There’s no excuse for you not to make your movie. You know, the one that’s in your head right now. We’ve said it before. You have a camera at your fingertips. In fact, you may be holding it right now reading this review. Shot on his iPhone, emerging filmmaker CARLISLE made The Creature From Beyond.
Our hero, Tanner Fleck (Kameron Walton), has in his possession a glowing cube from another world and has finally cracked the code of its origins. After successfully activating the cube, his mind is blown by its alien vibrations. Now he awaits the arrival of his cohorts to share in his discovery. But, unbeknownst to Tanner, the cube’s activation was, in reality, a homing signal calling out to its rightful owner, the titular Creature (William George).
“…the cube’s activation was, in reality, a homing signal calling out to its rightful owner…”
The story of The Creature From Beyond is not all that original, but the writer/director finds both thrills and charms in his very DIY approach. The short is shot in black and white, allowing for CARLISLE to make good use of lighting and darkness to conjure suspense. Let’s also add a homemade creature suit and a few special effects gags for some sinister fun.
My suggestion, though, is to push the suspense to its limits as far as possible. The dark really needs to be dark and used to evoke feelings of fright. Hitchcock was a master at this. Explore more ominous angles and close-ups to make the creature feel scarier and creepier. Finding ways to tap into our fears or thinking outside the box on how to do would have pushed the film to the next level. The beauty of a cellphone is it can get into tight places that traditional cameras cannot even dream of being.
Check out The Creature From Beyond to have fun and be inspired. It’s not hard to see that CARLISLE not only loves making movies but specifically science fiction. My advice to him: don’t stop here. Keep going, and be sure to send your next film our way.
"…have fun and be inspired."
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