Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival  – La Oscuridad (The Darkness) is the type of short that sucks you into its atmosphere from the opening scene to the end of its 10-minute runtime. A mystery slowly unfolds in that time about a young woman left to die in a lake. This is a film about abuse and pain, yes, but it’s also about the victim’s return and her subsequent and well-deserved revenge.

Directed and written by Jorge Sistos, the Mexican film begins at the edge of the lake, as a man stands outside of his pick-up truck. Apparently, he thought he just disposed of Marina (Ixchel Flores Machorro). We see images of her purse and shoes on the shoreline just after the man drives away, thinking that he finished the task at hand and committed a flawless murder. However, Marina emerges from the lake badly bruised and, under the hot sun, slow-walks her way back to the elementary school where she worked.

Most of the movie follows her trek back to the school, and somehow, it’s incredibly effective. Marina doesn’t utter a single word, and yet, Machorro’s performance stuns. Her presence consumes the frame and takes on a supernatural quality. The cast here is incredibly limited, so she really becomes the center of this universe. Her pained face says it all. This all leads to a rather bloody and well-earned conclusion that takes its time getting to where it’s ultimately going. Along the way, though, the short wows with its stunning cinematography by Alfonso Herrera Salcedo. Though this film is about abuse, its imagery is often pretty to look at, especially the shots of the wound-like sky or even the empty road that Marina wanders down after pulling herself out of the lake.

This is one of those rare cases where I’m uncertain if I want this stellar short to be turned into a feature. What Sistos managed to accomplish in just 10 minutes of filmmaking feels self-contained. The pacing, especially Marina’s journey, feels on-point and pitch-perfect. The ending strikes just the right note, too. La Oscuridad follows a woman who claws her way back to life, seeking revenge against the man who left her for dead. The lead’s performance, coupled with the short’s atmosphere, will pull you under, into the lake’s mysterious depths.

9 Out of 10