Beverly Hills Film Festival 2018 – Fourteen Short Film Reviews
So many films, so little time! The 18th Annual International Beverly Hills Film Festival is wrapping up, but there are still a bunch of flicks to dissect. Being this is Sunday and all, this article is being dedicated to shorts and this year’s fest certainly had no shortage. So below we take on a whopping fourteen pieces of smaller cinema, all reviewed in appropriate short from of course. From tales of family bonding over fowl to the effects of evil blue milk, check out the skinny on the BHFF 2018…Fourteen Short Film Reviews below!
“Laboratory Conditions” – With its creepy Flatliners of the soul premise, slick direction by Jocelyn Statmat and strong turns by leads Marisa Tomei and Minnie Driver this so called short seems destined to be a feature – more please.
“A Chick Flick” – With her funny and moving tale of a mother and daughter bonding over their ailing pet chicken, helmer Lucy McKendrick could be the next Greta Gerwig.
“Crossroads” – A well-woven thriller with a myriad of suspenseful surprises, not the least of which is the deviant direction by Marvin Nuecklaus and a tasty turn by lead actress Aubrey Reynolds as a gal with secrets.
“Check-List” – Walking a fine line between melancholy and murder, this is one well constructed short that isn’t afraid to check realistic off it’s list.
“The Last Silence” – Kind of early James Wan on acid, this freaky and demented short spawned from the death of a child ala inspired Director Jacky Song is chilling to the bone.
“Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” – This visually savvy music video proves that Director Gabriele Fabbro has the goods to pull off a memorable montage sequence – feature now please.
“Instinct” – This to-the-point fight funfest carries the John Landis An American Werewolf In London seal of approval – quick, quaint and clever.
“The Lightkeeper” – A familiar story of an ailing relationship between father and daughter that is given serious gravitas by the lead performances by Meg Steedle and veteran Bruce Davidson.
“Julianne” – Again, a typical tale of a couple on the downward end of a relationship that fortunately has the killer acting prowess of the underrated Margarita Levieva – that gal is good.
“Blue Milk” – Almost a short odd homage to Larry Cohen’s The Stuff, this one’s got enough strange situations and questionable blue liquid to make a genre fan drink up.
“Professional Cuddler” – A cute take on a first long-distance romantic meeting, this one feels like a warm welcome safe movie hug.
“Laughing Branches” – A kind of When Harry Met Sally for the multi-universe crowd, helmer Missy Malek definitely hits the laughing tree and also manages to connect with every emotional branch on the way down.
“Defining Moments” – Simple, but sweetly schmaltzy tale that explores the good and bad of various relationships – the short follows suit.
“Faery” – While visually good, this over-the-top tale of childhood angst hammers the obvious dramatic tropes into the head of the viewer – not even Christine’s baddie turned good grandpa William Ostrander can save this one.
Check back tomorrow when we complete our coverage of BHFF 2018 with a few final feature film reviews – stay tuned!
Jason Coleman
I'm a passionate and opinionated film critic/movie journalist with over 20 years of experience in writing about film - now exclusively for WhySoBlu.com. Previous sites include nine years at Starpulse.com where I created Forgotten Friday Flick back in 2011, before that as Senior Entertainment Editor for The213.net and 213 Magazine, as well as a staff writer for JoBlo.com. My other love is doing cool events for the regular guy with my company Flicks For Fans alongside my friend, partner and Joblo.com writer James "Jimmy O" Oster. Check us out at www.Facebook.com/FlicksForFans.
