WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Rude awakenings. Doesn’t it just plain blow to wake up after that “I-promise-I’ll-never-do-THAT-again” party/bender with a raging headache and no real sense of when and where you are? You feel you had a great time, yet the regret begins to sink in along with the actuality that recovering from it all might be a solid concept to pursue. However, this does not become the primary concern for a young woman named Ana (Gianna-Marie) when she arises from the couch that became her bed with said hangover and low amounts of energy. Rather, a banging noise attracts her attention, emanating from an adjoining room in her father’s home’s basement/party center. Cautious and still not all with it, Ana seeks out the source.
Finding the last thing she would ever expect via the bound and gagged young girl (Corrie Fleming) locked inside the home’s panic room, releasing her only sets off a new series of unexplainable events, including the unforeseen and unwelcome arrival of three masked, gun-toting trespassers, namely The Six Shooter (S. Joe Downing), The Big Gun Shooter (Katelyn Downing), and The Machine Gun Shooter (Ayuba Audu) who seem to have but one objective–take the girl and cause serious harm to anyone in their way. As events unfold, Ana’s initial encounter with one of the interlopers goes horribly awry, at least until an uncanny occurrence emerges that shifts the entire scenario into her and the girl’s favor–or does it?
Next, my Mind:
A completely worthy follow-up to last year’s highly clever, genre-mashing short “Safe” (reviewed here as well), this newest 11-minute entry into the indie short film realms from writer/director/producer/editor Tim Earnheart delivers the exact same quality level of sci-fi-meets home invasion-meets action thriller fusion that its predecessor did, providing a fully realized narrative yet leaving so much to conjecture in order that, perhaps, we might see further installments or expansion on the ideas at a later time. This is a wonderful technique to utilize, this critic feels, as again, you get to fully enjoy and be immersed in this strange, albeit brutal, mind-warping tale which you can then sit afterwards and ponder for a spell, trying to ascertain all the little nuances of what you just witnessed, or otherwise simply be satisfied with some intense action sequences and the film’s astutely orchestrated fantastical elements that manage to remain just enigmatic enough that you desire to know more.
When it comes down to it, there’s of course the underlying notions of not knowing people as much as you think you might (aka: Ana’s father and what he’s got locked in his panic room!), getting unknowingly caught up in circumstances you weren’t supposed to (aka: FINDING said girl locked up by a now equally questionable father!), discovering an inner fortitude you never realized you had (aka: after all, Dad always wanted boys!), and ultimately getting to experience the fact that there are plenty of other things beyond your understanding that can alter the entire perception of reality and time. Basically, the usual stuff, right? Visually, the film flows nicely and seamlessly from scene to scene, keeping the story moving forward with intentional purpose due to its abbreviated runtime, especially embracing its high-order violence facets with borderline grindhouse stylings via their graphic nature, yet not going totally overboard so as to become outrageously excessive. In all truth, there are even some darkly comedic moments contained within all the chaos as well, more so at the film’s wild finale.
Gianna-Marie makes herself both believably vulnerable yet strongly independent and capable in her portrayal of Ana, a young woman who really seems to be your nice, normal, fun-loving gal who is already not having the most enviable wake-up post-party in her father’s basement as it is until things get even more out there upon hearing noises and locating the unanticipated “guest” in the home’s panic room. Already baffled, the girl she’s “rescued” has not much time to explain before the other unwanted, and far more hostile, visitors come calling. With hiding and attempted escape the best initial solution, Ana’s plan soon take a decidedly bad turn, only to see herself get embroiled in a situation far beyond ordinary goings-on while learning she’s not just some helpless babe when push comes to shove. Add to this, she herself may be more than she even knows. As hinted at above, the film’s ending evokes a beautifully hilarious comment from Ana, and throughout the whole film, Gianna-Marie carries herself with bravado and totally entertaining panache.
In a similar manner, but perhaps on some levels more subtle and subdued (at least until the action starts!), Fleming also delivers the goods as the young girl Ana finds locked in the panic room as the story begins. At first we might think she is just an unwilling, hapless victim of the state of affairs shown, but the phrase “looks can be deceiving” certainly comes into play once she confronts the three invaders, much less when initiating a surprisingly bizarre action that further proves she’s not your average girl (think, maybe, a sci-fi “Hannah”?). There’s also the flat out mystery surrounding exactly why these three menaces are after her, and the indicators she is part of something far bigger than we realize is only handled in a “just scratching the surface” manner, so plenty of answers are still left, well, unanswered. This serves the character well here, assuming she survives the assault, and one could certainly see Fleming reprising this role should the opportunity present itself, allowing the growing actress to further enjoy what must be a fun part to play.
Downing, Downing, and Audu have the benefit(?) of being fully covered up in combat gear and freakish masks throughout their entire presence on screen, and so therefore need to rely solely on what little dialogue they speak and body language to bring their characters of Six Shooter, Big Gun Shooter, and Machine Gun Shooter to life, which they do accomplish with precision and effective flourish. The tilts of the head, the motions of their guns when wanting something done by their, initially, unfortunate victims, the basic general movements that imply intent, it’s all well articulated. But, after all, they are the bad guys, and so often, they don’t tend to fare well once the heroes rise up, but the trio faces their fate with every attempt to remain in control, all enacted with apropos efficiency by Downing, Downing, and Audu (why does this start sounding like a law firm?). In total, “Ricochet” entertains while allowing for continuance to emerge should Earnheart and Co. choose to do so, maybe even in feature film format, so we might get some expanding knowledge of the world these characters inhabit where, as stated above, time and reality aren’t so constant and the ripple effects of courses taken could be altering things far more than what’s been depicted.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
