INSPIRACION

"INSPIRACION" (2014, Antonio Clemente, Barry's Kidnapping Films) is a Spanish short suspense film about a writer who is struggling for inspiration for his next book.

His... hooker(?) recommends a person to contact who can guarantee that he will find inspiration. But he might not like what he is asked to do to inspire his imagination.

A very quiet, film noir-esque piece which makes good use of light and fills the 16minute time slot well without trying to be too clever with the budget.

The entire piece is filmed in black and white, but it lends itself well to the kind of suspensful story being told. If you don't mind subtitles, and, like me, you're not scared of independent lower budget pieces, it's a fun international short that I hope will make its way to the UK for some film festivals.

[Image: Antonio Clemente]

Hani

 

The Traveler

"The Traveler" (2010, Michael Oblowitz, Hollywood Media Bridge, Front Street Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures).

On Christmas Eve, a stranger calling himself "Mr. Nobody" (Val Kilmer) enters a police station and confesses to 6 murders that haven't happened yet.

Creepy and atmospheric I was pleasantly surprised, but it's admittedly a bit of a one trick pony and the effects aren't much to write home about.

Val Kilmer is the epitome of creepy, however, giving an excellent performance as our eerie antagonist.

A bit contrived in places, but quite a simple tale that's sole appeal is the moody, dark feeling. Although the film is terribly paced and begins to unravel slightly as time lapses.

A couple of random techniques such as slow motion action scenes get a little old after a while, and the fake rain effect is a unnatural looking. They also spent way too long showing flashbacks of the same situations unfolding again and again. I wasn't sure if they were trying to be symbolic, presumed the audience had short attention spans or whether they'd just ran out of plot to fill out the rest of the film, but it seemed to flog the dead horse a little.

Not the best, but I've definitely sat through worse!

[Image: Front Street Pictures]

Hani