Laboratory Conditions

Saw this at the Napa Valley Film Festival... what a gem! Performances, production design and overall production value rivals that of most feature-films. It's no surprise that the script was written by Terry Rossio (Shrek, Men In Black, Aladdin) as it achieves in 15 mins what most full-length horrors can't muster in 90+ mins: genuine tension, a payoff that doesn't feel forced and a general feeling that you don't know what's going to happen next throughout. It's a testament to the short-film format when star writers and directors make genre shorts, because it shows that the medium isn't just for experimentation - sometimes it's for great ideas that are born to be told quickly and efficiently. Also a big shoutout to the production team on this one who clearly worked their socks off to bring this to fruition, especially wrangling the schedules of two star actors in Marisa Tomei and Minnie Driver (both fantastic) and a team of super talented people behind the camera. Definitely one of the best and highest-quality short-films I've ever seen. Catch it if you can!