Through a collection of found footage and intriguing sound effects Alexei Dmitriev’s “Hermeneutics” is an infesting short. Although it may not be something you go out of your way to watch, the intelligent editing and overall message make it an experience you’ll remember.
“Hermeneutics” plays with your expectations. The sounds of artillery rounds lead the audience to believe the film is about the harshness of war. While it is for the most part, as the gritty and well-executed shot show the grit and dire situations of the battlefield, the end of the film show quite a different side of armed confrontation.
That jump in timbre will cause an almost cavalcade of thought. Because of that, a stereotypical mind will perhaps enjoy the film the most. Those more accustomed with short film might expect the “twist,” but will applause the experimental film’s execution of it all.  At the same time, the gloom thorough the first half of the production slows the pace down tremendously and cause the rest of the film to drag immensely. It feels much longer than three  minutes.
That may cause some viewers to check out before the film is through.
Essentially a three-act film in three minutes, “Hermeneutics” features well-constructed  editing of found footage that tells a unique story. This kind of do-it-yourself is quickly becoming a staple of film festivals and while most of it is mediocre, “Hermeneutics” finds a way to make itself interesting.
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports.
Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders.
His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023.
Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief.
Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale.
Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.
Through a collection of found footage and intriguing sound effects Alexei Dmitriev’s “Hermeneutics” is an infesting short. Although it may not be something you go out of your way to watch, the intelligent editing and overall message make it an experience you’ll remember.
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