Are You Ready?

A young man sits in a garden and describes the events that took place the night before to a stranger.

 

Taylor (Jones) is sitting in the back garden of a friend, following a night of hard partying. With him is a mysterious person who he has never seen before and Taylor proceeds to explain to the stranger the events that occurred the previous night. Taylor's friend had a party that was attended by a lot of people and alcohol and drugs were involved. Taylor reluctantly took drugs and passed out in the back garden. However, the final outcome was much more severe than he initially thought.

 

Shot in black-and-white, this short is basically the aftermath of a drug-fuelled night, beginning with the recollection of a hangover and moving on towards much more sinister themes. The screenplay consists almost entirely of Taylor's monologue, describing the events during the party. For a while, what he describes seems quite straightforward and it is when the plot twist arrives that the atmosphere of the short film changes dramatically.

 

The figure in the garden with Taylor, who listens to his story, is quite intriguing due to their appearance. By wearing a coat, a hat, gloves and with the face covered by a cloth, the gender cannot be identified and since Taylor does not know him/her, their presence is a mystery until the end, where it is revealed who it actually is.

 

The decision to film in black-and-white works effectively, considering the subjects in the story and particularly the shocking finale.

 

The dramatic music by H. Sin significantly supports the sinister atmosphere of Are You Ready? and commendations also go to the stylised letters during the closing credits.

 

This short film tells a tragic story and places the viewer in a position where they might already know what the hero's current situation is and the plot twist changes that. It is a rather dramatic story, it carries a powerful anti-drug message and the addition of Jones's strong performance makes this an impressive and thoughtful viewing.