Prisoner #1616

Hardened criminal Rudy Vasper (Eric Whitten) languishes his days away in Michael Fodera’s short film, Prisoner #1616. As one can tell from the title, Rudy is serving a life sentence for serial rape and murder. Rudy is informed that he has a visitor, a female, on this particular day.

A “starved” Rudy is immediately brought into a room with a scientist, Monica (Eulone Gooding), and her assistant. Rudy is shackled on the other side of the room as Monica has an infrared camera and voice stress analyzer pointed right at him. She wants to ask a few questions about Rudy’s dreams, and for every question he answers truthfully, he will be paid handsomely in his prison food account.

Film still from Prisoner #1616. Courtesy of Lunarcy Pictures

“…has an infrared camera and voice stress analyzer pointed right at him. She wants to ask a few questions about Rudy’s dreams…”

As Rudy becomes bored with these questions, his killer instincts kick in, and he becomes the alpha threatening an already shaken Monica. But, soon, the tables are turned, and Monica reveals this meeting is not about his dreams, but much more interesting… like sci-fi interesting.

Prisoner #1616 plays a psychological game that delves deep into Rudy’s past… like way, way, way back into his past. In Twilight Zone fashion, writer/director Fodera reveals a hidden and ironic moment, which spins Rudy’s world on its head. Like Rod Serling’s popular show, the ending will stick around for a while.

On top of that, Fodera made a great-looking film considering he had very little to work with except for an abandoned prison set and a few good-looking tech props. He effectively uses shot composition, lighting, and great performances from his actors to push the limits of indie filmmaking and tell a genuinely cinematic story throughout Prisoner #1616.

For screening information, visit the Prisoner #1616 official website.