The Halls of Jacob is a short film that will stick in your mind for a long time. A child named Jacob finds himself in a dark hallway with many doors. As he explores the rooms off the hallway he learns the story of a young boy whose life has been a difficult one ... eventually building to a personal discovery that is emotionally jarring for both Jacob and the audience.
This movie gets a lot of mileage out of what is, presumably, a small budget. The cinematography uses video to great, moody, very cinematic effect. This is a movie shot on video that doesn't feel like it's shot on video. Other technical aspects -- the sound design (nicely used classical music) and editing -- are polished and professional.
Halls of Jacob succeeds in dealing thoughtfully with sensitive topics that will make you think, but also in delivering a creepy mood piece that will make your skin tingle wondering what lies behind the next door ...
Short films can often be frustrating to watch -- in the worst cases you get the feeling that the filmmaker had some money and a camera, but nothing in particular they wanted to say. With this film, the writers and director clearly have an issue they want to talk about, and they present it in a way that's cogent, emotionally powerful, and creepily cinematic. My hat's off to them.
