Released back in October 2012, Joshua seemingly lives a normal, mundane ordinary life yet when we begin to look beneath the surface it's clear everything is not what is seems.

Joshua is a 15 minute short, written and directed by Tim Porter on an ultra-low budget. Starring the very talented Cyrus Trafford in the title role partnered by Christian Okoli as Paul and Nancy Boo Orchis Evans as Eileen. Shot largely in black and white with a colour section spliced in, this atmospheric film is a gripping though disturbing look at child abuse from an unusual perspective.

Porter's dialogue is captivating and absorbing carrying the viewer along with it on a journey that feels tense yet strangely fascinating. It is impossible to be anything less than intrigued by the character of Joshua. Essentially the boy next door, unremarkable, could be your brother or any mother's son. In fact, Joshua is anything but ordinary. He is a man obsessed. He is a man in shackles. He represents the darker side of our collective humanity and it is an uncomfortable thing to witness. As events unfold the instinct is to feel and to express disgust and horror so how is it that there remains a tiny fragment of sympathy for Joshua? And why does that fragment cut so sharply into our own flesh? Entirely rhetorical questions of course.

To get the most from this film I would suggest watching it two or three times. I did that and found new subtleties with each viewing. There is much to set the mind thinking, questioning, analysing and ultimately searching for deeper truths. Watch it, take several deep breaths, then watch it again.

Tim Porter takes us on a journey of Joshua who has to endure his darkest desire in solitude and isolation. Through Joshua we see the everyday temptations he has to overcome and avoid. But the constant urge soon takes over and we see the monster within unleashed. A subject that is greatly avoided and seen as taboo in cinema, Porter’s vision has no bound for any topic. Porter courageously explores the forbidden desire of the human yearning. A thrillingly suspenseful horror, Joshua takes us into the mind of a man slowly losing his grip of sanity. Captivated through Joshua’s inner mono-log we see first at hand how the mind of Joshua contemplates. Stunningly shot we’re subjected to colour tempering that sets the frame of mind. The cinematography is beautifully lit up and shot but we’re constantly snapped back to Joshua’s mind with an obscure black and white theme. Watching Joshua it’s almost as if Porter combined Martin Scorsese’s 1976 Taxi Driver to Nicole Kassell’s 2005 powerful and thrilling drama The Woodsman.

Watching Joshua there’s always an unsettling feeling of tension that fills the screen. Cyrus’s performance as Joshua is compelling creepy and convincing as a man with an obsession that soon takes hold of him. Porter explores into dangerous territory but the execution of a man being torn apart by his own self-contempt. It’s a sensational view into the mind of a Joshua.

The soundtrack includes music from Moa Pillar (Fedor Pereverzev) album 'Roraima'. You can download the album at: [ Ссылка ].

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