WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
WATCH THE FILM HERE
First, the Recap:
Oh the wonders of the technological age we abide in, eh? Now, rather than initially meeting someone face-to-face, we can first entrust our relationship-seeking to a fantastic things they call dating apps. Of course, this definitely creates a recipe for finding that perfect someone every single time–right? Well-liked blogger, though, raging self-centered know-it-all Mike (Jonnie Stapleton) has experienced this many a time. More than confident in his ability to look at the listings on a dating app, choose the “right girl”, and initiate contact for less-than-honorable intentions overall, Mike basically thinks he’s truly “all that”.
Putting his seemingly invincible knowhow into action again, Mike engages his newest score, Abby (Desire Jansen), who comes to the café he frequents in order to meet and begin their blind date over coffee and conversation. Of course, as things would appear to be winding down, along with Mike’s hope to take the evening further, Abby surprisingly suggests coming over to her place for a while. No hesitations jumping to mind, Mike takes Abby up on her offer, coming to her home, liking the direction things are progressing towards–until things take an unanticipated, sinister turn.
Next, my Mind:
In this second short film horror/thriller offering from director/co-writer/co-producer Carlos Omar De Leon, there yet again lies an object lesson in what not to do when it comes to assuming you know everything about anything, including women you’ve chosen from a dating app, trying to be Mr. Smooth, and then thinking you’ve officially “sealed the deal” as it were. Crisply shot cinematography whisks the viewer through the 6-minute narrative, highlighting every possible moment of Mike’s escapade and his striving for a night of fun with his newest “trophy” until the tables get unquestionably and extremely turned. What works to even greater effect here, for this reviewer anyway, is the ability to get across the brutal aspects of the story with only a modicum of blood or overtly graphic violence, and that actually makes the particular moment it occurs more intensely acute and ominous, as it also leaves things afterwards to conjecture.
Stapleton totally nails the pompous attitude and additionally overconfident/cocky elements that make up the demeanor of his character Mike from the start and through the film’s quickly-paced story before then turning that into absolute fear and desperation when the circumstances are suddenly not going Mike’s way. It’s the inherent sense of regret the character has when it’s too late that makes it work, and Stapleton does a solid job portraying this. Jansen plays the tale’s beautiful but deceptively friendly femme fatale Abby with utter abandon and passion, able to go from the almost doe-eyed innocent when she first engages Mike in the café to the borderline “Fifty Shades of Grey” moments when they arrive at her home, to the calmly disquieting siren she truly is. Jansen’s body language and piercing eyes greatly assist in providing us with the black widow necessary for this style of film and thematic direction.
Overall, “Killer Date” is a quaint, well-executed, darkly comedic thriller that manages to pull of it’s intended plot with compelling performances by its two leads and a confident sense of what it is without being pretentious or self-serving. This may be material we’ve all seen before, but leave it up to the indie film world to still finds ways to make it all seem fresh again.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
