The Scarlet Avenger

A lot of people give those small short films lots of slack saying that the people making them do not have the means to create a blockbuster. Those people should watch this short film and then say that. This looked very good, sounded great and was actually entertaining. So many times I have trouble seeing, hearing or something else is seriously amiss when I watch short films by amateur filmmakers. This one though looked very professional in the way it was presented. It also featured different locations and such.

The story has a hero known as the Scarlett Avenger trying to stop the Skull from getting his hands on a scroll that give its possessor ultimate power. Sounds a lot like Captain America, but it plays more like one of those old time serials produced in the 30's, 40's and 50's. You have your hero in peril multiple times only to escape just in time to foil the bad guys.

The thing that made the film was the fact that it was funny. The maker did not take it to seriously thus making it even more fun to watch. I chuckled at the fist fight between the hero and the Nazi soldier who claimed to have killed the Scarlett Avenger earlier. I also liked how he got out of being skewered with an arrow launched from a crossbow. The people who made this looked like they were having fun and that fun translates to more entertainment.

So this short was good, and it really shows that even amateurs can make a well made short film. This one did not do the things like other short films such as being so obscure and cryptic that one simply goes "huh" after watching it. It had high quality picture and sound not missing one or the other or both like so many other shorts. It also had many locations, not just one set piece. Nice work here, and I do hope they got an A for their film.

In the World War II, in Casablanca, The Skull (Christopher Shyer) orders the German agent Schuler (Christopher Shyer) to abduct the French spy Julianne (Martine Rochon) to disclose the location of The Scroll of the Death, a powerful force that provides the ultimate power to its owner raising an army of dead.

The Scarlet Avenger, a.k.a. Spencer Whitner (Richard Hardacre), sends his sidekick Bucky (Robin Blake) to the French Embassy to retrieve the scroll. However, Bucky and Captain Dupuis (Anthony Paton) are subdued by Schuler that leave them tied to a chair with a bomb. Meanwhile, Julianne is interrogated by the Nazis and The Skull. Will The Scarlet Avenger arrive in time to save Bucky from the explosion and Julianne from the claws of The Skull?

"The Scarlet Avenger" is a delightful and funny adventure of an old fashioned masked hero that recalls the television shows from the 50's and 60's that I used to see in my childhood. This amateurish short made by students is surprisingly entertaining and the actress Martine Rochon is really sexy with her French accent: the German commander is right. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): Not Available (only in Internet)

I'm not very good at reviewing so here's a quick rating from me. I was actually rather surprised at how good this short film was! The acting was great, the script was great and the whole picture was awesome! I loved the Indiana Jones-esque theme running throughout. One small nit-pick here, and I know it was only 20 minutes long, but I would liked to have seen more of the characters who were tied up from the beginning of the film- Bucky and the french bloke (I'm sorry, I don't remember his name), because they seemed really interesting and likable. Overall, an unexpectedly great short film from these students and I give the film a score of 8 out of 10.