Virus

A man works late in his office with only a security guard and a cleaner doing the rounds on other floors. He tries to call someone but gets no reply but then notices he has an attachment in his inbox. He waits for it to download and finds it is a video of his girlfriend brushing her hair in front of her webcam – but then he notices something moving in the background.

A very simple and effective short film that is obvious but just about manages to overcome the lack of originality inherent in it to remain chilling and enjoyable. The plot owes a lot to Ringu in regards the idea of a "virus" that spreads death as it is seen by means of some strange supernatural force. It is simple but again it borrows other things from Ringu (and Japanese horror generally) to produce the tension. The use of slow moving figures is one, the use of crackling video footage is another – both are well used though and I did get a bit creeped out by it (although I generally am by Japanese horror movies). Attacking the film for lacking originality is perhaps a bit unfair since the Japanese horror genre itself seems to be a bit stuck in endlessly repeating these genre stables so I will focus on the fact that, although it is aping the genre to some extent, it did it very well and for all its simplicity and obvious narrative, it is short, punchy and chilling.

Having some free time on my hands I decided to watch some short films on Atomfilms. "Virus" is a 6 minute horror short about Andrew, working late night, getting ready to leave when he gets an e-mail from his girlfriend with an attached movie file which his computer tells him is a virus. He of course downloads it anyway. This film doesn't offer any true answers requiring the viewer to think for themselves about what happened, which II'm usually all for, but there's a point when the deliberately obscure falls into the realm of just painfully obtuse and this short sadly falls into that trap. I can't really say if the acting's good or not as it's mostly a silent film. And you're left with too many maddening questions to really give this one a recommendation. It has a slight air or atmosphere, but not enough to carry the length of the short.

My Grade: D

... that doesn't mean I couldn't appreciate it

A man sits in his office working late at night when he gets an email from his girlfriend headed " Goodbye " He downloads the email and via web cam he sees his girlfriend back at their house though she has a disconcerted look upon her face . There's something else the man realises - Someone or something is approaching behind her

I have to be honest and admit that after seeing VIRUS I have a problem as to what it all means . It's by no means one of those confusing smart arse narratives that only the screenwriter understands ( I'm thinking DONNIE DARKO here chaps ) and it's obvious that VIRUS is an enigmatic horror , though perhaps a little too enigmatic for its own good . But the gloomy , dark , unsettling atmosphere gripped me thanks to Simon Hynd's very effective direction and what's even more surprising is that this short features no dialogue

BTW does anyone know what's happened to Simon Hynd ? If Russell T Davies is reading this I think he could do worse than phone Mr Hynd and ask him if he wants to direct a few scary episodes for the next series of DOCTOR WHO . I wouldn't send him an email though