We conclude our frightfest coverage for 2022 with a look at the short films that featured as part of the events discovery screen. For the full down of all the shorts that were featured, we have a handy article for your reading pleasure HERE. Besides being a nice palette cleanser, these showcases are an effective way to be exposed to the next wave of upcoming talent – an MO which perpetuates the frightfest events at all levels. Let’s be honest, it’s the horror ‘way’, always looking for that next hot new talent.
One film that received its international premiere at the event was Theo Marlow’s Everyone Forgot starring Anwen Bull & James Knapp. There are two types of short films at events like this, on the one hand, are those lucky few with a decent budget, and are therefore able to envision big ideas on a micro-scale, typically from London or America, and on the other are small, intimate actor-lead pieces. Marlow’s film is more latter than the former.
Anwen Bull is Lilly, a woman celebrating her 40th birthday – or at least she would be if everyone hadn’t forgotten. Every time she checks her phone she is met by zero notifications, which for a birthday, especially one as big a deal as the dreaded 4 0, is a big deal. She phones her mum, asking if there’s anything she forgot and nope, nothing. It looks like her birthday is going to come and go without any fanfare, that is until she reaches out to an online handyman service that she uses as a mail-order friend service, delivering (James Knapp) to help her celebrate her birthday with at least one friendly face, even if the said face was paid. And given the circumstances, all is going as well as you could hope, until there’s a sting in the tale that changes the makeup of this contained two-hander. Are both people as simple as they seem? No, but I won’t spoil how.
The very point of two-handers is to provide a platform for the actors to express themselves, and both actors do a sterling job with the script. There are nice little touches too, with the creation and design of the social media platform at the heart of twist, amego. A twist that is played nicely by the actor that it involves, again, not to spoil anything. The synth score is implemented with a subtlety that you just don’t see often with young filmmakers at this stage in their careers. And vitally, it leaves you wanting more – admittedly that’s because there are many gaps left uncoloured but at the stage of both an actor and director’s careers that is a distinction not worth making. Everyone forgot is a cute horror short with lots of promise.
