THE SETUP
Turn is a brand new 6 minute Horror short, Written and Directed by Jerry J. White lll. Turn sees young traveler, Michael (Taylor Piedmonte from Jack Ketchum’s “Offspring”) get more than he bargained for when he rents a room from a woman (played by Becca Scott) while abroad.
THE GOOD
Turn begins with Michael at the apartment, meeting the owner and officially being welcomed in. They’re quick with the pleasantries and she informs him that she’ll be home late but will do her damnedest not to disturb his sleep. All seems to be going normal on his first night under her roof, that is, until something goes bump in the night. The brief audio track was quite clear and Kenny Keeler’s framing and camera work looks nice. There’s some gentle zooming and panning, which includes a rotation that starts by looking down and out of the window and finishes at the top of the stairs in the apartment. I thoroughly enjoyed the direction this little quickie took.
THE BAD
I felt as if through some of Taylor’s eye line focus toward the climax, White was trying to hint at something of importance in the photo frames hanging in the hall, though nothing ever came of it. Whilst I got a kick out of the eventual reveal, I was a little disappointed to not get some visual satisfaction (though that could simply be due to budget restrictions). Turn is also without a score which I found somewhat puzzling given the nature (but each to his own).
Turn was a memorable short film lucky enough to be featured as one of DreadCentral.com “Trick or Treat” videos for the Halloween period. It’s a technically polished product that manages to entertain and sustain some suspense even without a score. Despite it lacking a couple of personal preferences of mine, I thoroughly enjoyed this treat and I think you will too. You can watch the short by clicking on the link below, Enjoy!
My rating for “Turn” is 8/10
AdamTheMovieGod 