Split

Director - John B. Sovie II (Sledge)
Starring -Dustin Bowman (The Pancake Killer, Sledge), Melody Mauer, and Russell Matoes (Sledge)
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Horror/Drama
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Not long ago I brought you a review for the slasher comedy Sledge (read the review here).  I was really impressed by the flick.  After watching the film the co-director Kristian Hanson informed me that he and co-director John B. Sovie II were putting the finishing touches on a new short entitled Split.  If the movie was a fraction as good as Sledge then it would definitely be worth my time.  A few days ago Hanson let me know it was finished and sent me a link to the screener so thank you for taking the time to send me that!

     The film follows a young man that awakens from a night of partying.  As he tries to wrap his mind around the events that happened the night before he decides to turn on the television.  The news is on and the reporter tells the story of a young man that was found beheaded.  The reporter then talks about another murder that took place a few days earlier and the man starts to see visions of her dead and laying on the pavement.  He starts to question why he can picture her dead body when he has only heard about the heinous crime on the news.  He then starts to remember last night and how a drunken man disrespected him in a bar.  He followed the man outside and cut is head off before taking it home to dance with.

     I really like short films.  They often cut out the bullshit filler and get straight to business.  I love horror shorts even more because it doesn't take long to get to the kills.  Sadly, this one actually falls victim to the short length of the film. When the film actually starts to pick up it abruptly ends.  Most movies would benefit from having their running time cut down while a select few actually lose a lot due to that.  This movie really needs a sequel that picks up where this one left off or possibly expanded.  The ending would have been awesome if it was the midway point in the film and then followed the same formula instead of ending on the high note. The acting is hard to judge due to this being a one man show.  Sure, he did a great job but there is hardly any real interaction with other characters and that makes it hard to judge.  The story is nothing new or groundbreaking.  The description of the film on Vimeo stated the film was a nod or paid homage to the classic television show The Twilight Zone.  Sadly, I did not see that at all.  Instead, the film felt like a prequel to American Psycho that collided with Richard Griffin's Exhumed.  It may not be original but if it was to be expanded upon it would be one hell of a film.  Finally, we don't really get any on screen kills or special effects.  The film relies heavily on mood and atmosphere to get to the audience instead of blood and gore.  This would have been effective if the film was a little longer and had more time to really set the mood.  Overall, this film shows a lot of promise but the shortness of the film prevents it from being the film it could be.  It deserves at least one watch.