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Nick70
Reviews
Wait 'Til Your Father Gets Home (2002)
A corker of a Short Film.
Director Martin Wilson and Writer Brendon Guthrie have successfully set out to tell a tale of guilt, belief and a secret from the past wrapped around the plot device of raising the dead as the central maguffin of the piece.
Seth Selwyn's father has passed away. His mother Ruth has retreated into a world of bibles, rosary beads, guilt and denial. She neglects to see her own son's pain and his downward spiral, which his Uncle Frank sees as a sign of madness. He wants to commit Seth to an insane asylum and in the process bury a secret that Ruth and him have kept from the boy and his father.
But Seth's way of dealing with his father's death, does not constitute madness. Little do his mother and Uncle know that he is scheming to bring his father back from the dead with the help of a lawn mower battery, jump cables and a lot of faith in God.
However Dr Frankenstein he is not and everything does not go to plan... But fate has way of interfering for the greater good of all concerned and the secret that Seth's mom and Uncle have kept from him will be no more...
At under 29 minutes in length the viewer is treated to Hitchcockian visuals, haunting and well timed to the beat of the scene music, heartfelt performances that at times you can really feel, well paced editing and an overall atmosphere that doesn't give away a specific date or period in time and location.
In someone else's hands the story could easily have become a one-film joke with scene after scene of Seth using various method to bring his father back to life, but the film makers have gone against type, shown restrain from going over the top, choosing instead to concentrate on crafting a short film that can stand repeated viewings and stand the test of time. And not many shorts can do that-Hat's off to all involved...