Genre: Horror
Year Released: 2024
Runtime: 9 Minutes
Director: Daniel Carsenty
Writers: Corey Slater, Stephen King
Cast: Alexander Flores, Travis Hammer, Katie Adler, Elester Latham, Richard Clarke Larsen, Lisa Goodman, Enzo Fabiani
Where To Watch: showing at the 2024 LA Shorts Film Festival
It is generally understood that a major reason independent filmmakers make short films is to showcase their talent with the hope that it will result in obtaining funding from investors and or production companies and or film studios to make full-length feature films based on the plot and ideas of the short films. Independent filmmakers want to make money-making, award-winning grand slam feature films and or Netflix specials.
GoFundMe, Indiegogo and Kickstarter campaigns also have been sources for funding. There are tall tales of people maxing out their credit cards and the credit cards of their families, friends, neighbors and other luv ones. According to a News Chanel 8 story in Tampa, Florida, a 54-year-old film producer who was arrested for robbing a bank in Florida in June 2022 told police he needed the money to keep his movie production company on schedule. He had been out on early release from a previous caper he pulled off for film financing.
And so on … and so forth
Show Me the $$$
ONE FOR THE ROAD – marketed and publicized and whatnot as a horror short genre – caught my fancy and kept me interested for its full 9 minutes – especially because horror maestro Stephen King reportedly was involved. “This is a great horror short film based on a Stephen King short story that just premiered at LA Shorts, and is about to screen HollyShorts on Sunday, August 11 at 12:00 a.m.” was the exact pitch.
There were a few grisly scenes that made me cringe but there were no goosebumps. I wasn’t spook. The hair on my neck didn’t rise to the occasion. I had stopped hiding behind the popcorn box and sitting on the edge of my seat long ago: It has to do with me being an septuagenarian cinema aficionado whose spook-able nerves numbed out long ago and I can’t be un-nerved though there are occasions I can be spooked.
(I’ve had real-like scary-scary experiences living in Jersey City, New Jersey, and heading to my paycheck-gig teaching full time at Hunter College/CUNY. Commuting on mass transit has it perils and I work on j-projects requiring me to bivouac in the most dangerous neighborhoods in New York City.}
I believe I should note that publicity and marketing and the like listed Stephen King as a co-writer but none of the publicity had a single quote, comment, wisecrack from the inter-galactically known Stephen King. Hmmm.
This film short is suspenseful, to say the least, but I fear if I write too much I will introduce spoilers. I don’t want to do that. But I did find this film review published by Overly Honest Reviews that pretty much gives everything away. Click here.
In summary, I think this Hollyshorts short is an early draft blueprint for a film that the filmmakers want to make. I wish them good luck. I can definitely say that plunking down ticket-bucks for ONE OF THE ROAD, as it is in its present succinct cinematic form, will not be a waste of $$$.
Publisher, Editor Gregg W. Morris
Can be reached@ gregghc@comcast.net, profgreggwmorris@gmail.com