A couple discovers intruders at home.
STORM is used with permission from Lena Tsodykovskaya. Learn more at [ Ссылка ].
Malcolm and Isabelle are a couple sleeping in the middle of the storm when they awake. The power has gone out and there are noises outside. They investigate, and they soon discover intruders that have invaded their home. But as they realize who the intruders are, they must find a way to cast them out -- by giving them what they want.
Directed by Lena Tsodykovskaya and written by Taylor Sardoni, this compelling horror short will appeal to those fans of high-concept horror films like SCREAM, where meta-awareness of the genre and its conventions (or cliches) add to the layers of entertainment and meaning. That awareness is in play in this narrative. Still, it serves a larger theme about voyeurism, the collapse between private and public selves and how it turns people into unhealthy sources of entertainment while forgetting their essential humanity.
The film's visuals oscillate between a moody naturalism and a more slick contemporary look, with the narrative telegraphing its fearful intentions from the start, thanks to its suspenseful, dark musical score and a creeping tracking shot tracing the contours of the environment and the people within it. The couple awakes during a storm when their power goes out, and they immediately hear a series of strange noises. We're immediately immersed in a creepy story, as the couple -- played by actors Tara Ranii and Justin Tanks -- come under siege by intruders trying to get in.
With its tight, focused visuals and evocative sound, the film so far seems to be a standard -- if well-crafted and well-executed -- horror story. But the clever writing reveals itself as the couple figure out what's happening. To be more specific would spoil part of the fun, but as Isabelle confronts the intruders, the film becomes a smart commentary on the thirst for entertainment itself and the willingness to go to extremes sometimes to be drawn in and compelled.
Isabelle protests that there's nothing to see, but as the narrative progresses, her control over events loosens to a harrowing effect, until it culminates into giving the intruders exactly what they want in a shocking culmination of tension. It both makes for a short but satisfying ending for STORM, as well as a confrontation that forces us to look at our motives when we watch anything. Such questions become even more important in the age of social media, when we look to real-time narratives found on various platforms for inspiration. These questions about voyeurism, and how the act of being watched changes people, become all the more relevant and even haunting.
