Dude I Watched That! Review

By Josh Staats

February 9, 2021

So in the line of reviewing movies, you get a certain privilege, which is people come to you with their projects to review them and talk about them, and I think that’s a great perk of the job. So on Twitter I got a DM about a short film that is using the original story, (plus some modern mixes of reality) to make a short film. They wanted me to review it and I got the green light for here, so I am super happy to be able to review this!

The Tell Tale Heart was a great short of horror and thrill. A great telling in a different medium of a great short story. The atmosphere and the feeling conveyed in this film was brilliant and really a great time to all who gets to view The Tell Tale Heart, as well as the directing done most excellent as well.

As I was saying The atmosphere is just intense, and breathtaking, even though most of it takes place in a singular area. The set, or room they are in is set very well and seems like it is a fairly good timepiece. I like the clothes, the period, the time of day that the movie is shot all lends to a unique and fun world that really draws you in, and makes you want to watch it over and over. There is one bit that I wasn’t super sure on, which is the three main people of the film are two white men in timepiece attire, while you have a female African American cop, with what looks to be modern equipment. The problem I have here is that it needs to choose a time period to adhere to, because while I do like the clothes, they feel weird with a cop from back then that is somehow not time appropriate, or the two en dress, more modern attire to fit with modern-day (still keep their clothes classy, just not so old-looking)

The feelings conveyed in the film are great. I had a thought about the film is about a sane man who killed a man, and is dealing with the repercussions of his evil deeds. He tries to convince himself as much as the detective and policewoman that he didn’t kill the Old Man. You feel excitement and despair, the thrill of pulling off the perfect murder. You even get to witness some crazy thoughts and feelings, which to me at the very least, makes sense, and is terrifying and great imagery to give you a deeper insight into the killer’s mind and psyche.

Directing of the film was also great, with shots being done well, capturing everything perfectly, the subtly in the backgrounds and what is apart of the background, transitions, lighting, everything is just near picturesque in the movie, and that raises the value of the movie, and brings the rewatchability of the movie to the next level.

I Loved the Tell Tale Heart and if you get the chance, give it a watch. What I’d like to see is an anthology of short films, where we have 3 short films made to make a feature-length film, and if they were all Edgar Allen Poe short stories, that’d be great, or maybe some other horror literary greats, I’d be so down to even buy the film. But, if that doesn’t happen, this is a great short film.

I give it a 4.5/5. Seriously, if you can, go watch this thing it was great!

Review can be found at: https://www.dudeiwatchedthat.com/2021/02/the-tell-tale-heart-2020-shorts-reviews.html