QUICK AND DIRTY: LIVE FROM MALTA
A sense of foreboding lingers throughout this finely crafted Western horror tale, which uses limited settings and a fine script in order to maximise the chills.
Bruce Micallef Eynaud plays Ewing, a traveller whose path through the forest is cut short after his horse is injured and has to be put to sleep. When local man Woodrow (Peter Galea) comes across the scene, he offers his new acquaintance shelter in his house for the night. Once there, he tells his guest about the existence of witches in the area. While sceptical, Ewing soon discovers a secret that will have him questioning who is telling him the truth.
Set entirely at night with characters illuminated by fires and candlelight, writer-director Jonathan Backman slowly builds the tension, using only his talented cast and strong writing. The dialogue is lyrical and intense, bringing to mind the work of Robert Eggers, as Woodrow and Ewing debate the difference between reality and suspicion. Ewing becomes a grounded focal point, observing the creeping uncertainty around him with the stoicism of a seasoned gunslinger.
Bruce Micallef Eynaud’s performance has a grounding effect for the story, allowing his co-stars to swing for the fences as he provides the audience with a point of view. Of those on-screen, Galea shines the most, being allowed to mix an unpredictable fanaticism with a hint of sanity, to keep you guessing as to whether or not he is to be believed. Simone Spiteri gives a fine account of herself in a small but important role, throwing Ewing into even more confusion that provides a counterpoint to everything Woodrow says.
The final piece in the puzzle is Backman’s direction, which gives the independent film an air of a much grander scale. Wisely sticking to the notion that horror stories only need to show just enough to mess with your mind, even in the film’s final moments, which break into blood-spattered anarchy, there’s a sense that there are some terrifying questions left unanswered.
At just 30 minutes, this short film provides folk horror that can make your hair stand on end without the need for excessive spectacle. Like the best campfire ghost stories, all that’s needed is an interesting narrator and space for the viewer to fill in the gaps.
APEX showed in the 3rd Mediterrane Film Festival, in Malta.
