I’m not entirely sure what “Fall Out” was aiming for from minute one. All I know is that director Derek Dubois keeps the audience in the dark, providing a narrative that’s about eighty percent ambiguous. And I was okay with that. If you can’t really offer a larger exploration of the world you’ve built, especially considering when it’s set during the apocalypse, the best thing to do is focus on getting us to know the characters in this situation, and director Dubois accomplishes that in spades.
Director Jason Shurkey’s “The Witch” is light on story and narrative, but it’s a good student film, nevertheless. It garners some really tight editing and an atmosphere that make it a Gothic short horror film that’s very much worth experimenting with. Director Shurkey really knows how to develop a tone from the outset, and follows through with a surreal horror film.
Weird, I always assumed Lana Lang took Clark Kent’s virginity, but that’s a mere nitpick for “Little Man of Steel.” Director Larry Zeigelman explores the more private side of the greatest superhero in DC. Set during a random night in Metropolis, Clark and Lois enter a local pharmacy after a seemingly hot date and Lois is very anxious to seal the deal with Clark. Clark is very hesitant though, and looks for many ways to stall the inevitable. He even zaps away repeatedly to stop a world crisis as Lois waits by the condom aisle.
Director Aaron Longstreth really has an epic story on his hands, and he manages to depict so many themes and expository shots in a short time frame quite brilliantly. I really want a sequel. Or somewhere down the line a feature film continuation, because Longstreth is at the top of his game here and delivers a quality apocalyptic horror film that will appeal to audiences that love fodder like “The Walking Dead” and “28 Days Later.” Speaking as a fan of both, I loved “Shelter 5.” I watched it twice.
I really like the concept that director Jeff James Monson and writer Brian Morelan go for with what I would describe as “Weird Science” for the gamer audiences. “Game Companion” is a funny and zany short film about two hardcore gamers that happen to master their favorite fighting game. Little do they know that their reward is being able to garner a companion in the beautiful game character Kimiko. But things go awry quickly.
It’s hard to believe this film took eight hours to shoot. Director Jakob Bilinski manages to cut together such a tightly wound and excellent little horror film that it’s impossible to believe it came out so great, let alone coherent. “Lucky” is a fantastic horror film in the tradition of classic comeuppance stories that really do allow the audience to revel in the twist before us.
Director Mike Clarke’s film could have easily worked its way in to a feature length adaptation, but on its own it’s a very fine and sweet drama. Director Mike Clarke is very adept at switching genres this time around, providing a very heartfelt and utterly interesting character drama that involves a disjointed family finding solace in life, before it runs out. Star Anthony Quinlan plays Thomas, a successful businessman whose spent his entire childhood with a dad that insisted he do nothing but work. Work was all that counted, and getting a good future is what mattered.