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Directed by Sean Meehan
Starring Tim Cox, Maria Natapov, Eddie Nason & Robyn Kaan
Short film review by Amaliah S. Marmon-Halm
‘Mallas, MA’, directed by Sean Meehan, who also co-wrote the short film with Daniel Berube, tells the story of two bumbling con artists looking for their next con, try to pull one over on a small yet suspicious town by posing as paranormal investigators. With their gear, which looks like it came straight out of a Ghostbusters cosplay kit and an opening track that brings to mind every supernatural show ever created, you immediately get a sense for the sort of film you’re going to watch.
Whilst searching the house of their latest victim for anything odd and spooky, the specter-seeking pair come across a lot more than they bargain for. They meet a young girl who they think will be able to help them perfect their little scheme. That’s when the lines of truth and their made up reality become blurred. As you can already tell, there is a twist, but not to worry, we aren’t talking about twists of Shyamalan proportions.
Although heavily drenched in thriller and horror clichés, this is an entertaining little film. Not as well polished as it seems to intend to be, but still entertaining. There were a few issues, for example sound, that would have pushed this from an average film, to a good film. In the opening scene, whilst the issues are not with the use of a drone, it is possible for audiences to hear the sound of a motor, which unfortunately does get picked up and is irksome. Again, during the opening credits, the track is a bit tinny. Luckily, it does seem to improve as the short film goes on.
This movie, and Meehan's direction, does well to get the audience gripped into something that has the potential to be an interesting feature thriller. Even though it does seem to rely a bit too heavily on clichés to carry the story along, and seems to try too hard with its rather forced comedy bit in the end credits, if you take the short film as whole piece rather than a collection of minor faults, you will find it engaging and enjoyable.
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