10-33 (2021)

Director and Writer Alexander Maxim Seltzer’s “10-33” is a powerhouse of a short film. In only ten minutes it packs in a fleshed out narrative, a horrifying plot twist, gut wrenching suspense, and a gut punch of a climax. Altogether it is also a taut commentary about the current climate we live in where gun violence is now not only recurring, but inevitable. Director Maxim Seltzer is a masterful storyteller, building such a wonderful thriller in such a short time.

At a movie theater on a date, Ava goes in to the bathroom where a group of girls are gossiping about their love lives. She decides to go in to the stall eavesdrop when the conversation is cut by the sound of gun shots. When the gun shots become closer, Ava bears witness to a horrifying slaughter. Now stuck in the stall with the shooter, and paralyzed with fear, she has to figure out a way to plead for her life. But the shooter doesn’t seem intent on reasoning with her and there’s only a thin door that separates them.

Every bit of this short is relatable, and I loved how on edge I was the entire time. The editing by Alexander Maxim Seltzer is also quite incredible, as he manages to make his film feel so utterly hopeless the moment everything turns to shit. Like many victims, Ava is simply stuck in a corner with nowhere to run and no means of defending herself, and everything she seems to make up to ensure her survival is based only on pure gut instinct. Director Maxim Seltzer thankfully doesn’t lionize Ava. She’s very much a victim of gun violence through to the very last second of the film, and she can really do nothing but react. And for the rest of her life, she’ll be affected and left with no way of escaping this scenario ever again.

Alison Louder is basically the star of “10-33” and she handles the film like an absolute pro. She’s able to convey so much agony, and horror, and stress with her muffled cries and struggles to keep every movement of hers as silent as possible. Her situation only gets worse as the movie continues on, and Louder is just stellar in the lead role. Big credit goes to Andrew Chown as the gun man whose motives remain ambiguous until the very end, and even then there’s never quite a justification for what we’d just witnessed. Alexander Maxim Seltzer is a remarkable director, and “10-33” is a fantastic, horrifying micro-thriller that boldly tackles the gun violence epidemic. I hope we get to see more from the director soon.