“Twine” is a creepy three minute experimental ride into a tiny acre of Hell. What you take from it has a lot to do with your mindset, but you can’t mistake the fact that there are some dark things going on in the life of the short film’s focus (Jon Aley in an untitled role). Blood is mentioned, as is the thrill involved in chasing people and toying with them. Some people may think of vampires, others of serial killers. Either way, it will hold your attention.
The film isn’t the most original, or even all that cutting-edge, but you’ll be hard pressed to take your eyes off the screen even for a second. The entire thing, which seems like something Skinny Puppy would play during one of its earlier shows, comes off as a glimpse into the mind of someone who either is evil or believes he is. It’s not graphic or very coherent, but it is chaotic and dream-like, and all of that works in its favor. Aley should take a certain amount of pride in knowing that in lesser hands this movie would have been a mess; far too often filmmakers will go for the gore when subtlety is the better policy. Aley avoids that route.
Fans of darker art cinema will enjoy this one, as it seems like fewer and fewer directors are doing these sorts of things. The rest of the movie-going public, however, will dismiss it as nonsense not even worth the wait between films on the Sundance channel. By this point, you should already know what group you belong to.
