Short Film: Deserters (2021)

• Directed by Aaron Throgmorton
• Written by Duke Appleton, Aaron Throgmorton
• Stars Duke Appleton, Adlih Torres, Thato Mothobi
• Run Time: 19:13
• Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjJDYDf1fvM

What Happens

A group of five people run through the post-apocalyptic wasteland, leaving one of their group behind as credits roll. 

They come to an abandoned waterpark to regroup. Haven should be just a few miles away. If they push, they could get there by evening, but their leader wants everyone to rest first. They believe “That thing” is still several days behind them. 

One girl has been cut with something poison that’s gotten infected. Another of their group wants to leave her behind and move on; she insults the overweight guy, who hasn’t done anything wrong. The leader and the overweight kid talk about times before the cataclysm. We see that someone else is watching them from afar…

That night, the stranger comes to their camp, and it’s bad all-around. 

Commentary

The music is good and appropriate, but a little overloud over some of the dialogue at points. The characters are all distinctive and interesting, and the acting is decent for a horror short film. The story about the wrestler’s brother was too long and dragged a bit, but was well-acted. Some of the night scenes are a little too dark. 

The fight scenes and gore are not great, but they’re a small part of the main story. The final resolution was more predictable than it should have been. I think the ending could have been clearer as to the motivation of the bad guy.