Originally published in Playboy in 2007, Mute is a short story from notorious horror writer Stephen King. It was also adapted into another short film in 2012. Horror meets crime fiction in a way that only King can manage – leading you for a long time on one path only for you to realize that the forest has become the desert right before your eyes. Brilliantly, Mute as released in 2021, does not telegraph the magic, but allows it to unfold like a perfect master magician’s stage show.

Seeking absolution for a sin he isn’t quite sure he committed, Monette (Andrew Bee), a recently separated travelling book salesman, has an unconventional confession with his priest (Christian Tribuzio). In a short twenty-or-so minutes, both the viewers and the priest are regaled with a mystery of luck, god, and revenge. Bee carries the brunt of the film squarely on his shoulders, as the deaf/mute hitchhiker in his front seat (Alexandre Stoupenkov) obviously doesn’t have much in the way of script pages. He’s not given much by means of friendly actor feedback from any of his onscreen costars, and the script plays more or less like a long, drawn out monologue than any kind of dialogue. He carries it well, and with just enough of a sparkle and just enough heart to keep you invested and empathetic to the bitter end.

With a script from the mind of King, it’s hard to go wrong – but Mute, as adapted and directed by Kyle Dunbar, soars.

9 out of 10