Eric Pace delves into the age-old fantasy of how we would deal with the confirmation of the existence of aliens through his 14-minute short, Classified. Not very well, as most films of this sub-genre usually predict. The American government has come face to face with an alien, and in reaction, has kept it in captivity, with… Continue reading Classified: Aliens As An Introspective Tool
Author: Indie Shorts Mag Team
The Talk: An Accessible Action Thriller
Depicting the interrogation of a prisoner, Jay Bhatti’s The Talk is gritty. Specifically, an agent, taken prisoner by human traffickers. His interrogator? A former agent turned prisoner turned defector. Facing the current prisoner is a choice: talk willingly, or be broken into submission. David Omordia plays the prisoner. After yet another shower of blows, he is sat… Continue reading The Talk: An Accessible Action Thriller
The Odd: A Wholly Invisible Struggle
Roberto Vivancos’s 2-minute drama, The Odd, offers a glimpse into an acutely personal experience of the sole and unnamed character, a woman in the bath. Short as it is, the film leaves an impact, first, due to the woman’s inner monologue, and the film’s colour scheme. Drenched in green, the opening shot is stunning and hooks… Continue reading The Odd: A Wholly Invisible Struggle
Within: Painfully Authentic Reflection Of Bereavement
Christopher Key’s 7-minute Within, for a drama, follows an unconventional narrative style. Instead of meticulously shot flashback scenes, there is camcorder footage. Instead of comprehensive production design, even for the interview format that it uses, the focus is strictly on Michael’s face (and what an expressive one it is). And for the third and final component,… Continue reading Within: Painfully Authentic Reflection Of Bereavement
Homestead: Slow Burn Psychological Horror That Feeds On Obsession, Ego And Control
Homestead, written and directed by McKinley Benson and Enzo Hui, is more a horror than a thriller, centred on the struggles and eventual breakdown of a man trying to build a home in the open lands of Oregon in the 1870s. The film bears in its mood an unmistakable resemblance to Robert Eggers’s The Witch. There… Continue reading Homestead: Slow Burn Psychological Horror That Feeds On Obsession, Ego And Control
Goodbye and Goodnight: Talking Through Addiction And Self-Destruction
Elijah Noble El serves as writer, director, actor, DP, editor, and co-producer for his 15-minute drama, Goodbye and Goodnight. Centred on a young man struggling with sex addiction and the internalized issues it brings with it, the film uses his therapy session as its main driving force. The session, and his interaction with his therapist, is… Continue reading Goodbye and Goodnight: Talking Through Addiction And Self-Destruction
Floppy Toast with Drippy Butter: The Unmatched Power of Human Connection
Paul Stainthorpe’s 16-minute drama Floppy Toast with Drippy Butter (co-written with Simon Jefferson), highlights bullying, abuse and suicide, its childlike title speaking to the young age and vulnerability of its teenaged protagonist, Chloe. At its heart though, the film is a reminder and guide towards hope, personified in supporting character Alice. Alice (Rhiannon Jones) comes across Chloe (Ellie Bindman) at her most vulnerable, staring over the bridge at the river below,… Continue reading Floppy Toast with Drippy Butter: The Unmatched Power of Human Connection
Picnic Under A Gibbet: Morbidly Funny, Scarily Familiar Epidemic Satire
If they had to argue, the two characters of Richard Corso’s satire, Picnic Under A Gibbet (adapted by Rebecca Gorman O’Neill from Gregory Ferbrache’s short story) would probably agree—though they prefer to be on opposite sides on most other subjects—that picnicking under an old, rotting corpse was just the cherry on top of a darkly amusing tale.… Continue reading Picnic Under A Gibbet: Morbidly Funny, Scarily Familiar Epidemic Satire
The Ark: Tense Sci-Fi Thriller Grounded In Humanity
As it opens, Benjamin South’s The ARK, written by A.M. Khalifa (and based on his short story), presents itself as a crime thriller, only set in the future. To unlock car doors, you need palm prints, that sort of thing. Futuristic, but still very much a credible, familiar world. It opens with the two main characters, Herbert… Continue reading The Ark: Tense Sci-Fi Thriller Grounded In Humanity
A Father’s Job: Highlighting The Psychological Horror Of The Holocaust
The sheer number of holocaust films speaks directly to the magnitude of the atrocity. The purposes have varied, from expression of deep rage, or wanting to honour the victims, or to heal wounds that have taken root. Frank Christian Wagner’s A Father’s Job honours a particular subset of victims, and in doing so, exposes just… Continue reading A Father’s Job: Highlighting The Psychological Horror Of The Holocaust