The Horror Show
Daniel
by Peter Dukes
It seems that the shorter a short film is the harder it is to write about. Longer films give me more material to work with and really narrow down certain aspects I like and dislike. So here comes the real challenge, writing about the three minute long short film, Daniel. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one, honestly. I thought maybe it was going to be a ghost film, I wasn’t too far off.
A man with a baseball bat threatens a boy, Daniel, hiding in the house. He reveals that the mother is dead, and that his partner has the boy’s father. He warns Daniel that nobody else has to die tonight, if he just comes out of hiding. When the man’s back is turned the kid attempts to run off but the man catches him. He shouts to his partner that he has the boy, and the partner releases the father whom also runs in. The father mentions something about him telling his son, “not to play with that thing.” The partner takes off his coat revealing that he is actually a priest. It’s made aware to the audience that the son was playing with a Ouija board and a hand written list of messages, the final of which reads Demon before trailing off the edge of the page. The man with the bat struggles restraining the demonic child before credits roll.
This film does an excellent job at setting up this particular plot twist. It initially comes off as a home invasion film. That was quite clever, the director intentionally allows the viewer to take the man with the bat’s statements out of context. When it juxtaposes with the dead mother and him saying the mom died, the viewer makes the assumption that he killed her. When he warns that no one else has to die, it allows the viewer to take that as a threat instead of sincerity. The priest with the boy’s father makes it seem like he’s holding the dad hostage but in reality he’s trying to keep the dad safe. The director knew what assumptions the viewer would make and plays on that by withholding information to allow for a nice little plot twist.
I’m also actually surprised here by the boy playing Daniel, he actually pulled of the possessed child quite well. I guess it isn’t hard to try to bite at adults though. I think his makeup also aided in his believability, they made him pale and gave him blood running down his face. I’m not sure if the boy is wearing yellow contacts or had his eyes digitally altered to be yellow. If I can’t tell what it is then it looks real. If it looks real then it’s more terrifying. The mother on the other hand, I know she was supposed to be dead but I totally saw her breath. I know actors aren’t actually dead and have to breathe. She should have been able to hold her breath for the few seconds she was on camera though.
As much as I praised the plot twist, if you’re detail-oriented enough you can figure out immediately that things are not what they seem. First of all, the film is called Daniel so something has to be up with the boy for the film to be named after him. Secondly, the director intentionally doesn’t show Daniel’s face until the final reveal. This should be another clue that something is wrong. Then the most obvious, just shy of seeing the Ouija board, is the father’s comment about not playing with, “that thing.” By the time, the Ouija board is shown, a sharp eye should know what actually happened. If you also notice the man with the bat speaks vaguely, he doesn’t say they killed the mom, just that she’s dead. So, I personally wasn’t surprised and I know there are others who weren’t either. However, not everyone is as analytical, and I can see how people would be surprised by the plot twist. Not only can I see it, but I can appreciate it.
Maybe something possessed me, but I can say I genuinely enjoyed this short. Despite the movie being only three minutes long, the pace is excellent. No part of the short film feels too drawn out. The plot twist, while not the freshest, can still come off as a surprise for the average person. If the only criticism that I have is that I caught the actress playing dead breathing, then we have a pretty good short here. I’ve actually watched it several times already because it has re-watchability due to the fact that it’s only three minutes long and not a major investment. Using the knowledge that was granted at the end of the short, it makes re-watching Daniel more fun. Then you pick up on all the little clues as to what is really going on. I had a feeling that this movie wasn’t going to stand any chance in hell, but sometimes it’s good to be wrong.
Billy Wayne Martin, HMS
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