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By Eleanor Klein. The Fox and The Rabbit is a short film directed by Garry Crystal about a father, his son Francis, and their issues involving their family-owned 100-year-old Saville Row store.

Stemming with issues from his childhood, Francis (played by Oliver Henry) spirals into a pattern of deliberate self-destructive, and vengeful behavior whilst running his father’s Saville Row Suit store. Francis’ opportunity to behave in this way is enabled by his father being paralyzed in a care home and unable to move or speak.

As Francis briefs his father daily on his failings with customers in the store, the story unravels to reveal his behavior is getting more destructive and more polarizing each day.

As a viewer of the short film, it is clear that as the story progresses, the destructive behavior of Francis is an explosion of feelings that have amounted since childhood. He manages to successfully grip the audience’s attention by feeding into his emotions from the lack of love shown by his father from an early age to the loss of his mother when he was a teenager.

This short film is an audience gripping film filled with curiosity and suspense. Oliver Henry’s performance is excellent in this role as he plays the son, Francis. His personality in the film is consistently cold, hate-filled and bitter as he vengefully acts out against his father’s wishes.

As his father appears more anguished and devastated with each daily visit by his son, Francis’ behavior appears to continue to purposefully spiral downwards leading to the complete alienation of previously loyal customers.

Overall, The Fox and The Rabbit is a must-watch for anyone who is a fan of suspense-filled short films.

Jeremy Gardener’s After Midnight is a horror film that’s perfect date night fodder. It fits being a creature feature, romantic drama and small-town thriller all in to a 90ish minute package. 

The film follows Hank (played by Gardner) and girlfriend Abby (Brea Grant) from the first throws of love, to a decade later where Hank finds a mysterious ‘be back some time’ note left by Abby. Their house is run down, surrounded by luscious swamp foliage typical to Florida. Which makes the fact that a creature tries to break into the house in Abby’s absence creepy yet predictable (in a good way). 

The trend for making horror films represent more (the likes of Babadook or It Comes At Night), has certainly soaked its way into this film. The horror element is almost an aside to the character-driven plot. Whilst a lot of times this leaves films with people googling afterwards ‘such and such film ending explained’, After Midnight’s punch is impactful. 

The performances are endearing, and whilst sometimes the script falls a bit off the rails, the relationships and communities are believable. As hybrid films go, this is a success. It will bring you joy one moment, fear the next, with a chucklesome finish. To top it all off, the cinematography is just gorgeous and the strong use of colour and creature design make this simple movie so much more.

This is a love story that’s accessible to your spouse who either has the Nightmare on Elm Street Boxset, or makes you watch The Notebook every darn Valentine’s Day. 

After Midnight is now available to stream on Arrow Video. 

In classic coming-of-age fashion indie flick “Crshd” follows the life of a college Freshman, Izzy (Isabelle Barbier,) entering her first summer break still being a, you guessed it, virgin. Izzy and her two friends Anuka (Deeksha Ketkar) and Fiona (Sadie Scott) attend a “Crshd” party at their college where everyone gets an invite by their name being submitted as a crush who was chosen by a classmate.

When Izzy finds out she is invited, her main goal ends up being to finally lose her virginity. Where Anuka and Fiona seem to have an easier time discovering their sexuality, Izzy struggles with endearing awkwardness. She has her eyes and heart set on her classmate Nolan (Abdul Seidu,) but ends up fumbling around making unsuccessful attempts at getting his attention when all Nolan really seems interested in is his music and DJ-ing. 

Writer and director Emily Cohn obviously took some notes from “Superbad” (2007) and “Booksmart” (2019) when constructing “Crshd” which is her first feature and a selection from the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. The film follows the same general plot line as the aforementioned, a friendship trifecta and a virgin amongst them, and I even sensed a small hint of “Can’t Hardly Wait” (1998) mixed in. That being said, this piece really lacks in originality. As a viewer who enjoys teen movies and coming of age stories, and understands there is a certain formula they all follow, this one just doesn’t stick.

The characters are all pretty stereotypical, and there isn’t really any depth here. The actors are young and mostly miss the necessary gravitas to carry an actor driven piece, there wasn’t really a strong anchor that kept the film interesting to watch. The script could have used polish, and the plot fell especially limp in the middle. Izzy never reached an ultimate character arc or had a clear resolution or lesson her character learned, it ultimately left me with a what’s the point feeling.

Regardless, Cohn cleverly interlaces the use of dating app swiping and social media in “Crshd” which I found refreshing. All teens are plugged in in the modern age, and weaving in the fact that teens have their phones nearly glued to their hand at all times is usually distracting and difficult, but Cohn found a way to make it work.

That aspect and the bright neon color grade reminded me of the film “Nerve” (2016) where the phone worked as its own character against a Miami vice splashed palette. The cinematography from DP Saaniya Zaveri was a treat, it really fit the overall vibe of the film and gave it a fun feel.

Though Cohn has potential as a filmmaker and will hopefully have a superior sophomore venture, I’m not sure where “Crshd” can go from here. It could have hit a stride with the youth, but I think the lack of a unique actor, the muddled script, banality, and slow pacing will wither away the potential it had to reach them.

COVID-19’s wide-spread impact has imposed a temporary pause for the theatrical business model, with most 2020 releases reluctantly being pushed back (No Time to Die and Fast 9) or released via Video On Demand services (The King of Staten Island and Trolls: World Tour). Amidst these closures, indie stalwart IFC generated a welcomed surprise with their release of The Wretched, which morphed into a drive-in staple since its May debut (its earned 1.4 million at the US box office in addition to VOD sales). Fitting the midnight genre movie sensibility to a tee, this admirable writing/directorial return for Brett and Drew Pierce can’t quite convey an original, well-rounded experience.

The Wretched follows Ben (John-Paul Howard) a troubled teenager spending the summer with his father (Jamison Jones) after his parent’s divorce. While encountering the familiarity of summer coming-of-age suburbia, Ben soon discovers all is not as it seems when a possessive witch commandeers his next-door neighbors.

Wearing its low-rent genre aspirations on its sleeve, Brett and Drew Pierce approach their familiar narrative framework with aplomb craftsmanship. Drawing inspirations from cult 80s horror pictures like Fright Night and The Thing, the two cleverly cast a cloud of unease from the first frame, with their precise and still framing oozing with tension. Devin Burrows’ orchestral score culminates the suspenseful build-up, playing into the horrific reveals with shock and exhilaration.

Making the most out of their shoestring budget, the Pierces devise some genuinely accomplished horror setpieces. It’s refreshing to see low-budget filmmakers rely more on creative designs and practical ingenuity than substandard CGI, holding their cards close to their chest while constructing a sense of intrigue. After offering mere glimpses at the witch’s design, the duo release a breathless onslaught of well-constructed scares with the third act, dumping buckets of bloodshed while creating a genuine sense of stakes.

The Wretched finds its comfort zone embracing macabre moments, but struggles mightily to find a rhythm outside its eerie set pieces. The unheralded cast hold their own (Piper Curda makes a strong impression as Ben’s bubbly friend), but the Pierces’ barebones script relies solely on familiar archetypes. The summer suburbia angle feels contrived in its schematic design, confusing its nostalgic pastiche for a sense of personality. The Pierces also waste a significant opportunity with their lackluster world-building, relying on a few skimpy asides to construct their central spiritual entity.

Perhaps most frustrating is The Wretched’s inability to engage with its thematically-promising set-up. A witch who makes people forget about their children/siblings could have cleverly portrayed a loss of innocence, acting as an ideal backdrop for Ben’s coming of age journey. However, there’s little interest in exploring the dark depths of this conceit, with offhand mentions at Ben’s drug usage and the fate of his neighbors merely serving as window dressing for the narrative

The Wretched‘s old-school approach should please genre enthusiasts, but its trope-heavy framework derails Brett and Drew Pierce’s promising low-budget craftsmanship.