BLOOD ON THE PLAIN has the aesthetics of No Country for Old Men, the art design of My Bloody Valentine, and the left-over creature design of Neon Maniacs with enough gore to sell it correctly. Mac Eldridge, who made worthwhile note with his other short film CHEMICAL 12-D, returns with a gut-ripped version of Footloose, sans Kevin Bacon’s gyrations.
The small country town of Wadsworth, Kansas gears up for the big school dance. With young love wafting in the air, a young man two-steps about with his new romance after a hard day of mopping piss at the local saloon. Just when others might suspect a You Got Served dance number to kick in, a band of Native American Demons surround the teens and start opening major arteries with reckless abandon. It’s quite a bloodbath that is the highlight of this almost 13 minute short film. The creature design and special effects are seamless and jolt you with their creepiness as well as the creatures’ savage acts of violence, a scalping being my particular favorite.
Soon word of the attack hits the saloon and the townspeople gather for answers, but more so for revenge. The local sheriff, a grit-gutted, one-eyed, Southern-fried Dudley Do-Right, announces that a dangerous task awaits any volunteers that are willing to join him and his posse of trackers assembled to find who, or what, is responsible for the 22 bodies on ice in the morgue. With his band of mercenaries on the hunt, the sheriff rides out into the night.
And… Well, that’s where this short film ends. If you’re seeking resolution, you’ll hopefully find it when this short is properly financed and produced into a feature. The story has all the momentum of being a fantastic stand alone short, but fell victim to being more of a calling card for the filmmakers involved. As tempting and appealing as this story is, it seems to pose more questions than simply “what happens next?” Mac clearly has demonstrated his talent as a director and storyteller in his previous works and the story presented here, coupled with stellar camera work from David Wagenaar, seems to have been cut short without rhyme or reason. I want the steak, not just the sizzle. Maybe that’s me being over eager in my critique, or maybe I shouldn’t write movie reviews when I’m hungry.
Hopefully BLOOD ON THE PLAIN will be turned into a proper full feature film. Hopefully word of mouth and other interested parties will gather around Mac and his recent project, it’s all very well deserved. Hopefully you’ll be able to see this short film soon yourself, and be as hopeful about the future prospects of this young filmmaker as I am.
http://youtu.be/gUnKgqdiYpI
You can learn more about this short film from it’s Official Website – BloodOnThePlain.com.
Be sure to check out Mac Eldridge’s CHEMICAL 12-D.