If you read the script for this short film, it would be a pretty dull romantic film. The plot sees a couple inviting two single friends up to their home for a break, obviously with the hope that they hit it off – which they do. Then they leave together. That's it. The film takes a risk with such a base set of events, but it pays off with what it chooses to do with it.
I read the film is delivered like a horror movie; I don't totally agree with this, but it is definitely delivered with a sense of tension and foreboding. It does this through the direction, sound, and pace of the film. The camera pulls in or out slowly, there are long static shots building tension, and all of this is added to by a use of sound which reminded me of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre or similar. The effect is to add tension to the film, and to imbue the characters with an edge or suggestion of sinister motivations. The connection was not immediately obvious to me, but becomes clearer nearer the end (and thanks to reading about the director's inspiration for the story).
The dark edges and tension is in the feelings of the various characters. In particular it is most clear towards the end where the two singles hook up – we see the camera treat the woman in the established couple as some sort of brooding threat. She isn't of course, but she gets that treatment because there is an element of envy for the first flush feeling her friend is having, which is long behind her. This contrasts nicely with the tension at the start, which comes from the initial interactions of the singles.
The cast play to this well, which helps cover the weaker 'narrative' so to say. There are several well-known faces in the small cast – British actor Stewart-Jarrett probably jumped out at me the most due to his role in Utopia. Overall it is a total delivery that makes it work, and it is driven by this idea and tone more than it is the content of the narrative. It is intelligent in this way, even though it brings weakness in with it.
I read the film is delivered like a horror movie; I don't totally agree with this, but it is definitely delivered with a sense of tension and foreboding. It does this through the direction, sound, and pace of the film. The camera pulls in or out slowly, there are long static shots building tension, and all of this is added to by a use of sound which reminded me of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre or similar. The effect is to add tension to the film, and to imbue the characters with an edge or suggestion of sinister motivations. The connection was not immediately obvious to me, but becomes clearer nearer the end (and thanks to reading about the director's inspiration for the story).
The dark edges and tension is in the feelings of the various characters. In particular it is most clear towards the end where the two singles hook up – we see the camera treat the woman in the established couple as some sort of brooding threat. She isn't of course, but she gets that treatment because there is an element of envy for the first flush feeling her friend is having, which is long behind her. This contrasts nicely with the tension at the start, which comes from the initial interactions of the singles.
The cast play to this well, which helps cover the weaker 'narrative' so to say. There are several well-known faces in the small cast – British actor Stewart-Jarrett probably jumped out at me the most due to his role in Utopia. Overall it is a total delivery that makes it work, and it is driven by this idea and tone more than it is the content of the narrative. It is intelligent in this way, even though it brings weakness in with it.