Dan Docker is a timid, uptight accountant who finds his insulated world disrupted when a gregarious ex-colleague forces himself into Dan’s home as a roommate. Dan’s discomfort with his guest is aggravated by news reports of a serial killer on the loose, and the discovery of a gun in the new roomie’s backpack takes the shy accountant into a new realm of unexpected violence.
It is very difficult to discuss this short film at great length without giving away its sly and unexpected plot twists. What can be said is that director Charles J. Marvin has crafted an ingenious and entertaining study in physical and psychological terror that focuses on a hitherto unassuming man’s abrupt and intoxicating exploration of his darker side.
Kudos are in order to the excellent actors Cheyenne Adamson as the accountant who finds himself tabulating a body count, Spencer Mckay as the roommate from hell and Ryan Wicks as a roadside victim with a surprise up his sleeve. The short’s technical aspects are well served by Ryan Seitz’ effective camerawork and a deceptively inventive musical score by Mather McKallor and John Brownell. This collaboration of these creative artists has created a genuinely original and highly satisfying achievement.
