Project shell review

So many movies these days disappoint their audience with their intended audience in spectacular ways. The initial promise of an idea becomes so diluted or changed that the final product is often not to reflect the concept in any way at all. One reason for this is the major studios making movies by committee where the bottom line is the overriding factor. More and more the medium of the short film is where the creative talent is. A fine example of this is the Sci-Fi short Project Shell.

The four minute short details the chase and confrontation between a clone hunter and their female prey (Sarah Witt). It is some sort of future where machines are sentient and something has obviously gone wrong along the way if the bleak surroundings are anything to go by. The clone tracker catches up with the girl and after disarming her, sets out to perform an execution.

The plot of the film takes its influence from a host of Sci-Fi films including Blade Runner, Terminator and a bit of District 9. The look of the film will be familiar to most fans of the genre, but it is still effective as part of the story telling device. It has to be. There are only couple of lines of dialogue in the film and the visuals need to be effective in moving the story on.

The film looks great. The effects are seamless and highly detailed and as is the case they do not look cheap and out of place. In the first few seconds, you are immersed in the believable environment which adds to the enjoyment of the film. Remember short films do not have the luxury of time to build a world so the fact that it is done so well is a testament to the imagination and skill of the film makers. The film marks a collaboration between Blow studio and a host of audiovisual artists from around the world. The fact that the short was made with no outside financing is even more impressive.

Overall a very effective and entertaining short. Recommended.

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John McArthur

Editor-in-Chief at Moviescramble. A Fan of all things cinematic with a love of Film Noir, Sci-Fi and Julia Roberts in Notting Hill. He hopes to grow up some day.