Three high school friends (Phil Longden, Dave Ostergren, and Anthony Corriveau) have gathered at a reunion of sorts near their old stomping grounds. They reminisce for a bit about fun times and games they used to play from years ago. Good-natured ribbing about their now out-of-shape bodies is tossed around. One of them proclaims “Manhunt!” and takes off down the road, disappearing into the night gloom. Away from the safety and security of the flashlight, away from his friends.
The two searchers make it to an abandoned shack familiar to them (they played here as teens) looking for their friend. They call out his name playfully, still in game mode. The flashlight flits here and there (seriously, it bounces all over the place and made me a tiny bit annoyed) picking out bits and pieces of lumber and furniture and garbage. And body parts.
Still Counting (directed by Phil Longden) is a short film (a quick 8 minutes) that could easily have been the effective opening scene of a much longer Friday the 13th-esque slasher movie. The hulking killer (Timothy Longden) pops up in random unexpected places, which is fun. The entire movie is lit by a flashlight (or maybe it’s the light on the phone camera?) and while that adds to the suspense and literal darkness of the subject matter, it also sometimes makes it hard to see what the camera’s looking at.
The banter between the guys is natural and disarming and might be a little improvised, but it’s a nice way to relax the audience and let their guard down a tad. I do wish they had spent a tiny bit more budget on the severed hands and feet the friends stumble over, but that’s a minor quibble. Overall a fun flick, and you should take a moment and watch it.
