This is a very straight to the point, minimalist, and Orwellian short film, which largely takes place in a single room. It's set in a dystopic future where dissent is crushed with brutal force. Janet Devis, who has lead an attempted rebellion, is captured and tortured. The prison in which she's kept is beautifully captured as a decaying, soulless room, which we mostly see lit in a demonic red. It's the kind of place that would quickly drive any sane mind mad.
Her pain is wonderfully captured through Jeanette Gregory's (Devis) expressive face. The camera does a wonderful job of letting the actress get her emotions across with lingering close ups. However, writer and director Brian Gregory also perfectly combines sound and image to capture the disturbing nature of Janet's torture, and without ever having to resort to gratuity and extreme gore. The horror is that subtle kind that is all to rare these days. A robotic voice lifelessly talks to Janet, while we also hear music and sound effects that seem as though they are coming from the depths of hell itself. In fact, the use of sound deserves special praise; it brings to mind Lynch's Eraserhead in how it creates an eerie mood, made all the more unnerving by how abnormal and mysterious it is. The masterful and stylish direction on top of this creates a most unsettling experience.
This is the kind of short that you watch in a dark room and absorb as it gives you that uncomfortable feeling that is sadly missing from too many horror films (both new and old)
