EPiSODE

I recently caught this short movie at the independent Raindance festival in London. I'd not previously seen the work of Zenithfilms or its director, Gareth Morgan, but this grabbed my interest almost immediately.

Presented in a CGI/live-action composite, not unlike Sin City, EPiSODE is a jet-black fever dream combining a noir-ish plot with stunning visuals. I was reminded of everything from the aforementioned Sin City, through Japanese anime, to Twin Peaks and Don't Look Now and even to Max Payne.

This is not to say that the film is unoriginal - quite the opposite, it puts these influences through a modern blender and comes out with something refreshing, and visually unlike anything I've seen before.

When I did some online research into Zenithfilms, I discovered they have produced a wealth of similarly-styled short films which are all well worth checking out. Gareth Morgan clearly has an eye for visual-flair and all his movies belie their (presumably) low-budget roots. Just goes to show, I guess, that imagination and talent are more important than a big budget. God knows what he would achieve if he was actually given such a budget! Let's hope it happens soon, if EPiSODE is anything to go by!