Search the Cinema Head Cheese Archives!

March 8, 2011

Movie Review : Worm (2010, Short Film)



Here at Cinema Head Cheese, we generally will tackle most genres of movies. Cult films and horror may be our specialty but it's not out of the norm that we'll review a children's cartoon or a TV series. We have unfortunately not been reviewing short-films, but we have our reasons. Some of the ones we've been sent for consideration have been just awful. It wears on you a little bit when you're sent emails that say "Please review our You-Tube series starring myself and my sister. Watch as I torture her”. Nahh, I'll pass, I'd rather review a shitty full-length feature. It's not easy being a Jim Van Bebber, Douglas Buck or Nacho Cerda; directors who've all shown that unique ability to make a short film that's actually going to stick in your memory like a well-made feature does. Filmmakers Zach Green and Richard Powell aren't those gentleman, but they're damn close. Their short Worm is an unforgettable, horrifying journey into the mind of teacher, Geoffrey Dodd (Robert Nolan).





To Sir With Love, Worm ain't. What it is a very real kind of horror, something thing that happens everyday - your average person losing his mind. Just listening to Dodd's thoughts as he struggles to get through school sessions, is quite powerful. This is Worm for 20 minutes - and it's a fascinating watch till the credits roll. The anger and venom that this Mr. Belding meets Travis Bickle has rolling around in his head kind of makes you think of what people like Bud Dwyer and Dylan Klebold were pondering before they fired any guns. That's where much of the real horror is in Worm.


Robert Nolan does a superb job as Dodd. His mannerisms are authentic and not over-the-top. The writing is really where Worm succeeds. Writer, Richard Powell (also Director) has obviously done his homework (no pun intended), to achieve some of the brilliant angst-driven dialogue that's swimming around the brain of his main character, Geoffrey Dodd. The amazing thing about Dodd is that he doesn't kill a fly at all during the running time but he manages to something just as sinister - massacre people around him with his thoughts. This could very easily not work considering this is such a dialogue driven short, but it succeeds
perfectly.
Producer Zach Green along with partners Richard Powell and Mathew Powell have created a special film in Worm. With the entertainment value in the 20 minutes I got out of Worm I can only imagine what these gentleman could do if they got a shot with a solid budget for a feature. I've always thought that reading minds and hearing people’s thoughts would be a useful tool, after seeing Worm, I'd prefer not to.
For more information on Worm and other Fatal Pictures projects please go to their website: Fatalpictures.com
Screencaps for Worm courtesy of Filmbizarro.com .

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for supporting quality indie films and for this fine review of WORM. I hear rumors of a feature in the works.

    ReplyDelete