Velma

This is a short that I got the chance to see thanks to Scott Mostisko when he sent over a screener copy for review. Now I came into this one blind, knowing that it was a horror/thriller or at least along those lines. Since this was a short, I wanted to see what this had to offer without knowing much.

Synopsis: through the lens of a late 1960s visual feast, this takes us on a psychological journey with the title character that examines sexuality, shame and our societal views of both.

That synopsis sums this up well. We are following the titular character of Velma (Scarlet Moreno). From the opening shots, we see that she is sad. She then has dates with four different guys. Each time she is hoping it will be different and what she is looking for. Something happens though where it plays out the same. She is sad each morning.

Now I took the guess that she was killing these guys. I won't reveal if that is the case or not. Whatever is happening, it upsets her. She prepares these lavish meals and we see that she falls in love with whatever guy she has over. One she even believes to be the special, she just knows it. That is what Zach Tinker is credited with at the end. This grabbed my interest to see where it would go.

As a story guy there isn't much there to flesh. We also don't necessarily need it either. It is subtle in telling what it needs to. This is more about the visuals, which are stunning. This is paying homage to the 1960s with them and I agree with the synopsis calling this a feast. The spectrum of color from the food Velma has prepared to even her makeup and what she is wearing. I appreciated that for sure. The soundtrack going with this is great, including the one song that is recurring. How this is made is great with the cinematography there as well.

Now I can't say much about the acting. Moreno is great. She doesn't speak, but we get voice-over narration to fill in there. The guys outside of Tinker are shown out of focus which is interesting. They're the ones who are upsetting Velma, but by being shown fuzzy, they're all the same as she says. They all do the same thing which ruins her vision of them. I did find that to be creative. I realize as I'm doing this review, I went back to filmmaking.

There isn't much more to say here so in conclusion, this is a well-made short. The cinematography and the colors used are great. I'll even include the framing, limited effects that we get and the soundtrack there as well. Moreno's performance as Velma is good. Her voice fills in what we need along with the body language of what we're seeing with her. There isn't much to the story. What they give us works though. How I normally grade shorts as to whether they tell a complete story or could be fleshed out into more. I think that this does the former, but I'd be fine with the latter if this is decided to be expanded upon. This is one that I enjoyed my time with and recommend to those that want to see a visually stunning short.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.