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Richard (David Seymour) was a man that had money, power, influence, and a family. When he loses it all, he loses his mind. Richard kidnaps a former employee, Claire (Marie Rabe), who he had tried to make some passes at, even though he was married. Well, the passes he made hurt him in the end because his wife left him, he lost his job and all his financial stability. And to make it even worse, Richard also has cancer.
So, a desperate man will do desperate things. Richard does not stop at kidnapping Claire. He slips her a drug that he found on the dark web. The drug is used by Amazonian witch doctors to communicate with the dead. Richard uses the drug as a way to plan out his next move. As Claire is incapacitated, she begins to see these horrific visions. But we don’t see the visions, she just describes what she sees.
“…does not stop at kidnapping Claire. He slips her a drug that he found on the dark web.”
By the sounds of it, it sounds like Claire is in hell or witnessing an apocalypse. During this terrible experience, Claire says things like “we are waiting for you.” And that’s exactly where this short film ends. Yeah…that was it.
Richard is a classic devious villain, while Claire is not quite a damsel in distress but instead, is a very strong-minded and brave victim that refuses to give in. It is a dynamic that has been seen many times in cinema, but it was nice to see a victim not actually terrified and crying out for help. Claire just wants to make sure Richard pays for everything he has done.
I really couldn’t get into this film. The only part that I found interesting was what the drug was used for. But even then, there is no payoff. I never get to find out where Claire is in her visions, and I never found out who the “we” is that she keeps mentioning. Rather than the title being Time’s Up, it should have been We’re Waiting. In fact, I’m still waiting to see who in the hell was waiting for Richard!
Time’s Up (2018) Directed by James Raynor. Written by Charles V. De Vet. Starring Marie Rabe, David Seymour.
3 out of 10
