KISMET, another word for fate or destiny. It’s also the title of the new short film from director Mike Smith and writers Z. Laporte Aiyre and Connor Fitzgerald that plays heavy with chance in a murder mystery, crime story. The detective (Luisa Mignone) and Charlotte (Tavis Baker) meet to piece together events that lead to their arrival in the interrogation room.

We get the background that our detective is in from out of town and not well-liked. A touch that might not have been needed, but something that could probably inform a larger story. The detective meets the oddly named Charlotte and we flashback to what the incident. We are left with more questions than not as a kidnapping is uncovered and captors rise from shadows in creaky rooms.

What is here looks great, it sounds great, there are nuances a-plenty, and the performances are solid. It just feels like writers Z. Laporte Aiyre and Connor Fitzgerald had far more story to tell than the budget allowed. This is a cold open for a much bigger production. Do I want to see it? I can admit that I am interested, but when is it a short film and when is it a preview? Through the wonderfully shot interrogation, we see a recounting of a woman tracking down a missing girl. We also see what happened that lead to the police taking Charlotte in for questioning. Yet in the span of 10 minutes, we receive little explanation.

KISMET concludes with the detective telling Charlotte that sometimes we are where we need to be at the right time. Then the short cuts us off, begging for more.

Kismet is a great proof of concept, for a much bigger, far more interesting crime thriller. Here we get the opening scene, but none of the rest. KISMET is a sleek piece of production, just not one that knows how to deliver a short film.

5 out of 10