Owl Street

Clocking in at just under 25 minutes and without a single line of dialogue, Owl Street relies upon Casey Siegel's tense, focused direction and moody lighting; excellent performances; and it's outstanding score to tell its story.

At its core, this is a simple story, with little explanation given to how or why, choosing instead to focus on the experiences of Mark, the protagonist, and to keep the viewer immersed in that experience. Mark appears to be an everyman with a happy life who finds himself abducted and pursued by people who want him dead. Why isn't important -- instead the film stays focused on Mark's singular mission : to escape and return home to his wife. Owl Street is based on the short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce - but it's not necessary to have read the original piece to enjoy this movie. If you are familiar with it, you'll of course expect the twist coming at the end (although this didn't make it any less enjoyable for me). I won't delve into that if you're not familiar with the source material.

The vast majority of the film is shot at night and Casey Siegel takes full advantage of this - utilizing porch, traffic, and street lamps to light much of the film and enhance its intense and at times frightening feel. The directors of S8E3 of Game of Thrones could take note from Owl Street on how to properly film nighttime fight scenes. The performances are excellent and the actors are working solely with facial expressions and body language. The direction and editing are fast paced and at the same time able to build an ever increasing sense of dread. All in all, an incredibly impressive short -- whether you are a fan of the original story or just enjoy a good thriller - this is worth checking out.