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Breakfast: Short Movie Review

You all remember Dinner, right? It’s a short film made by the talented Aleksandra Svetlichnaya. I wrote about it here. Breakfast is the follow-up. I wrote about the trailer here. And, while Breakfast is not yet available for public viewing, the Aleksandra gave me advanced access to see it. Can you believe it? Little ol’ me. She’s the best, you guys.

Dinner clocked in around 12 minutes. Breakfast decided that wasn’t long enough, so it clocks in at a shade over 26 minutes. Once again, we spend the bulk of our time with Dylan (Svetlichnaya), Oscar (Josh Kachnycz) and Hamilton (Ricardo Segarra). Dylan fills the role of Buffy, while Oscar and Hamilton are basically sub-replacement level Scoobies. I guess they’re Scrappies? I need to consult Joss Whedon on this important matter.

Oscar and Hamilton go to a comic shop and find an unfinished comic. Too dumb to heed the warnings of the shop owner – and apparently desperate to start the apocalypse – they steal the comic, run out of the shop and head into the woods.

Meanwhile, Dylan finds herself caught in a time loop. She wakes up, checks her phone, brushes her teeth, puts her hair in a ponytail and declares, “Okay. Breakfast time,” only to exit the bathroom and find a masked attacker. She defeats him, only to find herself waking up in her bed for the same routine over and over again.

What exactly is going on with the unfinished comic? Why is Dylan caught in a time loop? How will she escape? Will Oscar and Hamilton ever actually get a chance to eat breakfast?

These events set up the rest of the film, and it’s an absolute blast. Svetlichnaya’s love for Buffy is on full display here. It’s not totally in-your-face, but there are enough nods to get you thinking in that direction. And, of course, it’s impossible to see a blonde woman kicking faces and not think of Buffy, so my mind would have gone there even without the subtle nods.

Like Dinner, this is a really fun watch. Also like Dinner, this was made on next to no budget, so certain limitations come up. Still, it’s pretty easy to get past that. While I like how Oscar and Hamilton play off each other, I spend most of my time waiting for Dylan to come back and destroy people/monsters/demons.

Breakfast is a fun short with a tremendous ending. Make sure you stay for the scene in the credits. It had me rolling.

I’m a huge fan of what Svetlichnaya is doing. Can’t wait to see what she’s got in store next.

As it turns out, I’m not the only one excited about what Svetlichnaya is doing, as Breakfast is going to San Diego Comic Con 2017!

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Emily – Award Winning Short Film from REDBOX Productions

Hey friends,
We are very happy to be sharing this wonderful short film from REDBOX Productions with you

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Dinner: Movie Review

Dinner is a short film written and directed by the very talented Aleksandra Svetlichnaya.

It’s fun and short and you can watch the entire thing below.  Make sure you give her a follow on Twitter as well.

Dinner follows Dylan as she walks through a deserted town filled with chain-link fences and burned out buildings.  She’s on her way to a date, but there may be something sinister lurking in the shadows.  Every glance over her shoulder could reveal something dark advancing towards her.  Every turn down an abandoned street could be filled with monsters.

I don’t want to give away too much – clocking in at 12 minutes, I could spoil the twists and turns simply by synopsizing it – so I’ll stop.

I really enjoyed this short film.  The term “no budget” was thrown out by Aleksandra, and that’s exactly true, but the lack of a budget doesn’t mean there’s a lack of style or substance.  The opening scene of Dylan walking down the street – in glorious black and white, no less – is stunning, creepy and filled with tension.
The lack of budget doesn’t even really show up with the make-up.  The monsters look great.
It does show up a bit in the fight scenes, but that’s because “no budget” means it’s hard to make it look like you’re burying an axe in someone’s skull without actually doing it.  The fact that some of these actors weren’t willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of a movie really makes me question their commitment.

Dinner is a really fun short film, featuring a leading lady I would gladly have on my side in any kind of scrap.  And by “scrap” I mean “me hiding behind something while she kicks everyone in the face and tells me when it’s safe to come out.”  Man, Dylan is the best.

Watch this movie.

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Danger Word: A Short Film

Director: Luchina Fisher
Writers: Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes

Before I get started, I’d like to point out that Steven Barnes has writing credits for The Twilight Zone, The Real Ghostbusters, The Outer Limits, Stargate SG-1, Baywatch and Andromeda.  That’s a terrific collection of shows.

Danger Word is based on “Devil’s Wake”, a YA novel written by Due and Barnes.  I had never actually heard of the book, but, after reading about it, it looks like something I would love.  This short film is an episode from the book, but it works really well as a standalone story.

The story revolves around Joe (the always terrific Frankie Faison) and his 13-year-old granddaughter Kendra (Saoirse Scott), trying to survive during a zombie apocalypse.  Over the course of the 19 minutes we spend with them, we get to know them as characters, and we also get to see the depth of their relationship.  For such a short period of time, I really felt like I got to know them well, and cared deeply about the both of them (this is in stark contrast to my recent review on Godzilla).

We also got to know a little bit about these specific zombies.  There are different classes of zombies: slow and fast.  We find out that the more recently turned zombies are fast (and seem to retain at least some of their brain functions), and they get slower the longer they’re dead.  A sliding scale of quickness.

I could spend more time talking about this, but I don’t want to ruin anything.

As I mentioned above, this clocks in at a little less than 19 minutes, and it’s well worth your time to check out.   It’s a really cool short film, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.

You can find Danger Word through their website, on Facebook, or on Twitter.

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Dream Seekers Productions

Indie filmmaker Peter Dukes has built himeslf quite a treasure trove of short films. As a horror fan, I chose to watch The Beast first.  The Beast is an awarad winning horror short that is a throwback to old fashioned horror. Three men go into the woods on the night of a full moon. One of these men is a werewolf and the other two men have completely different ideas of how he should be dealt with.  Despite it’s small budget, The Beast is  a beautifully shot film with an outstanding music score. The music consistently sets the correct tone for the story as it moves along. All of the actors are perfection and in a mere 10 minutes, you become invested in them and their ultimate fates. The Beast is simply a delightful, little morsel of  horror.

Have you noticed that Horror and Comedy are always dancing around one another? When done correctly, it is a treat. Of course, when it’s done poorly, it feels like torture. Little Reaper is not a horror short, but a comedy short that happens to be about the Grim Reaper and his discipline challenged daughter. The daughter in question has decided that reaping souls is boring and all of the cool girls are Banshees. Having been born a Reaper and not a Banshee, her father insists that she spend a day doing his job for a day. Well, like any teenage girl, her phone is a million times more important than the insanity that is being caused by her lack of work ethic. It is really very funny to see the Grim Reaper be reduced to the inhumanity of trying to negotiate with a teen girl. The result of her inaction is a fun and gory treat; truly, the last few minutes of the film are a wonderful nod to a well beloved black and white horror film.

 

In A Goblin’s Tale, we are treated to a very clever and unique story. The film looks and feels like a warm cozy blanket on a cold evening.  When a young woman reads one of her well loved childhood story books, she ends up coming face to face with a character from the  book. Flix, the goblin, is perfection. The accent, the mannerisms, the wardrobe  and especialy the makeup are amazing. Really, it is stunning. Though filmed in what looks to be a trailer, the film manages to exist in our world and the storybook world. It would be a shame to spoil the ending, but as someone who still feels bad about boxing up her childhood stuffed animals, the ending was clever  and strangely bittersweet.

Please visit Dream Seekers YouTube channel where you can see even more great stuff from them!