Since Hollywood seems intent on distributing nothing but regurgitated crap these days a lot of Indie filmmakers have stepped up to the plate to focus more on social issues. Some are more in your face than others like Travis Legge'sEvent Invitation, a short film that hit on the subjects of bullying and social media at the same time. There are films everywhere that document social issues around the world and this day and age there is no shortage of "issues".
Mark (Carlos Bahos) is having a really bad day and decides he just wants to get away from it all. But one little mistake will change his life forever.
The dialogue is very minimal in this film as it relies heavily on narration from the two main characters, Bahos and co-star Natasha Machuca, at least in the beginning. Once the two characters intersect, there is pretty much no dialogue at all. But this only serves to enhance the stylishness of the film proving that sometimes less really is more. Director Davide Melini manages to take two somewhat tortured concepts and put them together creating a clever, captivating, well paced short film. While the "twist ending" is a bit predictable, it takes nothing away from the intensity of the over all story. What it boils down to is that this is a very entertaining short that's definitely worth a watch. I'm reluctant to tell you anything about the plot because anything I say about the 15+ minutes will give away everything good about it so just take the time and check it out below.
On average we receive 10 to 12 short film submissions a week from Indie filmmakers. Probably not near the amount received by the bigger sites but we're okay with that. We'd much rather cater to the Indie crowd than Hollywood because let's face it, the future of horror lies in Indie films. Now, I'm not saying that any average Joe with a camera should run out and start filming. It takes a lot of hard work to create the kind of short film that is strong enough to carry over into a feature. Take Brett Simmons and Husk for example... a solid short that made a great horror feature. Another one to watch out for is Peter Dukes with Dream Seekers Productions, a writer/director that has a way of crafting a tale, be it horror or fantasy, that I haven't seen in a long time.
Janice (Aimee Bello) is determined to do whatever it takes to escape her abusive husband Dave (Brad Egger) in order to start a new life with her lover Steve (Michael Jordan). When she finally does the unthinkable, it comes back to haunt her, literally. Some strange things begin to happen as she and Steve celebrate their one year anniversary and they may not live long enough to celebrate another year.
Bello and Jordan are the main characters and both do a good job of carrying the film. There's not a whole lot of dialogue but it really wasn't necessary. Writer/director Erik L. Wilson uses camera angles and creative lighting to create a classy, intense little revenge flick. The makeup effects are well done as well as the visual effects. There are a couple of aspects in the story that I thought could be a little tighter but for the most part, he nailed it. This is the first film by Wilson that I've seen but it definitely makes me want to see more of his stuff. Doesn't look like he's one of those average Joe's I referenced earlier and there's nothing I enjoy seeing more than a filmmaker with passion for the genre. I look forward to seeing more work from him in the future.
Synopsis: A short film based on an unsolved crime that triggered a bizarre series of murders through out North Carolina.
Kill Devil Hill is a debut horror short of Robert "Ace" Jordan and focuses on an unsolved crime case from Kill Devil Hills, NC. The 12 minute short follows the Reed family Jamie (Melinda Bennett), Jesse (Taylor Graham) and their children Joey (Aiden Miranda) and James (Hunter Miranda) as they're preparing to call it a night. What transpires is a horrific tale of possession murder. I won't get into the details because I don't want to give away any spoilers.
For a piece that was shot in approximately 37 hours over 3 days it's remarkably well done. The film is put together nicely although in some parts, the transitions are a little long. There's a bit of CGI introduced that could've been left out and not hurt the film at all. What I find incredible is that for a 12 minute piece it had it all. The tension was there, the acting was spot on and Rob Gokee did an awesome score that only served to enhance the tense feel of the film. If I hadn't read ahead of time that it was a first time directing thing, I'd never have known it.
The biggest thing for me is that by the end, I wanted more but not in a bad way. I think it has the potential to make a great full length feature. A little more explanation to what was going on would've been good but it's not something that you absolutely need to get through it. Every aspect of the film is very well done. I hope to see more from the folks over at Jordanfilm Empirical Pictures very soon!
