South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival – In Night Breakers, a group of migrants navigates an underground maze of tunnels, trying desperately to make their way to the city. They face two big hurdles, however. A creature lurks in the shadows, hiding out in corners, waiting to pick them off one by one. Meanwhile, the longer they’re trapped underground, the more they turn on each other. All of this makes for a compelling short that’s tense and engaging.

The migrants are led by Joel (Andrew Tarbet), who, for whatever reason, knows where they need to go. He’s a take-charge sort of dude.  The group also includes Trevor (Pol Fernandez), Sunna (Anna Gonzalvo), Mei (Chacha Huang), Martin (Marc Padró), and Jacob (Sergi Subirà). Because this is a short, there’s not quite enough time or room for many of the characters to really break out, which is one of the many reasons this has feature-length potential. There’s a lot left here to explore, including the characters, the city where they’re headed, and of course, the creature, which is namely shown in glimpses. What is seen looks pretty cool. It shrieks like the monster in A Quiet Place and feels ever-present.

Yet, the creature is only part of the danger. The characters start turning on each other, making ugly decisions that only benefit themselves and/or their families. This results in more than one death. It’s also what makes this such a gripping film and pushes it beyond a standard creature feature. There are real human stakes and consequential decisions at play here. Meanwhile, the setting of the underground tunnels creates a feeling of claustrophobia and no escape. There’s also something uncanny about the fact that the group dresses from head to toe in lights like Christmas decorations. Anything to fend off the darkness, I suppose.

Night Breakers, written and directed by Gabriel Campoy and Guillem Lafoz, is an entertaining short where the monster isn’t the only danger. Every character needs to watch their back. No one is safe either from the creature or each other. I’d love to see more of this world, these characters, and the strange creature that lurks in shadows, stalking its prey. The suspense is unrelenting as the migrants seek safety. The stakes are high in this one.

7 out of 10