Terminus

A young, married couple, Sam (Josh Harper) and Shawny (Bethany Slater) are struggling with life’s ups and downs. As the two begin to understand more and more that their relationship is hanging on by a thread, they show signs of giving up and moving on without each other. Terminus depicts the last twenty-four hours of their marriage and the difficulties they face during that time. 

If you’ve ever been in a relationship: marriage, significant other, or even a platonic one with a friend, you’ve experienced struggles. The reality is that life throws us curveballs, and the people we spend the most time with can become part of the hardships we face. They aren’t necessarily difficult because they cause a disturbance in our lives, but because we sometimes juggle the notion that we aren’t good enough for that person or that somehow things aren’t going the way in which they are meant.

The thoughts and ideas that lay waste to some of the more meaningful relationships are often nothing more than that: thoughts. That means that these are obstacles that can be overcome through conversation and understanding. Writer-director Tim Seyfert ably expresses the all-too-often reality in which those ideas materialize and drown out the good of a relationship.

“…depicts the last twenty-four hours of their marriage and the difficulties they face during that time…”

It’s often difficult for a writer or director to capture the nuances of a relationship and present them to viewers in a way that nearly everyone understands. However, with Terminus, Seyfert accomplishes just that, allowing audiences to appreciate the nuances of what he’s saying. The story is incredibly simplistic, and that simplicity enables it to resonate with those watching. However, the most compelling aspect of Seyfert’s dramatic short is the silence that echoes throughout each scene. 

Because silence plays such an important role, it’s integral viewers understand what those silences mean at any given moment. That burden falls heavily on the shoulders of Harper and Slater. The two do an excellent job conveying the proper emotions and feeding off of one another and ultimately allow the brilliance of Seyfert’s script to shine throughout the film. With his vivid facial expressions, Josh Harper, in particular, manages to reach viewers and believably bring to life a struggle that happens in the deepest chasms of our nightmares.

As everything converges and viewers are drawn further and further into the story and the emotional turmoil, Terminus becomes more and more powerful. It mirrors the real world in so many ways that it will resonate with viewers around the globe. The fact of the matter is that everyone experiences emotional dilemmas throughout their lives, and Seyfert is here to tell you that you’re not alone. These are struggles shared by nearly everyone, and being able to understand that someone shares your feelings, regardless of how dark and unappealing these feelings might be, provides a sense of solace. The short film, as a result of its simplicity, reaches viewers better than one might expect.