Managing messages might mitigate the amount of your misery momentarily at a minimum but mentioning armageddon marks a myriad of madness and mayhem in the aftermath.
The 4 People Who Call You At the End of the World was the eleventh entry at the Horror-Rama Film Festival. A woman named July is crying while she’s in the kitchen covered in blood. She checks her messages on her answering machine. Her mother is first. It starts as a normal phone call asking if she liked the family album she made but is attacked by a neighbour. She describes a little girl covered in blood before screaming in agony. The second message is from her stepdad at the hardware store confused about and can’t describe what’s happening. The third message is from her uncle Johnny, threatening her. Will they survive the Apocalypse?
Directed by Kenzie Yango, the Canadian short film had basic point-and-shoot filming techniques with no real captivating or innovative techniques. The lighting feels off too because it’s poorly lit. The performances from the actors are bland as if they were given little to no direction on how to play their parts.
This one doesn’t stand out nor did it make an impact on the audience who had no visible or audible reaction. It’s your average generic post-apocalyptic tale with an ambiguousness that makes it feel incomplete. When the phone rings the fourth time the credits rolls. Did I miss something? Is the fourth call supposed to be left up in the air? What is the purpose of this? At a 9-minute runtime, what little exposition that’s given panders on without really exploring any of it. Things get mentioned and they move on to the next thing. A conclusion can be left open-ended as witnessed in countless horror films but those work because they shatter the false sense of security established by the once-thought-happy resolution moments before it happens. This reminds me of every post-apocalyptic Zombie film I’ve seen. And remember, I’ve heard of needing call waiting but this is ridiculous.
Grade: 5/10
