanta, I grew up outside of it and I absolutely [expletive] hated middle school and the first high school that I went to. What I really wanted to portray with this is I don’t want those kids to be like good guys—I don’t feel like they come across as completely likeable and they’re not really supposed to. I just feel like when you’re in those areas, kids are gonna be jerks no matter what…” said Cataldo at a Q&A following the film’s screening at The Los Angeles Film School.

From the time Will and his new friends begin the school year, trouble had a way of finding them, with Cory being heckled and beaten upon for being friends with John, an African American student, and in turn receiving detention from the school principal for fighting. A trend of dislike for these four students is made clear early on, with John being picked on by fellow African American students for not fitting into their cultural mold and Will being openly disliked by one of his teachers.

The group’s parents are completely unaware of their problems and even are the cause for much of their suffering. John’s father is blind to anything going on in his life, while Will is repeatedly verbally and physically abused by his father and Jevon falls victim to humiliation and molestation by the hands of his parents. With the bullying and neglect continuing, the group begins to rebel and take small action against those who are harming them, ultimately however to no prevail.

After everything horrific that could have possibly happened in the lives of these friends, they decided enough was finally enough. In the film’s final scene, Will along with his friends come into the school with guns drawn and fire away at anyone in sight. The film ends with Will in prison, reflecting on his actions and the actions of others before he ultimately endures capital punishment.

Mad World is a shockingly realistic look into the lives of teenagers, who could very well be dealing with the same unfortunate situations. Cataldo captured the subject matter bravely, without making the four main characters come across as heroes in the end, but still feeling some sympathy for what they had endured. Cataldo, who screened the film at The Los Angeles Film School in Hollywood on Wednesday June 1^st, shot the film in 2005 on a mini-DV camera, giving the film a dark, indie edge that suits the storyline well. The film’s subject matter is raw and intense, dealing with issues severely sensitive and controversial and was delivered inspiringly with conviction in each actor’s performance. In order to capture that dark and intense feel, Cataldo and his director of photography Brandon Trost used different methods that not only kept them in budget for the film, but also gave a different feel to it.

“I want to try a lot of things because we didn’t have money to move the camera, we didn’t have money to do a lot of the things you usually see, so we just wanted to try a lot,” said Cataldo. “I said that every time I had a kid in the first two acts, I wanted an adult to impose their frame and he [Trost] goes ‘why don’t we do that and on top of that why don’t I frame everything improperly, why don’t I make it so its almost like the framing is wrong so it looks like its messed up and incorrect' and to have a DP say, 'why don’t I screw up on purpose' is serving the story." Cataldo’s concern was not to make the work look good, but to make the movie good.

Cataldo’s script and direction of the film was impressive for a debut film along with the actors that fit perfectly into their roles. With the film already the recipient of awards and acclaim from several film festivals, including Best Directorial Debut at the Beverly Hills Film TV & New Media Film Festival, 2010 and Best Dramatic Feature at the Atlanta Underground Film Fest, 2010, it will be interesting to see what Cataldo decides to tackle in his next film venture, as he has proven he can capture raw emotion and portray the lives of modern teenagers realistically to success. Thanks to the incredible response to Mad World, Cataldo is already actively working on new projects and hinted to audience members at his LA Film School screening what they can expect from him in the future.”

“It’s because of this experience I have three projects I’ve written and I’m working on right now and its literally three different budget grades—there’s a high budget a middle budget and a lower budget like this,” said Cataldo.

Mad World is available on DVD through online rental via Netflix and Blockbuster and available for purchase through online retailers Amazon and Best Buy. For more information about the film, visit their official Facebook page.