A short horror film, not without some great humour, that runs for just under 10 minutes, Repent is the kind of fun that shows a lot of promise and makes viewers hope the director can go from stepping stone to stepping stone en route to a career in features.
Of course, features are a lot different from shorts and that's why a short film has to do a lot more with the time. Repent isn't perfect but it's a damn fun way to spend ten minutes of your time (check it out on YouTube while it's there).
The story concerns a young woman home alone at night (standard horror movie stuff) who goes to answer her door, thinking that it's her horndog boyfriend not taking no for an answer, and finds that a passionate and slightly off-kilter preacher is waiting to save her soul. The woman closes the door on the preacher but he won't be dissuaded so easily.
This has everything that an entertaining short film could want for - brisk set-up, some amusing lines, a couple of fun scares and an enjoyable punchline - writer and director Dakota A. Thomas gets it just right.
The acting from the two leads isn't necessarily going to trouble any Oscar-chasing heavyweights but it's not terrible either. Sarah Vera is likable enough and Arturo Portillo gives an enjoyably over the top performance.
All in all, this is a step up from the previous short from Thomas (Don't Look Under The Bed - still an enjoyable piece but a lesser outing than this one) and shows great potential. I certainly hope to see him do more that I can check out in future.
