Yet another take on “The Most Dangerous Game,” my favorite short story of all time, director Ryan Connolly pulls off an excellent feat in putting a twist on the classic story that works well as a short film, and could easily become a fantastic feature length genre entry. Starring Todd Bruno, “Proximity” is set in a not too distant future where men are being wrangled and set loose to be hunted.
The small party, armed with rifles set the men loose in a mysterious wooded area, and stalk the prey. The only catch to the hunt is that the prey are given ankle bracelets. If the pairs don’t stay close to one another, the bracelets explode, severing their legs. Connolly uses the device made very popular in “Battle Royale” to an equally effective degree, now turning the bracelets in to enemies worse than the hunters. Surely, you can probably outrun or outwit the hunters, but you have to work with someone else and stay close by, or else you’re as good as dead. Todd Bruno gives a very good performance as a victim who is unleashed on the wild, and figures out the catch of the game quickly.
Taking his unconscious partner, he tries to convince the stranger to work with him in order to survive. But things don’t quite go as he planned and he now has to rely on his wits. Director Ryan Connolly really manages to unfold an interesting universe where the entire game is ambiguous enough to inspire curiosity, but not so enigmatic that it stifles the suspense. The direction is fantastic, with excellent action sequences and a really sharply choreographed fight in a mud pit. Director Connolly really manages to build a remarkable short with a great twist ending that’s ripe for the full length treatment I’d kill to see someday. “PROXiMITY” is a short but sweet fix for action buffs alike.