The secret society in the mind of filmmaker Tim Earnheart is peeled back a little further in his short film, Nemesis. Earnheart continues his low-budget action sci-fi thrillers in a more low-key fashion in this one.
Entrepreneurs and best friends, Astrid (Esha More) and Evelyn (Joy Park), are celebrating the merger of their two tech companies in a night club —a deal that made them both filthy rich. The problem is Astrid f**cked over Evelyn to make it happen. Sure, they’re both going to be insanely wealthy, but that’s not the point.
What’s done is done, and Evelyn encourages Astrid to join an exclusive hunting club, where she’s a member. What could be more fun than a hunting club? Intrigued, Astrid sets up an appointment. But upon arrival, is Astrid the hunter or the hunted?
“The problem is Astrid f**cked over Evelyn to make it happen.”
We’ve had the pleasure of reviewing two other Earnheart shorts: Safe and Richochet. Like these two shorts, Nemesis’ setting takes place in a pre-dystopian future, where a seedy underworld appears to be pulling strings. The shorts also make ample use of readily available, off-the-shelf CG-effects and elaborate yet straightforward costumes and masks to show that low-budget sci-fi action, thrillers are possible.
These facts alone make Nemesis worth watching. Although I will say, it’s probably the weakest of the three. The story itself is perhaps the most straightforward about revenge, and it lacks a sharp twist at the end. The previous shorts had masked thugs as its antagonists, as this one employs rather large, clunky androids. The CG effects are just as sound as before, though some of the action was not clear why things happened.
Nemesis is a good next chapter in the Earnheart-verse. Tonally and pacing, its much slower, but definitely worth watching this world expand further.
"…upon arrival, is Astrid the hunter or the hunted?"
