The Occupation

There is a lot to love about this film; the energy and movement is out of this world and the ability of the filmmakers to show power dynamics and control through their framing and camerawork is very impressive. The definition of who is in control is apparent from frame 1; it's a powerful film about a sisterly struggle for control of a house, showing that it's not always sunshine and roses when the cameras go away.

Horny Owls really know how to make cinematic entries in this competition and it was very cool to see them 'go big' this year with a wonderful location and much bigger scope of movement compared to previous entries.

But it is also heavily indebted to last year's winner Chicken in my book, being centered around one large dynamic fight scene.

We also have the film bookended with a point of difference tv sitcom intro and outro resplendent in academy ratio and retro font. Trust me when I say a few other people I've talked to about the film are absolutely obsessed with how well crafted these throwbacks are. Though for others like myself I found them a bit confusing and disjointed compared to the rest of the film.

I guess for me I do have an issue with the lack of character development and plot. For the characters there aren't for mine any mannerisms or quirks or traits that define them let alone give them depth until all of a sudden the challenge is put down that stepping over the line will be deadly!

Personally I felt that something to define the conflict, the hatred and the lengths the characters go to would have benefitted the film immensely.

Fantastic makeup or fx for the final shot, though to me it played cold and harsh rather than rewarding for me as a viewer. The creepy neighbour almost got the film there, I feel there just needed to be some more collective glue to piece the narrative together a tiny bit more.

Overall technically amazing, very solid performances and an extremely memorable film. Will be interesting how this is perceived by judges though because the open-endedness of the film I felt was its downfall. Just my 2c.

Top 5 most anticipated 48hours for me, and the The Horny Owls did NOT disappoint! This film is CRAZY!!

Technical perfection on screen. The crew know exactly what they're doing! But the whole thing is tied together by Felicia Toa's powerhouse performance! This film gets DARK (even for a 48 hour film, this felt like new level of dark) and Felicia just keeps delivering! I dont think ive ever felt worse for a character in a 48hour film than this. Its absolutely tragic, but the performance is SO magnetic that it kept me fully locked in! Incredible range in such a short film.

On a personal level, I liked this film much more than last years. Not a single critique here. This team is outrageously talented, and I can't wait to see it again.

Yes! A sibling altercation gone from bad to worse.

The script in this one really brought out the chemistry between the younger and older sisters. The way they called each other by name—“PAIGE!” “IZZY!”—was a classic sister-fight starter kit.

The slow motion was awesome, and the desynced audio was a nice touch. The elements happened almost simultaneously.(just an observation) On the plus side, those moments were addressed clearly and took less effort to source.

The Dutch angle outside was another strong choice—it immediately signaled that things weren’t going to end well. Seeing the neighbor dimly lit early on gave just enough of a hint to create doubt. However, his reappearance at night, though visually contrasting, felt a bit underdeveloped in terms of narrative relevance.

In the night scene where Paige is sitting outside, you can visibly see the 600 at the edge of the frame. It looked like it was tweaked in post, but it still came off as a bit odd. That said, this year has undoubtedly been your strongest visually. I loved how the kitchen looked, with the orange light spilling into the walls and the thunder flashing periodically—it felt high budget, ripped from Warnerbros.

I also loved how the first thing Paige does is make it worse—going full throttle on the olives! And yes, you nailed the classic horror trope: panning left, panning right… and BOO.

To conclude, The Occupation set the right tone. While there are areas that could use a bit more development—particularly in fleshing out the characters and events—the pacing was spot on, and the "calm before the storm" was beautifully executed.

Visually stunning, well-acted, and the sound/foley work was excellent.

Well done, The Horny Owls!

RS Productions.

Wow. Superb effort team. Tight pacing. clear stakes from the outset and commitment from the actors from top to bottom!!!
The setting is stunning and utilised to its full potential. Full of wonderful choices by the writers and actors. No stone is left unturned when it comes to making the scenes/shots/performances memorable!

BUUUUUUUTTTTT... and brace yourselves... this has to be one of the best looking films of this years comp! The choice of camera placement and framing was so clever and tight. Leading lines drawing the eye into the frame. Depth utilised to its full making the actors pop out of the screen. Enhancing the story in every frame. DAMN GOOD STUFF. That is to be expected when you have a pro like James Roberts behind the lens!

Only nitpick (and only meant with peace and love) Unsure about the meaning behind the sitcom intro and outro... is this the internal dialogue of the antagonistic sister? That's how I read it. If thats the case perhaps a mid film interlude of that element would have made it clearer and more of a point rather than random (albeit beautifully shot) bookends.

All that said... an absolute treat of a film by film-makers who have skill and creativity oozing out of every fibre of their being (or out of their severed leg *cough couch... won't quite my day job and at least my daughter laughs at my jokes)