Still Life (2005)

Too much of everything

hyped garbage

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

"Still Life" (not to be mistaken for the 2013 Marsan movie) is a short film directed by Jon Knautz, written by Charles Johnston and starring Trevor Matthews from roughly 10 years ago. Nother of the trio is very famous, although you may have come across the director or star if you have seen the Robert Englund horror comedy "Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer".Anyway, in this short movie we see a man driving for a bit until he hits somebody with his car, probably because he was very sleep and took some pills. He gets out right away to see what happened when he realizes the victim is a dummy. When he gets in a nearby shop or café to ask for help, it is full with dummies sitting there anyway. When he looks away for a second and looks back, he sees the dummies have moved and are all looking at him now. This I found the most intense moment of the film, more intense than the violence afterward, as for the first time we realize something is very wrong in a truly spooky manner. The snowy weather and barren landscape helps the atmosphere.Later on, he gets in a fight and kills a couple dummies with a baseball bat. Now, I am not sure I entirely understood this short film. I thought the protagonist was hallucinating from the medication, which would explain the dummies, but does not explain why they stand still every time he looks at them, especially the family father when he is in motion with the baseball bat. Maybe there is something more to it. In the end, probably with the effects of the drugs slowly fading, everything becomes real again. The blood is the first indicator, the cops are the second and the corpses are the final one. Man, is he in trouble now.What I liked about these 9 minutes was the clever way they packed brutal violence in it, but still made it watchable for younger audiences. Another thing I thought about was the idea that every time we look somewhere, everything happens where we don't look. For example, the very second you read my review, probably somebody gets beaten up with a baseball bat and you don't see it. Anyway, I enjoyed this short film. it is far from perfect, but makes for a good watch. Recommended.

I absolutely adored this short. It was one of the first I'd seen (since then I've been watching shorts a lot) and yet it remains one of the best. Probably, for me, the best. I had to go back and watch again, just because I wanted to look for clues. The actor does a very good job, an the ending is just brilliant I thought. You can kind of imagine what is coming, but still, the way it's done is just eerie. The director creates a great sense of tension, and it reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode. Check it out, especially if you like psychological horror. This is absolutely worth watching, and even if you don't like it (although I can't imagine anyone not liking it) it's only 5 minutes of your life.

Wow. It blew my mind in just 8 minutes! Crisp, effective direction, elegant camera-work, apt music & also admirable support to this artwork by actor Trevor Matthews.I don't think anyone really knew where this movie was going till the shocking climax. And that's when it just clicks on what happened.Of course, no one could that be that devoid of reality but this is a movie and it should captivate us, sense or no sense. And it did.Also, a good message by the makers of the movie that really hits home. Wish the movie had continued longer with more interplay between Trevor and the mannequins. It would have been awesome.

This great short film has left me wanting more. I would love to see Rod Serling introduce this film and in turn learn a bit more about the main character and how he feels about his experiences in that small town. This movie is built around an interesting concept which is delivered very effectively as a psychological thriller. The idea of a sparsely populated small town works very well as the setting here and the winter season only adds to the setting and tone of the movie. I am left to wonder where the lead character comes from and the series of events that lead him to this small town. As stated earlier I would love to see this as a longer feature to get some of these questions answered. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future BrookStreet productions.