Driverman

Doom Comes to Mars-Town

Had a blast watching this one. What a great location to be able to use and I think it was used perfectly.
The gag at the end was really fun too and ultimately, just watching people with fun vfx and costuming and looking like they had a good time made me enjoy it all the more.

A Hearts Desire

I’m always excited to see what people do with horror. Horror is a really fun and super creative genre and more memorable than most. And my excitement is from what element the creators take and use to push their horror above the others.

The atmosphere and tone in this are stellar, with a great opening that sets us up for a well-paced slow-burn story.
The reveal of your creature is so well executed with us seeing very little and some fantastic make-up. His eyes and tone are a great decision and the luring way he talks to trick the character in is really stands out.
That reaction shot with the fog is great horror and the heart element was genuinely one of my favorites. I was having a great time getting into it and it’s quite different from both other entries this year and the team’s previous entries.

... but it all builds to an ending I feel really undermined the overall film. And it’s tough because I’m left 50/50. While the build-up and establishing of the world and characters are solid across the board, the makeup is perfect and the technical elements are top-notch, we’re left on an end decision that ultimately brings down the film and no longer makes the previous choices feel nearly as special as they were. And I’m also left confused with why suddenly a new joke character is introduced because I’m not sure where the hero element is, and it’s disappointing because the heart element is great, the invisible element is fine (it’s a tough one I know) but your hero element is confusing, was it this gag character at the end? But I totally get going the safer route of ending as a comedy and keeping to your roots, I’m just disappointed that I’m left wondering what could’ve been.

Time Saver

This was great to watch and look at. Really high production value and all-around great effort. The costumes, the set decoration, the shots chosen all made this feel like something bigger than a small-scaled film made with 2 days.