Length: 09:18
Logline: A trio of teens on a camping trip inadvertently get caught up in death and destruction.
This is like a combination of some of them public awareness adverts they had on the telly in the 80's. Warnings about not playing with fireworks, wearing a seatbelt, stranger danger, and 'do you know where your son is tonight?' all spring to mind when watching this. Am surprised there wasn't a young child about to tug the cord of a hot iron or something.
This isn't perfect by any means, some artistic licence has been used, especially with the bashed up state of the car after simply driving into a hedge, the amount of gear the kids are carrying compared to the amount that's set up, the fact that the girl easily pushed a stick through someones body etc, but it all seems worth it to see Nick, played by Lewis Osborne, getting his face melted off via the barbecue. Structurally, you have to wait till mid point before any of the real horror/gore aspects come into play so you have to go through an extended setup of inane teenage antics before the good parts arrive. I think this delay is a bit detrimental to the story but at the same time will have the audience cheering to see that annoying git finally gets his comeuppance. Loved all the special effects in this (except the CGI fireworks) and this short is a nice treat for slasher fans.
The acting performances are all so-so but may have been hampered by the fact that dialogue is a weak point. It's too obvious and a bit repetitious in parts. More work could have been spent on the script but I did enjoy the flashback (which I wouldn't normally recommend having) of the reveal and thought this made it a bit more structurally interesting. Whether the filmmakers needed to set this story in the 80's is debatable. This could easily have worked just as well set in present day.
I doubt this film is meant to be taken seriously though as some comedy moments do shine through. Production wise, the quality is there, especially in the soundtrack, edit and FX's, but more effort was needed into polishing the final draft before going into filming. Otherwise, entertaining and very watchable.
Best Bit: Retro VHS-style intro and all the gore effects.
Worst Bit: Nick.
Final thought: Yeah, maybe don't take Nick along on your hot date next time.
Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.
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