• Home
  • About Us
  • Submit Article
  • Write for Us
  • Contact Us
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Premieres
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of FameNew
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Live TVBeta
  • Submit Short Film
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Premieres
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of FameNew
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Live TVBeta
  • Submit Short Film
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
No Result
View All Result

Boomslang: A Perfect Ensemble For A Dark Comedy

Nimisha Menon by Nimisha Menon
09 Apr 2020
in Reviews
0
Boomslang - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Director Trevor Ryan’s 14:13 minutes long Boomslang is an even-paced, sinisterly comedy of a serial killer and his ambitious venture into a new town. Ryan Vincent is Erik Boomslang, the charming protagonist who doesn’t take a minute to let you into his thoughts. As facinorous as they might be, his soothing voice makes them seem akin to a pleasant hum. Writer Allen Osborne’s short leaves little room for casual introductions of his characters. Instead what we get are episodic blobs of very entertaining characters thrown a bit too casually into a heady mix of comedy, thriller and crime.

Boomslang is new in town. And, it doesn’t take long for people to swarm him. In ‘Erik makes Paella’, Harriet (Rori Flynn) self-invites herself into his apartment. One might wonder with very little of him known, how could he possibly land himself with a date so quickly? But that’s the charm of Boomslang and Vincent plays him with an air of sophisticated ease. That serial-killers have never been known for anything more than their charm and personalities is a well-known fact. So, when Boomslang sits there reading a book or pretends to be listening to a woman or openly admitting to not, one finds it hard to smack him on his face. Flynn’s portrayal of an attractive, but worldly unwise Harriet is adorable. Trope as she is, as is every other character introduced, it’s the actor’s ability to not reduce them into a caricature that makes Boomslang a success.

Boomslang - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Mostly shot indoors, from restaurants to salons and living rooms, Justin Schwan’s camera sways effortlessly between the characters. At times offering a shot from a distance, the camera focusing on Boomslang’s ragged breath or from dangerously close quarters, to his object of desire, the lensing is exacting. Meanwhile, the dialogues range from condescending to outright challenging, but never leaving the lines of witty repartees; Osborne’s writing and casting remain on point. What, however, affects the pacing of the film is the narrative. While Sean Puglisi’s editing keeps the film neatly bound under 15:00 minutes, the character introduction in episodic fashion results into a disconnected plotline leaving one wondering, especially towards the end of the true connection between the characters.

At ‘June’s House’ we are not only introduced to the very gregarious Mamma (June), played by the lovable Trisha Rae Stahl, Wang (Kevin Teh) and July (Gabriella Rivera), but also informed of Harriet’s disappearance. By now, Boomslang’s identity is well-established to us as the audience, but we are left wondering at these new characters and their point of connection with our lead. It’s a blessing in disguise that the actors are incredible. Each doing justice to his/her part, their hilarious dialogues only made funnier with their pointed delivery of the same. By ‘Erik Makes Shepherd’s Pie’ we are used to the drill. But, no one could have pulled off Ali better than Dominique Willingham. He is brilliant, convincing and thorough entertainment. Granted his character is a trope like the rest mentioned before, but his perfect comic timing, the ridiculous mannerisms and just his charming self makes the later introduction of Ali not only well-justified but also smart enough to keep the audiences engaged.

ConversionAILeaderboard - Indie Shorts Mag ConversionAILeaderboard - Indie Shorts Mag ConversionAI - Indie Shorts Mag
Boomslang - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

By ‘July’s Salon’ the music, character establishment and storyline are well-explored. What could possibly be more engaging besides an open-ended question then? Director Ryan picks a neat script, with characters well-etched out and dialogues that are definitely hilarious on paper, but even more so when well enacted; and he gives us a good short that draws laughter through and through. What could work more in favour, however, would be turning it into a series or a feature-length film.

Regardless of that, Boomslang is worth your time, despite its scattered storyline. If not for anything, the hair (Homer Schulte), make-up (Mina Abramovic) and wardrobe (Luke Funtecha) are entertaining enough as is Doris (Gayle Gaston) from the salon!

#ShortFilmReview: Boomslang: What do you get when you send an irresistible serial killer into a town full of crackers? Click To Tweet

Watch Boomslang Short Film Trailer

'Boomslang' is not yet available online for public 😕

Want to get notified when 'Boomslang' is available online to watch?

Get a one time email and SMS when 'Boomslang' is available online for the public. We will remove your data from our system once we sent out the notification. No Spam!

First Name
Last Name
Your email
Phone Number
Tags: PrivateReviewShort Film Reviews

Get real time update about this post categories directly on your device, subscribe now.

Unsubscribe
Previous Post

Overcast: Inside The Mind Of Abuse Victims

Next Post

Be Your Own Kind: Three Acts; One Tale

Nimisha Menon

Nimisha Menon

Related Posts

Geronimo - Circus Trash Monster - Documentary Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

Geronimo: Circus Trash Monster: On The Joys Of Bringing Together A Community

18th April 2021
I AM - Documentary Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

I AM: Strong Tribute To Pioneering Queer Artists

11th April 2021
Next Post
Be Your Own Kind - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Be Your Own Kind: Three Acts; One Tale

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

From Editor’s Desk

Editor’s Picks: 2020’s Flashback In One Go!

Editor’s Picks: 2020’s Flashback In One Go!

Sponsored

  • Recent Reviews
Facebook Twitter Instagram

About Indie Shorts Mag

Indie Shorts Mag is a publishing agency that works within the ‘short film circuit’. We review short films, documentaries, music videos and web series, amongst others. We stand out amongst the short film review sites for being multi-diverse & global in our platform and reach.
Our team works tirelessly to help promote, publicize and market your short films that deserve the shout-out! Besides reviews, we host film festival news as it’s a known fact that the film festival buzz is unmissable and we ensure you aren’t left behind!
We aspire to form a niche for ourselves as the ‘short film magazine’ that remains the hub for filmmakers & their audience.

Popular Topics

  • Announcements
  • Articles
  • Crowdfunding
  • Editorial
  • Film Festival News
  • Film Festivals
  • India Edition
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • Marketing
  • News
  • Online Premiere
  • Post-Production
  • Pre-Production
  • Reviews
  • Short Film
  • Short Film Competition
  • Short Film News
  • Tutorials
  • Web Series

Indie Shorts Mag on Instagram

Follow Us On Instagram

© 2015-2021 Indie Shorts Mag

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Premieres
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of Fame
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Live TV
  • Submit Short Film

© 2015-2021 Indie Shorts Mag