It always amazes me when filmmakers can make a short film that ends up being far more superior than most feature films that I watch. With the blending of multiple sub-genres and an overall fantastic production quality, so is the case with Richard Powell’s amazingly entertaining short entitled Familiar.
John Dodd is a middle-aged man who is sick of performing the same routine, day in and day out. He is sick of his wife, his daughter, his entire existence. When his daughter starts college in four months, he plans to gather all of his savings and leave. After 45 years, he can finally start his real life. Until his wife throws a curveball at him, that is…
What starts out as a short soaked in drama and anger, quickly becomes something much more. Familiar takes the best of multiple horror sub-genres including body horror and creature features and blends them into a perfectly mixed bag of surprises. In the 20 minute runtime, viewers are treated to superb acting, a great script, amazing practical make-up effects, and a completely original story.
I wish I could see more features like this and I have now instantly become a fan of Richard Powell. You better believe that I will make it a point to track down his other shorts and I’m sure I will be impressed, if they are anything like this one.
I give this short 4.5 crushed pills out of 5. You can watch the short yourself, over at FEARnet, following this link.
