A rapper goes missing after a music video shoot and the director tries to track him down. “The Trick,” directed by Neal Wynne, is a comedic, lo-fi quest where a young man must wade through his dissociative state in order to find his missing friend. Steve, played by Jake Squire, tries his best to direct a music video for his friend Aidan, the internet rapper. Aidan stands in front of a green screen, joined by an actor named Tim who’s playing a vampire. Following the shoot, Tim, known by others as The Master, asks Steve for a higher pay-out, but Steve says he can’t. When The Master finds Aidan drunkenly laid out on the Los Angeles sidewalk, he sees an opportunity. Later that evening, Steve can’t get into the right mood to please his girlfriend, and he gets a call from his collaborator Jessica about Aidan suddenly disappearing. The two venture into a mountainous outskirts where they almost immediately find him; however, the strange place and its mystique keeps them around for a little longer. “The Trick” refrains from low-budget tropes as Wynne explores the uncanny through locked-down camera moves and a whimsical composition by Nick Turner. It’s a low-key and melancholic look at gen-z personas, specifically that of a depressive young man. -JM. Director: Neal Wynne. Cast: Jake Squire, Jacqueline Kramer, Rafael Moreira, Gregory Cohen, Leanne Tarrab, Ally Davis. DP: Carlos Garcia. Producer: Sabrina Greco. Composer: Nick Turner.