Joseph McDonagh’s 13-minute That Night is a horror film that thrives on dread. Its preoccupation with dread itself frees it from providing a neatly packaged source. Instead, it develops an atmosphere of anticipation. Rosie (Rianne Britten) and Theo (Ben Dalton) are about to have a daughter. There should be little reason for there to be… Continue reading That Night: An Expectant House and Its Chilling Emptiness
Tag: Private
Dipsomaniac: Bad Birthdays and a Bloody Becoming
Jeremy Stewart’s Dipsomaniac is a 17-minute dramedy following its protagonist’s lonely 27th birthday. His sole companion, Hal—unhinged from the word go—makes Tim and the audience wish there were zero companions. But Hal is here to stay, at least for the duration of the film. For the large part, the story takes place inside a party… Continue reading Dipsomaniac: Bad Birthdays and a Bloody Becoming
I am ______: The Production and Upkeep of Lies for the Aesthetic
James Dubbeldam’s I am __ is a 5-minute rather simplistic drama depicting three facets of the influencer figure through moments in the life of a teenage vlogger. With just a single actor within the diegesis, the film uses title cards to deliver its commentary on the well-known misrepresentations on which contemporary social media is based.… Continue reading I am ______: The Production and Upkeep of Lies for the Aesthetic
Sherbet: Rage and Tenderness Near the Finishing Line
Danny Gibbons’s Sherbet is a 26-minute journey through connections made in pits of despair, and the irreversible changes they leave in their wake. The story of a cab driver and a young passenger as they ride to the airport late at night takes the backseat in light of the film’s low-budget innovation on virtual production.… Continue reading Sherbet: Rage and Tenderness Near the Finishing Line
Uroboros: Warped Time and Other Horrors of Oppression
Diarmuid Donohoe’s Uroboros is a depiction of historical, gendered trauma in 20th century Ireland. The film sets out to portray the fractured mind of its protagonist with a non-linear narrative, showing the reach of trauma, and through it, the reach of the tyrant at its root. Sunning by a lake surrounded by cliffs, the rosy… Continue reading Uroboros: Warped Time and Other Horrors of Oppression
The Housewife: Best (Biased) Laid Plans and How They Go Awry
Jeremiah Kipp’s thriller The Housewife turns the tables on assumptions about the women who stay at home. Following the abduction of a woman and her kindergarten-aged son, the film founds itself on bias and the dormant capabilities it can sometimes fortunately neglect to see. Written by and starring Kelly A. Turner, the proof of concept… Continue reading The Housewife: Best (Biased) Laid Plans and How They Go Awry
Skin: The Profundity of Transitioning, Distilled
The logline to Leo Behrens’s Skin describes it as a poetic self-exploration of identity. It does not mention the utter warmth and tenderness that the 7-minute wordless drama is capable of making its viewer feel, and the lion’s share of that credit goes to its sole actor, Lío Mehiel. Opening on a scene of dereliction… Continue reading Skin: The Profundity of Transitioning, Distilled
Second Stage: A Glimpse into a Day Transiting Through Grief
Keelay Moore James’s autobiographical Second Stage follows a woman through a day of grappling with grief as she goes through the anger stage of it. Her brother, a dogged companion, keeps steady watch over her lest her anger turn any more inwards. By the end of the day, Keelay may not have moved much further… Continue reading Second Stage: A Glimpse into a Day Transiting Through Grief
Fool’s Game: Marriage and Its Many Excesses
Laurence Roberts’s Fool’s Game takes what is already a generally stressful affair (hosting a dinner with old peers) and cranks it up a few notches. In the span of 15 minutes, the film unravels about two decades of accumulating disappointment and resentment that comes part and parcel with becoming adults in bad systems, and all… Continue reading Fool’s Game: Marriage and Its Many Excesses
Maladjustment: The Horrors in Lived Experience
Anatasha Blakely’s Maladjustment is a horror harnessing the unique experience of the pandemic lockdowns of a past that is yet to recede into the crevices of memory. Its ten-minute runtime feels much longer for the stifling intensity of the story, following a couple speed-burning their way through a few stages of love. Ben (Allen Regimbal,… Continue reading Maladjustment: The Horrors in Lived Experience