BARROW, 15min., Australia, Crime/Mystery
Directed by Wade K Savage

A young woman training to be a forensic entomologist is forced to confront her family’s dark past.

Played at the October 2016 ACTION/CRIME Short Film Festival

Review by Kierston Drier

The crime mystery science-fiction short Barrow, coming to us from Australia courtesy director Wade Savage, is a powerful, efficient, masterful piece of cinema. It makes nods to a wide variety of genre motifs including mystery, crime, science fiction and horror, among others, and integrates them seamlessly. The story is rich and engaging, following the story of a young forensic scientist on her quest to understand the mystery forces that saved her life during a brutal and horrifying attack on her family years before.

This film is wonderfully balanced cinematographically, beautifully rendering scenes of dazzling brilliance without having the darker scenes feel out of place. The story is clean, precise and engaging, with thoughtful attention to detail. The character development is logical, well designed and tempered with flawed heroes, tragic backstories and strong performances.

What sets this piece apart however- what makes it a razor sharp cut above the rest, is its efficiency. Every scene is necessary, every detail crucial to the whole. There is no slack moment, no superfluous action. Every line and every visual leads to the betterment of the films’ conclusion. Barrow is a strong cinematic film, short, simple, stunning, and boasting a killer super natural twist.