Every time I come across an action film made by a Nigerian, my first instinct is to swipe past it. You might ask why? Because I don’t think we’ve gotten there yet when it comes to stunts.
When I started watching this short film, I expected it to be below standard, but from the first scene, I was hooked.
This film is about an old soldier who retired into a secluded area to live with his chickens, far away from other humans, until his peace is threatened by two young men who steal his chickens.
Yes. The entire plot revolves around a stolen chicken. I laughed as I typed this.
Does this ring a bell? Yes! You’re probably thinking John Wick, and if you are, you’re correct. I dare say this short film was inspired by the John Wick franchise, and I won’t lie, when I started watching, I actually thought the entire film was a satire. I still think it has some elements of satire in it.
Now, the director called this a sci-fi, but I honestly didn’t see a single sci-fi element… until the very end, when a pod appeared hanging in the air, very similar to the one in Arrival. So, yes, there’s a tiny sci-fi twist, but you really have to wait for it.
What worked? The camera movement. Oh my God! The way the camera tracked and dolly-shot the characters was phenomenal. Whoever was in charge of handling the camera did an amazing job. The direction kept me glued for the entire 8 minutes.
Show, don’t tell. This film nailed that perfectly. The entire dialogue in the film wasn’t even up to two minutes.
The lighting was great. So was the art direction. And the location? Amazing. There was enough space for the characters to move and play along.
I have mixed feelings about the stunts. I’d give the stunt and art direction a 4/5. Not bad, but also not jaw-dropping.
What didn’t work for me? The accents. The film had a battle of accents. I didn’t understand why there were American accents mixed with Pidgin, when we clearly didn’t see a single white person.
Another thing that didn’t work? It started feeling original, then slowly drifted into a low-budget John Wick vibe.
The characters acted their roles well, though.
I really enjoyed this one.
Director: Dayo George
Genre: Action / Sci-Fi
Review By: Emmanuella Nwachukwu