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★★★
Directed by: Alexandra Creteau
Written by: Alexandra Creteau
Starring: Alexandra Creteau, Taylor West, Jeff Rockland
A young pizza delivery driver named Mila (Creteau) makes a delivery to a house. She soon realizes that the customer has other intentions.
Mila is driving in the suburbs, making a delivery to a private residence. Once there, the young man, Steve (West) lets her in and locks the door. He refuses to let her go and says he is going to rape her. The two struggle, resulting in a minor injury and from then on the situation turns weird. They end up playing a drinking game and talk about relationships, diet and honesty and generally get to know each other.
This story begins as a thriller, then moves towards drama, then towards romance. At first there is normality, then nail-biting tension and threat, then things take an unexpected turn as Steve becomes friendly and calm, almost in the blink of an eye. He offers her food and drink and appears to just want to talk to Mila and get to know her. Naturally at first she just wants to get out of there, but gradually warms up towards him. It is a rather extraordinary series of events that lead to awkward situations.
The soundtrack is rather amusing and the score turns from sinister and tense to uplifting.
During a struggle scene, the camera very quickly cuts from image to black, like a light going on and off inside a room. This clever technique creates a feeling of tension and threat.
The screenplay contains interesting characters and (also awkward) dialogue. As the story progresses, the audience will most likely want to know why Steve is behaving the way he is and what the outcome of the situation is going to be. There is a scene of fantasy and a flashback that explains what motivated Steve to lock Mila inside his house. These two sequences also provide an insight into Steve's mind.
Unfortunately the acting is not very realistic and Mila does not behave in ways that someone would probably behave if they were to find themselves in a situation of that nature. For instance, after she has injured Steve, she does not make a run for it. And generally it is rather hard to believe that anyone would warm to a person who had told them they were planning to rape them (even if they did not mean it). Although this makes an intriguing narrative, it still comes across as silly. It should be pointed out though, that Rockland is convincing in his role as a psychologist.
This short may have its faults, but it provides an interesting experience and is worth seeking out.
Trailer:
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