I must be honest- I only came to the Media Production Night with the intent of meet up with friends, so really I wasn't expecting much- maybe just one, or two above the average. It's a good thing they've proved me wrong!!!!!! I had a wonderful time watching all the short films. But of course there was one that stood out from the rest : WE ARE NOT ALONE, a short film by FLORENCIA MOSTACCIO. This stood out for me ( partly because it followed a different topic from the rest). It is perhaps the most powerful short film I have seen so far this year!!!
This WE ARE NOT ALONE centralises the last records of Rose Miller- played FLORENCIA MOSTACCIO- who tries to prove that there is something existing in our lives that we cannot see, touch or feel. It is only when we become attentive that somehow we can. Throughout the film it features scenes of mysterious phenomenon; from mysterious white glows to sounds of an eerie hide and seek of a dead child- played by ANTON MOSTACCIO- which gave the film a heads-up. What was good about this was how convincing the argument was! The level of character of Rose Miller just by her hopelessness and joyless tone-of-voice allowed not only me but for everyone else to feel what she felt- fear!!! Also the acting of child's innocence was creepy as I could not believe that hide and seek could be scary, emphasised by the slow counting from one to ten. It is definitely that the acting made such an impact.
It's extraordinary how simple things could make such an impact- it was mind boggling just watching it and quite powerful. The well-executed scenes of apples sliced in half which was being used as an analogy of life; outside represents the life we see and the inside represents the life we dont' see was highly original and somewhat creepy. also it was artistic ( and yes I'm sometimes bias towards the arts). I also loved the writing on the piece of brunt paper. For me I see a reference to the Middle ages by the candle light and the low-quality paper. And to top it off was the construction of the clock that emphasised the distortion of time where each scene it had shown the hands pointed to a new number- all the more to add in the fact Miller (by her implications) "doesn't have much time left".Quite creepy, simple yet original!! And surprisingly I could not find one second boring throughout the film.. yes- I know it was a bad pun.
The sound of the howling violin by KEVIN MCLEOD had its own character! That's right it did! It gave the film the right kind of sinister mood and atmosphere. It is like Titanic's 'My Heart will go on' by Celine Dion. And I gotta say the visual effect; I could not believe how well it was done. Especially on a low budget. It stood out from the rest. I could not find anything tacky about it. It was almost spotless apart from the not completely synced white auras with the moving figure. Nonetheless it was effective, convincing, creepy but also powerful as the message ran clear throughout the film - we are not alone! This is a hard thing to execute considering fear and suspense can detract you from the message of the short film. but in this case it was a success- the message remained clear throughout.
Sure its another low-budget short film about a woman telling ghosts are real but it made more than it. It ticked all the success box for me an gave us an insight into the unexplained phenomenon that we experience on a number of occasions(e.g shadows that have no owner.) What fascinates me was how F.MOSTACCIO was able to use suspense and fear without the use of blood. like some film makers say: less-is-more in horror. And I enjoyed it as I didn't held my stomach with disgust but with actual fear. and that is why I love it!!!
WE ARE NOT ALONE has certainly made an impression for me. It is something people should see for themselves and think to themselves whether if "we are not alone". As for me, I'm still getting my head around as usually I don't believe in ghost but in this exception....... Without further more i enjoyed this short film, its suspense and fear it manipulated but most of all seeing an artist in the making. I will be looking forward in seeing more production of F.MOSTACCIO.
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