The Soul Trader surprised me. This snappy little short/proof of concept with a script by Mike Underwood and directed by Susan Dynner quickly builds a world and delivers interesting characters, a fun concept, and conflict.

We first meet Coral Chase (Shauna Grace) as she heads into a swanky party to meet one of her clients. Wearing a sparkling red sequin dress, Coral traipses through the foyer of a mansion and seats herself near a firepit with Erica (Donna Mills) and arm candy, Damien (Shane West). Coral is here to deliver a vile containing a life-extending elixir. Harvesting these goods is the tricky part. But boy is it good money.

Coral is a Soul Trader. For the right price, she will nab the remaining lifespan of a victim to hand it over to the highest bidder. In this instance, Coral has claimed the life of a victim for Erica. The payday is huge and it puts Coral one step closer to finally being out of the business. All she needs to do is complete one last job. Then she and her son Noah (Dexter Hobert) will be able to set off to see the world and find a place to call home.

Yes, Coral is a single mom, working to build a better future for her and her son. After murdering and selling a soul, she arrives home with pizza for her kid. This is where the short goes from fun to interesting. Underwood‘s script pairs the fantastic means of making a living with the real-world result of providing for family and the inherent conflict. From here there are of course more complications. The last job is anything but easy and that is no surprise.

What makes The Soul Trader work are the practical problems paired with the fantastic solutions. Underwood crafts a short screenplay that captures time and place, characters, and conflict while throwing a little bit of sass. Dynner directs a short that keeps the tone glib and grounded while fully leaning into the ethereal aspects.

The Soul Trader is a bit of smart fun that deserves a larger canvas.