“Never Tear Us Apart” — Not your typical family reunion
So what do you get when you combine Ordinary People with Motel Hell? You end up with the “gorror” comedy short film Never Tear Us Apart, co-written and directed by Sid Zanforlin (Attack of the Brainsucker).
Best friends, James and Colin, are looking to meet up with James’ grandparents, in what starts off as a jaunt to some very isolated wooded area. They stumble on to a very worn down shack of a house, and it is here that James makes a discovery that will forever change his life, as well as shake his own self-identity to its core.
This short film makes use of a wonderful locale that harkens back to the teenage slasher films of the 80’s, most notably of the Friday the 13th sort of vein (pun not intended). And despite the fact that logic would suggest that our young prey should be able to make a clean getaway, Zanforlin and co-writer Chris Bavota have crafted a most believable scenario by which the worst that could possibly happen, does indeed happen.
Even though this is a short film (coming in at 6 minutes and 19 seconds) the small cast of four is quite good, especially the actors playing James (Matt Keyes – Quantico, The Lottery) and Colin (Alex Weiner – Clydecynic, Exploding Sun). The sense of panic as displayed by these young men is a far cry from those same slasher movies from the 80’s. The almost comedic mock horror used to make audience members nervously laugh a mere 30 years ago has now given way to an even more serious approach to that same scenario. What once was almost regarded as silly is now pure terror, and both of these young actors did a bang up job selling it. At the same time, special acknowledgment must be also be given to James Rae and Leigh Ann Taylor, who initially seem to pass themselves off as really kind, salt of the Earth people, and then convincingly turn their roles into people who simply like salt on their “fresh meat.”
Zanforlin has constructed this short film to serve as a proof of concept, in the hopes of turning this into a feature length film, and to do that has crafted one scene that can only be regarded as a “money shot.” That moment is a true testament as to how far independent filmmakers have come, and why they need to be looked at more seriously by major studios and the movie going public. All the people involved have shown that they possess amazing talent, making Never Tear Us Apart a more than worthy independent short film for anyone that likes a good, fun horror flick!
Never Tear Us Apart just had its premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, is represented by ChicArt Public Relations, and will be included in the much anticipated anthology feature film called Minutes Past Midnight, an Indiecan release slated for October 18th, 2016.
Never Tear Us Apart – Teaser from Sid Zanforlin on Vimeo.
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