Writer-Director Andy Kastelic’s The Dust Monologues sees him as The Return, one of the fifteen characters that lay themselves bare against a white backdrop that leaves the eye nowhere to go but on them. The Dust Monologues is experimental; Kastelic uses the audience’s expectations to create stories that make sense right away and an overall… Continue reading The Dust Monologues: Manifestations Of Emotions
Tag: Short Film Reviews
Bingo: On The Off-Chance When Everything Went Wrong
Johnny Balls is painfully awkward. As is the first night of his shift as a bingo caller. Justin Tagg and Colin Waddington’s Bingo sees Johnny finally reach his dreams only to have them slump in disappointment like a wet noodle. It is an uncomfortable experience and funny by virtue of it. Set in the 90s,… Continue reading Bingo: On The Off-Chance When Everything Went Wrong
Holdout: Thirty Odd Years Of Isolation And Loyalty
Brian L. Tan’s Holdout distinguishes itself by its detailed storytelling; Holdout tells the true story of a Japanese lieutenant in WWII who, not believing that Japan had surrendered, held out in a Phillipine jungle for nearly thirty years. Tan, with Christina Burlison’s screenplay, recreates this faithfully, including almost every detail with creativity, so that it… Continue reading Holdout: Thirty Odd Years Of Isolation And Loyalty
The Becowing: Capitalism And Healthcare Are Friends
According to a report by the American Psychological Association in 2019, the suicide rate in America increased by 33% from 1999 to 2017, with 14 people committing suicide per 100,000 people. Being the second most important cause for death amongst sub-urban and rural middle-class Americans, Brian White’s short film The Becowing makes a strong statement… Continue reading The Becowing: Capitalism And Healthcare Are Friends
The Change: Post-Apocalypse Drawn With Semi-Realism
Nick Anderson undercuts the horror in his post-apocalypse story with drama, bringing a measure of realism to a genre that is usually brushed off as too absurd to be real. The Change, heavily influenced by its genre, follows a group of children in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. The grownups are all zombies now… Continue reading The Change: Post-Apocalypse Drawn With Semi-Realism
Slaybor Day 7: A Tribute To Slasher Horror
Justin Wayne’s Slaybor Day 7, styled like a talk show and narrated by talk show host Barry Bones, played by Paul Noonan. The film chronicles the life of Slaybor Day franchise star and serial killer Maddox Mason up to the announcement of its seventh instalment. This horror-comedy bases its humour on presenting itself as realistically… Continue reading Slaybor Day 7: A Tribute To Slasher Horror
Good Cop Bad Cop and Maude: Solving World Crime With Floof
Unabashedly goofy, Nirav Mehta’s Good Cop Bad Cop and Maude is only 4 minutes long and hinged on a single joke, that of a terrorist facing his worst nightmare after being caught: six-month-old pup, Maude. As the film jokingly informs, Maude restores renaissance paintings and has more shares in Tesla than you can dream of.… Continue reading Good Cop Bad Cop and Maude: Solving World Crime With Floof
Fenced: The Price Of Apathy
There is a conspicuous absence of a background score in Rodrigo Zan’s Fenced (written by Horacio Ramirez) for the most part, leaving it feeling very real, messy and even mundane, in the way the world goes on as usual despite tragedy. Only Zan’s protagonists are affected, two small people in a big world. Leticia’s (Kriss… Continue reading Fenced: The Price Of Apathy
Descend Eli: Journey Into Atmospheric Horror
Patrick Stagg’s Descend Eli invests itself into building up an immersive atmosphere; the plot certainly is uncomplicated and thin enough, leaving room for the film to engage the audience in its bewitched, surreal world. The events of it take place in a forest, around two brothers who quickly become one. The eponymous character, Eli (Cody… Continue reading Descend Eli: Journey Into Atmospheric Horror
Your Dog Likes Me More Than You: Enduring Bleakness With A Side Of Humour
Christopher Hoffman’s Your Dog Likes Me More Than You is a poignant drama, and although humour is a predominant characteristic of the screenplay, this is by no means meant to be viewed as a comedy. Instead, the little tricks distill melancholy, abject loneliness and tragedy down to their most potent forms. Hoffman weaves the story… Continue reading Your Dog Likes Me More Than You: Enduring Bleakness With A Side Of Humour