The Candidate

This is sort of out of the old Twilight Zone camp. A man is recruited by another man (Robert Picardo). He is told of an organization that brings about the deaths of people by simply praying that they will die. Our guy is whiny man who blames others for his lack of success. He is petty and small and a coward. He believes that one man in the company is his nemesis. This rolls along with suspense and then we find out something interesting.

Burton Grunzer is a driven company man who seems to be stuck behind his incompetent partner Whitman Hayes; a man who Burton believes is protected from on high since he is fumbling and inept but yet even senior staff like Alexander see him as a valuable asset that Burton is lucky to have. Burton's frustration at this situation is constant. One day a mild-mannered man comes to see Burton to inform him of a secret organization that very simply uses the power of mass wishing to bring about the death of those selected to be not worthy of living. Burton is sceptical at first but listens intently.

There is a nicely sharp edge to this corporate drama and it starts with the tension of a fumbled presentation which Burton watches with smug superiority as he watches this man who is so terrible but yet also does well in the company. This scene hooks your interest as we know Burton is a shark in this organization, keen to do well at any cost and his narration is well laid over the top, dripping with menace and distain. From here we learn a little more of the character and perhaps it is not the full story but then we head into a meeting where a dark solution is put on the table – one that someone like Burton will be very interested in. Gulager's performance had been the driving force up to this point but from here we have a great turn from Picardo who is very well cast and totally holds the attention with a mix of harmlessness and sinister presence. It is this that makes the story he tells so engaging and we are really held by the film throughout.

It goes to a satisfying conclusion and, were this not a standalone short film, you could easily see this being part of the Twilight Zone or something of the like because it is an engaging yarn which is very well told. The performances from all are really good but Picardo and Gulager have the most to do. Karlak's direction is really good too, the office is full of tension and slick surfaces, making the stakes feel high. The use of music shouldn't be ignored and the score used in the opening few minutes and the closing few minutes is really dramatic and adds a lot. Overall a very satisfying and engaging short film that is well worth seeking out.

Robert Picardo stars in this short film as a mysterious man with an interesting proposal to a frustrated businessman. Dialogue is lean and to the point. Not a wasted word. Good cinematography and sound. Interesting premise. Hard to really classify this as horror or sci-fi... Maybe short mystery thriller? Can be found on YouTube, Dust, and various other media sites. Well worth the time to watch.

Ever hated somebody so much that you wanted them dead? It is the basic idea that makes "The Candidate" so undeniably interesting. This rich, multi-layered short film plays with the basic morality battles that we find ourselves dealing with every day. The hate that the main character feels is thick and delicious. We allow ourselves to like this man because we've been there too! We want him to succeed because he's worked hard and he deserves to win. And yet, shouldn't we feel bad?

This man represents those vices that we so ardently profess to abhor! He is greedy, sneaky, underhanded, conniving, vicious (just look at the slow motion shot of him scream as his cheeks become the fierce jowls of a voracious predator). We should see this man in action and care nothing for him, but then again, there but for the grace of God, go I.

This is one of those films which leaves you craving more, and I hope we get it one day. Director David Karlak gives us a delicious taste of a dark world. It just happens to be set in an office!

My advice? Go find it, watch it, savor it. It's good filmmaking.

Believe me. Once you've tasted it, you'll realize what you've been missing.

Dark, somber cello strings provide atmosphere as a brooding, resentful company man (Tom Gulager) voices an internal monologue about the inadequacy and impotency of a bumbling brown-noser of a coworker (Thomas F. Duffy). After casually ignoring a few written or electronic messages from the "secretary," Carl Tucker, of a mysterious "Society for United Action," Burton gets a visit at the office from Mr. Tucker himself.

I saw Robert Picardo listed in the cast and I was immediately invested in a viewing. He's an outstanding actor, and he portrays Tucker with such an amiable and casual yet purposeful delivery that his every word is like music. It's truly entrancing. And Gulager, as Burt, very relatably boils over with his impatience, skepticism, and malcontent.

Wait, Meghan Markle is in this, too? Well how about that?

If Picardo's involvement weren't enough, the twist at the end absolutely makes 'The candidate' worth watching. It's exquisitely executed, and Tucker's swift, seamless departure speaks to a seemingly unnatural power, though he is yet only human.

I do have a little bit of an issue with suspension of disbelief here, as the Society's mission is essentially predicated on wishful thinking and the rejection of coincidence as so much as a concept. Still, the short is otherwise so very well done that the credibility of the scenario is bolstered by its quality.

I was expecting a bit of fun, but I wasn't expecting this to carry with it a small sense of thrills. Well done! - and, I think , worth 20 minutes of your time.