Still Life

I absolutely adored this short. It was one of the first I'd seen (since then I've been watching shorts a lot) and yet it remains one of the best. Probably, for me, the best. I had to go back and watch again, just because I wanted to look for clues. The actor does a very good job, an the ending is just brilliant I thought. You can kind of imagine what is coming, but still, the way it's done is just eerie. The director creates a great sense of tension, and it reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode. Check it out, especially if you like psychological horror. This is absolutely worth watching, and even if you don't like it (although I can't imagine anyone not liking it) it's only 5 minutes of your life.

A young guy is driving, on the verge of sleep. He keeps popping pills and drinking coffee. As he is about to run out of gas, he pulls into a town. Looking away, he feels a crash and a woman lies behind the car--only she is not human. She is a mannequin. As he runs through the town, everyone he sees is a mannequin. They pose themselves in mundane routine actions but do not actually move. Is he delusional or is this really happening? What happens next made me think of the 'Twilight Zone."

This great short film has left me wanting more. I would love to see Rod Serling introduce this film and in turn learn a bit more about the main character and how he feels about his experiences in that small town. This movie is built around an interesting concept which is delivered very effectively as a psychological thriller. The idea of a sparsely populated small town works very well as the setting here and the winter season only adds to the setting and tone of the movie.

I am left to wonder where the lead character comes from and the series of events that lead him to this small town. As stated earlier I would love to see this as a longer feature to get some of these questions answered. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future BrookStreet productions.