In the Refrigerator: Spirit of a Haunted Dancer

• the Long Island International Film expo gives the little guys who may not have filmed on the Island but deserve to be seen. It allows the adventurous viewers to catch films they would not find in multiplexes they include... and In The Refrigerator, an allegorical short about four generations of women that was pre-screened by Academy for nomination in the Short Live Action category this year.

THE GUIDE:" Best Bet" New York Times, Barbara Delatiner July 8, 2001

"In the Refrigerator is one of those great films about tragedy that you almost never see. A film that takes the subject on with excellent narration, hauntingly beautiful cinematography, and great performances by real mother daughter pair Leslie Ann Coles and Rebeka Coles-Budrys." James Brundage - Freelance Film Critic

I enjoyed "In The Refrigerator - Spirit of a Haunted Dancer". It effectively shows that we must embrace our blood ties no matter how frightening a challenge that may be. Director and actress Leslie Ann Coles portrays four related yet distinct characters and Rebeka Coles-Budrys offers an unaffected intensity. The film is emotionally rich and visually strong.

I saw this film at a short film festival in England, and perhaps it was presented in the wrong context, because it seemed to go on for ever. While the other shorts were punchy, witty and to the point, this indulgent 'long' wandered on and on, around and around. As I recall the direction, lighting etc were pretty good, but the narrative just meandered all over the place. Elements that were meant to be profound sometimes came across as plain comical, not least the woman in the fridge, but maybe this viewer missed some reference. One of the great rules is 'show don't tell', so the ceaseless explicatory voice over should have been ditched. Maybe this would work at a really 'artsy' festival, but up against low / no budgeted shorts it seemed flabby and dull. The most interesting part of seeing it was my sense of vertiginous panic as I realised minutes of my life were ebbing away watching this twaddle.

This film was poorly conceptualized, written, acted and directed. The mise-en-scene looked embarrassingly amateur, especially where it concerns the lighting. On the whole, this film is completely unaffecting, self-indulgent and boring.

I saw this film at the York Independent Film Festival 2001. I sat through a lot of films over two days - Including mine Trick or Treat. But after eight years, I can safely say that In the Refrigerator: Spirit of a Haunted Dancer has stuck with me as something I would dearly like to watch again.

I enjoyed it at the time and thought that Leslie Ann Coles performance was wonderful and had a haunting quality too. I certainly don't remember thinking that this film is too long - And Lord knows that I am the first to man about the length of a film

If you ever see this Leslie - let me know where I can get a copy. had a nice haunting quality.