FilmsScifi

Mis-Drop by Ferand Peek (short film review).

‘Mis-Drop’ is a short film which punches well above its weight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=535rm1X2rm0

It begins with an insurance assessor investigating what, if any, liability is to be had in the case of a missing marine private Jason (Patrick) Glen . The unnamed assessor reviews video footage of Glen’s final mission in an attempt to uncover what happened.

The footage is taken from Glen’s drop pod camera and mostly centres on an extreme close-up of Glen’s face. We watch in a reflection on his helmets face plate his interactions with the rest of his squad and the pilot of the drop-ship. Eventually, we witness the ship being attacked and follow Glen as he is launched into combat. All in the space of thirteen minutes!

Mis-Drop by Ferand Peek (short film review).
Mis-Drop by Ferand Peek (short film review).

I have never seen anything quite like this short film. It packs an incredible amount in to its short running time. Stylistically, it owes much to console games like ‘Halo’ and Radiohead’s video for ‘No Surprises’. Computer graphics are currently at an incredible level of sophistication. Gareth Edwards’ ‘Monsters’ (2010) showed how good such graphics may be and on such a relatively low budget. ‘Mis-Drop’ has a gritty realistic feel which echoes such movie greats as ‘Alien’ (1979) and ‘Soldier’ (1998).

The amount of detail we are presented with is impressive. We see in Glenn’s display digital representations of his squad mates and a video link with the pilot. In the audio, we hear the interaction with the marines as they haze the new guy Glen. On another level, we see a display showing how Glen’s pay racks up and how the rate changes when combat begins. For SF detail freaks, keep an eye out for the name of the bank which the insurance assessor works for.

Ferand Peek has done an excellent job here. The actors’ performances are as sharp as a shard of glass, the production is of a high order and the whole film feels tight. Peek has worked with Peter Jackson in the past and gets a thank you in the credits here. It seems that watching a movie-making legend in action has rubbed off on Peek. High production values and getting great performances from his actors speaks volumes about his talents as a writer and a director.

I am not sure if ‘Mis-Drop’ is part of a plan for a bigger film or if this is the whole story. Either way, this is clearly a powerful and interesting short film. To fans of SF movies, I can happily say invest thirteen minutes of your life in watching this excellent film in the link above.

Andy Bollan

May 2014

13 minute film written and directed by Ferand Peek.

starring Elliott Travers

check out website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=535rm1X2rm0

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