Metalstasis

There's no dialogue in this animated short , only sound effects and a musical score that's probably best described as chamber music but Matthew Hood uses the storytelling rule of " Show don't tell " so the narrative is very easy to follow: A robot is made ill because of the rats that are now inhabitating his metallic body

The animation resembles the special effects as seen in Timothy Hines notorious remake of WAR OF THE WORLDS which is safe to say is computer generated . What Hood conveys in doing very well is humanising the protagonist . Think about it , it's natural for the audience to take the side of a mammal ( Even if they are vermin ) against a non flesh and blood creation but METALSTASIS is made with enough charm to more than succeed as an animated short

A robot gets infected with some form of vermin and feels his health slipping away as a result. That's the story in the silent animated short film and it is a bit of a problem because I wasn't quite sure what it was trying to say to me. The theme of the robot running on a screw could have had meaning but then again it may not have had any – it is hard to tell and it makes the short less interesting than I wanted it to be. As Theo says in his review, the film remains engaging because of how well Hood made his robot human (for lack of a better word) and appealing to the audience – I was surprised by how much I cared for him so quickly. This also owes a debt to the animation which is roundly impressive as well as the actual design and feel of the robot and the look of the film as a whole. A bit more substance or depth would have been useful but it is still quite interesting and engaging nonetheless.