Following an adventure to get to the fest, partially caused by a drunken GPS and me not realizing I was going in the wrong direction until I was way too far, I missed some of the shorts, but using the listing from the fest’s site, I was able to retrace the films and here are a few thoughts on them.
Anywhere (2022)
From writer/director Edoardo Ranaboldo, this short opened the set (for me, I arrived late) with a bang and a solid performance from Rivera Reese as a hired killer who has special abilities that help here in and out of locations and allow her to get targets that are otherwise impossible to get. The work here is something to see, that long fight is basically the entirety of the film and it’s what the viewers came for. It’s brutal, it’s entertaining, it’s well shot. This short film was the perfect one to start the block with as it’s in your face in the right way and it’s possibly the best of the bunch or close to (hint, the other top one is way at the end here).
Norse (2022)
Set-up to look like a period piece (well, maybe) by Buddy Boerkoel, this one is fun, but comes off more like cosplay or larping with real consequences. The fights are interesting and brutal, but the way the film is shot and edited makes it difficult to follow what is happening at times, making this showcase for stunt people a bit frustrating to watch. It should give them all the space they need and all the steady cameras a short film can handle. Instead, the short has a camera style that keeps moving paired with too much editing, making it hard to keep watching. It should come with a warning for headache which is unfair as the stunt people are excellent here. Also problematic are some of the costumes that are not proper looking for the period and throw the film directly into cosplay and some of the effects are just not ready for the screen. This could have been straight up amazing, but it falls short of it.
Dream War
From director Kevin Gilbert, this one is a complex short with dreams within dreams, people traveling in dreams to go get information out of other people. There’s a ton going here, and the stunts are superb, but it is another short film suffering from the lack of a steady camera which is sad in this case as the fight sequences are so good and at times also impossible to watch. The acting is decent, the fight choreography is solid, it’s just frustrating to watch when the camera moves too much. In a feature, this is used to cover up the switch from actor to stunt person, but here there is no switch, so why not have the film show us everything clearly? Watch it here.
Snitch
Unfortunately missed at the fest and not on YouTube or Vimeo (at least not publicly).
Negative Space
Missed at the fest, but found online, this short by James Newman is well shot and edited, but it severely lacks in story. It’s a fight, filmed. The skills are there, it’s well done, it does have any stakes or anything like that due to the lack of any story.
Parking Lot Altercation
Unfortunately not listed on Jackie Gerhardy’s IMDB, this short is short and sweet. It’s fun, it takes you through two ladies meeting in a parking lot and what each of them imagines doing to the other. The fight choreography is great here and the skills on display are fantastic. It’s really short, decently shot (thank you!), and an easy watch, while being entertaining from start to finish. A clever short made to showcase skills. Watch it here.
Bar Fight
Misssed at the fest, but available on YouTube, this short by Benjamin R. Moody is a solid action horror short film about machete wielding attackers breaking into a bar after hours leading to the only person in the bar having to defend himself. This one is the top one here, it’s solid, it’s short, it has great fight choreography and execution, it’s bloody, and it’s really well shot and edited, allowing the audience to see everything. It’s publicly available, so go watch it.
Agent Red 2
Also from Kevin Gilbert, this short is a lady-on-lady fight throughout, brutal, highly skilled, with a little story to keep the viewer involved. It’s a solid short with really good fighting, giving the viewers exactly what they came for. The acting is also good here and the cinematography as well as editing work. A bit frenetic at times, but overall, allowing the viewer to see most of what is going on, which is all we ask for really. Watch it here.