MJ

This short was so stupid, a very sick girl violently murders several men and one woman and we the audience never remotely get to know why and that's all, it really feels like it's trying to get a reaction through shock value more than anything else, and it is a little startling to see a woman throttling and bashing guys to death, but wheres the context? If we don't know anything about why this girl is such a ruthless psycho killing men she meets through dating hookup apps, then there's no point and it just feels hollow. This short doesn't mean anything, it's nothing but a little cheap shock value, don't bother with it, it's the worst!

...not only for the subject or photography. But for inspired acting, for the realism of situations, for the wise storytelling and status of warning. A good horror about social webb and the consequences of deep frustrations.

No pun intended - social media is quite the beast. Or can be - especially when one is really fixated on getting a high ... which is something we get if and when people react to stuff we put and post on our pages. That is scientifically proven by the way.

Of course this is taking that fact and goes way beyond anything. Very predictable, but violent and gory to a degree and interestingly put. Nothing too new then, but well done. The acting is good and since this is a short movie the run time is ok too (especially for the very well known message and the predictable turns and twists if you want to call them that) ...

So bad on so many levels

1- Why every shot in the short was handheld?! so disgusting looking

2- What is the reason MJ is killing?!

3- How she can post pictures of her crimes without any consequences?!

4- Why the director tried so hard to make MJ look like Scorsese's Taxi Driver?!

Mary Jane is just like many of her age - a heavy user of social media. Her struggle to connect to something that feels satisfying and real leads her to a dark place on one particular Tinder date.

It wasn't too long ago I was bemoaning the 'phones are bad' narrative of many short films, so it is at least refreshing to watch this one and not really have that same vibe from it. It does very much draw from the sense of disconnection and lack of reality that social media drives, but it doesn't force it too much. The focus on the dark tone and the lead character works well; it produces a sense of someone seeking something out - looking for something that impacts as opposed to feeling like everything is the magazines she foretellingly cuts up at the start. The plot doesn't do as much with this thread as I had hoped - the posting of the images seemed too obvious, and the logic in her getting away with it was hard to ignore (by the time of the second victim, how hard would she have been to trace?). The lead actress is strong though; she has a presence in the shot, but at the same time sells the character of someone who is numbed by most of what she sees.

It isn't as clever as it seems in the end, but it has a good dark tone to it, looks very good, and has an engaging performance front and centre.