ENTER THE ROOM

Harry Waldman / United States / 15 minutes

Synopsis

Brian is visited by his brother Jeremy, who needs a place to stay. But Jeremy will quickly become disillusioned: Brian fixates on anything and everything, and sinks into paranoia. The situation turns out to be unbearable.

A 100% enclosed-space story? We love that. « Enter the room » astutely assumes this position to build its principal asset: its good scenario. No doubt, these 15 minutes fly by. Maybe too fast? We can’t help thinking that this material was enough to develop more, explore other ideas or even make a feature film. The at-full-speed tension here works anyway, starting immediately and not waning until the end.

Unfortunately, the technique doesn’t really keep up. Compositions are interesting, but you can’t ignore numerous out-of-focus shots, dull lights and a colour-grading sometimes too artificial. Music often crops up hurriedly and too loud, without nuance. As for the editing, there are highs and lows; it can be amateurish (pauses that needed to be tightened, guys watching TV without sound) or have eruptions of brilliance (a few well-balanced interactions, the last seconds’ effects).

The story leans on the two sole actors, who both manage well. Rich Holton is adorable and very natural in this patient and overwhelmed role, Peter Mastne unerringly exasperating and creepy. They lack a little subtlety in their last spoken scene (maybe due to the lines’ writing, or not enough time to refine the acting direction?); but the whole performance remains effective and honourable.

Conclusion

This honest attempt is full of good ideas and shows a potential that’ll soon reach maturity for sure. We support!

U.N.

« Enter the room » joins official selection for the Little Croco Festival’s first edition, nominated in the Thriller category.

Trailer: