For a large chunk of its length, Joshua M.G. Thomas’s The End Of The World, written by Nabil Chowdhary, keeps its audience hooked on its sinister story, keeping them guessing as to its true form until well into the runtime. It sets up its narrative excellently. Foregoing introductions, we are plopped right into the centre… Continue reading The End Of The World: Novelty Makes For A Gripping Thriller
Category: Reviews
Don’t Try This Alone: A Comedy On Quitting
Don’t Try This Alone, warns the title of Artii Smith’s 28-minute comedy, but as it turns out, trying it with a companion does not yield its characters very many great results either. Over the course of the film, Kevin (Ryan Keem) and Benny (Nobuaki Shimamoto) try and fail on a loop to give up smoking… Continue reading Don’t Try This Alone: A Comedy On Quitting
Breaking The Silence: Forty Years Of Unacknowledged Trauma
Whether it was the second world war, or the wars raging on today, wartime sexual violence has always been perpetrated. Yet, as Breaking The Silence shows, sometimes — too often — as much as forty years go by before victims get so much as recognition. Seayoon Jeong’s 27-minute short, co-written by Sandra Philip, tells the… Continue reading Breaking The Silence: Forty Years Of Unacknowledged Trauma
The Erl King: The Many Faces Of Trauma
Callum Windsor’s The Erl King takes the mythological figure of the Erlking and twists it into a psychological horror that delves into the subject of grief and trauma. In the very opening scene, we are shown the event which shapes the rest of little Alfie’s life, as well as his mother’s: his father maniacally driving… Continue reading The Erl King: The Many Faces Of Trauma
Finding Filman: A Comedy Riding On The Strength Of Its Script
Over the 13 minutes that the film runs, Finding Filman is deceptively unassuming. You start off alternately laughing at the highly conceited protagonist and at the film too, but that changes, leaving you constantly reassessing and readjusting your perceptions about it (although the eponymous Regis Filman remains just as ridiculous). The screenplay (co-written by director… Continue reading Finding Filman: A Comedy Riding On The Strength Of Its Script
The Bef: Infant Horror, Child Tragedy
There is something particularly disturbing about Eric Burleson’s The Bef. Even as its gruesome subject matter has seen predecessors, its central character is a new, chilling addition to this tale of infant abduction. What Robert Eggers or Darren Aronofsky did not use, Burleson uses to his advantage. His child protagonist, Sammy (Jacob Shapiro) fits the… Continue reading The Bef: Infant Horror, Child Tragedy
Wine Night: Greek Mythology, Wine And A Whole Barrel Of Laughs
Most, if not all, have had the singular misfortune of having had once or more to associate with the obnoxiously self-obsessed gossip. Characterised by a messy life and a decidedly indecisive nature, this is a character who never wants to be that person who makes everything about themselves, and yet this is simply one line… Continue reading Wine Night: Greek Mythology, Wine And A Whole Barrel Of Laughs
The Dark Web: An Internet Era Thriller
When his 10-year-old son is diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, the calm of Leo Demarco’s comfortable life is threatened in every way. Over 27 minutes, director and co-writer Andrés Di Bono constructs and derails his protagonist’s life and principles, with his son’s life as the prize. The film (co-written by Rachel Hemsley and Ervin Musabelliu) wastes no… Continue reading The Dark Web: An Internet Era Thriller
Don’t Water The Vine: Horror Comedy Like Never Before
With the year we have had, Don’t Water The Vine seems like a natural product of it. And what a film it is! Perhaps one of the most unsettling 17 minutes that cinema will make you sit through this year, this Ian Bousher-Theo Gee dark comedy escalates and climaxes like precision-controlled nightmare firecrackers. When it… Continue reading Don’t Water The Vine: Horror Comedy Like Never Before
Drummer Boy: Operatic But Arresting Portrayal Of The Obsessed Artist
The 6-minute Drummer Boy cannot easily escape comparison with Whiplash, the more famous obsessed artist (drummer) drama, but the similarities may yet be unfair. The treatment and mood is radically different, with the short offering a more frantic, almost rabid energy, and far more questionable content. On that note, trigger warning: depression, addiction, mutilation. In… Continue reading Drummer Boy: Operatic But Arresting Portrayal Of The Obsessed Artist