Bucking Hell Short Film Review – How to Use a Single Location to Great Effect
David Gelmini
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Starring Geoffrey Breton, Nicky Evans, Warren Mahon, David Schaal
Directed by James Kermack
Bucking Hell bristly illustrates how to use a single location to great effect. The entire sixteen minute film takes place within a small, confined cabin on-board a ship, but rather than acting as a limitation, the singular location actually greatly serves the maritime horror story, as it ensures that nothing districts from the ordeal of the characters and the urgency of their situation.
Far out at sea, three men are playing a game of poke run the isolated ship’s cabin. There’s also a dead body sat among them at the table. They speculate that it might have been a suicide, but the four gaping wounds in its chest would suggest otherwise. So one of the three men clearly has to be the killer. To make matters worse, the ship is also slowly sinking into the abyss, and they only have one life jacket. As you can probably expect from any situation where mismatched strangers are placed in close confinement in a dangerous situation, things soon turn ugly.
All three of the actors turned in fine performances, but the real standout here was David Schaal as a former member of the British Armed Forces. He recounts a story of how he hunted down and extracted vengeance upon a young boy responsible for the death of a member of his squad in Afghanistan, and the result is some of the most haunting acting you’re likely to have seen in a short film for quite some time. Whilst he has a multitude of other acting credits to his name, here’s hoping that Bucking Hell finally gives Schaal a further shot at stardom.
There are no killer sharks in Bucking Hell, just three men driven to breaking point. Humanity will always be its own worst enemy, something which Bucking Hell thanklessly reminds us of. This is one short film you will definitely want to sail onto your screens.
8 out of ten.
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