In the year 2164, the assassination of a popular political candidate will create an opportunity for a failed comedian to seek to become the Empathy party's nominee for President of the United States, and he will choose a genetically modified, super-intelligent, opium-addicted parrot as his running mate. Be aware, this show is disturbing, and despite the presence of talking parrots, it is not written for children. The Disposable Soma  - the brainchild of writer/filmmaker Zeb Haradon - began life as a series of books. Now, by utilising a variety of A.I. tools to generate the imagery and some sound, he has adapted his tale of our depraved and drug-addled future into a streaming series. Which brings us to an interesting question regarding the use of A.I. in filmmaking - a controversial subject, to say the least - and whether it's ever ok to use it. Is it acceptable in this case because Haradon is using it to share his own original idea through a different medium? Given that he has ...

A struggling video editor takes on a seemingly lucrative job for a mysterious client, only to find out that the films they have her editing are snuff films. Haunted by what she sees, and unsure of what to do, her world soon begins to fall apart. First off, it's worth pointing out that this is not a review of the John Cena/Alison Brie action comedy. No, this is a very different Freelance . It begins as  a sort of love letter to video editors and their often unappreciated craft, in much the same way  The Fall Guy  is to stunt workers. The opening credits made using editing software is a nice touch too.  And yet, at its heart this is a real mind-fuck of a movie. One that deals with some difficult subject matter, and what makes it really scary is it feels in some way possible. Thankfully however, director John Balazs and writer Michael Gerbino's approach to all this nasty stuff was to be authentic, unflinching and hard-hitting, without being excessive. Although,  if...

Since his mother passed away, Jason (Timothy J. Cox) has been spending his Sundays visiting with his father, Ben (George R. Hildebrand). But this Sunday is different, because Ben has something he wants to discuss with Jason. Something sensitive. Understandably, after 40+ years of marriage Ben is struggling with being alone. There is a hole in his life that he is struggling to fill. And in this search for companionship he has started seeing a prostitute, only without the sex part. On the face of it Sundays with Dad  sounds almost ridiculous. A rare and potentially extreme scenario. In reality, however, this couldn't be further from the truth. Approaching the perils of growing old with compassion and respect, this charming short film has a surprisingly relatable feel. After all, loneliness is something we all face. Ben's love of The Rockford Files  also helps. You might even begin to wonder how often this type of scenario plays out in the real world -  The Rockford Fil...

Extraction, USA is a town experiencing an energy boom. Good news for some, but not for most. So when a drifter named Steph (Marlee Carpenter) wanders into the bar where pool hustling single mum, Marni (Leanne Johnson) works, and they hit it off, the idea of escaping this grimy town starts to look possible. The only question is; how far are they willing to go in order to actually do it? If Mike Yonts and Peter Matsoukas were looking to create an authentic depiction of amateur criminals, they have succeeded, more or less.  In fact, the movie has something to say about the general state of the human race, and it's hardly complimentary. Anyone who has ever had a boss or worked a shitty job will likely be able to relate. Something Derek McMahan certainly helps with, playing the slimy owner of the bar where Marni works.  And yet, rather than having that misery and hardship be the focus of the movie, they simply serve as the driving force behind Marni and Steph's criminal awakening. ...

Facing financial ruin courtesy of an impending welfare reform, full-time carer Sadie (Shian Denovan) comes up with an audacious scheme to sabotage the new 'Independence Credit' before it can be voted in. She plans to send the government spiralling into chaos by stealing their leverage and crippling their chief whip. In order to do it Sadie will have to sneak into one of the UK's most secure buildings, so she's going to need some help. Let's face it, any opportunity to see a bunch of snivelling politicians - represented here by Ray Bullock Jnr's deliciously evil Chief Whip - get their comeuppance is going to be welcome with pretty much anyone. Even more so when it comes as the result of an Ocean's Eleven  style heist.  Somehow, through this cheesy heist movie that very closely reflects the world we live in - certainly here in the UK - writer/director/producer Christopher Presswell and writer Forgács W. András have actually managed to make treason look fun.  N...

A journalist sits alone in a bar, working, when a stranger approaches him. While the journalist continues to go over his files the stranger begins with him a conversation, by the end of which a startling discovery will be made. But who is this stranger, and what are his intentions? At some point in our lives many of us will have had a creepy encounter or two with strangers in a bar. But how many of those encounters have led to a major breakthrough or discovery in our work? Or any other part of our lives, for that matter. I'm guessing not many. So Meekah (Theo White) is either very lucky to have this new, all-seeing admirer, or he's in a lot of trouble. Either way, the conversation at the heart of Creatures of Habit  is a rather chilling affair. Even the way Timothy J. Cox's moustache... I mean 'Stranger' saunters up to Meekah and begins shooting the shit is a little creepy - something that's nicely highlighted by some clever lighting and camera angles. But it is...

After Luke (Anthony Carey)'s sister goes missing, he begins having dreams of a strange house. Unbeknownst to him, that house is owned by Alan Roscoe Jr. (Timothy J. Cox), passed down to him after the recent death of his father. But something about this house isn't quite right, and Alan seems to tend to it in strange and disturbing ways. A horror movie named after a form of colour blindness - the most common form, in fact. Protanopia is an insensitivity to red light. Making it a rather ironic title, given the amount of red lighting and red visual effects that appear throughout the film. We're talking almost psychedelic levels of colour - especially red. It is the first of many mind-fucks that the movie throws at you. Either that or it's the beginning of the great mind-fuck that is this movie. Recent events have left the two protagonists caught up in their own respective nightmares. While Luke struggles with the disappearance of his sister and some truly haunting dreams, ...

Peter Gibney is a long time agent who is known in the modelling industry for being kind, generous and supportive of the people he represents. Model Hope Harmon has been with Peter the longest of all his clients, close to 15 years. They have a very close, familial relationship and as a result, have made each other very successful. There is a major clothing client, Braden-Willoughby, that Peter has been trying to book Hope with, but the client has confided to Peter that they are not remotely interested in Hope, unless she is willing to undergo, in their words "dramatic changes". If I had to choose a word to describe Hard Truths  it might be 'reality'. That certainly seems to be what those behind the film were going for.  We're dropped into the lives of the protagonists for a mere moment, and a very important moment at that, for both of them.  There's no real beginning to it, no real end, and in that way it feels more like watching real life.  It is but a snapsho...

While attempting a love connection, an obnoxious guy gets trapped inside his own coat at a laundromat. Static Cling is one of those films you watch and laugh at the absurdity of it all, only for a dark corner of your brain to go; "hang on, this isn't that far from reality!" It even reflects what quirky places laundromats can be. In fact, because many of us have washing machines at home, this comical short is kind of a window into a world many of us will never see... beyond that one episode of Friends . Although this does feel like an appropriate place to insert a little fine print: * Warning * Your experience may differ. Essentially, this is like a live action Looney Tunes  short. One in which the rather obnoxious Kyle, played amusingly by Bj Gruber falls foul of one of mankind's greatest foes - the zipper. We've all encountered people like Kyle, and Gruber nails that self-entitled, wrapped up in their own bullshit mentality. Which is probably why it's so muc...

A mercenary team - known as the 'Vipers' - is tasked with extracting a young girl named Maria (Tetta Sanders) from a secluded country home, and the cult that resides there. The only problem; the cult have taken their experimentation with recreational drugs a bit far, and the resultant effects have a certain undead quality.  Sound of Addiction   (SOA)  - which you can watch below - was inspired by the rise of Fentanyl in the USA and the zombie-like effect it has on its users. It's a horror short with an action twist. From the moment the boys (Jamie Clark, John Mortimore, Aaron Mackenzie, Sam Seeley, Will Bowden) leave the van to begin their approach to the target building there is a sense of eerie foreboding that descends over the film, leaving our heroes feeling oddly exposed. The tension rises slowly. All of which the tight, up close and personal filming style only compliments, with the directors putting the viewer right alongside them. On top of its creepy, horror vibes...

Have you ever wondered how much control we have over our own lives? That question is the central theme of Rewriting Mallory , as we follow two people struggling to deal with lives marred by tragedy. Drifting between Joshua's attempts to deal with the loss of his sister through writing and Mallory having what could be the worst day of her life, this curious short film offers an interesting perspective on their two lives. One reminiscent of Morpheus' words to Neo in The Matrix  about Dorothy; "tumbling down the rabbit hole". Yes, Director Emerson Adams certainly conjures some colourful imagery with this one! Strangely, for a film that handles themes such as grief and trauma in such a grounded and sensitive way, it also pulls off one hell of a magic trick. Rewriting Mallory  starts off as one thing, essentially lulling you into a false sense of security, before jack-knifing your entire  understanding of what's going on. A move that somehow adds to the intrigue withou...