gboozer

A short film cannot waste a moment, and it needs to come to the point very quickly. Let It Come Down delivers the darkly humorous story of Simon and Susan Frances, a pair of adrenaline junkies who get their kicks in an unusual manner. Somehow they manage to pack more than one surprise into this little vignette.

Matthew Carter is most convincing with his naughty-boy smirk and his ardent enthusiasm, and Courtney Lomelo balances the team as she calls the shots with a cocky self-assurance and more than a hint of disdain. The technical aspects of the film - lighting, sound, makeup, effects - are convincing and professional. The story builds up a situation, introduces the conflict and brings us to a conclusion without a word or scene out of place.

We don't pay a lot of attention to short subjects, but maybe we should. Good things come in small packages.

Backroad is set in East Texas, where evil sometimes wears a cowboy hat. The peaceful countryside is contrasted to the disturbing scenes of violence that punctuate this artistically composed story of how evil grows, and sometimes, how it all ends up. The performances were excellent, neither understated nor overdone. The cinematography was impressive, especially considering the fact that this was all done on a shoestring. The story was disturbing, a bit intense for me at moments, but not a plot less gore-fest, as so many horror films have gotten to be. There is enough ambiguity and symbolism to make me pay attention and think a bit, to make me discuss the film with others, and to make me want to see it again. In fact, I bought the DVD, and I hope that they give it a wider release at some point. Having a rare limited-edition copy won't do me any good, since I refuse to sell it.

As much as I love this movie, I would dearly love to see it remade closer to the original intent of the author, much as John Carpenter remade 'The Thing' to reflect some semblance of the story 'Who Goes There?' I think the movie-makers of the 50's and 60's must have thought that we weren't sophisticated or grown-up enough to handle the concepts in these two short-story masterpieces.

None of that detracts from the great performances in this film, the theramin soundtrack, and the clear anti-war message. I must say, however, that the Christian symbolism escaped me completely. I guess I was too busy looking for the Harry Bates concept to emerge.

Everyone should see this, and read the story by Harry Bates, most easily found in the anthology 'The Past Through Tomorrow,' which also just happens to include 'Who Goes There.'

Who will bring me Gnut instead of Gort?