Creatures of Habit

This was a short film that I got the chance to see thanks to one of its stars, Timothy J. Cox. A press release and screener link were sent over. Now I have done a bit of digging and found out that this isn't horror. It did have dark subject matter and since I like to support independent works, I decided to watch this for review.

Synopsis: a determined journalist makes a startling discovery when he's visited by an unexpected stranger.

This takes place in a small bar in Ohio. Meekah (Theo White) orders two shots and then takes a seat in a booth. What we'll learn later is that he's a journalist, also from the synopsis. His search for the truth leaves him without many relationships in life. He's looking at crime scene photographs. That is when he's joined by a mysterious stranger, played by Cox. This person speaks cryptically, but what he says shakes Meekah to the core.

Since this is a short that runs six and a half minutes, that should be enough without going into spoilers. I'll be honest, I'm not fully sure I understand what or who this mysterious stranger was. I think that is open to interpretation. I'll preface here that for short films, I tend to judge them if they tell a complete story or if they more to tell. I think that this could be fleshed out into more and that is something that I'd be interested in.

This is a two person show for the majority. We have Meekah who we learn is obsessed with his work and his current fascination are these cold cases that the police can't seem to find any evidence on. The title plays into this in an interesting way. Meekah has lost relationships with his family and significant others since he gets sucked into finding the truth, like with this story. There was another part of me wondering if he did these killings. White was spot on with his performance here.

Then there's the other character, our mysterious stranger. He joins Meekah in his booth and talks about how he observes people. He believes that people fall into three categories and this stranger believes that he can make that determination in just a few seconds of seeing someone. I'm not sure he was representing death, a demon or what, but Cox was great in performance. There is a calming tone to his voice while also being creepy. It works well.

I'll then finish out with filmmaking. I'll start by saying that the rest of the cast worked to make this bar feel real. It is one, but it feels like places I've been to which adds realism. The cinematography was good as was the framing. There is an intimate feel which fits that this is mostly a two person show. I'd also say that crime scene photographs were a good touch. The soundtrack also fit what was needed in building the atmosphere.

In conclusion, this is one that I'd recommend. If you like an atmospheric short that has solid acting, then I think this would be for you. Personally, I'd like to see this story fleshed out more. I'm not going to hold that against what we get here though either. White and Cox were great in their interactions. This is also well made from the framing to the cinematography. The press release said this was doing its festival rounds now but keep your eye open for this where you watch short films.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.