Parasocial

Parasocial
Promotional release poster
Directed by	Joseph Jeavons
Produced by	Joseph Jeavons
Written by	Joseph Jeavons & Bala Brown & Owen Swift
Story by	Joseph Jeavons
Music by	Owen Swift
Cinematography	Owen Swift
Edited by	Joseph Jeavons
Running time	17 minutes
Language	English

Parasocial is a 2022 American comedy short film co-written, produced, and directed by Joseph Jeavons. It is the first work to come from Jeavons, followed by The Big Pelvis (2023). It stars Joseph Jeavons as the protagonist, Ricky, and Sam Teague as the antagonist, Dylan, alongside Beckett Nichols, Jordan Mook, Bellavia Giannoni, and Cathal Mayfield as the supporting cast. The story sees an innocent and kindhearted college student, Ricky, falling victim to his roommate, Dylan's, manipulation into operating an illegal horse meat exchange, then getting into trouble with the local authorities.

The film began development in May of 2022, with a writing team composed of Owen Swift, Bala Brown, and Jeavons himself. The film went through several casting changes and was put together in a mediocre fashion, given that it was a first-time student film, and received little recognition until November 2022. Parasocial was included in the official selection at the Houston Comedy Film Festival, and went on to win the Best Student Film Award on November 12, 2022, at said festival. In an interview with Mikel Fair, Director of Houston Comedy Film Festival, Fair stated that the judges looked past the inexperienced camera work and production efforts, and instead saw a group of dedicated teens working hard and having fun putting together this passion project.

Parasocial was uploaded onto YouTube on January 3, 2023, and to IMDb on September 28, 2023.

Plot

Two police officers, Detective Calhoun, and Detective Charles Black, are on the verge of solving the case of "Masked Horse Meat Bandit," and they have narrowed their search down to a handful of suspects, one of which, is Ricky, our protagonist. Ricky's roommate Dylan, is aware of the heat being placed on him for his illegal meat exchange and decides to lay low while convincing his idiotic roommate to do his bidding for him. Ricky is infatuated by Dylan, and Dylan uses this to his advantage. On his way home from L.A.R.P. in the Park, Ricky is intercepted by the two investigating police officers. They escort him to an interrogation room and gather as much intel as they can on what Ricky knows. Completely oblivious to the situation, Ricky tells them exactly what they need to hear and is then released from holding.

Detective Charles Black goes undercover to further investigate Ricky and his roommate, Dylan. Charles uses the pseudonym, "Chuck," as he infiltrates Ricky's L.A.R.P. Faction. He asks Ricky if he can stay at his apartment for a while, as he claims to be looking for a new roommate. Ricky hesitates but inevitably concedes. Chuck investigates their apartment and Dylan starts to suspect something is not right. Dylan meets with Ricky in his car and leads the two of them into an alleyway where Dylan is supposed to deliver the cooler filled with horse meat. Detective Charles Black is there too, and the situation escalates into a shootout. Ricky is shot in the shoulder twice and experiences a dream-like sequence of events that are later revealed to have been a false future. Dylan deserts Ricky and chases after Detective Black.