The Mean Spirited

A group of people get together for a seance.

Four individuals arrive at a theatre, where they plan to communicate with the ones who have passed away. These people are Mr Blakely (Mulvin), a man who apparently can interact with spirits, Alex (Kelly), Oscar (Muya), an online celebrity and Charlotte (Chadwick), the one who arranged the location. The four of them commence the seance and film it. What follows is drama, grief, tension, sarcasm and surprises.

This short could be classified as a horror film with drama and dark comedy. At first, the seance is not taken seriously, particularly by Alex. As the 'process' carries on, Blakely takes the lead, uses an Ouija board and claims to 'sea' someone's dead pet and a departed loved one. Initially, it is implied that the whole thing could be a hoax, however, events take place that suggest that it might actually be real and that their lives could be in danger. The seance ends up bringing to light significant information about the lives of the participants and becoming an extraordinary experience.

A feature that stands out is the way this was filmed. It is basically a fifteen-minute-long take that begins with the participants at the theatre entrance. The camera then follows them into the theatre hall and for a significant amount of time moves around in circles as it films the protagonists sitting around a table and 'communicating' with ghosts. The camera movement is well executed and impressive.

As the director of photography, Sam Kemp develops great cinematography and the lighting techniques are creative. Composer Rebecca Doherty makes a significant contribution with the dramatic and tense music.

The acting is very good and all four protagonists convincingly portray interesting characters.

This short is quite a ride and right from the start it grabs the viewer's attention with an intriguing plot and well-written dialogue. It is an experience filled with doubt, grief and suspense and it is worth looking into.