Theodore (Short, 2017)
Jonathan Barkan
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Starring Chase Wainscott, Rick Tetu
Directed by Tyler Falbo
Sometimes all a good story has to do is take a concept and turn it on its head. For some, it could seem like a cheap way out but I’m of the opinion that such a deceptively simple twist can often reveal an entirely new landscape of ideas and possibilities, ones that previously weren’t available or were, at the very least, incredibly difficult to realize.
Take, for example, Tyler Falbo’s short film Theodore, which shows a young boy looking at his phone late at night only for a guitar to fall and cause noise. The boy immediately becomes terrified, hyper-alert to the possibility that he might be found out. And haven’t we all been in his shoes at one point or another? You know, staying up late against our parents’ demands so that we could read one more chapter or play one more level? The boy then hears a male voice call out, exasperatedly saying, “It’s past your bedtime!” Rushing to turn off the lights, the boy scrambles to and fro, ultimately climbing into his bunkbed and facing the doorway only to…smile creepily?
I won’t ruin the twist but considering the short is less than two minutes long, I strongly recommend giving it your time to see what’s happening here. It’s precisely what I was speaking about in the first paragraph where things aren’t what they seem but the foundation is quickly identifiable.
For being less than two minutes, Theodore provides everything you need to understand what kind of world this short takes place in. Much like Lights Out, this short could probably do very well if adapted into a feature-length film. If nothing else, it’d be one of the more unique fantasy horror films in a long time.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
