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★★★
Directed by: Steve Dawson and Jason Lee Fraser
Written by: Jason Lee Fraser
Starring: Jason Lee Fraser, Dominika Zybko, Ashley Katherina Hunking
Dessert is a short film directed by Steve Dawson and Jason Lee Fraser who also stars alongside Dominika Zybko and Ashley Katherina Hunking.
The story takes place at a restaurant during night-time. The boss goes home, leaving a waitress named Diane (Hunking) and another waitress alone with a couple who are dining and are the only customers. The couple who are Sebastian (Fraser) and Helen (Zybko), appear to be arguing and Diane takes an interest in them and spies on them. It appears that Helen is accusing Sebastian of infidelity and ignoring and disrespecting her. The other waitress goes home too. Eventually they appear to reconcile and are about to kiss, much to Diane's disapproval. She interrupts them and asks them about their meals. They say they are going to have dessert. When Diane asks them what they would like, they simultaneously reply 'YOU!' and both produce fangs and the film ends just as they are both about to bite Diane's neck.
The twist that ends the film is truly mind-blowing and utterly catches the viewer by surprise. It could be compared to the scene in From Dusk Till Dawn in which Salma Hayek's character suddenly transforms into a vampire, turning the film from a crime thriller to horror. Both twists are unexpected and add great value to both films. For Dessert it briefly changes the genre from comedy to horror and it does so very effectively. And the blood-splattered end credits are a real treat and look really cool.
When viewed for the first time, the conversation between Sebastian and Helen gives the impression that he is an awful man who cheats on her, as he admits that he brings women from brothels back to their home. However a re-watch brings a different perspective to the dialogue, because this time the audience realises that he brought women to their home in order to eat them/drink their blood, not to sleep with them. By watching the film again, the viewers get the same experience that they got when they re-watched The Sixth Sense, by being affected by the revelation that the main character is actually dead. By viewing Dessert again, the audience interprets the couple's words differently, because they now know that they are vampires.
Unfortunately it should be pointed out that the film does have flaws. The acting gives the impression that it could had been better. The audio also has issues because at certain moments the characters' voices sound awkward. According to Fraser this is due to the fact that while shooting, a spray-painting crew was also working on the same location. The sounds of spray-painting were removed from the audio and voice-over was used in order to complete the dialogues. Despite the filmmakers' efforts to make improvements, the result is far from great and adds negative qualities to the film.
In the end Dessert provides a pleasant and of course surprising experience. As mentioned above, it is a film that has to be watched again in order to completely appreciate its value.
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