A ventriloquist who also works as a private detective is hired by a mysterious woman struggling to deal with a stalker. As they begin their investigation, the PI and his dummy find themselves marooned, along with their client, at a creepy hotel in an isolated village. But when guests start dying, the duo realise they've got more than just a stalker to deal with. Usually when watching a murder mystery, the ventriloquist is the suspect. It's just a question of who's in charge; the dummy or the guy running them. But in an amusing twist,  The Dummy Detective  flips that on its head by having the dummy and his right hand man - so to speak - do the investigating. The whole thing kind of feels like a get together at Agatha Christie's house. Well, a puppet convention, anyway. The result is a crazy mash-up of genres and styles.  Set in the modern day, but inspired by classic noir movies. It's   And Then There Were None  with puppets.  All of which gives the mystery ...

During the Great Depression, sisters Tinsley and Mattie Wilde, two clueless socialites from New York, are sent to Washington State after their father commits suicide. There they face the elements, wild animals, merciless killers, and people they're used to looking down on. All without the creature comforts they are more than accustomed to. How will they survive? Everybody loves a fish-out-of-water story. Seeing someone struggle to adjust to a situation and/or environment they are clearly not suited to can be rather hilarious. Especially when said person is somewhat unlikeable. Which is exactly what you get with The Wilde Girls ... one of them, anyway. Writer/director Timothy Hines' cartoonishly calamitous trek into the woods is delightfully reminiscent of Disney 's classic cartoons. Tinsley (Lydia Pearl Pentz) and Mattie (Cali Scolari) lost in the wilderness is amusing all by itself, especially with Tinsley being so irritatingly snooty - think Jack Black as Bethany in Juman...

Two people at a turning point in their lives attempt to figure out where their relationship is going through a discussion on Beethoven's famous piece of music; Für Elise.  Perspective is a word that springs to mind when it comes to Jaschar Marktanner's fascinating short film, Für Elise . More importantly, how perspectives may differ from one person to the next. Watching Tobias Mosig's 'Ludwig' play the titular piece of music - beautifully, I might add - as he regales a mildly interested Elise (Marlene Fahnster) with what turns out to be a (spoiler alert) fictional tale behind the origins of Beethoven's famous work, is at first quite charming. Until, that is, Elise destroys it with her own, arguably more relevant perspective. The thing is, they aren't really talking about music. From the moment they appear on screen, it is clear how familiar these two are with each other, and yet it all feels very awkward. Something is clearly off, which only adds to the intr...

Several years after Dan (Daniel Griesheimer)'s tragic death in a car accident, his father Harry (Timothy J. Cox) reconnects with Dan’s wife Abby (Ashlee Lawhorn) in order to celebrate Dan’s life and reconcile their loss. Let Dan Go  opens outside a bar, where a desperate and frustrated woman pleads with her intoxicated husband to give up his car keys and come home with her. It is undoubtedly a familiar scene for far too many, and one that ends all too predictably. But despite a brutally honest approach to such a sensitive subject, director Arielle Carroll is also respectful of those that have suffered such a loss. Never going too far in her portrayal of the event that drives this short film.  After this intense and traumatic opening, we encounter Harry, sitting on a park bench, where he's soon joined by his daughter-in-law, Abby. It has been some time since that tragic night, but the pain is still fresh. On the face of it, this a catch-up. Two people who haven't seen each o...

Vietnam, 1968. A recon team known as 'Vulture Squad' is sent into a remote valley in search of a missing Green Beret platoon. There they discover dinosaurs, as well as a few other things. And what begins as a rescue mission, quickly takes on a more world-ending significance. In a year when the first of a new batch of Jurassic World  movies hits cinemas, you don't expect to see it sharing the limelight with another dinosaur movie. Well I don't, anyway. But that is exactly what happened in 2025. Despite being well received, Jurassic World: Rebirth  fell victim to its own legacy, somewhat. Whereas a plucky, upstart indie movie about soldiers in Vietnam encountering dinosaurs, took the world by storm. Undoubtedly, because it did something a little bit different. Based on the book of the same name by Ethan Pettus, Primitive War  combines two genres that before now seemed pretty incompatible, and does it very well. Cue every Creedence song you can think of, as Hueys filled wi...

Saul (Ryan Schafer) is stuck living with his Grandma (Mickey Faerch). He has no job, no opportunities, no friends. And if he hasn't lost his virginity by his 27th birthday, he plans to kill himself. Sincerely Saul  is one of those films that tries to show us life inside a trouble mind. This includes some very dark imagery and references to suicide. Saul - played with genuine angst and intensity by Ryan Schafer - is an interesting character. He's a rather troubled individual who seems to have fallen through the cracks of society. Watching him struggle with pretty much everything, including his Grandma, and her creepy relationship with a local cop (Karl Backus), can be uncomfortable. However, while it is certainly easy to sympathise with his situation, Saul is entirely unlikeable. His antics range from immature and antisocial, to just downright obnoxious. All of which leaves you wondering why he is the way he is. Apart from a few hints that his parents dumped him with his Grandma...

A young buck named Alex looks forward to his first mating season. But when Mortimer shows up to challenge Alex for his territory, their antlers become locked. Now if either of them are to have a chance this season, they're going to have to get unlocked, and fast. Much like he did with The Disposable Soma , writer/filmmaker Zeb Haradon brings another of his stories to life with the help of A.I. Only, whereas before the imagery was odd, even mind-bending, and occasionally vulgar. With The Lucky Bucks  he goes a step further, because the tale of these two deer - or at least the look of it - is haunting. Visually speaking, this short film can only be described as the acid trip from hell, as the interlocked descend into isolation and madness... well, one of them does. More cervine tragedy than cervine sex comedy, you might say. Inspired by the work of German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, there is a bleakness to this story. Mortimer's more than melancholic ramblings not only refl...

When Brian (Peter Mastne) agrees to let his brother Jeremy (Rich Holton) stay with him whilst in town for work, they quickly discover it was a bad idea. Two people stuck in a small studio apartment, one very uptight and the other totally laid back, it's not long before they begin to grate on each other, and tempers flare. But is there something else behind their animosity towards each other? The first thing that springs to mind when watching Enter the Room  is the Covid lockdown. Writer/director Harry Waldman and his team have managed to recreate that sense of both isolation and being trapped that many were faced with when the world was brought to a standstill. In fact, they have made that tiny studio apartment feel very small indeed. And by clever use of colours, editing and score they dial up the intensity of the atmosphere within it, as brothers Brian and Jeremy come to blows.  From the very start everything is on a knife edge, and despite only being 15 minutes long,  ...

Jule (Marlene Fahnster), an aspiring photographer who has seemingly lost her taste for the art, is given a task by her sister. She is to go out into the city and find something to photograph, something she wouldn't want to forget. After warning us about the potentially dangerous rise of Artificial Intelligence with Turing Test , writer/director Jaschar Marktanner is now exploring the human experience through a unique lens - pardon the pun. Jule is a person who was searching for something - striving, even - but for some reason she has stopped. She has almost walled herself off from the world. What is it that she was searching for? And why has her love of photography waned? These are questions that this curious short never really answers, because it doesn't need to. The point here is the journey, and that we all need a push from time to time. Someone to help us get back up. Which is why Jule's task proves so compelling, even without those answers. Marlene Fahnster delivers a ...