Shortfilms

ACÉRÉ: First Images From Ross Peacock’s New Short Sears With A Violent Air

Lee B. Golden III

Parlez-Vous Francais? Well, I suppose it may not really matter at this stage, but the first official images from the new action short, Acéré (which translates to “Sharp“), is making the rounds with Jean-Paul Ly and Law Plancel front and center after wrapping Covid-safe photography a day ago. Plot details are scant on the project as well but it hails from YouTube film essayist, Ross Peacock (a.k.a. Rossatron) who’s been a filmmaker for a while, but has definitely upscaled some having penned the script for action thriller, Killing Field, aspart of a three-picture deal for Bruce Willis at Emmett/Furla as reported in June. Ly and Plancel have been a distinct presence in the last five years with their involvement on short films and features, namely Dead End and proof-of-concept, The Division. The two shared a fight scene moment in Ly’s lead acting debut, Jimmy Henderson’s Cambodian hit film, Jailbreak, in […]

FASTER: Explosive Action And Thrills Get A Time Lapse Tease From ‘The Cure’ Director

FASTER: Explosive Action And Thrills Get A Time Lapse Tease From ‘The Cure’ Director

Lee B. Golden III

Standing at 36 minutes and some change, action short thriller, The Cure, stands as one the biggest, most exemplary pieces of modestly-produced independent film work to date with epic results. It was made for about fifteen thousand dollars with a three-person crew and starred Mashood Alam as a spec-ops agent on a retrieval mission to acquire a temp serum stolen by terrorists in the wake of a deadly outbreak. The short was released back in May and has since scored well-over 477 thousand hits through the shortfilm’s YouTube channel as of this write-up, and now it looks as if Atalay is ramping up to continue the explosive indie action saga with his latest follow-up, Faster. Though very little is known about the project which is said to have been filmed in the weeks since quarantine orders were lifted in California in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, a stylish teaser […]

HONOUR: Mike Carr’s Violent, NSFW Action Cinema Send-Off Launches With Glen Harris’s New Ninja Shortfilm Thriller

HONOUR: Mike Carr’s Violent, NSFW Action Cinema Send-Off Launches With Glen Harris’s New Ninja Shortfilm Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

If there’s anything good that might come from the lockdown, it’s the emerging releases of stifled film projects only recently completed as Covid-19 gripped the world. Such was the case for filmmaker Glen Harris whose long-awaited ninja-thriller, Honour, is finally out and about with an online audience starring actor Mike Carr. Filmed in 2017, the project follows Harris’s previous endeavor, Headhackers. Carr himself tipped me off with a few promotional images for Honour prior to shooting, and as filming finished, so began an unfortunate post-editing process with VFX issues, post-production assistants bailing at the last minute and Harris’s own hectic work and moving schedules all hampering its release… that is, until now. Carr has long since disengaged social media and embarked on what I’ve been told is a career change from his earlier exploits in film. In the meantime, Headhackers and Honour are two projects this site has been glad […]

JI: Don’t Miss The New Sci-Fi Action Short From DUST, Starring Lewis Tan

JI: Don’t Miss The New Sci-Fi Action Short From DUST, Starring Lewis Tan

Lee B. Golden III

I was today years old when I realized actor and martial artist Lewis Tan did an amazing shortfilm that’s been making the festival rounds for a while. Ji is the name, and it’s directed by Ben Griffin, and while I normally save these for The Hit List, I have the bug at the moment, so I didn’t wanna let up. Besides, after successfully earning his place in martial arts action fandom over the last few years with Marvel’s Iron Fist and prominent roles in AMC’s Into The Badlands and Netflix’s Wu Assassins, Tan’s next big move is expected to arrive with the January 15 release of Mortal Kombat, from Warner Bros. Pictures. Ji, for what it’s worth, serves as a nice little treat before then, doused with dazzling special effects to manifest Griffin’s ambitious sci-fi concept. The story introduces a universe in which the Earth is left destitute, wartorn and […]

Japan Cuts Review: Takeshi Kogahara’s BIRDLAND Shows What It Means To Be Alive

Japan Cuts Review: Takeshi Kogahara’s BIRDLAND Shows What It Means To Be Alive

Lee B. Golden III

Takeshi Kogahara’s twenty-minute shortfilm, Birdland, takes an almost chilling look into the life of an elderly man named Koji (Shin Furukawa), who lives by himself, save for his caretaker, Ishida (Tomoko Ikunishi), who tends to his needs. Koji can’t help himself much. His gait is low hanging, his hands frequently jitter and he has trouble sleeping, he wears a diaper, and he also wants to die. One evening, Ishida arrives in time to see him half-awake after a cup of wine. She changes and washes him, and then sets out to dump the trash. The following moment Koji is by himself is when Birdland transitions from his room, decorated with pictures of nature and birds stapled to his drawers and walls, to memories of walking in a park in the company of his wife, Saki (Natsuko Fuji) who is also wheelchair bound. Birdland is the latest shortfilm work of its […]

JAPAN CUTS Review: Toshiaki Toyoda’s WOLF’S CALLING Sounds An Intrinsic Battle Cry

Japan Cuts Review: Toshiaki Toyoda’s WOLF’S CALLING Sounds An Intrinsic Battle Cry

Lee B. Golden III

Director Toshiaki Toyoda’s new narrative shortfilm, Wolf’s Calling, clocks in at sixteen minutes, but covers an intriguing and vast bit of ground for its simplistic message, with music as its backdrop. The short, part of Japan Cuts for the Narrative Shorts line-up, opens with a woman (Miu) finding a gun wrapped up in a cloth somewhere in her attic. Standing for a moment to gaze at the weapon, the movie then segways back to fedual Japan where we meet a group of samurai gathering at a temple. For the remainder of the sequence, one samurai (Kiyohiko Shibukawa) scales to the temple atop a long stairway. He convenes together with three other samurai, played by Tadanobu Asano, Kengo Kora and Tatsuya Nakamura, followed by the arrival of twenty farmers, played by punk band Seppuku Pistols, who also wrote and performed the soundtrack. Soon, all the men take battle formations with the […]

Japan Cuts Review: TOKYO GIRL Gives You Eight Montage Minutes Of Youthful Simplicity

Japan Cuts Review: TOKYO GIRL Gives You Eight Montage Minutes Of Youthful Simplicity

Lee B. Golden III

In part, programming for the Japan Cuts shortfilm documentary premiere of Nebiro Hashimoto’s Tokyo Girl describes it as “a maximum-speed, sonic-visual collage…”. Its not everyday there’s an eight-minute documentary of this kind, and yet the pace at which its delivered is more than properly suited. Mako Hiragi is the subject of Hashimoto’s choppy and frenetic first person narrative of a girl on the verge of turning 21. She lets you know that for the duration of the film, she’s going to talk about herself and only herself, setting up an almost chaotic coming-of-age medley of thoughts and ideas that strike her young mind, firstly equating herself to that of a pebble inside of a shoe, and later, elucidating many of the things that make her tick, from her sex life to her eating, sleeping and drinking habits. These are only a smidget of what she divulges as she delivers her […]

Japan Cuts Review: Yu Araki’s FUEL Is Ambient ASMR Food For The Soul

Japan Cuts Review: Yu Araki’s FUEL Is Ambient ASMR Food For The Soul

Lee B. Golden III

Every now and then, I personally enjoy a good, calming session with certain kinds of YouTube videos, from painting tutorials to chiropractic videos, or even for minutes at a time listening to chillhop during the day or at night. It helps to stave off overload on the nerves from the daily goings-on, from overbearing loquacious of people and television news to constant noise pollution in a commercial street. I also enjoy cooking videos on occasion. The envy of not having those dishes on hand in real time aside, the relaxation of just a simple shot of a grill and seeing different kinds of foods being cooked can be an entertaining experience. It’s also what drew me to check out Yu Araki’s latest documentary short, Fuel, which takes place at a fireside cooking restaurant in northeastern Hokkaido in Japan, and focuses on the equanimous work of an elderly expert griller. For […]

APPLE-MAN: One Man To Defeat Them All In Vasyl Moskalenko’s Conceptual Shortfilm Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

In an era of progress stifled by an overwhelming viral pandemic, Ukrainian filmmaker Vasyl Moskalenko was able to find his own creative avenue. He’s filmed a new superhero shortfilm in Apple-Man, shot entirely in his own 150 square foot bedroom with a two-man crew, a VO actor and a budget of just one dollar. And that’s pretty much the gist of it. Aside from Moskalenko’s push toward investment and production partner’s for a 90-minute feature, the crux of Apple-Man was to showcase and exude creativity and it’s overall importance as the country (and much of the world) endures mandated lockdowns and shelter-at-home orders by state and local governments. “The main idea of the project is to demonstrate that it’s possible to stay creative even when spending lockdown in a single room and also that it`s still important to stay safe during this time,” says the announcement. The official trailer is […]

RAZE OF THE CYBORG: From Man To Machine, Slaying Human Traffickers In New Stills For Young Lee’s Sci-Fi Action Short

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been nearly a decade since actor and filmmaker Young A. Lee relocated from his bearings here in New York City to Taiwan. He’s done a few television shows since then, while also developing his own sci-fi property, Raze Of The Cyborg. Raze Of The Cyborg hails from Lee’s own independent production firm, Fluid Robot Studios, which is credited for the visual effects applied alongside Renavatio Studios for John Hsu’s multi-award winning 2019 survival horror, Detention, based on the 2017 RPG from Red Candle Games. Lee stars in Raze Of The Cyborg, playing an assassin who fuses his body with cybernetic implants to hunt down human traffickers and rescue his girlfriend. The project also features action sequences by award-winning action director Scott Hung (The Scoundrels, Who Killed Cock Robin, We Are Champions), and is being billed as a proof of concept shortfilm for a hopeful feature. Principal photography wrapped in […]

QIYA: Childhood Horrors At The Border In The Trailer For Alba E. Garcia’s Fantasy Short

Lee B. Golden III

“Supporting film production that educates, inspires and edifies is our new purpose to support our mission of mitigating stress for a balanced lifestyle.” That’s the mantra Puerto Rican filmmaker Alba Enid Garcia lives and operates by as she pursues a bigger scale feat with her latest conceptual fantasy horror, Qiya, through 501(c)3 non-profit, Coach 2 Edify. The title, which is Quechuan for “moon”, invokes a creative approach to the horrors, trials and tribulations faced by migrants to this day as the film is based on the stories of parents in various articles and interviews since 2018. After the death of her father due to violence, Qiya and her mom leave Perú in search of the American dream. They run to the land of the free and the home of the brave. When they reached the border reality strikes…the American nightmare. The shortfilm itself will have a fifteen minute run, with […]

DEAD END: DEAD MAN WALKING Review: It’s All About Family

Lee B. Golden III

As far as formats go, the current shortfilm trilogy laid out in actor Bryan Larkin‘s Dead End slate easily bodes as a viable proof of concept in different directions. The idea had always been a feature film, though current market evolution with such new age brands like snackable content platform, Quibi, certainly provides options for content creators if the viability proves sustainable going forward. At twenty-minutes plus, each short exudes taut, contained intensity in story, action and drama, all in skillset that filmmaker Ross Boyask continues to apply to his craft for the latest of the shortfilm series, Dead End: Dead Man Walking. The globetrotting story that centers on Larkin in the role of grisled, tough and cunning Contractor keeps the pace going, following the events of the previous installment that now find him at an impasse with his handler (Rebecca Yeo). Bodies are mysteriously turning up in a series […]

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A SHOT OF VIOLENCE: HONG KONG STYLE Shortfilm Review: A Violent Journey To A Nostalgic Alternate Universe

A trip through Chinatown underground where an honest cop nicknamed Tequila and named Nick Diaz, finds himself involved in a spiral of violence and corruption where he has no choice than fighting the triads by himself. This Spanish short film directed by Angel García, pays homage to all that classic action Hong Kong cinema that today seems to be fading away but remains in the heart and the memory of fans around the world. A violent journey that keeps a dirty and tense atmosphere throughout the whole film, where we can feel the despair and anger of the main character, who guide us through different scenarios full of easter eggs and references that comes from an alternate universe, where posters of classic action films have the title of popular mangas and the excellent soundtrack of John Woo´s classic, “A Better Tomorrow“, appears constantly, from the whistle of a character, to […]

TIGER MAN: Watch The King Unleash Vengeance In The New Proof-Of-Concept Action Short

Lee B. Golden III

It’s not enough for writer and director James Campbell to just give up at this point. Not when it comes to The King. Joined by fight choreographer Jean-Paul Ly (Jailbreak, Nightshooters), he’s forged ahead having since filmed a proof-of-concept for Tiger Man, featuring actor Paul London in a fictionalized portrayal of Elvis Presley as he seeks to avenge the mysterious death of Bruce Lee! The goal now is to circulate the proof of concept short in hopes of gaining investment and interest to help make the feature a reality. It was released last week and it just turned up in my radar so, and so with just 24 days left for the Indiegogo campaign, I’ll be happy to keep the movement going some. Time to TCB, baby!

FINAL GIRLS Short Film Reviews: ‘…Some Things Are Only Good For Eating’ [UPDATED]

Lee B. Golden III

2/15/20: Updated with a review of Alexandra Serio’s TINGLE MONSTERS What you just read in the title is a line that I felt was perfect for the collection of titles I chose for this piece. I’m not saying from where, provided you get to see the actual shortfilm, but if it grabbed your attention enough to get you here then…well, I thank you dearly. Christina and I spent our weekend covering titles via online, all which screened over at this year’s installment of the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival. We each took in our share of shorts and features from different blocks; While normally horror is more or less Christina’s field of play, I decided to jump in and expand my horizons with some shortfilm review content of my own. My feature reviews will come seperately, and you can catch Christina’s shortfilm review batch by clicking here. (Special thanks to […]

FINAL GIRLS 2020: TINGLE MONSTERS, DRUM WAVE, LAST SEEN And More For An Eclectic Experience In Horror Shorts

Christina Ortega

The 2020 Final Girls Berlin Film Festival ran from February 6 through 9 and we here at Film Combat Syndicate were lucky enough to have remote access to some of the feature films and shorts. If you haven’t already, be sure to read our reviews of feature films such as Dark Whispers and Rock, Paper, Scissors to give you an idea of what was offered at this year’s festival.On February 7th, in the Social Ills Short Block, Alexandra Serio’s film Tingle Monsters debuted. What, you may be asking, is a ‘tingle monster’? If you’re asking that question then you, like me, may not know what ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) is either. I had to read some of the information provided by Serio herself. In Tingle Monsters, An ASMR vlogger with a devoted fan base returns from an extended absence with a live stream that spirals out of control.The concept […]

HIT LIST HEADS-UP: Take A Bite Out Of The Official PIZZA TIME Shortfilm Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

He’s fought the fast lane in Contour, drunk the Wake Up Juice, held tight in Death Grip, battled a time loop in Rope-A-Dope 1 and 2, and Blindsided the competition. He’s also advanced himself behind the lens with visionary action design as co-founder/director at Superalloy Interactive in the wake of his innovative fight scene methods for Indian martial arts hit, The Man Who Feels No Pain, which was a soaring favorite at Toronto late last year and onward. Indeed, actor and action auteur Eric Jacobus continues to have a stellar career run in cinema, and it’s one in which director Ryan Polly now gets to share for his new action comedy short, Pizza Time. Jacobus’s killer role joins opposite Ben Worley who stars as a pizza deliveryman who stumbles into the scene of a hitman’s contract killing. Orlando Valentino also stars along with Jesse Chaney and Jonathan Higgins. The short […]

STERVYATNITSA: A TWO GUNNED SAINT STORY Preambles Josh Blank’s Independent Assassin Feature

Lee B. Golden III

Just the latest in a process of long term independent and low-budget production, Josh Blank is pushing the needle along with Two Gunned Saint, presently with a crowdfunder to help carry the film’s vision until wrap. For now, he’s setting the preamble to the feature with Stervyatnitsa, featuring Mika Hockman in a short assassin tale set six months prior to the events of the the movie. Blank is releasing that shortfilm online, and has done so in association with his Indiegogo campaign as he looks to also acccrue funding for festival circulation. Hockman joins actor Jason Berry and actress Monika Godlewska for the feature thriller which also has itself a teaser, as well as plenty more info you can find at the campaign. Two Gunned Saint Teaser Trailer from Two Gunned Saint on Vimeo.

DEAD END III: DEAD MAN WALKING Explores A Killer’s Past And Present In The First Teaser

Lee B. Golden III

There’s no telling what will come of actor Bryan Larkin‘s plans for a feature film iteration of his latest shortform series investment, Dead End. All I can say is that he’s proven himself amply in the last few years between appearances in Vengeance and Chasing The Dragon, and all to deliver a globetrotting espionage drama that thrills with introspective mystique, action and style. That effort continues into the new year with Dead End III: Dead Man Walking, signaled finally in the last twenty four hours by a new trilogy highlight teaser. Larkin is joined by returning actor Julian Gaertner and newly added Tony Greengrass with director Ross Boyask (Warrioress) at the helm continuing the gritty saga centered on two vigilante contract killers. I’m told this particular endeavor will be more of a contained, retrospective thriller that flashes back to the first two installments from Carter Ferguson and Larkin who directed […]

Shortfilm Review: EXPRESS DELIVERY (2017) Delivers The Goods [Reprint/Revisal]

Lee B. Golden III

Full disclosure: Multifaceted actor and director Beau Fowler (Chameleon) messaged me at some point late last year to discuss a certain shortfilm script he was working on. Being that I’m a New York City native, he took interest of my opinions regarding his own accentual delivery for a character he was building for this particular project and he even gave me a whiff of it late last year as we were chatting it up. In short, I thought it was pretty good. Granted he had some issues over the script he wanted my input on; Interestingly, the draft he wrote included an action sequence although I honestly thought this was going to be something a bit more on the comedy drama front. Needless to say, I was curious as to what this would look like, and I honestly say that after screening the new shortfilm, Express Delivery, I’m pretty pleased […]