Do you ever get the sense, that if you put a panic room in your home, you’re just inviting trouble to rear its ugly head? This is true for young Ana (Gianna-Marie) in Tim Earnheart’s short film, Ricochet. After a long night of partying in her father’s man-cave, Ana opens up the panic room and discovers a young girl (Corrie Fleming) bound and gagged. Once free, the girl utters the warning “they’re here.”
On cue, three thugs in really cool masks (the short is worth watching for these masks alone) storm through the front door guns a blazing. Ana quickly moves upstairs to take on the shooters, when she is caught by surprise and a bullet is dispatched through her skull.
” After a long night of partying…Ana opens up the panic room and discovers a young girl bound and gagged.”
We cut to Ana’s right arm with a tattoo of an infinity symbol on it. As it glows, the young girl touches the symbol with her similar tattoo and Ana is alive again. While we’re asking ourselves, what happened, who are these thugs, and what’s the deal with the kid, we’re treated to a nice series of hand-to-hand fighting and gunplay.
Earnheart’s Ricochet is a slick production. It’s weird to say, but he effectively uses high-definition cameras in both lighting and tone. The action is cool to watch, the digital effects work within the confines of the short’s budget, and I love those masks on the baddies. Time and detail were put into the masks and very much appreciated.
From a story standpoint, it’s clear Ricochet is a teaser for a bigger film or series. Earnheart has put himself together a competent cast and crew and they’re headed in the right career direction given more opportunities to hone their craft. Would I invest in a bigger Ricochet project? I don’t know, but this little short film is worth checking out in the meantime.
Ricochet (2019) Written and directed by Tim Earnheart. Starring Gianna-Marie, Corrie Fleming, Katelyn Downing, Ayuba Audu, S. Joe Downing.
7 out of 10 stars
cool