Nolan's Nasties: The Tour Review

The Tour (2014)

IMDb Genre: Short/Horror

Director: Alex Mathieson, Damon Rickard

Writer: Alex Mathieson, Damon Rickard

Starring: Jessica Cameron, Heather Dorff, Tom Gordon

As I’ve previously mentioned on this blog, I’m a big fan of horror shorts. The scares can be just as intense and without all the confines of a studio they can be incredibly creative.

This effort from my very own England is no exception. The plot may be a little familiar but the ending is spectacular and when it’s done well who cares? I think the film really is the whole package so I’ll talk about one element at a time.

First of all the acting and directing. There’s a wealth of talent at play here and the directors pull great performances from their cast. This is particularly important in this short as the tone changes drastically very quickly so believable performances are key to the audience’s enjoyment. As it was the same two men who wrote and directed I would like to think that we’re seeing the film they had in their minds and it’s definitely a success.

In my opinion, the script is the highlight of the film. There is some well-timed comedy at the beginning that hints at what is to come but the smart decision is made to shelve the comedy once the horror kicks in which makes the scares more effective and for a fifteen minute film there are quite a few scares! Without giving too much away, the film builds to a perfect ending that is worth your wait.

There’s a good mix of filming techniques and the locations are stunning so visually the film is very appealing.

The music is all original for the film and matches the tone perfectly, I would love to hear more from the composer.

The film is let down a little by the effects work but you can tell this is just due to budget constraints so when you consider that the team have pulled this short off with a small budget it's completely forgivable and makes you more excited about the prospect of seeing a film made by the same team with a larger budget.

I’m going to keep this review fairly short and leave it there as it’s becoming apparent that it’s very hard to review this short without giving too much away! I highly recommend catching this film once it’s more widely available after it’s finished the festival circuit. I know Damon Rickard has more projects in the pipeline at the moment and I will be eagerly waiting for them and after checking out The Tour, I think you will be too.

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